https://files.catbox.moe/fjfcf6. Please make sure to unmute videos as you get to them they all have music I would also recommend going into your browser settings and disabling video autoplay as all of the videos may start at once and cause your browser to lag Try refreshing if the videos play anyway. Half a decade ago I started watching a kids anime that Id never heard a single person even mention. I found the show from fanart and my initial reaction when starting the show was this is kinda weird and childish but even then something about it entranced me. I had no clue then that this series would become something I think about every single day something so amazing and dear to me that I have a hard time watching more because the thought of ever reaching a point that theres none left to watch scares the hell out of me. However late last year a new season was announced so finally Im able to comfortably watch this show without that dread of completion in mind. I just finished my rewatch of season 1 too and I was just as emotional no even more emotional during those last three episodes than I was years back when I originally watched it. I hope at this point youre wondering how what looks like a silly wacky kids show on the surface has so greatly pulled at my heart and in this review I hope to illustrate just that. This review will cover season 1 only and will be split into a spoilerfree general section and a spoiler section covering my specific thoughts on specific arcs and episodes of the series which while I greatly greatly insist that you watch the show first will include summaries of the arcs and episodes for the naughty people who do not. So without further ado Mezase Lets go PriPara https://files.catbox.moe/lyo15k. PriPara really is a world all girls dream of When the time comes every girl finds a mysterious PriTicket that grants them entry to PriPara An invitation to a world of dreams a place where aspiring idols and pros alike gather Where they compete in shows of song dance and fashion sense Truly a paradise for idols PriPara truly is paradise a world where all girls can go to regardless of age status or anything else as long as theyve gotten their PriTicket to become the idols they dream of becoming. If youre already familiar with idols you may not see them in the same light that PriPara does. Real idols are often thought of as a corporation a product only made to be desired and consumed but in PriPara an idol is the truest expression of the self. That is to say in PriPara you can truly be yourself even to the extent of some characters going through transformations causing them to look wildly different inside of PriPara. https://files.catbox.moe/xo11c4.jpg PriPara encourages making close friends you can rely on and perform with expressing your emotions to everyone never giving up and always against all odds being true to yourself. These core aspects are summed up in the first opening Make It which happens to be my favorite song ever. https://files.catbox.moe/gzi9be.mp4 I know these kinds of morals and messages exist in so many anime so why is this show in particular so amazing? What puts it above the rest? For those of you who know the director from her other works you may be under the assumption that it is due to Makoto Moriwakihttps://anilist.co/staff/109581/MakotoMoriwakis tendency of using overthetop gags and very wacky humor which is present to a much lesser degree than her other works however in this anime and for some people that is what they look for in this show. However in my eyes this anime shines for another reason and its not the visual glitter. https://files.catbox.moe/nif5pl. What shines brighter than anything visual about the anime is its lovable cast of characters their incredibly touching character arcs and general interactions between the cast. I dont even mean this in a Haha the characters are so funny and cute I love them way though that applies here too. The cast is full of wonderful individuals most of which I would be honored to know in person people who truly fight for what they believe in people who never shrink from a challenge people who always try their hardest in a way that I find believable and lifelike. Laala who truly believes in her friends and always gives it her all Mirei who can be relied upon even in spite of her distance. Unfortunately I can only talk a bit about specifics in the spoilerfree section. What I can say is that PriParas characters are very dear to me all of them have helped me develop as a person especially Laala the main character of the show whose incredibly positive and stubborn personality and her intense love of her friends and others in general make her someone who I cant help but look up to and aspire to be like. https://files.catbox.moe/gvajl1. The characters arent perfect though. That is to say even Laala has days where its hard for her to keep her head up. At times like these you often cant push forward by your own power alone. In PriPara when anyone is stuck in a rut unable to continue their friends family and even fans give them so much love and encouragement in some of the most amazing and touching ways so much so that its inspiring. PriPara constantly argues with great examples and great passion that you should be open with your friends and family about your problems that you should let their love encourage you. It shows that you can rest your head on their shoulders that even though life is hard they can help you get through it. The message of expressing yourself as is being truly yourself is especially important. As I said in PriPara you can be truly yourself you can express yourself as you truly are. This can be a very scary thing its very hard to believe that people will love and care about you as you truly are. The anime makes no attempt to sugarcoat that specifics on this will be covered later but in general the show tells you to be true to yourself against all odds showing that even though it may be scary your friends and other loved ones will love you in spite of any flaws you might have. https://files.catbox.moe/qbyx3q. All of the messages in PriPara emanate this positive attitude that feels so hard to maintain in real life but PriPara so convincingly argues its positive outlook with so much heart put into it with such a burning passion that I personally cant maintain a negative outlook after watching this wonderful show. PriPara convinced me that there is good in the world and that there is good in everyone. It transformed my pessimistic teenage self into someone who believes in others who knows that friends can be relied on who refuses to accept defeat who will always try to make their friends smile. I would recommend this amazing series to anyone especially those who feel lost and alone in life who cant accept others into their hearts who are close to giving up. PriPara wants you to know that you can do anything you want to do and it will do everything in its power to make you understand that. If youve read up to this far thank you so much While there is a little more I could probably cover without spoilers it would be very hard to do so. I would greatly recommend watching the show before reading anything in the next section the exact episodes covered for each minisection will be listed so if youve seen partway through and would like to keep reading you can There are many many plot twists and surprises in PriPara even just in season 1 so I would greatly recommend watching it first At the least watch the first three episodes please https://files.catbox.moe/vp4kpk.jpg Kashikoma Laala Arc Establishing a ray of sunshine Episodes 14 8 https://files.catbox.moe/vjgpgf. Laalas debut into PriPara marks the start of this wonderful journey shes instantly established as someone who has a lot of love for PriPara but is very insecure about her ability to perform. The classic mixture for a shoujo protagonist and as she continues to grow she becomes the same type of overly positive protagonist youd find in many such works. To me she epitomizes this archetype and its why I love her so much. She has a bumpy start but over time with the help of Mirei she becomes more adept at expressing herself and believing in herself as well as believing in others. Episode 3 in particular marks a huge push forward in her character with her learning that she can rely on Mirei and that Mirei cares about her. Laalas resolve to improve at PriPara transforms from simply not wanting to make Mirei upset to instead being fired up and wanting to express her gratitude instead. This growth is so important to me and I feel like it helped build Laalas confidence a lot knowing that others believe in you and care about you even in spite of your faults and being able to trust your friends Its so so important to have friends you can rely on this episode so perfectly establishes this understanding that strength doesnt truly come from within but by accepting the feelings of those around you into your heart. Laalas confidence isnt a fact of her existence its caused by her belief in her friends who believe in her in turn. With this Laalas hope for and belief in others grows https://files.catbox.moe/3ms3v4. Episode 2 already established the importance of fulfilling promises that you make many early episodes are about this episode 4 is a particularly great example to talk about and involves my favorite side character Eiko Laala promises to Eiko that shell perform because Eiko has a tough match tomorrow and needs Laalas performance to feel energized but Laala fails to make it on time for the performance. To make up for it she promises to perform before her match on the day of but due to the Headmistress she almost misses it again. Even though its completely out of her control she needs to show up she cant let down her friend. Thankfully a helpful Non acts as a decoy Laalas rush to PriPara so that she can perform for her new friend is great and Eiko feels powered up because of it. I dont know why but I feel like I can do anything when I hear her sing I opted to talk about this episode instead of episode 2 because of this right here the establishment of Laalas amazing power of PriParas amazing and magical power to energize the viewer. This power of course is very real and even applies in real life. PriPara is just magical like that. With this Eiko wins the match and Laala further understands the importance of fulfilling promises. https://files.catbox.moe/bstt44.jpg Now the next arc overlaps with something that Id like to cover here so were going to be skipping from episode 4 all the way to episode 8 the pool episode The pool episode is what I regard as the appetizer to the rest of what PriPara has to offer and is the first episode that struck my heart strongly. https://files.catbox.moe/y1811g.jpg In this episode Laala commits a crime The horrible crime of doublebooking and not only that but shes doublebooked pool time with Nao and a performance and she still hasnt even told Nao that shes gone to PriPara at all Laala did the right thing in telling her straightforwardly about this but she shouldve done it before way earlier. Obviously Nao is super upset about this Laala is too. Mireis strongly worded advice helps push Laala to make up for it and Laala publicly apologizes directly to Nao. https://files.catbox.moe/1prrvb. Laala I cant help but cry in this episode Laalas apology is so heartfelt and it causes a Nao who feels like shes been betrayed to understand truly how sorry Laala is and that Laala wants to make her smile again. Nao realizes shes unfairly sticking the blame on Laala too. Im so happy to see both of them apologize and be so honest with each other about how they feel what an amazing episode. By now while watching for the first time Id just started to realize how good this show is. https://files.catbox.moe/z88kz9.jpg Laalas character as someone who truly loves her friends has been established it will grow throughout the show of course so lets jump back a few episodes now. Sophie Arc Finding the bravery to show your true self Episodes 5 7 912 https://files.catbox.moe/grll70.mp4 I dont have time for this Ive got scheduling to do for the number one idol Sophie Houjou. Shes a real genius she managed to reach Kami Idol in no time at all She shines like a diamondusa Laala and Mirei decide that theyll join the Kirakira Future Idol Grand Prix which will take place in September as their next step in reaching Kami Idol this event requires a team of three so Laala instantly decides that the famous idol Sophie is the one that she wants to team up with resulting in Mirei instantly denying her request. https://files.catbox.moe/xx9dzy. Indeed in any way you look at it Sophie cannot be seen as anything but a perfect cool princesslike character. Surrounded constantly by her bodyguards fanclub who do not allow anyone who isnt a super huge fan to get as far as a few meters close to her. Truly she is the number one PriPara idol completely flawless always levelheaded and cool. Despite the sheer difference in rank and class between Sophie and Laala and her inability to even get close to her she still keeps trying even going as far as becoming a crocodile to get close to her. https://files.catbox.moe/x5rugd.png Although Mirei has difficulty taking a crocodile seriously she gives in and states that Mirei will allow her to continue attempting to get Sophie to team up with them and gives her a tip that Sophie lives at Proud Tower Hills the same place where the Pickled Plum Pizza Person lives introduced in episode 3 Laala delivers pizza to her for the naughty folk who didnt watch before reading. Of course its incredibly obvious to any viewer that this Pickled Plum Pizza Person is none other than Sophie Houjou and this episode marks the start of her character arc with the end of this arc there will be no going back for me. I will already be madly in love with this show. https://files.catbox.moe/1yazwi. In reality Sophie is not a perfect cool princess. Shes weakbodied and clumsy she relies on her sister Royal Guard and manager to get anywhere or do anything. Essentially although it is not stated as such Sophie has narcolepsy or something of the sort though she can overcome it by using Red Flash more commonly known as pickled plums or umeboshi. Despite this since childhood shes been performing in PriPara for years and years shes maintained her image as a cool idol whos capable of anything. Her cries for help are unheard written off as her being cool. The Royal Guard has to stay so close to her because even when Red Flash is in effect shes still clumsy and weak. Usagi her manager has coined the term for her usual unRed Flashed self as Fancy Mode which is a term I refuse to ever use. Sophie has been brought up believing that it isnt okay for her to appear as she really is that she cant show her true self to the world. Even worse shes essentially being used as a tool by her manager who only wants her to succeed so that he can get fame. I mentioned earlier that PriPara doesnt sugarcoat how scary showing your true self can be Sophie is set up as someone who has been hiding their true self for years and years told repeatedly by everyone she knows whether they care about her or not that she absolutely cannot show her true self to the public. Her fear is to the point that she believes anyone who sees her as she truly is will hate her but of course Laala looks into the Pickled Plum Pizza Persons eyes and nearly falls in love finding her pretty and ironically exclaiming that she looks a lot like Sophie. Even just this small comment from Laala was enough to give her a little more energy than she had before. https://files.catbox.moe/ygbq3b. I feel like in most other shows already this arc would be concluded. In most kids shows it seems like this kind of thing is concluded in a single episode or maybe two the main character reaches out to someone whos insecure about showing their true self tells them that everyone will accept them so they shouldnt worry about it and so they dont they act as their true self from then on. I might be wrong about this but at the least I know that PriPara does not treat character development this way. After all Sophies fear has been developing for many many years for Sophie to be able to get over it in a single episode would be unrealistic no matter how positive of a person Laala is. It will take several episodes for Sophie to truly get over this fear which most likely amounts to several weeks in time since PriPara has a habit of paying attention to the exact time episodes air for events that happen though this is not always the case. However Laala has broken into Sophies heart and change can begin Sophie slowly is starting to feel less useless shown with her working up the energy to bonk a frog in order to win the event the two were participating together in. They won all thanks to her https://files.catbox.moe/a7n96s.png I feel like we can go somewhere beyond the usual with Laala I just get that kind of positive vibe. Sophie has now decided she wants to team up with Laala and Mirei and snaps Friend Tickets with Laala but Kuma warns that even if Sophie has decided on this another stands in the way: Usagi. https://files.catbox.moe/bzcplz.jpg Interlude: Episode 10 Love Tochiotome While Laala and Mirei are enjoying autumn in order to come up with outfit ideas they come across their friend Eiko as well as Love who Eiko beat in tennis prior. Love needs some help she wants to go to PriPara but shes very tall and masculine looking so she feels like she wouldnt fit in. Laala and Mirei convince her that she should go anyway and that it will be fine and Laala literally drags her to PriPara right that moment Laala is correct Meganee comments on how Love has great proportions and assigns her the brand Holic Trick upon entering PriPara Love transforms mostly by way of her hair growing longer into a cool beauty Cool Lovely who instantly gets tons of fans. Truly every girl can shine in PriPara This message of every girl can change along with Kumas maple leafresembling face due to being smashed by Love helps Mirei and Laala come up with a new outfit As Laala and Mirei perform in their new outfits Sophie watches them their message that everyone can change like an autumn leaf reaches Sophie and causes her to decide to try to get to PriPara on her own. A lovely montage of her attempt happens during the song. https://files.catbox.moe/xsfmvr.mp4 However its not enough. She cant make it on her own and she cant team up with Laala and Mirei Usagi has already chosen who shell team up with and theyre much more skilled than our main characters. Unable to work up the courage to stand up to her manager she refuses their gift of assorted Red Flash and returns Laalas Friend Ticket. In the next episode Laala and Mirei attempt to deliver Red Flash pizza to Sophie as a gift and end up talking to her older sister Cosmo. After hearing about Sophie trying to go to PriPara on her own Mirei decides to give Sophie a message. If shes really going to give up after just one failure she wouldnt even have been fit for our team. If she really does want to fly were ready to offer any help we can but she will have to take the first step on her own. With this my summary of this arc ends I cant bring myself to spoil anymore in specifics if you still havent seen the show please go watch it. Sophies arc is incredible. When I think deeply about it it feels like it does everything perfectly or as near to that as Ive ever seen. Laala convincing her that others will love her true self but it not being enough even then Laalas refusal to give up still. Mireis strong message to her is almost more potent than Laalas words to her stating that she needs to strengthen herself in order to fly with them. Even with all their encouragement its still so hard for Sophie to overcome her fear which is refreshingly realistic. Media has always to me had a hard time truly portraying just how hard it is to get over despair which is totally understandable most people have no way to conceptualize despair people who never grew up with anxiety selfimage issues depression any of that they will just have a harder time understanding unless they truly force themselves into the shoes of those who do. Many people outright refuse to do this maybe not as a conscious decision maybe it is better described as giving up on understanding others. Mirei and Laala are not like this however. Laala and Mirei definitely have not had as much difficulty in life as Sophie has though they do have their own personal problems but they still can feel Sophies pain. Theyre understanding of how it isnt easy for Sophie to just push past her fear and weakness how shes surrounded by factors that prevent her from overcoming it. Where I was in life at this point I had experienced this kind of deepseated depression and anxiety that is nearly impossible to overcome and thought that for others its impossible to understand so I could never be pulled out of my hole. Laala and Mirei completely tore apart this assumption of mine. Their great desire to team up with Sophie to be friends with Sophie to help save Sophie from her despair was truly inspiring to me. The perfection of their characterization the realisticyetridiculous nature of Sophies problems all of it just perfectly clicked in my mind. No show could do this for me prior and honestly no show has done it since not as strongly not as truly. https://files.catbox.moe/4e2hmn.mp4 No matter how hard I try I cant fully express how important this arc and this show as a whole are to my very being. After watching all of Sophies arc she became my favorite character and would remain as my favorite due to my ability to relate to her and her fear until being usurped by Laala herself. Laala who never gives up Laala who will always give her 100 in helping her friends Laala who truly cares about everyone. At this point in the show I had already started developing my feverish excitement for PriPara. Thank you Laala. Now SoLaMiSmile has been formed seeming to be the strongest team currently in PriPara but a new challenger will soon appear. Shion Arc Respecting your rivals Episodes 1316 https://files.catbox.moe/9u49r1.mp4 While this next arc isnt as emotional as the other season 1 arcs it still serves its purpose well and acts as a nice breather between the other arcs of the show. It also introduces the other three main characters Shion Dorothy and Leona. This arc I previously overlooked but on rewatching I found that there is actually a good amount to say about it. It works as a good display of learning how to treat your rivals with respect as well as being Shions introduction to having friends and reflects the PriPara spirit as much as any other arc. https://files.catbox.moe/umexh7. Just like Go pieces the world is split into white and black winners and losers Shion is obsessed with black and white disliking anything grey and most other colors as well. She is a Go champion and seems to not at all fit into PriPara despite this she translates her Go skills to PriPara skills very well and Dressing Paf made up of her Leona and Dorothy instantly becomes a strong rival to SoLaMiSMILE. Right away were shown Shions desire for a respectful rivalry with episode 16 where the journalist Nene Tokuda is trying to expose Laala for going to PriPara at the request of the headmistress of course. I wont have you interfere with our bout. SoLaMiSMILE will fall by my hand. Shions development is very gentle but also very fast in the course of a couple of episodes she goes from refusing to snap PriTickets with Laala to forcefully snapping with SoLaMiSMILE. However this development is interrupted by a few other things now. The rest of my writing on Shion will be continued later in the review as an interlude. https://files.catbox.moe/e8fj0u.jpg Interlude: Episode 18 Leona West Dorothy and Leona West decided to move closer to and attend school at Paprika Private Academy. With this it is revealed that Leona is actually a boy to everyones great surprise Theres a lot to talk about with this development in general but the problem is most of it is actually developed more in season 2 but I would be remiss to not at least go over it a little bit here. After overcoming their initial shock and surprise none of the main cast no nobody at all in the entire school really treats Leona oddly for being a boy theyre surprised but it doesnt change their opinion of him or anything of the like. I very much appreciate this even though it may not necessarily be true that this is how things would go in the real world I believe showing this acceptance helps teach others that very acceptance and Ive seen it happen myself due to PriPara no less Beyond that Leona is a perfect example of someone comfortable to go against gender norms and stereotypes in my eyes hes very soft and mellow hes not insecure about it either though he does remark that he thinks he needs to shine on his own but as seen later in the episode he already does. He has his own talents and charms it just so happens that he is more interested in helping others than standing out. Realizing this also helps with Shions understanding of her new friends and their ability to support her in her fight to beat SoLaMiSMILE. Everyone elses happiness is Leonas happiness. There is more to talk about with Leona but now is not the time. But look forward to it Gloria Arc Remember PriPara Episodes 2225 https://files.catbox.moe/tueitz. Headmistress Ookanda has been shown to be vehemently hateful of PriPara since episode 1 getting in the way of Laalas ability to come to PriPara and causing her to have to hide that shes going to PriPara from Nao. The tension between Gloria and PriPara is so strong that Gloria cannot even step within 100 meters of a PriPara gate her body just doesnt allow her to. She regularly remarks that PriPara is pointless or even dangerous. She greatly dislikes idols friends and everything PriPara stands for. Despite this Mirei pushes for there to be a PriPara live at the school festival stating it isnt against the rules to which Gloria reveals a secret rulebook that only she knows about stating it is prohibited. After some thought Mirei figures out a workaround where the live can occur not technically on the campus and be allowed by a permit from the police even Gloria cannot stop the live from happening. Gloria has had enough she yells out Remember PriPara to let the world know that she will have the last laugh. Gloria refuses to accept defeat and now begins her strongest counterattack against the dreaded PriPara yet but maybe Gloria herself is the one who needs to remember PriPara. https://files.catbox.moe/oiel90.jpg Taking total control of Paprika Academy Gloria bans PriPara for all students checkmating both SoLaMiSMILE and Dressing Paf. Dressing Paf goes on the offensive but neither mental nor physical attacks will work on such a powerful enemy even directly attacking Glorias accomplice Rina only works as a momentary setback allowing the two groups to get their PriTickets back. Even being subjected to a PriPara performance changes nothing as Gloria merely flees the scene once it begins damaging her. This act of defiance is only met with punishment. Even though Laala and Mirei decide to help Dorothy weed the grounds in an act of friendship still the sky is grey. Our beloved main cast is cornered and all hope seems lost yet https://files.catbox.moe/u9lv7y.jpg Using a combination of their unique skills Laala and Mirei have started digging into Glorias tragic backstory even if only enough to know that she has gone to and previously loved PriPara. It is as Laalas mom said shortly prior: https://files.catbox.moe/1h04ad.jpg While this development gives them a slight upper hand there is very little time to lose as at the same moment Gloria has finally discovered proof of the secret identities of Laala and Mirei. The stage is set the two parties confront each other both are unwilling to give in but Gloria humors their request to explain why she hates PriPara due to Sophies arrival on her gallant steed and her friends explaining that she cannot survive without PriPara. Gloria is sure that her story will convince the others that PriPara is to be hated will Laala and her friends be able to break through this impenetrable fortress guarding her heart? https://files.catbox.moe/vw1yre. As Gloria wrote long ago she did indeed once love PriPara maybe even enough to rival Laala. As Sugar she met Himeka the two were closer than anything true soul friends sharing everything helping and understanding each other. The two loved each other very much and were truly inseparable. Until the two decided to meet up outside of PriPara. Sugar waited for Himeka to show up long past Prism Stones closing time she kept coming back every day after school whether it was rainy or windy she still waited for her. She waited for a whole year believing that eventually Himeka would return. She never did https://files.catbox.moe/l9nhar.jpg Sugar now understood that the whole time she was a fool she never went to PriPara again from then on she never made friends again. Nobody would ever call her Sugar again either. She left her PriPara name in the past and decided to become a teacher to tell everyone of the horrors of PriPara. So ends Glorias tale Dorothy Shion and Mirei only look at her story through a lens of logic considering her crazy for going to this extent over the betrayal of one friend. But Laala understands her pain. However Laalas belief in others doesnt allow her to believe that Himeka truly betrayed her and her insistence on this begins to break through Glorias walls. Laala begs Gloria to give PriPara a chance offering her summer and winter vacation in exchange and asking Gloria to watch their performance. This time instead of a performance out of spite as Dressing Pafs was Laala Mirei and Sophie sing directly to Glorias heart. Finally getting through to her in a way only Laala can Sugar in a daze pushes through her mental block and walks to PriPara finally being reunited with her soul friend Himeka. https://files.catbox.moe/gc9x8h. All along Himeka was Laalas mom who Gloria had even started becoming just a little close to due to her love of Papas Pasta. Sugar doesnt understand she finally lets out all her pain confronting Himeka and telling her that she betrayed her but Himeka swears she didnt betray her and finally the truth is revealed. Himeka too waited every day for Sugar. https://files.catbox.moe/9wjffw.jpg Having never seen each other outside of PriPara and both not knowing how the other looked because of that they continuously ended up running past each other without even knowing. Even then they should have eventually realized this but just the day after the two were supposed to meet the principal of Himekas school forbid all students from going to PriPara just as Gloria is attempting to do now. After graduation Himeka returned to Prism Stone to wait for her. She continued to come there every single snowy day since until today. https://files.catbox.moe/zbnktu.jpg Friend Tickets dont expire. Even after all this time theyre as good as new. Glorias arc is one of my favorite arcs in PriPara the amount of times I had to take a break to cry while rewatching the episodes for this review is in the double digits and its only a four episode spread. This arc what can I even begin to say about it? Its an amazing lesson about true friends and believing in those friends. Gloria finally building up the courage to return to PriPara and finally seeing Himeka for the first time in around twenty years is such a beautiful thing and executed in the most amazing way possible. Its so incredibly touching Laalas mom believed in Gloria for all this time waiting for her to show up still loving her still. And beyond Glorias part of this theres still more to talk about here. Laala once again has gone above and beyond in her belief of others. Instead of blindly hating Gloria for her hate of PriPara Laala only ever wanted to try to show her that she was wrong and try to understand why she feels the way she does. She reaches out to Gloria who has been developed as a scary antagonist since the first episode and upon hearing Glorias tale of woe she believes in Himeka who she literally has no clue who is. Laala believes that she wouldnt just abandon her friend like that that clearly something more complicated is going on here. She is hardly even fighting for herself anymore of course her goal is to get PriPara unbanned but hearing this story she can feel Glorias pain herself and genuinely wants to prove her wrong. She even sacrifices her vacations in trying to help Gloria which mean so much to elementary schoolers like herself. Laala wants to make not just her friends happy but everyone happy. Even Gloria who is so clearly the closest thing to an enemy that Laala could ever possibly have. Even then Laala wants her to be happy. PriPara continuously shows that you dont have to use dark or adult themes to talk about heavy topics well. You dont have to be overly negative in your portrayal of a problem theres a balance to be struck. Some people believe that good and evil must coexist but PriPara says that that isnt the case at all Gloria is not irredeemable because of her banning of PriPara shes not seen as evil because she quite simply isnt. People make mistakes sometimes people misunderstand things sometimes misunderstandings are seen as understandings and then cause people great pain. Laala and PriPara as a whole denies that the world that people work in the pessimistic ways that you might think. However like Gloria did you need to learn how to accept these messages into your heart yourself. You can bring a Laala to PriPara but you cannot make her perform. There is much more to say about my love of Laala and all she believes in but there is still another cour another whole arc of PriPara to discuss as well so lets not dawdle lets get to it Falulu Arc Being who you want to be against all odds Episodes 2627 3031 3335 SoLaMiSMILE and Dressing Paf have combined together in order to form SoLaMiDressing perhaps the most funny name you could give this group in order to win the Paradise Shoes it seems that this idol unit is truly unstoppable but just as it looks like theyll have the rest of the competitions in the bag a new idol debuts who surpasses them in every way but one. https://files.catbox.moe/0yc6yq.mp4 Falulu is everything that Sophie originally appeared to be and more a true idol genius her amazing debut performance fully showcases her incredible Prism Voice as well as her magnificent dancing and making drama SoLaMiDressing disbands as quickly as it formed in response. Both are going to need to work even harder separately to overcome this impossibly powerful rival. As a side note to say more of Falulus great talent I very much appreciate how good PriPara is at making it incredibly obvious that she really is so far above the rest of the cast. I have not met a single person who hasnt been completely blown away by Falulus amazing performance Ive known a few who consider her their favorite just because of how truly amazing her singing is. It really helps immerse you. Shortly after her debut we are introduced to the antagonist of this arc Unicorn who is Falulus manager though acts more like a mother to her. She forbids her from snapping Friend Tickets as well as prevents her from getting too close to other girls stating the Falulu is a vocal doll and therefore does not need friends. Her goal is for Falulu to make the Paradise Coord shine and she is set up to in my opinion feel like a repeat of Usagi. https://files.catbox.moe/bmfph0.jpg Interlude: Episode 28 Iroha An entire cour after Shions debut which would actually properly translate to a whole season of time as far as PriPara is concerned an old rival appears and challenges Shion to a game of Go. Iroha remarks to Shion that she believes she has gone soft she has changed from the lone wolf she once was and that that is why she lost to Falulu. It is very much true that Shion has gone soft becoming a more personable person than she likely ever was though thats not saying much but has it really dampened her abilities? While it appears that she has lost some of her Go abilities she is able to bounce back once she learns how to see from an outside perspective due to help from Dorothy and Leona with her minds Go board becoming three dimensional. Shion now understands: working together with friends makes me stronger than I was alone. Shion has discovered true strength which isnt from isolating yourself from others but being able to rely on others as well as yourself allowing everyone involved to be able to reach new heights that none could alone. A lot of people have trouble understanding this kind of strength and while maybe almost every kids show covers this exact topic it can often be hard for people to internalize regardless. Shions arc essentially to me feels like someone learning to like PriPara and what it stands for. Shion goes into PriPara not understanding the necessity of things like friends and teams or how they could be useful to a lone wolf like her but over time she slowly realizes that she can reach new ground with the help of others and that some things can only be done as a team. PriPara itself argues this moral throughout its entire runtime but kind of as an afterthought in a way so I appreciate Shions arc for putting it right in front of you for you to see. Also even in spite of Shion becoming more personable she is still very much the same Shion still obsessed with victory and even Go but she has learned that therere other important things in life like friends and sweet parfaits. Both SoLaMiSmile and Dressing Paf were completely destroyed in ParaPri by Falulu leaving all six of them as well as their managers completely down in the dumps to the point of not even wanting to continue PriPara. The damage is so much that Laala cant even kashikoma anymore. When you reach a low point like this one of the only things that can really help you get back on your feet is encouragement from your friends but the problem is that this has affected all of Laalas close friends as well. So who else can give you encouragement and support in a situation like this? https://files.catbox.moe/167e4n.mp4 I think this song speaks for itself with words of heartfelt encouragement strong enough to make me cry every time I listen to it. Cosmo with the backup of Gloria and Himeka performs for our beloved main cast what is in my opinion the most touching and amazing song in all of season 1 of PriPara. Theres so much I have to say about this I went into this performance already knowing that it exists but even without the surprise it completely swept me off my feet The main cast were at the lowest point theyve been yet to the point of nearly giving up PriPara to the point of even Laala being drained of her bright and cheerful nature so Meganii lures the six of them to PriPara and theyre surprised with this amazing energetic and hopeful song and performance by the adults in their lives that they look up to and love. This is another case in PriPara much like Falulus performance of 0 Weeks Old that I feel truly showcases the power that PriPara idols have. Cosmo is able to truly spread her love to everyone. This cool and collected older woman singing with all her heart saying that everyone goes through tough times and that even so life is worth living that you can take back your happiness and live your 100 life. How could I not fall into a mess of happy tears from something as heartfelt as this? That doesnt even begin to cover how happy it makes me feel and how important I feel it is that this performance was specifically done by the adults that are important to the main cast. Hearing encouragement from specifically people like your mother older sister principal and so on is so important and I very much love that this as well continues PriParas reminder that adults are people too even if they seem above you or in a world of their own they go through similar troubles and have hard times as well which is part of why Glorias arc is great as well. Of course this performance was not just set up by Cosmo Himeka and Gloria though. All of their friends worked together on this even characters that have only appeared in one episode outside of cameos with the exception of Rantan who is currently in Horriwood even those who are merely their fans helped make it happen. While I could talk more about the power of PriPara here I think that would be better saved for a little bit later. Falulu performs after Cosmo attempting to cause the Paradise Coord to shine but she fails to do this. With quick wit Unicorn makes up an excuse saying that this was merely a ruse. She puts up the Paradise Coord as the prize for next months Shine Next Idol Grand Prix and says that Falulu will make the coord shine when she wins it. This gives Laala co the opportunity to go up against Falulu once more. While Unicorn is intent on getting Falulu to make the Paradise Coord shine Falulu has started to show that she doesnt really care all too much about that. She enjoys performing and going up against Laala but that is mostly because she is interested in Laala herself. She also is interested in doing things that Laala and others do such as snapping Friend Tickets and making friends which Unicorn very much does not want her to do. Falulu is becoming more of her own individual and wants to try out new things and learn new things so she asks Laala to tell her about herself and ends up learning about things like friendship emotions and family from her. Laala also ends up promising to show Falulu the outside world from her PriPass since Falulu cannot leave PriPara herself. https://files.catbox.moe/zytnlb. Unicorn is not okay with this though. Unicorn keeps telling Falulu that all she needs are fans and that she shouldnt involve herself with friends or the outside world. Falulu does so anyway. Falulu has made friends and she even has a toy robot that she thinks of as her little sister lovingly naming her Falulus Non. With the assistance of these newfound friends and feelings shes made her own making drama to express what she truly feels to the world. Inspired by this SoLaMiDressing pool together all of their emotions and thoughts into words giving them to Meganii so he can make them a song to go up against Falulu with. After SoLaMiDressing performs their new song its time for Falulu to perform her same old song. Unicorn insists that she should copy everyones making dramas again instead of using her new one but Falulu is not interested in winning anymore. https://files.catbox.moe/d3acmo.jpg Falulu has learned to express emotions when she previously did not have any and now she wants to do her best to get her feelings across like her friends do so well. Falulu shines even brighter than ever on stage finally singing for herself and her friends instead of just out of habit. Even with this poweredup Falulu SoLaMiDressing wins the event. Falulu has lost for the first time but is still happy because of her friendship with Laala and the others. And for the first time ever Falulu snaps Friend Tickets with Laala. And dies. Falulu was born from a PriTicket she was never really a person with a soul in the first place. But through Laala reaching out to her she grew a soul and learned of things like friendship ending up with her snapping her PriTicket even though she was never meant to and should not be able to. Its less accurate to say that she died in this case as Meganii explains it it is only a bug in her system causing her to freeze up. Unicorn was aware of this and it is revealed that this is why she was so against Falulu making friends. Falulu herself was even somewhat aware that this may happen but even so she still made friends with Laala. Even though there are such incredible circumstances preventing her from making friends she still reached out to Laala. But as I said this is not actually death I will let you work out whatever metaphor you want to make for Falulus circumstances yourself what is important is that even this is not the end. The power of PriPara Episodes 3637 The power of PriPara is the famous Prism Voice mentioned all the way back at episode one. Its power is to reach the listeners very heart and soul. Laala and the others come to the conclusion together that maybe just maybe if they can harness the power of the Prism Voice they could wake up Falulu. https://files.catbox.moe/7hk2w7. Everyone works harder and harder putting all of their efforts into waking Falulu up not just Laala and the rest of the main cast Unicorn as well the Royal Guard as well especially Chanko. Everyone puts all of their heart into their efforts hoping that Falulu will wake up. There is nothing I can do to summarize episode 37. No matter what words I use to attempt to express how amazing the Falulu Come Back Live is nothing can do it justice. Please watch PriPara if you havent seen it and youre reading this that is very bad go watch PriPara right now. If you have watched it continue reading below: Everything about this episode is the best ever. From opening up with all the main cast waking up and heading to PriPara to the Making Drama that is a Falulu version of Tokimeki Present for You The extended performance of Make It by all six of our beloved idols even their initial failure to maintain the shine of the Paradise Coord. PriParas morals and beliefs are in full force I cant stop crying. And then after all hope is lost after it seems like everyone has failed after Laala has cried on stage A single voice in the audience. Then more then everyone sings together everyone sings whether theyre in PriPara or not. Everyone has Prism Voice because Prism Voice isnt an unobtainable talent Prism Voice is the ability to express your emotions strongly enough to reach the listeners soul. Everyone together sings with all their heart for Falulu. Everyone snaps their PriTickets for Falulu. The Paradise Coords shine brighter than ever the graphics go crazy everything is shining and glowing and pretty and pink and everyone is smiling. And Falulu wakes up. Falulus making drama Tick Tock Flower Falulu singing Make It Of course the biggest performance in PriPara could never be for a competition but for the expression of love for the making of a miracle. All seven of them performing together with Falulu as the lead in the most crazy bright coords ever with the funny One Piece reference that is the We Are PriPara making drama. This episode is all that PriPara stands for all of PriParas heart and soul compacted into a single 24minute episode. And of course the episode ends with all the main cast snapping tickets with Falulu. The power of PriPara is truly the power of love and friendship. Many shows Ive seen use the power of friendship as a theme and I love it every time but I always recount that it could be done better and that in many cases it doesnt really seem like it really is the power of friendship at all. But then I watched PriPara. Completely eclipsing shows Id watched prior that did the same although I still love those dearly but PriPara does it the best. Everyone comes together and sings with all their heart. Minna tomodachi minna aidoru. Everyone can be friends and everyone can be their best self even if you cannot possibly make friends you can still make friends even if you cannot possibly be your best self you can still be your best self. Nothing is impossible for a PriPara idol and nothing is impossible for anyone. PriPara taught me this PriPara made me truly internalize this and I have been living by this ever since and while my life may not be perfect now it cannot possibly stop improving. This is the power of PriPara which is really just the power of believing in yourself and others and loving yourself and others. PriPara argues this with all its power all you have to do is listen. If youve made it all the way to the end thank you so much for reading my review I dont really know if Id call this a review that word sounds too professional and detached to call it that hence why in the title I refer to it as a love letter. It really is one to Laala and all her friends and PriPara as a whole. I was a different person before this show a much worse person who was much less happy I am completely genuine in saying that PriPara has changed my life. Even genuine in saying that PriPara defines me. Without PriPara I wouldnt be a fraction of what I am today nor would I have a tomorrow that I can grasp in my own two hands. If you didnt like PriPara thats fair its not for everyone. But to me PriPara is the single best piece of media in the entire world. Nothing has ever touched me as deeply as it has and I dont think anything ever will. Thank you for reading my attempt to explain what I love so much about this silly idol show. If you have anything youd like to say to me about my review please tell me herehttps://anilist.co/activity/216292280. https://files.catbox.moe/f6iwjf.jpg I love Laala. I love PriPara.