SMILE PRECURE: THE MEANING OF NAMES, MEMORIES, AND LOVE

WAI KWAN WU - Editor-in-Chief, 3rd Year, Molecular Cell Biology

Also known as the anime episode that rewired my brain chemistry

SPOILERS FOR SMILE PRECURE!

The magical girl genre is no stranger to episodic storytelling, from the genre’s slice-of-life roots to the iconic Ojamajo Doremi that effectively perfected the formula. Even within the Precure franchise, you have entries like Heartcatch Precure that is the quintessential hallmark of episodic storytelling in the genre. However, the one Precure that I am rather fond of is Smile Precure, which is a fun spin as a long comedy with wacky scenarios that take great advantage of its episodic nature. Even amidst all the silly episodes, the series really does excel with its more heartfelt episodes that tackle their subject matter with surprising eloquence—the shining example being episode 19, “Thank you Papa! Yayoi’s Treasure.” Which also just happens to be one of my favorite anime episodes of all time.

One of the reasons why episode 19 is so effective is because it does a wonderful job of capturing what Smile is all about. At its core, the show is a celebration of the joy that one can find in all the little things in life, no matter how small. It can be eating yummy food with friends, or reading your favorite book; it doesn’t matter what that is as long as you find value—happiness—in it. In a world that is increasingly being overrun by cynicism, where one may feel compelled to approach everything from multiple layers of irony, Smile wraps its arms around you and tells you it’s okay to find genuine meaning in anything that makes you happy. This works very well with the episodic angle that the show adopts, with the girls discovering something new and meaningful of the week and taking down the cynical attitudes of the villains that oppose them. Even as an episodic show, everything feels remarkably well tied together because of this central theme.

Episode 19 starts off from this very angle—for a homework assignment, the girls have to ask their parents why they were given the names that they have. As far as things in life go, your name might just be one of the most “just there” things that there is. For most people, it’s kind of one of those things that you get used to as one of the constants in your life—just what you are referred to. One of the girls is embarrassed to even have to ask about such a trivial thing at all. But for others, names can mean so much more, as a sign of identity, as a symbol of love, or really anything else that you can find meaning with. Just take a look at the queer community, for example. With episode 19, it sees names as a symbol of love: when parents decide on a name for their baby, it could be considered the very first considerate act that they do for their child. As a personal anecdote, I became an uncle for the first time recently (...somewhat), and since then my niece has become a relatively large part of my life. But even before all of that, one of the earliest niece-related memories was me and her parents and the rest of her family spending hours trying to come up with a name that we liked. Even before this child was born, she was already taking considerable shape in our minds in the process of just trying to find one name. To others, the end result was just a name to call her by, but to us, it has become a significant memory.

When the girls learn the meaning behind their names, it’s only natural that they learn about the thoughts and care that their parents put into their names, but it’s also striking that the episode plays around with the idea of the memories that are associated with those names. One of the moms recall the memory of seeing a beautiful red sunset as she was giving birth, inspiring her to name her daughter “Akane,” meaning “crimson.” Shared experiences are often cited as the number one way to bond with another person, but in the absence of that, memories and stories are often the second best thing—it’s why people often like hearing stories from their parents, or really, anyone else, about their past, what they were growing up, and whatever else. In having their little storytimes in talking about names, the girls find themselves growing that much closer with their parents, which is always a nice thing to have.

So, memories. The wrinkle that the show throws in here— and the main conflict of the episode—is that one of the girls, Yayoi, lacks just that: her father, the one who named her, passed away when she was very young. Any memories that she has of her father are in vague fragments, which is kind of an issue when her father is the only one that knows why Yayoi is named the way she is. The episode does a great job with highlighting the insecurities that Yayoi develops as a result of this. While the other girls’ relationships are affirmed by the stories and memories that they share with their parents, Yayoi is left wondering what her relationship with her father was like, or if he even loved her at all. The reason why this works so well is because the episode does such a careful job of depicting names in a meaningful way that Yayoi’s worries come off as genuine troubles. This is particularly exemplified by how while the other girls are able to present their meaningful anecdotes from their parents, Yayoi is left with only sharing the dictionary definition of her name with the class. Yayoi’s character tends to be more shy and timid, so the significance of her not really measuring up to the rest of her friends and having to live with a definition that she doesn’t feel comfortable with is extra apparent. And in the shadow of these comparisons, Yayoi’s insecurities make a lot of sense.

Another thing that stands out with Yayoi’s dictionary search is that it really highlights her struggle with preserving the memory of her father: where gaps exist, she has to take it upon herself to fill those gaps. This can be particularly uninspiring in confidence, and it’s clear to see how Yayoi’s doubts can arise from whether she believes in those attempts or not. What hits extra hard about all this is that Yayoi only has one memento to remember her father by—an origami that she folded for her father for Father’s Day. This is where the episode plays on the show’s formula very well: veterans of the franchise would be familiar with the classic plot of villains conjuring a “monster of the week” from some item relevant to the episode. Naturally, Yayoi’s gift is turned into a monster, which wreaks havoc—Yayoi’s memory of love is effectively turned instead into a vehicle for destruction. Considering Yayoi’s already existing doubts, this becomes extra impactful; with her memories already being spotty, her one last memento to remember by is now sullied as well. While this “monster of the week” formula is not new to the franchise, the way the episode harnesses it to thematically play into Yayoi’s conflict, and even highlighting the meta nature of destruction that is involved, makes it stand out.

Of course, the final touch to the episode is how it chooses to resolve Yayoi’s conflict. Something that really strikes a chord with me is how well an episode can resonate—it’s difficult to put into words, but the most powerful of media has a transcendental quality that can surpass the literal text and resonate in a way that’s hard to explain. It’s kind of a feeling, I suppose, and this episode does that brilliantly. As Yayoi loses confidence during the fight, she is brought back to the scene of a memory from her past—a forgotten memory where her father confessed the meaning of her name to her. After the build up of her doubts and insecurities throughout the episode, the climax is a very cathartic release as all of memories of her father start coming back to her, reaffirming the fact that yes, her father did indeed love her very much. With the newfound confidence of remembering the origins of her name—”Yayoi” meaning the gentle season of spring—she vows to do what her father did: to spread love and kindness. More than just names, the episode makes an impactful statement of love and memory; that through the name she was given, Yayoi can preserve the memories of her father by carrying on his legacy—with love and kindness.

The power of love and friendship is often memed upon as a narrative crutch of the magical girl genre, but at the end of the day, this episode shows us how that’s just an integral part of the human condition. Even in the smallest, most unexpected of places, even if it’s just a name, there’s love to be found if you care to look hard enough. And well, that’s just what Smile Precure is all about.