The 19th episode of HUGtto Precure, which aired on 10 June 2018 and was titled ‘So Exciting! The Long-Awaited Runway Debut!?’, has been proclaimed as a ‘godly episode’ by fans. The episode’s story as well as the phrase ‘Boys can be princesses too!’ received a very empathetic response from viewers, and they agreed that it fit with the series’ theme ‘I can do anything! I can be anything!’.

The show is the latest in the Pretty Cure series and revolves around adolescent girls who can transform into magical girls called PreCures to protect their town and the people around them. Episode 19 revolved around the topic of a fashion show. Emiru Aisaki is invited by young male figure skater Henri Wakamiya to take part in a fashion show with the theme ‘Girls can be heroes too’. As she is getting ready for the show with her friends, her brother Masato appears. He tells Emiru that ‘Hero’ is a man’s word’ and that she should not be talking about such things. At that point, Henri appears in front of the pair, wearing a beautiful gown.

Henri’s reaction to Masato received a huge response from fans. As Emiru’s brother tells him ‘You’re a guy, you know.’, Henri responds with ‘I will wear what I like. Limiting yourself with restrictions is a waste of time. A waste of life.’ Series protagonist Hana Nono (Cure Yell) also clapped-back at Masato with the words ‘There’s a hero in everyone’s heart!’. When Henri is captured by the monster Oshimaida, he says to Cure Yell ‘It seems I’m in the princess’ position…’ and Hana’s response ‘Boys can be princesses too!’ affected not only Henri but the viewers as well.

Some of the responses by Japanese viewers on Twitter included, ‘It’s okay for girls to aim to be heroes, it’s ok for boys to be princesses. This anime, which out-and-out says that, is amazing.’ In response to Hana’s ‘Boys can be princesses too’ line, there were tweets by moved users such as ‘We’ve finally reached a point in time where boys can be princesses.’ and ‘This is going be one of PreCure’s famous quotes’.

There were also fans who tweeted such things as ‘Cutting into the issues of gender…!’ and ‘I want this message to reach the little boys watching PreCure and the little girls watching Kamen Rider. And if they struggle as they get older, I want them to remember this message’.

The endcard for Episode 19 also kept to the theme of ‘I can do anything, I can be anything!’ with an image of the show’s enemies, the Criasu Corporation, and the phrase ‘Villains can leave work on time too’. This can surely resonate with older viewers no matter their gender, in a country where overtime is a serious problem. It was an episode filled with important messages from beginning to end.

source: https://animeanime.jp/article/2018/06/12/38119.html