"Miraculous World: New York, United Heroez" is a sixty-minute television special belonging to the TV series "Miraculous: The Stories of Ladybug and Cat Noir" which is placed at the end of the third season (although the numbering of Ladybug episodes and seasons is in effect a mystery, as streaming sites and wikis catalog them differently). In Italy it has recently been added to the streaming platform Disney +, which finally allowed a complete view.
Introduction to the world of Miraculous
The world in which the Miraculous stories are set is a land where superheroes have always existed, scattered throughout the various eras, and currently the United States boasts the largest number of heroes than the world.
“The Stories of Ladybug and Cat Noir” is a series mainly set in Paris, where the young Marinette Dupain-Cheng and the young Adrien Agreste are given two items that give them the chance to transform into the superhero duo Ladybug and Cat Noir. To oppose the heroes stands the evil Papillon, who using butterflies imbued with darkness called Akuma (demon or devil in Japanese) gives extraordinary and evil powers to those who feel strong emotions. Papillon's purpose is to recover the objects of the two superheroes, the Miraculous of the ladybug and the cat, which contain the power of creation and destruction, to make a wish once they are reunited.
One of the main themes of the series is the love game between Marinette and Adrien, each unaware of the other's secret identity, as Marinette is in love with Adrien but Cat Noir is in love with Ladybug, an intrigue that seems to have no outlet other than lead to the destruction of the world.
Synopsis
On the occasion of the Franco-American Friendship Week, Marinette and her class travel to New York to present a short film about George Washington and the Marquis Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette. Without knowing what trouble she is putting him into, Marinette convinces Adrienne's father, Gabriel Agreste, to let the boy go with the whole class. At the same time Ladybug asks Cat Noir to protect Paris in her absence. At first the boy accepts, not knowing he can go to New York, but later realizes that he has just gotten into trouble.
What neither of them know is that Papillon is also planning a trip to New York to retrieve the lost Miraculous of the eagle, with whom he suspects La Fayette has helped George Washington.
A pleasantly brave film
“Miraculous World: New York, United Heroez” is perhaps one of the best specials of the Ladybug series, as it vastly expands worldbuilding and sets the stage for any future stories not set in Paris. At the same time he paints a society very different from the Parisian one, even in superhero terms, and seasons it all with excellent quotes from Marvel, DC and Watchmen. Most of the characters undergo a positive evolution from the story, growing up and learning to accept both their limits and their successes and abilities. Also on social issues we see some courageous steps, which we will not tell in order not to spoil. One cannot fail to be fascinated by the American superhero society presented in the special and the desire for small spin-offs of the series, starring the younger heroes such as Adrien and Marinette, grows with the passing of the minutes.
More could be done on the Marinette-Adrien couple
Unfortunately, fans of the Marinette-Adrien duo will be soundly disappointed, because the film does not take those necessary steps that all fans have now considered a duty for over fifty episodes. A few more steps were desirable, also by virtue of the TV / film special nature of this story, and it would have been a great starting point for the new season. We can only hope that in the next episodes the issue will be addressed and not forgotten again.
