Pretty Cure
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese magical girl
anime
metaseries created by Izumi Todo
and produced by ABC and Toei Animation
. The first program Futari wa Pretty Cure
debuted in 2004 and has continued with sequels and spinoffs into the current series Suite PreCure♪ airing in 2011 as part of Asahi Broadcasting Corporation
(Osaka
, Japan) or TV Asahi
(Tokyo
, Japan)'s Sunday morning children's television block, following Super Hero Time
.
Fairies
Magical items
television series in the franchise, two of which are direct sequels to their previous series. Each of the series of Pretty Cure has its own story and motifs:
movies, with crossover characters from all the series to date.
for handheld systems and educational consoles.
Handheld titles (2004, Game Boy Advance
) (2005, Game Boy Advance) (2005, Nintendo DS
) (2008, Nintendo DS) (2009, Nintendo DS) (2010, Nintendo DS) (2010, Nintendo DS) (2011, Nintendo DS)
Educational titles (2004, Sega Pico
) (2005, Beena
) (2006, Beena) (2008, Beena) (2009, Beena) (2010, Beena) (2011, Beena)
Magical girl
belong to a sub-genre of Japanese fantasy anime and manga. Magical girl stories feature young girls with superhuman abilities, forced to fight evil and to protect the Earth. They often possess a secret identity, although the name can just refer to young girls who follow a plotline involving magic...
anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
metaseries created by Izumi Todo
Izumi Todo
Izumi Todo , who is credited with creating series like Ojamajo Doremi and Futari wa Pretty Cure, is a collective pseudonym for the staff at Toei Animation...
and produced by ABC and Toei Animation
Toei Animation
Toei Animation Co., Ltd. is a Japanese animation studio owned by Toei Co., Ltd. The studio was founded in 1948 as Japan Animated Films . In 1956, Toei purchased the studio and it was reincorporated under its current name...
. The first program Futari wa Pretty Cure
Futari wa Pretty Cure
Pretty Cure, known in Japan as , is a Japanese magical girl anime series, part of the Pretty Cure metaseries produced by Toei Animation and broadcast across Japan by Animax, TV Asahi and Asahi Broadcasting Corporation. The series is watched mostly by elementary and secondary students in Japan; it...
debuted in 2004 and has continued with sequels and spinoffs into the current series Suite PreCure♪ airing in 2011 as part of Asahi Broadcasting Corporation
Asahi Broadcasting Corporation
is a regional radio and television broadcaster headquartered in Osaka, Japan, serving in the Kansai region.-Offices:*Headquarters: 1-30, Fukushima Itchome, Fukushima-ku, Osaka-shi, Japan...
(Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
, Japan) or TV Asahi
TV Asahi
, also known as EX and , is a Japanese television network headquartered in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The company writes its name in lower-case letters, tv asahi, in its logo and public-image materials. The company also owns All-Nippon News Network....
(Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Japan)'s Sunday morning children's television block, following Super Hero Time
Super Hero Time
is a programming block on the Japanese television network, TV Asahi, featuring new episodes of tokusatsu television series from the Super Sentai and Kamen Rider series...
.
Recurring elements
Pretty Cure- The Pretty Cure, or PreCure, are girls who are chosen to transform into to protect the earth. Though their origins differ throughout each series, they are always referred to as 'legendary warriors'. While most later Cures are able to transform individually, some Cures, particularly in earlier series, often have to transform in pairs. Generally in each series, Pretty Cure are originally normal Japanese girls in middle school, though in recent series, there have been older and younger girls to be Pretty Cures, and others from foreign countries where the legend didn't mention as exceptions. Rather than traditional magical girlMagical girlbelong to a sub-genre of Japanese fantasy anime and manga. Magical girl stories feature young girls with superhuman abilities, forced to fight evil and to protect the Earth. They often possess a secret identity, although the name can just refer to young girls who follow a plotline involving magic...
anime, it features with magical "fighters" who directly use martial arts to attack and weaken enemies, though in the end they still use magical attacks to finish enemies. It makes their statue in the story as super heroines, similar with Super Hero Time.
Fairies
- Fairies are magical creatures who come from worlds different to ours in order to assist the Pretty Cure. They generally have a speaking habit of adding a final particleJapanese particlesJapanese particles, or , are suffixes or short words in Japanese grammar that immediately follow the modified noun, verb, adjective, or sentence. Their grammatical range can indicate various meanings and functions, such as speaker affect and assertiveness....
to their sentences, most often pertaining to their name. Fairies in earlier series have the ability to change into transformation items to allow the Pretty Cure to transform, though some later transformation items require a fairy's assistance in order to work. Throughout the series, certain fairies have been able to change into human form and even become Pretty Cures themselves.
Magical items
- Magical items play a key role in each series. The most notable items in each series are the transformation items which allow the Pretty Cure to transform. Aside from transformation, these items usually have other minor abilities which mostly pertain to the fairies, such as feeding them. Other items include weapons to fight off evil forces and special items which enhance the Cures' power.
Pretty Cure series
There are currently eight animeAnime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
television series in the franchise, two of which are direct sequels to their previous series. Each of the series of Pretty Cure has its own story and motifs:
- Futari wa Pretty Cure, also known as simply Pretty Cure, is the first Pretty Cure series which aired between 2004 and 2005. The series focuses on two girls named Nagisa Misumi and Honoka Yukishiro who are chosen by fairies of the Garden of Light: Mipple and Mepple to defend their world against the Dark Zone as the Emmisaries of Light: Cure Black and Cure White. This series is currently the only one to receive an English language version which was aired in Canada and the United Kingdom.
- :The second series and a direct sequel to Futari wa Pretty Cure, which aired from 2005 to 2006. In this series, Nagisa and Honoka are reunited by their fairy partners and meet a mysterious girl named Hikari Kujou, revealed to be the "Life" of the Queen. Cure Black and Cure White once again battle against the forces of the Dark Zone, with Hikari backing them up as Shiny Luminous
- The third series and the first time to introduce new characters and story, airing from 2006 to 2007. The story this time revolves on Saki Hyuuga and Mai Mishou along with their fairy mascots: Flappy and Choppy as they are appointed to protect the Fountain of Sun, the last of the seven fountains that feed the World Tree, from Dark Fall. They fight together as Cure Bloom and Cure Egret, later gaining the ability to also transform into Cure Bright and Cure Windy.
- The fourth series, airing from 2007 to 2008. The series focuses on Nozomi Yumehara, a student from Upper East Side who discovers the Dream Collet and meets Coco, a fairy from the Palmier Kingdom. Nozomi decides to help restore his world by completing the Dream Collet and finding the 55 Pinkies to make any wish come true. Given powers to became Cure Dream, Nozomi gathers four other Cures: Cure Rouge, Cure Lemonade, Cure Mint and Cure Aqua and battle against an evil organization known as Nightmare.
- :The fifth series and a direct sequel to Yes! PreCure 5, airing from 2008 to 2009. The story revolves again on Nozomi as she meets a mysterious fairy named Syrup, carrying an item called the Rose Pact. She and her friends now battle against a new evil group called Eternal, who wishes to get Four Keys to gain access to the Cure Rose Garden. Along the way, they were accompanied by a mysterious Cure, Milky Rose. The series' theme is roses
- The sixth series, airing from 2009 to 2010, the first to introduce CG-animated ending sequences. The story focuses on Love Momozono, who has dreams on becoming a dancer. When her city comes under threat of the evil Labrynth, who are utilise the power of sorrow from its citizens, she is given the ability to become Cure Peach. Teaming up with her friends Miki Aono and Inori Yamabuki who become Cure Berry and Cure Pine respectively, they team up with the fairies Tarte and Chiffon to protect the world from Labrynth.
- The seventh series which aired from 2010 to 2011, the first to use the shortened romanization, PreCure. The series focuses on Tsubomi Hanasaki who is approached by two fairies called Chypre and Coffret, who protect the Heart Tree. Tsubomi and her new friend Erika Kurumi, become Cure Blossom and Cure Marine to defend the world from the Desert Apostles, who steal the Heart Flowers within people and create Desertrians.
- The eighth and currently ongoing series which began airing in 2011. The story revolves around Hibiki Hojo and Kanade Minamino as they meet the fairy Hummy and transform into their alter egos, Cure Melody and Cure Rhythm. Their job is to find the scattered notes that make up the Melody of Happiness and prevent them from falling into the hands of the evil Mephisto, who plans to use them for a Melody of Sadness.
- The ninth and upcoming Pretty Cure series announced in Mainichi Shimbun's Mantan Web in November 2011, which will begin airing in Japan from February 5, 2012. Like Yes! PreCure 5, it will focus on a group of five Pretty Cures working together to fight evil.
Films
Each Pretty Cure Series spans one movie per season as a side story. Futari wa Pretty Cure Max Heart holds the record of having two movies in one season and Pretty Cure All Stars DX celebrates the series's 5th anniversary. So far, 12 movies have been produced, with eight based on the individual series and four Pretty Cure All Stars DXPretty Cure All Stars DX
or Pretty Cure All Stars DX are a series of Japanese anime films based on the Pretty Cure franchise. Each movie features a storyline which crosses over characters from all the Pretty Cure anime series to date.-Common elements:...
movies, with crossover characters from all the series to date.
Video games
Several video games have been produced by BandaiBandai
is a Japanese toy making and video game company, as well as the producer of a large number of plastic model kits. It is the world's third-largest producer of toys . Some ex-Bandai group companies produce anime and tokusatsu programs...
for handheld systems and educational consoles.
Handheld titles (2004, Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
) (2005, Game Boy Advance) (2005, Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
) (2008, Nintendo DS) (2009, Nintendo DS) (2010, Nintendo DS) (2010, Nintendo DS) (2011, Nintendo DS)
Educational titles (2004, Sega Pico
Sega Pico
The Sega Pico, also known as , was an electronic toy by Sega. The aim of creating the Pico was to get more young children to use video game systems....
) (2005, Beena
Advanced Pico Beena
The Advanced Pico Beena, also known as Beena is an educational console system targeted at young children sold by Sega Toys, released on August 6, 2005 in Japan. It is the successor to the Pico. The toy is designed for ages 2–8 around the concept children can learn while they play...
) (2006, Beena) (2008, Beena) (2009, Beena) (2010, Beena) (2011, Beena)
External links
- Toei Kyoto Studio Park - A theme park with official events, exhibitions and shops related to "Pretty Cure".