Pretty Cure (2004 TV series)

Pretty Cure
Cure Black/Nagisa (left) and Cure White/Honoka (right)
ふたりはプリキュア (Futari wa Purikyua)
Genre	Magical girl, Action, comedy
TV anime
Directed by	Daisuke Nishio
Studio	Toei Animation
Network	Animax, TV Asahi Asahi Broadcasting Corporation
English network	YTV Canada Pop Girl United Kingdom
Original run	February 1, 2004 – January 30, 2005
Episodes	49
TV anime
Futari wa Pretty Cure Max Heart
Directed by	Daisuke Nishio
Studio	Toei Animation
Network	TV Asahi
Original run	February 6, 2005 – January 29, 2006
Episodes	47
Anime film
Futari wa Pretty Cure Max Heart: The Movie
Directed by	Atsuji Shimizu
Studio	Toei Animation
Released	April 16, 2005
Runtime	70 minutes
Anime film
Futari wa Pretty Cure Max Heart the Movie 2: Yukizora no Tomodachi
Directed by	Atsuji Shimizu
Studio	Toei Animation
Released	December 10, 2005
Runtime	80 minutes
Anime and Manga Portal

Pretty Cure, known in Japan as Futari wa Pretty Cure (ふたりはプリキュア, Futari wa Purikyua^?, Lit. We are Pretty Cure), 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 is also broadcast around the world. The original Pretty Cure series, directed by Daisuke Nishio aired on TV Asahi between February 1, 2004 and January 30, 2005. It is the only Pretty Cure series to date to have received an English language version, which aired in Canada from March 2009. A direct sequel, Futari wa Pretty Cure Max Heart (ふたりはプリキュア Max Heart, Futari wa PuriKyua Makkusu Hāto^?, Lit. We are Pretty Cure Max Heart), or simply Max Heart, aired in Japan between February 6, 2005 and January 29, 2006. Two Max Heart movies were released on April 16, 2005 and December 10, 2005 respectively.

Plot

The first story revolves around two girls, Nagisa Misumi and Honoka Yukishiro, who encounter the Garden of Light's Mipple and Mepple, who give them the means to the fight the forces of the Dark Zone: a dimension of evil that has encroached on the Garden of Light and is now about to do the same to the Garden of Rainbows, Earth. The initial run of the series has Cure White and Cure Black searching for the Prism Stones, and they place them in a heart-shaped device known as the Prism Hopish. The Hopish is protected by the Guardian, Wisdom. Once they have discovered all the Prism Stones, its power takes them to the Garden of Light and repairs most of the damage done by the Dark Zone. Later in the series, Porun, the Prince of the Garden of Light, grants the Pretty Cure duo use of their Rainbow Bracelets as they defeat the Dark King.

Max Heart continues the story when Nagisa and Honoka meet the mysterious Hikari Kujou, revealed to be the "Life" of the Queen with no memory of her life before and powers scattered in the form of the "Heartiel." But as the Pretty Cure duo attempt to find the Heartiel, remnants of the Dark Zone are protecting a mysterious boy suspected to be the "Life" of the Dark King. Cure Black and Cure White fight back these new enemies with Hikari backing them up as Shiny Luminous.

Characters

Where appropriate, names on the left are from the original Japanese version, whilst names on the right without Japanese text are from the Canadian English dub. Character descriptions pertain to the Japanese version of the show.

Pretty Cures

Nagisa Misumi (美墨なぎさ, Misumi Nagisa^?) / Natalie Blackstone / Cure Black (キュア・ブラック, Kyua Burakku^?)

Voiced by: Yoko Honna (Japanese), Rocio Barahona (English)

Nagisa is the ace of the school lacrosse team. She is also a close friend of Akane Fujita, a former lacrosse player who runs her own takoyaki stand. She is strong-hearted, though it usually quite lazy when it comes to her homework. She is also a food lover, her favourite dish being the takoyaki served at Akane's stand. Although generally courageous, she will become quite flustered when near Shougo, who she has a crush on. She is often known for her catchphrase of yelling "Unbelievable!" (ありえな～い!, Ariena~i^?). As Cure Black, she is strong and passionate.

Honoka Yukishiro (雪城ほのか, Yukishiro Honoka^?) / Hannah Whitehouse / Cure White (キュア・ホワイト, Kyua Howaito^?)

Voiced by: Yukana (Japanese), Michelle Molineux (English)

A quiet girl who lives with her grandmother Sanae and her dog Chuutaro, as her parents are constantly working overseas. She is quite knowledgable and is often nicknamed 'The Queen of Knowledge. Her specialty is the science club, where she is looked up to by the others. Honoka has not had many friends, but the few she has seem to be really close to her, and she has come to appreciate Nagisa's friendship. As Cure White, she is swift and graceful.

Hikari Kujo (九条ひかり, Kūjō Hikari^?) / Shiny Luminous (シャイニ・ルミナス, Shaini Ruminasu^?)

Voiced by: Rie Tanaka

A shy blonde girl who appears in Max Heart. She is "Life of the Queen" in human form after the Queen got split apart following her last encounter with the Dark King. Going under the guise of Akane's cousin and working at her takoyaki stand, Akane enrols into Nagisa and Honoka's middle school two years under them and becomes friends with them. She later gains the ability to use Porun to transform in Shiny Luminous, gaining further power from Lulun. Although she does not have much strength or skill in fighting, she can use her abilities to hamper opponents and enhance Black and White's attacks.

The Garden of Light

Mepple (メップル, Meppuru^?)

Voiced by: Tomokazu Seki (Japanese), Roger Rhodes (English)

Mepple is the chosen protector of the Princess of Hope who allows Nagisa to transform into Cure Black. He is rather lovey-dover with Mipple and is often annoyed when Porun takes her attention away from him. He is noticeably selfish as he often bothers Nagisa to feed him and occasionally pokes fun at her. He resides with Nagisa and ends his sentences with "mepo". Both Mipple and Mepple can only stay in their true forms for a short time before growing tired, so they generally take energy-saving forms resembling cellphones.

Mipple (ミップル, Mippuru^?)

Voiced by: Akiko Yajima (Japanese), Angie Beers (English)

Mepple is the Princess of Hope from the Garden of Light. She, like Honoka, is generally more reserved than her male counterpart. She's always sticking up for Porun, though, once he comes on the scene, and that tends to cause problems between her and Mepple. She resides predominantly with Honoka and ends all her sentences with the word "mipo". She gets annoyed of Mepple getting angry at Pollun very often.

Porun (ポルン, Porun^?)

Voiced by: Haruna Ikezawa (Japanese), Kris Rundle (English)

Porun is the Prince of the Garden of Light. He is sent to Earth after Pretty Cure gather all the prism stones. The Queen gives a cryptic statement about his powers aiding Pretty Cure. Later, when Wisdom is in trouble, Wisdom places the power of the Rainbow Stones into Porrun without his knowledge. This gives him the ability to remain in his regular form as well as the ability to communicate with various people from the Garden of Light. When communicating with members of the Garden of Light, he turns into what looks like a gaming console and everyone can hear what is said and communicate openly. He also grants Pretty Cure the power of light which gives them their Rainbow Bracelets. He tends to be extremely selfish and think only of himself. He is quite childish and has a lot of energy. He can get a little annoying at times and definitely annoys Mepple when he wants to be alone with Mipple. Conversely, he himself is bothered whenever Lulun wants to play with him. He lives predominantly with Nagisa in Pretty Cure and with Hikari in Max Heart. He tends to end his sentences with "popo". He enjoys getting between Mipple and Mepple.

Lulun (ルルン, Rurun^?)

Voiced by: Asuka Tanii

The Princess of Light who can connect the future who appears in Max Heart. She thinks of Porun as her older brother and always annoyed him. Lulun can give the Heartiel Broach to Luminous. She ends her sentences with "-lulu".

Queen (クイーン, Kuīn^?)

Voiced by: Kaya Matsutani (Japanese), Elizabeth Ludwig (English)

The ruler of the Garden of Light (光の園, Hikari no Sono^?), a realm protected by the power of the Prism stones. She appears as a huge CGI woman sitting on a throne, though she is easily overtowered by the Dark King. She carries a heart-shaped item of some sort. She has stated that she is impressed with the courage of Pretty Cure and aids them when she can. She seems to always be closing her eyes. During Max Heart, the Queen's is split apart into Hikari and the twelve Heatiels.

Wisdom (ウィズダム, Wizudamu^?)

Voiced by: Taiki Matsuno (Japanese), Glenn Howard (English)

Wisdom, often referred to as simple The Guardian (番人, Bannin^?) is the keeper of Prism Stones, often residing on top of the Prism Hopish. His expressions often range from very sleepy to overly spooked.

Elder (長老, Choro^?)

Voiced by: Hiroshi Naka (Japanese), Johnathan Love (English)

A wise sage who resides in the Garden of Light. Despite his wisdom, he often keeps forgetting Nagisa and Honoka's names and referring to them as the Pretty Cura.

Heartiels (ハーティエル, Hātoieru^?)

The Heartiels are twelve fairies who are the embodiment of the Queen's Will. The Pretty Cure duo gather the Heartiels and place them in the Queen Chairect, an item that represent the Queen's Heart, in hopes of making Queen whole again. When Pretty Cure wants one of the Heartiels to come out of the Queen Chairect and help them, Seekun will turn the knob around to let out one of the Heartiels.

Seekun (シークン, Shīkun^?, Seek): The first of the Heartiels discovered, representing the Queen's sense of adventure and discovery. She asks a lot of questions and seems relatively naive about the world. When the girls need the help of another Heartiel, it is Seekun's job to call the Heartiel out of the Queen Chairect. She is the last Heartiel to enter the chairect. Her symbol in the chairect is the telescope. She seems to prefer Nagisa, as she enjoys spending time with her more than Honoka.Voiced by: Ai Nagano

Passion (パション, Pashon^?, Passion) can sometimes be seen flying with a white dove in some episodes. His symbol in the chairect is the torch. His Pigeon always lands on Nagisa's head. Voiced by: Kokoro Kikuchi

Harmonin (ハーモニン, Hāmonin^?, Harmony) first appeared in episode 9, but met Pretty Cure in episode 10. She is mostly seen with a treasure box with her. Her symbol in the chairect is the treasure chest.

Pyuran (ピュアン, Pyuan^?, Purity) Her symbol in the chairect is the snowflake. Voiced by: Rika Komatsu

Inteligen (インテリジェン, Interijen^?, Intelligence) is the only Heartiel who has been entrusted with the Book of Wisdom. In episode 22, she helped Pretty Cure find a solution to oppose the power of Baldez with the help of the Book of Wisdom. At first, she did not like Nagisa, but she soon developed a liking for Nagisa, after seeing her Pure heart. Her symbol in the chairect is the book.Voiced by: Mayuko Kobayashi

Wishun (ウィシュン, Wishun^?, Wish) Her symbol in the chairect is the mirror. Voiced by: Yukiko Hanioka

Hopun (ホープン, Hōpun^?, Hope) Voiced by: Yusuke Numata

Braven (ブレイブン, Bureibun^?, Bravery) First seen at the end of episode 31. Voiced by: Mari Adachi

Prosen (プロスン, Purosen^?, Prosperity) Voiced by: Masato Amata

Happinen (ハピネン, Hapinen^?, Happiness) Her symbol in the chairect is the bell. Voiced by: Sawa Ishige

Lovelun (ラブラン, Raburun^?, Love) Voiced by: Oma Ichimura

Eternalun (エターナルン , Etānarun^?, Eternal) His symbol in the chairect is the pocket watch. Voiced by: Fumie Mizusawa

Dark Zone

The villains of the first series emerge from the Dark Zone (ドツクゾン, Dotsukuzon(Dusk Zone)^?), which is a realm of darkness ruled by the Dark King.

Dark King (ジャアクキング, Jaaku Kingu^?)

Voiced by: Kenichi Ono (Japanese), Tom Edwards (English)

The imprisoned ruler of the Dark Zone, somewhat humanoid in form that appears to come out of the ground. He is very tall and muscular with red eyes and extremely long arms. He does not appear to wear clothing. He wants to acquire the Prism Stones to prevent the "power to consume all things" from eventually destroying his own body, and to become immortal—he believes that it is the fate of all things to be consumed by the darkness. Like the Queen of the Garden of Light, the Dark King is animated by CGI.

Zakenna (ザケンナー^?) are the grunts that serve under the Dark Zone, infecting people or items to turn them evil.

Dark Five

The Dark King's first wave of servants.

Pisard (ピーサード, Pīsādo^?) / Pijard

Voiced by: Hiroki Takahashi (Japanese), David Belke (English)

The first of the Dark Five to appear. Pisard is often thought to resemble a member of KISS, but when one looks closely, his look is closer to that of a male Kabuki actor in "keshō" ("make up"), having long hair and a painted face.

Gekidrago (ゲキドラーゴ, Gekidorāgo^?)

Voiced by: Kouji Ishii (Japanese), Kevin Gilese (English)

The strongman of the Dark Five, large and muscular with a moai-shaped head. He relies on his brawn rather than his brain. Easily having the highest fortitude of the group, Gekidrago can take a direct, unprotected hit from a Marble Screw (or Twister in the English Dub) and only be knocked out for a few minutes. He often ends his sentences with "-Muka".

Poisonny (ポイズニー, Poizunī^?) / Pandora

Voiced by: Sakiko Uran (Japanese), Kris Rundle (English)

The only woman of the Dark Five. Instead of making a big show of calling on Zakenna like Pisard and Gekidorago, she snaps her fingers and is much more discreet about it. She often takes on a human appearance to gain the trust of the girls before attacking. In her true form, she resembles a vampire: She is pale, dresses in black tinted with red, wears a cape and has fangs, dark-rimmed yellow and red eyes and long red hair.

Kiriya (キリヤ, Kiriya^?) / Kirea

Voiced by: Reiko Kiuchi (Japanese), Scott Roberts (English)

The youngest of the Dark Five, Poisonny's younger brother, he comes to the Garden of Rainbows (Earth) in order to spy on Nagisa and Honoka, infiltrating their school as a freshman and ends up becoming friends with them, developing a fondness and love for Honoka after she shows kindness to him. Later on he starts to have emotions and feelings for Honoka while trying to understand human emotions, resulting with him unable to fight the Pretty Cure duo. This act results with him sent back to the Dark Zone, but not before willingly giving a Prism Stone to the Pretty Cure duo. After the Dark King is destroyed, Kiriya returns as a normal human and lives an equally normal life.

Ilkubo (イルクーボ, Irukūbo^?)

Voiced by: Issei Futamata (Japanese), Jonathan Love (English)

The most powerful of the five and the Dark King's right-hand man. He can block the Marble Screw with just his abilities, as well as many other attacks, but his fortitude isn't as high as Gekidrago, as a direct hit will still hurt him. He first appeared on Earth, but did not start seriously fighting the girls until after Kiriya is sent back to the Dark Zone. He is defeated in episode 24 but made a brief comeback in episode 25 in which he battles Pretty Cure and takes them to the Dark Zone in a far more monstrous (and powerful) form. He is large, pale and bald with pointed ears and dark-rimmed eyes that resemble those of Kiriya. He wears a white robe and carries a purple sphere.

Three Seeds of Darkness

When the Dark Five are defeated, new enemies appear: the Three Seeds of Darkness. The Seeds of Darkness are joined by Macaw, their pet bird; and the Butler Zakenna (執事ザケンナー^?). The butlers serve as comic relief, as they are unintelligent and tend to fight and bicker a lot. However, unlike other Zakenna, they speak human language, only using "-zakenna" to end their sentences. The taller Zakenna is laid back and somewhat clumsy, while the shorter Zakenna is quick to anger.

Belzei Gertrude (ベルゼイ・ガートルード, Beruzei Gātorūdo^?) / Genbu Yuuki (結城 玄武, Yüki Genbu^?)

Voiced by: Tomomichi Nishimura (Japanese), Paul Hudson (English)

The de facto leader of the group. He's a plotter and a sadist. He is first seen in the series impersonating a doctor. He is able to blend in by making people think he is someone else. Due to his own ego, it's always someone of a high position, like head doctor or principal.^[1]

Regine (レギーネ, Regīne^?) / Shoko Koyama (小山 翔子, Koyama Shōko^?)

Voiced by: Rika Fukami (Japanese), Carol-Anne Day (English)

The lone female of the trio. She starts out as a pretty red head, but then transforms and her hair stands straight back, then bounces into six curls. When in human form, she has a tendency to mumble things twice, then suddenly she will scream out without warning, shocking everyone. She is far more confident in her dark form, though.^[1]

Juna (ジュナ^?)

Voiced by: Yasunori Matsumoto (Japanese), Brendan Hunter (English)

The tall young man of the trio. More the muscle of the group, Juna is quite stoic and his expression seldom changes. His human alias is 'Ryuichiro Kakuzawa (角澤 竜一郎, Kazukawa Ryũichirō^?, Edgedale in the English dub) who is made as his original form in the English version.^[1]

Butler Zakenna (執事ザケンナー, Shitsuji Zakennā^?)

Voiced by: Rika Komatsu and Satoshi Taki (Japanese), Jonathan Love and Dean Galloway (English)

The Zakenna butlers are intelligent Zakenna (though not by much) who look after the mansion resided by The Three Seeds and the Four Guardians.

Four Guardians

The Four Guardians are what remains of the Dark Zone, serving as the protectors of the "Life" of the Evil King whom they go to lengths to revive.

Baldez (ヴァルデス, Varudesu^?)

Voiced by: Kenichi Ono

The strongest of the four Guardians. He can repel the Marble Screw, Luminous Heartiel Action and Extreme Luminario attacks. Moreover, his true form is the spirit of the Dark King.

Circulas (サーキュラス, Sākyurasu^?)

Voiced by: Hitoshi Bifu

Appears to be the "leader" of the group whenever Baldez isn't around. He often bickers with Uraganos.

Uraganos (ウラガノス, Uraganosu^?)

Voiced by: Wataru Takagi

Large and dim-witted. He is clumsy and tends to destroy things by accident due to his size and strength. Uraganos also to never seem to hear people finish their sentences, especially Circulas.

Viblis (ビブリス, Biburisu^?)

Voiced by: Ai Kobayashi

The more serious of the group. She often scolds Uraganos and Circulas when they argue and is more intimidating. She is also the type to never apologize even when she was wrong.

The boy in the mansion (館の少年, Yakata no Shōnen^?) / Hikaru Kujo (九条 ひかる, Kūjō Hikaru^?)

Voiced by: Haruhi Terada

A mysterious boy who is actually the 'Life' of the Dark King. He often plays games with the Butler Zakenna though often seeks fun outside of the mansion. He is seemingly linked to Hikari, as various incidents occur when the two come face to face. At the end of the series, the boy becomes Hikari's little brother, Hikaru.

Other characters

Akane Fujita (藤田 アカネ, Fujita Akane^?) / Alex

Voiced by: Mikako Fujita (Japanese), Annika Odegard (English)

Akane is a previous captain of Nagisa's lacrosse team who now runs her own takoyaki stand, which Nagisa frequently visits. In Max Heart, she serves as Hikari's guardian under the assumption that she is her cousin, possibly due to the manipulation of the Queen.

Shougo Fujimaru (藤村 省吾, Fujimaru Shōgo^?) / Ferguson

Voiced by: Daisuke Kishio (Japanese), Will Wood (English)

Often nicknamed 'Fujipi' by his friends, Shogo is a childhood friend of Honoka who Nagisa has a crush on. He is a hardworking player on his soccer team and often finds comfort in Nagisa's advice.

Ryouta Misumi (美墨 亮太, Misumi Ryota^?) / Ryan Blackstone

Voiced by: Naozumi Takahashi (Japanese), Leah Dubbin-Steckel (English)

Nagisa's little brother, who has a habit of annoying her and getting put in a headlock as punishment.

Sanae Yukishiro (雪城 さなえ, Yukishiro Sanae^?)

Voiced by: Masako Nozawa, Yuki Matsuoka (young) (Japanese), Michelle Armeneau (English)

Honoka's grandmother who takes care of her whilst her parents work overseas. She appears to know a lot about the Pretty Cure, as she found Mipple at a young age, though she keeps this a secret from Honoka and Nagisa.

Special Moves

Marble Screw (マーブル・スクリュー, Māburu Sukuryū^?)

Cure Black and Cure White's main finishing technique, in which they combine their Black Thunder and White Thunder and fire it into a fearsome corkscrew that blasts through the enemy. Known as the Marble Twister in the Canadian English Dub.

Rainbow Therapy (レインボー・セラピー, Reinbō Serapī^?)

A move which was seldom used by Cure Black and Cure White. This combines the power of a Black Pulsar and a White Pulsar to form a healing aura that cleanses and object or person of Zakenna influence.

Rainbow Storm (レインボー・ストーム, Reinbō Sutōmu^?)

A move performed by Cure Black and Cure White using Rainbow Gauntlets given to them by Porun after he was giving the power of the Prism Stones. Launches a powerful rainbow coloured blast which overwhelms enemies.

Marble Screw Max (マーブル・スクリュー・マックス, Māburu Sukuryū Makkusu^?)

An enhanced version of the Marble Screw that Cure Black and Cure White are able to use after Mepple and Mipple are upgraded in Max Heart.

Marble Screw Max Spark (マーブル・スクリュー・マックス・スパーク, Māburu Sukuryū Makkusu Supāku^?)

Using the Sparkle Bracelets, Cure Black and Cure White can further enhance the power of the Marble Screw Max.

Heartiel Action (ハーティエル・アンクション, Hatieru Ankushon^?)

A support move performed by Shiny Luminous, in which she increases the size of her Heartiel Baton and launches it at the enemy, slowing down their movements.

Extreme Luminario (エキストリーム・ルミナリオ, Ekisutorīmu Ruminario^?)

A combination attack performed by Cure Black, Cure White and Shiny Luminous. Luminous fires rainbow power from her Heartiel Baton which powers of Black and White, allowing them to launch a rainbow coloured blast at the opponent.

Media

Anime

See also: List of Futari wa Pretty Cure episodes and List of Futari wa Pretty Cure Max Heart episodes

The original Futari wa Pretty Cure anime aired in Japan between February 1, 2004 and January 30, 2005. The opening theme is Danzen! We are Pretty Cure (Danzen! ふたりはプリキュア, Danzen! Futari wa Purikyua^?) by Mayumi Gojo whilst the ending theme is "Get you! Love Love?!" (ゲッチュウ！らぶらぶぅ？！, Gecchu! Rabu Rabu?!^?) also by Gojo. The follow up series, Futari wa Pretty Cure Max Heart, aired in Japan between February 6, 2005 and January 29, 2006. The opening theme is Danzen! We are Pretty Cure (Max Heart ver.) (ＤＡＮＺＥＮ！ふたりはプリキュア（ｖｅｒ．ＭａｘＨｅａｒｔ）^?) by Mayumi Gojo. The first ending theme, used for episodes 1-36, is "No way!? Unbeliveable!! Is that Okay?!" (ムリムリ！？ありあり！！ＩＮじゃあな～い？！, Muri Muri!? Ari Ari!! Injana~i?!^?) by Mayumi Gojo with Young Flesh, whilst the second ending theme, used for episodes 37-47 is "Wonder Winter Alright" (ワンダーウィンターヤッタ, Wandā Wintā Yatta^?) by Gojo.

On February 25, 2006, 4Kids Entertainment announced broadcasting and distribution rights for Pretty Cure in the United States,^[2] though never produced an English version of it. In July, 2008, Toei Animation began making episodes available through IGN's Direct2Drive service subtitled into English.,^[3] and have also started making those same episodes available for free internet streaming on the Crunchyroll website.^[4] The subtitles were produced by "Nippon Golden Network", a Hawaii-based cable network that broadcasts Asian programming (mostly from Japan). In April 2009, Funimation licensed the English-subtitled version of the series for online distribution on the company's website.^[5]

An English-dubbed version was produced by Toei and Ocean Productions which aired on Canada's YTV channel from March 6, 2009 to July 31, 2010.^[6][7] The English dub makes several changes to character names, cultural references and theme music, though mostly retains the original version's main soundtrack. This dub also aired in the United Kingdom on the PopGirl digital channel from September 6, 2010.

Movies

Two movies set in the Max Heart season. The first, Futari wa Pretty Cure Max Heart: The Movie (映画 ふたりはプリキュア ー マックスハート, Eiga Futari wa Purikyua Makkusu Haato^?) premiered April 16, 2005. In the movie, the creatures Round, Square, Marquis, Oval, Heart, Pear and Triliant who reside in the Garden of Hope (希望の園 Kibou no Sono) have called in Pretty Cure to save their world from a witch from the Dark Zone who wants to take the Garden of Hope's Diamond Line, which consists of several pieces of jewelry worn by the Queen of Hope on her birthday. These jewels, if fallen in the wrong hands, will cause the Garden of Hope to become unbalanced, thereby causing everything else to become destroyed and enabling the restoration of the Dark King.

The second movie, Futari wa Pretty Cure Max Heart: Friends of the Snow-Laden Sky (映画 ふたりはプリキュア ー マックスハート, Eiga Futari wa Purikyua Makkusu Haato 2: Yukizora no Tomodachi^?) premiered December 10, 2005. In this movie, Sage accidentally drops the egg containing a houou to the Garden of Rainbows. Hikari retrieves the creature and names it Hinata (warm). Sage eventually finds Hinata and travels up into the Garden of Clouds with Pretty Cure and Hikari. Sage explains that this rare houou is important in contributing heat and warmth to all the worlds. They need a blessing from the queen in the Garden of Light to ensure its healthy life. However, Frozen and Freezen, both against warmth, inhibits Hinata's success by freezing her.

Nagisa, Honoka and Hikari also appear in the Pretty Cure All Stars DX crossover movies, released between 2009 and 2011.

Videogames

Four video games based on the two series have been released in Japan by Bandai. An educational video game was released for the Sega Pico in 2004. A puzzle platformer, Futari wa Pretty Cure: Arienai! Yume no Sono wa Daimeikyu (ふたりはプリキュア ありえな～い！夢の園は大迷宮^?, lit. We are Pretty Cure: Unbelievable! The Garden of Dreams is a Big Mystery), was released for Game Boy Advance in 2004. A platformer, Futari wa Pretty Cure: Max Heart - Maji? Maji!? Fight de IN Janai (ふたりはプリキュア マックスハート マジ？マジ？！ファイト de INじゃない^?, lit. We are Pretty Cure: Max Heart - Seriously? Seriously!? A Fight's Okay, Right?) was released for Game Boy Advance in 2005. A side-scrolling beat 'em up game, Futari wa Precure Max Heart – Danzen! DS de Precure - Chikara wo Awasete Dai Battle (ふたりはプリキュアMH　DANZEN！DSでプリキュア　力をあわせて大バトル！!^?, lit. We are Pretty Cure Max Heart - Danzen! Precure DS - The Big Battle for Power) was also released in 2005 for the Nintendo DS.^[8] Nagisa, Honoka and Hikari have also appeared in other Nintendo DS games based on subsequent Pretty Cure series.

Reception

The series has proven popular enough with Japanese viewers to warrant several spin off series. In a TV Asahi opinion poll, Pretty Cure appeared in the 45th position, above other series of the magical girl genre like Cutie Honey (technically not a "magical girl" series in the same sense; see article for details), Cardcaptor Sakura, and Magical Angel Creamy Mami. ^[9][10]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} (in Japanese) ふたりはプリキュア⑥プリキュア パワーアップ!. Shueisha. September 8, 2008. p. 18. ISBN 4-06-344321-3. 
2. ^ "4Kids Licenses Pretty Cure". Anime News Network. 2006-02-24. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/article.php?id=8451. Retrieved 2007-01-01. 
3. ^ "Pretty Cure, Digimon 02 Added to Direct2Drive Downloads". Anime News Network. 2008-07-19. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2008-07-19/precure-digimon-02-added-to-direct2drive-downloads. Retrieved 2008-07-30. 
4. ^ "Toei Animation Adds Anime to Crunchyroll Website Today". Anime News Network. 2008-10-27. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2008-10-27/toei-animation-adds-anime-to-crunchyroll-website-today. Retrieved 2008-12-18. 
5. ^ Article on FUNimation's newest licenses
6. ^ YTV's Official Pretty Cure Page
7. ^ Canada's YTV to Premiere Pretty Cure on March 6
8. ^ http://www.bandaigames.channel.or.jp/list/ds_precure_max/news/index.html
9. ^ "TV Asahi Top 100 Anime". Anime News Network. 2005-09-23. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2005-09-23/tv-asahi-top-100-anime. Retrieved 2007-01-01. 
10. ^ "TV Asahi Top 100 Anime Part 2". Anime News Network. 2005-09-23. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2005-09-23/tv-asahi-top-100-anime-part-2. Retrieved 2007-01-01. 

External links

Anime and manga portal

• Toei Animation's Pretty Cure website (Japanese)
• Toei Animation's Pretty Cure: Max Heart website (Japanese)
• YTV's Pretty Cure page
• Crunchyroll's Pretty Cure page
• Hulu's Pretty Cure page
• FUNimations's Pretty Cure page
• PreCure (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
• PreCure: Max Heart (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
• PrettyCure.org - English Pretty Cure collective

Preceded by None

PreCure Series 2004-2005 (Futari wa PreCure), 2005-2006 (Futari wa PreCure Max Heart)

Succeeded by Pretty Cure Splash Star