Pretty Cure

The Pretty Cure series (プリキュアシリーズ, Purikyua Shirīzu, also titled PreCure) is a Japanese magical girl anime franchise created by Izumi Todo and Bandai and produced by Asahi Broadcasting Corporation, Asatsu-DK, Toei Animation and Bandai.[1] Each series revolves around a group of magical girls known as Pretty Cures who battle against evil forces. Starting in February 2004 with Futari wa Pretty Cure, the franchise has seen many anime series, spanning over 850 episodes to date, as well as spawning movies, manga, toys, and video games. Its most recent iteration, Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure, began airing in February 2023 as part of TV Asahi's Sunday morning children's television block. As of December 2022, three series have received English adaptations.

Pretty Cure
The twentieth anniversary logo for the Pretty Cure franchise.
Created byIzumi Todo
Toei Animation
Bandai
Original workFutari wa Pretty Cure
Films and television
Film(s)Pretty Cure All Stars, Pretty Cure films
Television seriesSee below
Theatrical presentations
Play(s)Precure Kids
Musical(s)See below
Games
Video game(s)See below
Miscellaneous
Toy(s)S.H. Figuarts, dolls, bracelets

Overview

Each series focuses on a group of teenage girls who are granted special items that allow them to transform into legendary warriors known as the Pretty Cure. With the assistance of creatures known as fairies, the Pretty Cure use their magical powers and enhanced strength to fight against evil forces who create monsters to bring misery to the Earth. As the series progresses and stronger enemies appear, the Cures gain new magical items, new abilities, and sometimes new allies to help them in their fight against evil.

Main series

There are currently twenty anime television series in the franchise, two of which are direct sequels to their previous series. To date, three of the series have received English adaptations. Futari wa Pretty Cure was dubbed into English by Ocean Productions and aired in Canada under the name Pretty Cure. Smile PreCure! and DokiDoki! PreCure were adapted by Saban Brands and released on Netflix under the names Glitter Force and Glitter Force Doki Doki, respectively. The series, Kirakira Pretty Cure a la Mode, Healin' Good Pretty Cure and Tropical-Rouge! Pretty Cure, began streaming in Crunchyroll on their respective territories. Each series has received a manga adaptation illustrated by Futago Kamikita, which is published in Kodansha's Nakayoshi shoujo magazine alongside the anime. Starting with Fresh Pretty Cure!, each ending movie featured a dance choreography by each series' Pretty Cure members.

As of 2020, Toei Animation Inc. owns the international rights to the franchise while both the dubs of Smile and DokiDoki alongside the Glitter Force brand is currently owned by Hasbro and eOne.[2][3][4][5]

No. Title Generation Run Episodes Series director Ref(s)
1 Futari wa Pretty Cure 1st 2004–2005 49 Daisuke Nishio
2 Futari wa Pretty Cure Max Heart 2005–2006 47
3 Futari wa Pretty Cure Splash Star 2nd 2006–2007 49 Toshiaki Komura
4 Yes! PreCure 5 3rd 2007–2008 49
5 Yes! PreCure 5 GoGo! 2008–2009 48
6 Fresh Pretty Cure! 4th 2009–2010 50 Junji Shimizu, Akifumi Zako
7 HeartCatch PreCure! 5th 2010–2011 49 Tatsuya Nagamine
8 Suite PreCure 6th 2011–2012 48 Munehisa Sakai
9 Smile PreCure! 7th 2012–2013 48 Takashi Otsuka
10 DokiDoki! PreCure 8th 2013–2014 49 Go Koga [6][7]
11 HappinessCharge PreCure! 9th 2014–2015 49 Tatsuya Nagamine
12 Go! Princess PreCure 10th 2015–2016 50 Yuta Tanaka [8][9]
13 Witchy PreCure! 11th 2016–2017 50 Masato Mitsuka [10][11]
14 Kirakira Pretty Cure a la Mode 12th 2017–2018 49 Kohei Kureta, Yukio Kaizawa [12]
15 Hug! Pretty Cure 13th 2018–2019 49 Junichi Sato, Akifumi Zako [13][14]
16 Star Twinkle PreCure 14th 2019–2020 49 Hiroaki Miyamoto [15]
17 Healin' Good Pretty Cure 15th 2020–2021 45 Yoko Ikeda [16]
18 Tropical-Rouge! Pretty Cure 16th 2021–2022 46 Yutaka Tsuchida
19 Delicious Party Pretty Cure 17th 2022–2023 45 Toshinori Fukasawa
20 Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure 18th 2023–2024 TBA Koji Ogawa [17]
Total 20 18 2004–present 918 20

Films
Main article: List of Pretty Cure films

Beginning with Futari wa Pretty Cure Max Heart, each television series has received a theatrical animated film based on the series, with Max Heart receiving two films. Starting in March 2009, crossover films featuring characters from multiple series have been released annually, with 12 crossover films released to date. The eleventh crossover film, Hugtto! PreCure Futari wa Pretty Cure: All Stars Memories, has been awarded the Guinness World Records title for "Most Magical Warriors in an Anime Film", with a total number of 55 Cures with speaking roles.[18]

Adaptations

Video games

Several video games have been produced by Bandai Namco Entertainment (formerly Bandai) for video game systems and educational consoles, as well as Data Carddass arcade machines.

Console video games
  • Futari wa Pretty Cure: Arienai! Yume no En wa Daimeikyu (ふたりはプリキュア ありえな～い！夢の園は大迷宮, Pretty Cure: Unbelievable! The Dream Park is a Labryinth) (2004, Game Boy Advance)
  • 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, Pretty Cure Max Heart! : Really? Really!? A Fight is Okay, Isn't It?) (2005, Game Boy Advance)
  • Futari wa Pretty Cure Max Heart: Danzen! DS de Precure - Chikara wo Awasete Dai Battle (ふたりはプリキュアマックスハート　DANZEN!DSでプリキュア力をあわせて大バトル！!, Pretty Cure Max Heart: - Absolutely! Pretty Cure on DS - The Great Battle Where Power Gathers) (2005, Nintendo DS)
  • Futari wa Pretty Cure Splash Star: Panpaka Game de Zekkōchō! (ふたりはプリキュア Splash Star パンパカゲームでぜっこうちょう!, Pretty Cure Splash Star - In Top Condition for the PanPaka Game!) (2006, Nintendo DS)
  • Yes! PreCure 5 (Yes！プリキュア5) (2007, Nintendo DS)
  • Yes! PreCure 5 GoGo!: Zenin Shu Go! Dream Festival (Yes！プリキュア5GoGo！ 全員しゅーGo!ドリームフェスティバル, Yes! PreCure 5 GoGo!: All Assembled! Dream Festival) (2008, Nintendo DS)
  • Fresh Pretty Cure: Asobi Collection (フレッシュプリキュア!あそびコレクション, Fresh Pretty Cure: Play Collection) (2009, Nintendo DS)
  • HeartCatch PreCure! Oshare Collection (ハートキャッチプリキュア!おしゃれコレクション, HeartCatch PreCure! Fashion Collection) (2010, Nintendo DS)
  • Koe de Asobō! HeartCatch PreCure! (こえであそぼう!ハートキャッチプリキュア!, Let's Play With Voices! HeartCatch PreCure!) (2010, Nintendo DS)
  • Suite PreCure: Melody Collection (スイートプリキュア♪ メロディコレクション) (2011, Nintendo DS)
  • Smile PreCure! Let's Go! Märchen World (スマイルプリキュア!　レッツゴー！メルヘンワールド) (2012, Nintendo 3DS)
  • PreCure All Stars: Zenin Shūgō Let's Dance! (プリキュアオールスターズ ぜんいんしゅうごう☆レッツダンス！, PreCure All Stars: All Together☆Let's Dance!) (2013, Wii)
  • DokiDoki! PreCure: Narikiri Life! (ドキドキ!プリキュア なりきりライフ!, DokiDoki! Precure: Impersonator Life!) (2013, Nintendo 3DS)
  • HappinessCharge PreCure! Kawarun Collection (ハピネスチャージプリキュア! カワルン☆コレクション, HappinessCharge PreCure! Sparking Collection) (2014, Nintendo 3DS)
  • Go! Princess PreCure: Sugar Ōkoku to Rokunin no Princess (Go!プリンセスプリキュア シュガー王国と6人のプリンセス, Go! Princess PreCure: The Sugar Kingdom and the 6 Princesses) (2015, Nintendo 3DS)
  • PreCure Tsunagaru Puzzlun (プリキュアつながるぱずるん, PreCure Connecting Puzzlun) (2017-2020, iOS, Android)
  • Nari Kids Park: Hugtto! PreCure (なりキッズパーク　HUGっと！プリキュア) (2018, Nintendo Switch)
Arcade game
  • PreCure All Stars Data Carddass series (プリキュアデータカードダスシリーズ) (2007–2017)
Educational titles
  • Futari wa Pretty Cure (ふたりはプリキュア) (2004, Sega Pico)
  • Futari wa Pretty Cure: Max Heart (ふたりはプリキュアMax Heart) (2005, Beena)
  • Futari wa Pretty Cure Splash Star (ふたりはプリキュアスプラッシュスター) (2006, Beena)
  • Yes! Pretty Cure 5 Go Go: Love Love Hiragana Lesson (Yes！プリキュア5GoGo！lovelove☆ひらがなレッスン) (2008, Beena)
  • Isshoni Henshin Fresh Pretty Cure (いっしょにへんしんフレッシュプリキュア！) (2009, Beena)
  • Oshare ni Henshin HeartCatch PreCure! (おしゃれにへんしん ハートキャッチプリキュア！) (2010, Beena)
  • Suite PreCure: Happy Oshare Harmony (スイートプリキュア♪ハッピーおしゃれハーモニー☆) (2011, Beena)

Live-action drama
Main article: Koe Girl!

A live-action series, Koe Girl! (声ガール！, Koe Gāru!), aired in Japan between April and June 2018, celebrating the franchise's 15th anniversary. The series follows a group of aspiring voice actresses and stars Haruka Fukuhara, who voiced Himari Arisugawa/Cure Custard in Kirakira PreCure a la Mode.[19]

Reception

The combination of transmedia text products, including anime series, films, live performances, theme stores, and toys, has been analyzed as a "system of consumption, knowledge and action [that] creates a lifestyle-text, a set of fictional media works that are synonymous with the lifestyle practices they promote."[20]

The Pretty Cure films are the seventh highest-grossing anime film franchise.[21] Bandai Namco's net income from Pretty Cure video game sales was ¥3.6 billion ($45.12 million) from April 2008 to March 2012, ¥1 billion ($13 million) from April 2012 to March 2013, ¥700 million ($7.17 million) from April 2013 to March 2014,[22] and ¥800 million ($7.8 million) from April 2014 to December 2020,[22][23] adding up to ¥6.1 billion ($73.1 million) net sales revenue for Bandai Namco.

Merchandise

Pretty Cure has had numerous licensed merchandise sold in Japan. By 2010, it became Japan's fifth highest-grossing franchise annually.[24]

Pretty Cure licensed merchandise sales in Japan
Year Japan licensed merchandise sales Note Ref
2004 26.76 billion|link=yes}} --> style="background: #EEE; font-size: smaller; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="unknown table-unknown"|Un­known
2005 ¥56.7 billion [25]
2006 ¥6 billion Bandai toys only [22]
2007 ¥44.48 billion [26]
2008 ¥49.92 billion [27]
2009 ¥62.45 billion [28]
2010 ¥76.65 billion [24]
2011 ¥10.3 billion Bandai Namco toys only [22]
2012 ¥63.51 billion [29]
2013 ¥61.7 billion [30]
2005–2013 ¥431.86 billion+ ($5.271 billion+)
2014 ¥45.46 billion [31]
2015 ¥45.64 billion [32]
2016 ¥49.76 billion [33]
2017 ¥48.05 billion [34]
2018 ¥50.59 billion [35][36]
2019 ¥42.47 billion [37][36]
2020 ¥6.9 billion Bandai Namco toys only [22]
2014–2020 ¥288.87 billion+ ($2.802 billion+) [38]
2005–2020 ¥720.73 billion+ ($8.074 billion+)

References
  1. @AnimetatezakiE (September 7, 2021). "I understand that you are watching the series very carefully. First of all, as you may know, for series sponsored by toy makers like Precure, the rough storyline is fairly pre-determined. That is because the toy sales strategy is prioritized" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. "Saban Brands Gives Glitter Force Trademark to Toei Animation - The Tokusatsu Network". The Tokusatsu Network. 2017-05-25. Retrieved 2018-11-21.
  3. "Glitter Force Brand's Rights Move to Hasbro". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2018-11-21.
  4. "Glitter Force". 2018-07-06. Archived from the original on 2018-07-06. Retrieved 2018-11-21.
  5. Hasbro. "Glitter Force – a legendary superhero squad". www.glitterforce.com. Retrieved 2018-11-21.
  6. "Dokidoki! Precure Trademark Filed in Japan". Anime News Network. 2012-10-24. Retrieved 2012-11-01.
  7. "Dokidoki! Precure Revealed as New Precure With Logo - News". Anime News Network. 2013-02-06. Retrieved 2013-02-10.
  8. "'Go! Princess Precure' Trademark Filed". 30 October 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  9. "Next PreCure Series will be "Go! Princess PreCure"?". 30 October 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  10. "'Mahō Tsukai Precure' Trademark Filed". AnimeNewsNetwork.com. 19 October 2015.
  11. "Toei Animation USA - Precure". toei-animation-usa.com. Retrieved 2019-03-05.
  12. "'Kirakira PreCure a la Mode' Trademark Filed - News". Anime News Network. 2016-10-25.
  13. "'Hugtto! Precure' Trademark Filed". Anime News Network. 2017-10-16.
  14. "Toei Confirms Hugtto! Precure TV Anime for 2018". Anime News Network. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
  15. "作品情報(さくひんじょうほう) | スター☆トゥインクルプリキュア | 東映アニメーション". www.toei-anim.co.jp (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2019-09-24. Retrieved 2019-09-24.
  16. @trademark_bot (22 October 2019). "東映アニメーション株式会社により「ヒーリングっど♡プリキュア」が商標登録出願されていることが、公開商標公報から明らかになりました。出願番号は2019-130108です。" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  17. "Toei Animation Unveils Hirogaru Sky! Precure as Franchise's 20th Entry". Anime News Network. 2022-11-30.
  18. "55 anime characters unite in anniversary film to achieve unique record". Guinness World Records. 2018-11-22. Retrieved 2019-03-31.
  19. "Precure Anime Inspires Live-Action Show About Aspiring Voice Actresses". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2019-03-31.
  20. Benson, Anya C. (2019). "Becoming Purikyua: Building the lifestyle-text in Japanese girls' franchises". Contemporary Japan. 31 (1): 61–78. doi:10.1080/18692729.2018.1558023. S2CID 158476337.
  21. "Box Office Gross, TV Anime Adaptations". Someanithing. Archived from the original on October 23, 2018. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
  22. "Financial Statements". IR Library (in Japanese). Bandai Namco Holdings. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  23. "Historical currency converter with official exchange rates (800 JPY to USD)". fxtop.com. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  24. コンテンツ2次利用市場（ライセンス市場）に係る 競争環境及び海外市場動向実態調査 (PDF) (in Japanese). Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. 2011. pp. 22–23. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-04-13. Retrieved 2018-09-08.
  25. "日本のアニメ・マンガを取り巻く状況" (PDF). Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) (in Japanese). 6 March 2007. pp. 25–6. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  26. "キャラクターが日本を救う" [Characters Save Japan]. NTTCom Online Marketing Solutions (in Japanese). NTT Communications. 26 January 2009. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  27. "Japan's Character Products Market in 2008". Licensing Industry Merchandiser's Association. Character Databank (CharaBiz). 2010. Archived from the original on September 8, 2018. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
  28. "09年国内キャラ市場1兆5770億円 CharaBiz DATA調 – アニメ！アニメ！ビズ". AnimeAnime.biz (in Japanese). May 29, 2010.
  29. "慶應義塾大学学術情報リポジトリ（KOARA）". KeiO Associated Repository of Academic Resources (in Japanese). Keio University: 8–9. 2015.
  30. CharaBiz DATA 2014(13) (in Japanese). Character Databank, Ltd. 2014.
  31. CharaBiz DATA 2015⑭ (in Japanese). Character Databank, Ltd. 2015.
  32. CharaBiz DATA 2016⑮ (in Japanese). Character Databank, Ltd. 2016.
  33. CharaBiz DATA 2017(16) (in Japanese). Character Databank, Ltd. 2017.
  34. CharaBiz DATA 2018⑰ (in Japanese). Character Databank, Ltd. 2018.
  35. CharaBiz DATA 2019(18) (in Japanese). Character Databank. May 2019.
  36. "Content Tokyo 2020 》Vtuber、疫情中重塑品牌、以AI創作，日本內容產業熱議的3件事" [Content Tokyo 2020 》Vtuber, Rebranding During the Epidemic, Creating With AI, 3 Things That Are Hotly Discussed in the Japanese Content Industry]. Central News Agency (Taiwan) (in Chinese). 30 December 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
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