, also sometimes stylized as PreCure, is a Japanese anime television series produced by Toei Animation and the first installment in the Pretty Cure metaseries created by Izumi Todo. It aired on ANN, with 96 episodes across two seasons.
The first season, directed by Daisuke Nishio, aired from February 1, 2004, to January 30, 2005, in the same timeslot as Izumi Todo's previous series, Ashita no Nadja. It received an English-dubbed version, which aired in Canada from March 2009 to July 2010. In the season, two middle school students gain the power to transform into the “protectors of light”, Pretty Cure, and are tasked with collecting the Prism Stones to restore the Garden of Light while fighting against the forces of the Dark Zone, who caused its destruction. A second season, , aired in Japan from February 6, 2005, to January 29, 2006. It introduces another member of the group, Shiny Luminous, and follows the Cures’ efforts in collecting the twelve Heartiels to revive the Queen, whose life has taken the form of Hikari Kujou/Shiny Luminous. Two Max Heart movies were released on April 16 and December 10, 2005, respectively. It was succeeded by PreCure Splash Star in its timeslot. The series' main motif is yin and yang.
Plot
Pretty Cure follows two girls, Nagisa Misumi and Honoka Yukishiro, who one day encounter Mipple and Mepple, who are from the Garden of Light. They give them the power to transform into the emissaries of light, Cure Black and Cure White, to fight against the forces of the Dark Zone: a dimension of evil that attacked the Garden of Light and now plans to invade the Garden of Rainbows, Earth. The Cures search for the Prism Stones to restore the Garden of Light, placing them in the Prism Hopish, a device protected by the Guardian, Wisdom. Once the Prism Stones are recovered, their power transports them to the Garden of Light and repairs most of the damage done by the Dark Zone. Later on, Pollun, the Prince of the Garden of Light, grants them the power of the Rainbow Bracelets to defeat the Dark King. After the Dark King's defeat, three new villains, known as the Seeds of Darkness, are born from him and seek the power of the Prism Stones for themselves.
In Max Heart, Nagisa and Honoka meet the mysterious Hikari Kujou, who is revealed to be the "life" of the Queen. Following her battle with the Dark King, the Queen was separated into three parts: the twelve Heartiels, which represent her will, the Queen Chairect, which represents her heart, and Hikari Kujou, who represents her life. Meanwhile, the remnants of the Dark Zone are protecting a mysterious boy, who is believed to be the "life" of the Dark King. Together with Hikari, who gains the power to transform into Shiny Luminous, the Cures once again fight against the Dark Zone in order to retrieve the Heartiels and restore the Queen.
Characters
Where appropriate, names on the left are from the original Japanese version, whilst names on the right without Japanese text are from both the Canadian and Singaporean English dubs. Character descriptions pertain to the Japanese version of the show.
Pretty Cures
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:One of the two main protagonists. A 14/15-year-old girl and student in her second and later third year of Verone Academy's Sakura Class, who is the ace of its lacrosse team. She is strong-willed but lazy, as she dislikes doing homework, and is also a food lover, her favorite dish being the takoyaki from Akane's food stand. Although generally brave, she often becomes flustered around Shogo, whom she has a crush on. She is known for her catchphrase . As Cure Black, she specializes in physical combat. She introduces herself as Her theme color is black and her secondary colour is pink.
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