Pretty Cure
Japanese magical girl anime metaseries
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Pretty Cure Series (プリキュアシリーズ, Purikyua Shirīzu; also titled Precure Series or PreCure Series) is a Japanese tokusatsu heroine, magical girl anime franchise created by Izumi Todo and produced by Toei Animation.[1] Each series revolves around a group of magical girls known as Pretty Cures who battle against evil forces. Starting in February 2004 with Pretty Cure, the franchise has seen many anime series, spanning over 1000 episodes to date, as well as spawning movies, manga, toys, and video games. Its most recent iteration, Star Detective Precure!, began airing in February 2026 as part of TV Asahi's Sunday morning children's television block. As of December 2022, three series have received English adaptations, although many others have received English subtitle versions.
| Pretty Cure | |
|---|---|
 The twentieth anniversary logo for the Pretty Cure franchise | |
| Created by | Izumi Todo, Toei Animation |
| Original work | Pretty Cure |
| Owner | Toei Animation |
| Years | 2004–present |
| Films and television | |
| Television series | See 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-three 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. 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 PreCure!, 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.[2][3][4][5]
| No. | Title | Generation | Run | Episodes | Series director | Ref(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pretty Cure | 1st | 2004–2005 | 49 | Daisuke Nishio | ||
| 2 | Pretty Cure Max Heart | 2005–2006 | 47 | ||||
| 3 | PreCure 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 PreCure! | 4th | 2009–2010 | 50 | Junji Shimizu, Akifumi Zako | ||
| 7 | Heart Catch 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 | Happiness Charge 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 PreCure 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! PreCure | 18th | 2023–2024 | 50 | Koji Ogawa | [17] | |
| 21 | Wonderful Precure! | 19th | 2024–2025 | 50 | Masanori Sato | [18] | |
| 22 | You and Idol Precure | 20th | 2025–2026 | 49 | Chiaki Kon | [19] | |
| 23 | Star Detective Precure! | 21th | 2026–2027 | TBA | Koji Kawasaki | ||
| Total | 23 | 21 | 2004–present | 1,067 | 21 | ||
Adaptations
Films
Beginning with 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 14 crossover films released to date. The eleventh crossover film, Hug! Precure♡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.[20]
Spin-offs
- Power of Hope: PreCure Full Bloom (2023)
- Witchy Pretty Cure! Mirai Days (2025)
- PetitCure ~Precure Fairies~ (2025)
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
- Pretty Cure: Unbelievable! The Dream Park is a Labryinth (ふたりはプリキュア ありえな～い！夢の園は大迷宮, Futari wa Purikyua: Arienai! Yume no En wa Daimeikyu) (2004, Game Boy Advance)
- Pretty Cure Max Heart: Really? Really!? A Fight is Okay, Isn't It? (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, Futari wa Purikyua Max Heart: Maji? Maji!? Fight de IN Janai) (2005, Game Boy Advance)
- Pretty Cure Max Heart: Absolutely! Pretty Cure on DS - The Great Battle Where Power Gathers (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！!, Futari wa Purikyua Max Heart: Danzen! DS de Precure - Chikara wo Awasete Dai Battle) (2005, Nintendo DS)
- PreCure Splash Star: In Top Condition for the PanPaka Game! (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!, Futari wa Purikyua Splash Star: Panpaka Game de Zekkōchō!) (2006, Nintendo DS)
- Yes! PreCure 5 (Yes！プリキュア5, Yes! Purikyua 5) (2007, Nintendo DS)
- Yes! PreCure 5 GoGo!: All Assembled! 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! Purikyua 5 GoGo!: Zenin Shu Go! Dream Festival) (2008, Nintendo DS)
- Fresh PreCure! Play Collection (フレッシュプリキュア!あそびコレクション, Furessh Purikyua! Asobi Collection) (2009, Nintendo DS)
- Heart Catch PreCure Fashion Collection (ハートキャッチプリキュア!おしゃれコレクション, Hātokyatchi Purikyua! Oshare Collection) (2010, Nintendo DS)
- Let's Play With Voices! Heart Catch PreCure (こえであそぼう!ハートキャッチプリキュア!, Koe de Asobō! Hātokyatchi Purikyua!) (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: All Together☆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！, Purikyuaōrusutāzu: Zenin Shūgō Let's Dance!) (2013, Wii)
- DokiDoki! PreCure: Impersonator Life! (ドキドキ!プリキュア なりきりライフ!, DokiDoki! Precure: Narikiri Life!) (2013, Nintendo 3DS)
- Happiness Charge PreCure! Sparking 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! Kawarun Collection) (2014, Nintendo 3DS)
- Go! Princess PreCure: The Sugar Kingdom and the 6 Princesses (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! Purinsesu Purikyua: Sugar Ōkoku to Rokunin no Princess) (2015, Nintendo 3DS)
- PreCure Connecting Puzzlun (プリキュアつながるぱずるん, PreCure Tsunagaru Puzzlun) (2017-2020, iOS, Android)
- Nari Kids Park: HUG! Pretty Cure (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
- Pretty Cure (ふたりはプリキュア) (2004, Sega Pico)
- Pretty Cure: Max Heart (ふたりはプリキュアMax Heart) (2005, Beena)
- PreCure Splash Star (ふたりはプリキュアスプラッシュスター) (2006, Beena)
- Yes! Precure 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)
- Let's change: Fresh PreCure! (いっしょにへんしんフレッシュプリキュア！) (2009, Beena)
- Let's do some stylish change: Heart Catch 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 Stylish 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
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.[21]
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."[22]
The Pretty Cure films are the seventh highest-grossing anime film franchise.[23] 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,[24] and ¥800 million ($7.8 million) from April 2014 to December 2020,[24][25] 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.[26]
| Year | Japan licensed merchandise sales | Note | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 26.76 billion|link=yes}} --> style="background: var(--background-color-interactive, #EEE); color: var(--color-base, black); vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-Unknown" | Unknown | ||
| 2005 | ¥56.7 billion | [27] | |
| 2006 | ¥6 billion | Bandai toys only | [24] |
| 2007 | ¥44.48 billion | [28] | |
| 2008 | ¥49.92 billion | [29] | |
| 2009 | ¥62.45 billion | [30] | |
| 2010 | ¥76.65 billion | [26] | |
| 2011 | ¥10.3 billion | Bandai Namco toys only | [24] |
| 2012 | ¥63.51 billion | [31] | |
| 2013 | ¥61.7 billion | [32] | |
| 2005–2013 | ¥431.86 billion+ ($5.271 billion+) | ||
| 2014 | ¥45.46 billion | [33] | |
| 2015 | ¥45.64 billion | [34] | |
| 2016 | ¥49.76 billion | [35] | |
| 2017 | ¥48.05 billion | [36] | |
| 2018 | ¥50.59 billion | [37][38] | |
| 2019 | ¥42.47 billion | [39][38] | |
| 2020 | ¥6.9 billion | Bandai Namco toys only | [24] |
| 2014–2020 | ¥288.87 billion+ ($2.802 billion+) | [40] | |
| 2005–2020 | ¥720.73 billion+ ($8.074 billion+) |
