Futari Wa Pretty Cure Max Heart

, 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 Kujo/Shiny Luminous. Two ''Max Heart'' movies were released on April 16, 2005, 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 Kujou Hikari, 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.

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:One of the two main protagonists. A 14/15-year-old girl who is Nagisa's classmate and friend at Verone Academy and lives with her grandmother Sanae and her dog Chuutaro since her parents are working overseas. She is known as "The Queen of Knowledge" for her intelligence, and the members of Verone Academy's science club, of which she is a member, look up to her. Although she has few friends, they are close to her, and she has come to appreciate Nagisa's friendship. She introduces herself as Her theme color is white.

Additional members

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:A shy blonde-haired girl who appears in ''Max Heart''. She is physically 13 years old and is the "life" of the Queen in human form after the Queen was split apart following her encounter with the Dark King. Going under the guise of Akane's cousin and working at her takoyaki stand, Hikari enrolls in Verone Academy as a freshman and befriends Nagisa and Honoka. At the end of ''Max Heart'', although it was believed that she would have to sacrifice her existence for the Queen to be revived, she is reborn as a human separate from her. She gains power from Pollun to transform into Shiny Luminous, and later gains more power from Lulun. Despite her lack of fighting skills or strength, her abilities can hinder opponents and enhance Black and White's attacks. She introduces herself as Her theme color is yellow.

Garden of Light

The is a realm ruled by the Queen and protected by the power of the Prism Stones, which the Dark Zone seeks for themselves. Prior to the events of ''Pretty Cure'', they attacked the Garden of Light and stole five of the seven Prism Stones, with Mepple and Mipple being given the Red and Blue Stones, respectively, before being sent to Earth to find those who could become Pretty Cure and fight against the Dark Zone.
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:The chosen protector of Mipple, the Princess of Hope, who gives Nagisa the power to transform into Cure Black and lives with her. He is selfish, as he often argues with Nagisa, is possessive of Mipple, and becomes jealous when Pollun does not pay attention to him. He ends his sentences with "mepo". Mepple can only stay in his true form for a short time before growing tired, so on Earth he takes on an energy-saving form that resembles a cell phone.

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:The Princess of Hope of the Garden of Light, who gives Honoka the power to transform into Cure White and lives with her; like her, she is generally more reserved. Although Mepple is implied to have feelings for her, Mipple sticking up for Pollun causes problems between them. She ends her sentences with "mipo". Like Mepple, she usually stays in a cell phone-like form to conserve energy.

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:The Prince of the Garden of Light, who is sent to Earth once the Cures have retrieved the Prism Stones, with the Queen giving a cryptic statement about his powers aiding them. Later, before Wisdom is captured, he places the power of the Prism Stones into Pollun, giving him the power to remain in his regular form while on Earth. He also gains the ability to communicate with the Garden of Light through a form called the Pretty Commune, and grants the Cures the power of light and the Rainbow Bracelets. He is energetic and tends to be selfish and childish. He lives mainly with Nagisa in ''Pretty Cure'' and Hikari in ''Pretty Cure Max Heart''.

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:Appearing in ''Max Heart.'' She is Pollun's younger sister and is known as the Princess of Light who connects the future. She can give the power of the Heartiel Brooch to Luminous.

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:The ruler of the Garden of Light, who aids the Cures when she can. During ''Max Heart'', she is split into Hikari, the twelve Heartiels, and the Queen Chairect. Like the Dark King, she is animated using CGI.

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:The guardian of the Prism Stones, who is often referred to as .

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:A wise sage and resident of the Garden of Light. Despite his wisdom, he often forgets Nagisa and Honoka's names and refers to them as the ''Pretty Cura''.

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:Twelve fairies who are the embodiments of the Queen's will. The Cures must recover them in order to restore the Queen, placing them in the Queen Chairect, an item representing the Queen's heart. When they want one of the Heartiels to help them, Seekun turns the knob around to let one of them out of the Chairect.
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:The first of the Heartiels to be discovered, who represents the Queen's sense of adventure and discovery, and as such is naive about the world and asks many questions. When the Cures need the help of another Heartiel, Seekun is responsible for calling them out of the Queen Chairect. She is the last Heartiel to enter the Chairect, with her symbol in the Chairect being a telescope. She seems to prefer Nagisa, as she enjoys spending time with her over Honoka.
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:He is accompanied by a white dove. His symbol in the Chairect is a torch.
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:She first appears in episode 9, but meets the Cures in episode 10. She is often seen with a treasure box, which is also her symbol in the Chairect.
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:Her symbol in the Chairect is the snowflake.
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:A Heartiel entrusted with the Book of Wisdom, which she uses to help the Cures find a way to oppose Baldez's power. At first, she does not like Nagisa, but comes to like her after seeing her pure heart. Her symbol in the Chairect is the book.
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:Her symbol in the Chairect is the mirror.
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:His symbol in the Chairect is the key.
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:First seen at the end of episode 31. Her symbol in the Chairect is the crown.
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:His symbol in the Chairect is the pear.
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:Her symbol in the Chairect is the bell.
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:Her symbol in the Chairect is the ring.
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:His symbol in the Chairect is the pocket watch.

Dark Zone

The villains of ''Pretty Cure.'' They come from the , a realm of darkness ruled by the Dark King.

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:The imprisoned ruler of the Dark Zone, who seeks to acquire the Prism Stones to gain immortality and prevent the "power to consume all things" from eventually destroying his body—he believes that it is the fate of all things to be consumed by darkness. Like the Queen, he is animated using CGI.

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:Monsters summoned by the servants of the Dark Zone, who combine them with objects or living things. Upon being defeated by a purifying move, they burst into several small star-shaped monsters called , who scurry off apologizing.

Dark Five

The Dark King's first wave of servants, who each possess a Prism Stone.

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:The guardian of the Green Prism Stone. He resembles a Kabuki actor in "''keshō''" ("make up") due to having long hair and a painted face. His human disguise is .

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:The guardian of the Blue Prism Stone and the strongest of the Dark Five, who relies on brawn over brains and has the highest fortitude of the group, as he can withstand being hit by the Marble Screw.

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:The guardian of the Orange Prism Stone, who often takes on a human disguise to gain the Cures trust before attacking. In her true form, she resembles a vampire, as she has pale skin and fangs.

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:The youngest of the Dark Five and Poisony's younger brother, who is the guardian of the Yellow Prism Stone. He comes to Earth to spy on Nagisa and Honoka, infiltrating Verone Academy under the guise of the freshman . Despite this, he ends up befriending them and develops a fondness and love for Honoka because of her showing kindness to him. Later on, his feelings for Honoka and his attempts to understand human emotions cause him to be unable to fight the Cures. This causes him to be sent back to the Dark Zone, but not before willingly giving up his Prism Stone to the Cures. After the Dark King is destroyed, he returns as a normal human.

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:The leader of the Dark Five and their most powerful member, as well as the Dark King's right-hand man and the guardian of the Purple Prism Stone. Despite his strength and being able to withstand the Marble Screw and other attacks, his fortitude is not as high as Gekidrago. He later appears on Earth, but does not start fighting the Cures until after Kiriya is sent back to the Dark Zone. He is defeated, but later returns and takes on a more monstrous and powerful form to fight the Cures in the Dark Zone.

Three Seeds of Darkness

A villainous trio who appear after the Dark Five and the Dark King are defeated, being born from the Dark King and initially normal humans until they awaken their powers and transform into their true selves. They are accompanied by a macaw and the Butler Zakenna.

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:The leader of the Seeds of Darkness, whose human alias is . He is a plotter and a sadist who blends in by impersonating others. Due to his ego, it is always someone in a high position, such as a head doctor or principal.

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:The only female of the trio, whose human alias is . When in human form, she has a tendency to mumble things, then suddenly scream. She is more confident in her dark form than her human form.

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:The strongest member of the trio, whose human alias is

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:Zakenna who are capable of human speech and look after the mansion that the Three Seeds and the Four Guardians reside in. While they often bicker, they are unwaveringly loyal to them.

Four Guardians

What remains of the Dark Zone, serving as the protectors of the "life" of the Dark King as they seek to revive him.

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:The strongest member of the Four Guardians and their leader, who is capable of withstanding Marble Screw, Luminous Heartiel Action and Extreme Luminario. It is later revealed that his true form is the spirit of the Dark King, who was revived and disguised himself as one of the Guardians.

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:The apparent second-in-command of the Four Guardians, who serves as their "leader" in Baldez's absence. He often argues with Uraganos.

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:One of the Guardians, who is reckless and tends to accidentally destroy things due to his size and strength.

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:The only female of the Guardians, who is more serious and intimidating than the others. She often scolds Uraganos and Circulas when they argue, and is also the type to never apologize, even when she is wrong.

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:A mysterious boy who is the 'life' of the Dark King, who is content with living in the mansion but seeks to experience life outside of it. He is seemingly connected to Hikari, as various incidents occur when they meet. At the end of ''Max Heart'', he is reborn as Hikari's younger brother, .

Cures' families

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:Nagisa and Ryouta's father and Rie's husband.

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:Takashi's wife and Nagisa and Ryouta's mother. Although her and Nagisa's relationship tends to be estranged at times, she deeply cares for her family. She is also seemingly the only one who can break up Nagisa and Ryouta's arguments.

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:Nagisa's younger brother, whom he often bickers with and pulls pranks on. Like the relationship between Nagisa and Mepple, he and Nagisa often bicker but still care for each other.

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:Honoka's grandmother, who takes care of her while her parents work overseas in France. She seems to know a lot about the Pretty Cure, as she found Mipple when she was younger, though keeps this secret from Honoka and Nagisa.

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:Honoka's father and Aya's husband.

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:Honoka's mother and Taro's wife.

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:Honoka's dog.

Verone Academy

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:The teacher of Nagisa and Honoka's class, who is romantic and quiet.

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:Verone Academy's principal, who is kind but clumsy.

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:Verone Academy's vice principal.

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:Verone Academy's math teacher.

Classmates

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:Honoka's childhood friend, who Nagisa has a crush on. He is nicknamed FujiP (Fergie in the English dub) by his friends, and is a player of his soccer team.

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:One of Nagisa's friends and a member of Verone Academy's lacrosse team.

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:One of Nagisa's friends and a member of Verone Academy's lacrosse team.

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:Honoka's friend and a member of Verone Academy's science club.

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:An artist inspired by Mario Piccasseci, an artist who made the painting ''Stardust Banquet''.

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:The captain of Verone Academy's lacrosse team.

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:A member of Verone Academy's lacrosse team.

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:Friends who idolize the Cures and cosplay as them.

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:Nagisa and Honoka's classmate, who likes to play the piano.

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:A member of the Verone Junior Boys' Institute's soccer team.

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:Fujimura's love interest.

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:Nagisa and Honoka's classmate, who is part of the choir and directs and plays the piano.

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:A member of the Verone Junior Boys' Institute's soccer team.

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:Hikari's classmates.

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:Members of Verone Academy's lacrosse team.

Other characters

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:The previous captain of Verone Academy's lacrosse team, who runs her own takoyaki stand, which Nagisa frequently visits. In ''Max Heart'', she serves as Hikari's guardian under the assumption she is her cousin.

Media

Anime

The original ''Pretty Cure'' anime aired in Japan between February 1, 2004, and January 30, 2005. The opening theme is by Mayumi Gojo whilst the ending theme is also by Gojo. The follow-up series, ''Max Heart'', aired in Japan between February 6, 2005, and January 29, 2006. The opening theme is by Mayumi Gojo. The first ending theme, used for episodes 1-36, is by Mayumi Gojo with Young Fresh, whilst the second ending theme, used for episodes 37-47 is by Gojo. In March 2013, the anime was later re-aired on TV Asahi's cable channel, TeleAsa Channel 1.

Films

Two animated films based on the ''Max Heart'' series were released. The first, , was released on April 16, 2005. The second movie, , was released December 10, 2005. The heroines also appear in all ''Pretty Cure All Stars'' movies, which ran between 2009 and 2016. Another crossover film, ''Hug! Pretty Cure × Pretty Cure'', was released on October 27, 2018, celebrating the franchise's 15th anniversary.

Licensed Media and Dubs

On February 24, 2006, 4Kids Entertainment announced broadcasting and distribution rights for ''Pretty Cure'' in the United States, 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, and have also started making those same episodes available for streaming on Crunchyroll and Tubi. The subtitles were produced by "Nippon Golden Network", a Hawaii-based cable network that broadcasts Asian programming (mostly from Japan), and featured low-quality video and audio in the initial uploads, though the Crunchyroll streaming service later replaced the video and audio source and updated the subtitles. In April 2009, Funimation used to license the English-subtitled version of the series for online distribution on the company's website.
Spain, RTVE Clan (TVE channel) Clan (TV channel) Cuatro (TV channel)

An English dub was produced by Toei and Ocean Productions using their Blue Water studio in Calgary, Alberta which aired on Canada's YTV channel from March 6, 2009, to July 31, 2010. Shortly after the dub's release, it was announced that Nickelodeon had acquired the American broadcast rights to ''Pretty Cure'', and would begin airing the show that fall. A special preview for the series was shown on June 20, 2009, before making its official debut on October 5, airing new episodes five days a week until October 23 of that year, when the show would go on a two-month hiatus, returning in January 2010. Sister network Nicktoons aired a catch-up marathon of the series on November 14. ''Pretty Cure'' returned to the network on January 30, 2010, picking up from episode 16. ''Pretty Cure'' concluded its U.S. run on September 18, 2010, with reruns continuing to air on the main channel until April 30, 2011, and on Nicktoons until January 23, 2015.

Manga

Both the television series and their movies received manga adaptation which were illustrated by Futago Kamikita in Kodansha's ''Nakayoshi'' magazine as they aired.

Video games

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, , was released for Game Boy Advance in 2004. A platformer, was released for Game Boy Advance in 2005. A side-scrolling beat 'em up game, was also released in 2005 for the Nintendo DS.

In '' Puyo Puyo Quest'', featuring the characters in the ''Hikari's Heart Festival'' and ''Skybloom Festival'' event.

Reception

The series' popularity quickly spawned it into a full franchise with many different 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''.

References

External links

Toei Animation's ''Pretty Cure'' website


Toei Animation's ''Pretty Cure: Max Heart'' website


Crunchyroll's ''Pretty Cure'' page
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{{Nakayoshi

2004 anime television series debuts
2005 anime television series debuts
2006 Japanese television series endings
2005 anime films
2005 films
2005 comics endings
2006 comics endings
Television series set in the 2000s
Pretty Cure television series
Anime with original screenplays
Funimation
Toei Animation television
TV Asahi original programming
Asahi Broadcasting Corporation original programming
Magical girl anime and manga
Toei Animation films
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