Smile PreCure!

Smile PreCure! (スマイルプリキュア!, Sumairu PuriKyua!), or Smile Pretty Cure!, is a Japanese anime series and the ninth installment in Izumi Todo's Pretty Cure series. Produced by Toei Animation, the series is written by Shōji Yonemura, who is best known as the head writer of Glass Fleet and Kamen Rider Kabuto. The character designs were done by Toshie Kawamura, who previously worked on the character designs for Yes! PreCure 5. The series aired on TV Asahi's ANN network between February 5, 2012 and January 27, 2013, replacing Suite PreCure♪ in its initial timeslot, and is succeeded by Dokidoki! PreCure. A film was released in Japanese theatres on October 27, 2012. The series' main motif is fairy tales.

Plot

The kingdom of Märchenland (メルヘンランド, Meruhenrando), where various characters from fairy tales reside, is attacked by Pierrot, the evil emperor of the Bad End Kingdom (バッドエンド王国, Baddo Endo Ōkoku), who seeks to direct the world towards its worst ending and steals the Cure Decors, which power the Queen of Märchenland, Royale. Using the last of her energy, Royale manages to seal Pierrot away. However, his minions, Joker and the Bad End Generals Wolfrun, Akaoni, Majorina, seek to reviving Pierrot by harnessing the Bad Energy from the people of Earth. In order to protect Märchenland and regain her strength, Royale sends out the five Cure Decors to Earth and orders a fairy named Candy to search for five legendary warriors, the Pretty Cures, to obtain the items so they can put an end to Bad End Kingdom.

Arriving in the town of Nanairogaoka, Candy encounters Miyuki Hoshizora, a new transfer student, who soon gains the power to become Cure Happy. Joined by her new friends, Akane Hino, Yayoi Kise, Nao Midorikawa and Reika Aoki, who become Cure Sunny, Cure Peace, Cure March and Cure Beauty respectively, Miyuki and her friends form the Smile Pretty Cure in order to recover the Cure Decors, save Märchenland and protect everyone's happiness. However, as the Pretty Cures contend with the Akanbe the Bad End Generals employ, the Bad End Kingdom is reaching its penultimate goal of reviving Pierrot. And thus, the round ninth of Pretty Cures battle is begun.^[1]

Characters

Smile Pretty Cures

The Pretty Cure are the legendary warriors that protect the Earth from emissaries of the Bad End Kingdom. They transform themselves by placing Cure Decors into a magical item called the Smile Pact (スマイルパクト, Sumairu Pakuto) and shouting "Pretty Cure, Smile Charge!" (プリキュア、スマイルチャージ！, PuriKyua, Sumairu Chāji!). Before every battle, they introduce themselves as "Our five lights will guide us to the future! Sparkle! Smile Pretty Cure!" (５つの光が導く未来！輝け！スマイルプリキュア！, Itsutsu no hikari ga michibiku mirai! Kagayake! Sumairu PuriKyua!)

The Cures gained their first upgraded form called Princess Form by using the Princess Candle in episode 23. In the Movie, Cure Happy firstly gains an upgrade Ultra Form granted by the Miracle Wing Decor and the Miracle Wing Puff (ミラクル翼パフ, Mirakuru tsubasa pafu). All five members gained this form as well in Episode 47 using the power of the Ultra Cure Decor and the Miracle Jewel.

Miyuki Hoshizora (星空 みゆき, Hoshizora Miyuki) / Cure Happy (キュアハッピー, Kyua Happī)

Voiced by: Misato Fukuen

Miyuki is a second year student who transferred to class 2 of Nanairogaoka Public Middle School. She has an interest in books, especially fairy tales, and has often admitted having crushes on fictional characters. Like most of the lead Cures before her, Miyuki is cheerful and optimistic, but also something of a klutz. Her catchphrase is "Ultra Happy!". Her potential as a Pretty Cure awakened while protecting Candy from Wolfrun. As Cure Happy, her dark magenta hair becomes lighter in shade and her pigtails grow longer, and her theme color is magenta. She can manipulate light energy in this form and can leap much higher than the other cures.

Miyuki introduces herself as "Twinkling, shining, light of the future! Cure Happy!" (キラキラ輝く未来の光！キュアハッピー！, Kirakira kagayaku mirai no hikari! Kyua Happī!)

Akane Hino (日野 あかね, Hino Akane) / Cure Sunny (キュアサニー, Kyua Sanī)

Voiced by: Asami Tano

Miyuki's classmate and a member of the school's volleyball team. She is from Osaka, having moved to Nanairogaoka before junior high school, and thus speaks in a Kansai dialect. Her family runs an okonomiyaki shop named after her, which she often helps out with. Akane may be a jokester, but when she has a goal set, she can be very passionate about achieving it. She has a fear for heights and would freak out when she looks down. Her potential as a Pretty Cure awakened when she wanted to pay back Miyuki for her help and protect her. As Cure Sunny, her dark red hair brightens to orange and grows longer before tying into a bun, and her theme color is orange. She can manipulate fire in this form and gains super strength.

Akane introduces herself as "The brilliant sun, hot-blooded power! Cure Sunny!" (太陽サンサン熱血パワー！キュアサニー！, Taiyō sansan nekketsu pawā! Kyua Sanī!)

Yayoi Kise (黄瀬 やよい, Kise Yayoi) / Cure Peace (キュアピース, Kyua Pīsu)

Voiced by: Hisako Kanemoto

Miyuki's classmate, a girl in the school's comic club who aspires to be a manga artist. Though timid on the outside, shy about her work and sometimes prone to crying, Yayoi is very loyal, diligent, and headstrong when it comes to things and people she cares about. She's a big fan of superheroes and becomes really excited when something hero-like is brought up. Her potential as a Pretty Cure awakened when she stood up to Akaoni to protect both her classmates and her pride as an artist. As Cure Peace, her blonde hair brightens and is tied into a wide ponytail, and her theme color is yellow. She can manipulate electricity in this form and can shock everyone nearby.

Yayoi introduces herself as "Sparkling, glittering, rock-paper-scissors♪ Cure Peace!" (ピカピカぴかりんじゃんけんポン♪ キュアピース！, Pikapika pikarin jankenpon♪ Kyua Pīsu!) alternating the sign she throws out each time she transforms.

Nao Midorikawa (緑川 なお, Midorikawa Nao) / Cure March (キュアマーチ, Kyua Māchi)

Voiced by: Marina Inoue

Miyuki's classmate and a member of the school's soccer team. Nao is straightforward and reliable with a strong sense of justice, though she gets very frustrated when things don't go her way. She takes on a motherly role due to being the eldest child in a big family, and has little interest in girly pursuits. Despite her general confidence, she is very scared of certain things such as bugs, ghosts and heights. Her potential as a Pretty Cure awakened while protecting her siblings from harm by an Akanbe. As Cure March, her dark green hair tints to a mint shade and grows longer before gaining two extra ponytails, and her theme color is green. She can manipulate wind in this form and gains super speed.

Nao introduces herself as "Intense courage, a straight-up bout! Cure March!" (勇気リンリン直球勝負！キュアマーチ！, Yūki rinrin chokkyū shōbū! Kyua Māchi!)

Reika Aoki (青木 れいか, Aoki Reika) / Cure Beauty (キュアビューティ, Kyua Byūti)

Voiced by: Chinami Nishimura

Miyuki's classmate and Nao's childhood friend, at the beginning she is the student council vice president (later the president in episode 37). She's a member of the school's kyūdō club. Reika is a serious, elegant and kind-hearted, but has a frightening temper once her patience reaches its limit. Her potential as a Pretty Cure was awakened when she stood up to Majorina who tramples her companions' effort to the duty of student council. As Cure Beauty, her dark blue hair becomes a lighter blue and grows longer, is pulled back by the tiara she wears and her theme color is blue. She can manipulate ice in this form and gains enhanced reflex abilities, allowing her to predict the enemy's next move.

Reika introduces herself as "Snowing, falling and gathering, a noble heart! Cure Beauty!" (しんしんと降りつもる清き心！キュアビューティ！, Shinshin to furitsumoru kiyoki kokoro! Kyua Byūti!)

Märchenland

Candy (キャンディ, Kyandi)

Voiced by: Ikue Ōtani

Candy is a female sheep-like fairy from Märchenland searching for Cure Decor, gaining the assistance of the Pretty Cures. She is quite fashionable and likes to doll herself up. She ends her sentences with "-kuru" and her ears are very long and both curly and yellow, being held with pink bows in a pigtail-like fashion, though she often gets others to fashion them into various styles. She is able to bring forth a light which summons the Jewel Decors, which allows the Cures to perform Rainbow Healing. In final episodes, Candy is assigned to be the new ruler of Märchenland, as she is granted the Miracle Jewel and assumes a new form, Royale Candy (ロイヤルキャンディ, Roiyaru Kyandi).

During Episode 8, Candy once received a Precure form, due to that Miyuki had to trasform in Candy's body into Cure Candy (キュアキャンディ, Kyua Kyandi). While Happy's basic finisher, Happy Shower, is kept, Cure Candy can also use her ears as extra hands when attacking enemies. She introduces herself as "Curly, Glittering, light of the future! Cure Candy!" (クルクルきらめく未来の光！キュアキャンディ！, Kurukuru kirameku mirai no hikari! Kyua Kyandi!)

Pop (ポップ, Poppu)

Voiced by: Daisuke Sakaguchi

Pop is Candy's older brother, a male lion-like fairy. He prides himself on being a man though gets bashful when he is called 'cool', and hates to be called "cute". He alongside Candy were in charge of searching for the five chosen ones to become Pretty Cures. He reunites with Candy after she gather the five cures together, bringing along the Decor Décor. He is capable of using ninjutsu arts including transformation into various forms to assist the Cures in battle. He ends his sentences with "-de gozaru".

Royal Queen (ロイヤルクイーン, Roiyaru Kuīn)

Voiced by: Sumi Shimamoto

The Queen of Märchenland, and the origin of fairies who regard her as their mother. When Märchenland was attacked by Pierrot, the Cure Decors that make up her power were stolen whilst she used the remainder of her power to seal Pierrot away. She sends five magical lights to Earth and sends Candy to search for the Pretty Cures in order to recover the Cure Decors and restore her power.

Bad End Kingdom

The homeplace of the antagonists of the series, whose residents invaded Märchenland and traveled to Earth in an attempt to give it the "Worst Ending" by collecting Bad Energy. They perform this by absorbing the Bad Energy from people's sorrows, using the energy to fuel the revival of Pierrot.

Pierrot (ピエーロ, Piēro)

Voiced by: Tesshō Genda

The main antagonist of the series and the evil emperor of the Bad End Kingdom. According to his subordinates, he was sealed at the beginning of the story with the queen. Whenever his minions collect Bad Energy from humans, Pierrot becomes one step closer to reviving. However, though revived, Pierrot is defeated by the Pretty Cures in their Princess forms with part of him escaping and reforming into an egg that hatches using the Bad Energy that Joker amassed as he offers his own life to resurrect Pierrot in a new form. Pierrot nearly destroyed the world before the Pretty Cure defeat him for good.

Wolfrun (ウルフルン, Urufurun)

Voiced by: Tomoyuki Shimura

One of the Bad End Kingdom's Three Commanders, an anthropomorphic grey wolf with white-hair and wearing a leather biker's outfit. Wolfrun's appearance alludes to the wolves portrayed in Three Little Pigs and Little Red Riding Hood. In Episode 45, it turns out that he, Akaoni and Majorina were fairies from Märchenland who help Joker's plan because they want to escape from being bullied by other Märchenland denizens, is purified back into his original form Wolrun (ウルルン, Ururun)

Akaoni (アカオーニ, Akaōni)

Voiced by: Hiroshi Iwasaki

One of the Bad End Kingdom's Three Commanders, based on the oni who appear in Japanese fairy tales. He has red skin and sports a large afro and a club, often ending his sentences with 'oni'. He is eventually purified back to his original form Oninin (オニニン).

Majorina (マジョリーナ, Majorīna)

Voiced by: Miina Tominaga

One of the Bad End Kingdom's Three Commanders, based on the witches of Hansel and Gretel and Snow White. Though short, Majorina is often making various magical inventions to use against the Cures, usually with poor naming sense. She often ends here sentences with 'wasa'. She is capable of transforming into a younger, more slender form, which she refers to as "Majorina Time", in order to fight against opponents directly. She is eventually purified back to her original form Majorin (マジョリン, Majorin).

Joker (ジョーカー, Jōkā)

Voiced by: Yūji Mitsuya

One of Pierrot's subordinates, who is the creator of the Akanbe noses and leads the Three Commanders. His appearance is based off the harlequins in some fairy tales. Vibrant as his clownish appearance, Joker tends to playfully break out in acrobatics and has a bouncy personality, but it is clear that he is a sadistic lover of destruction. He is able to use playing cards to ensnare victims, block attacks and turn his opponents' energy against them. After the three commanders were defeated, Joker takes matters into his own hands by creating the Bad End Pretty Cure to distract the Pretty Cure while he attempts to kill Candy before the Royale Queen intervened. Despite his failed attempt, revealed to be an extension of Pierrot, Joker sacrifices himself to complete Pierrot's revival and his remains are absorbed in the process.

Bad End Pretty Cure (バッドエンドプリキュア, Baddo Endo Purikyua)

Voiced by: Misato Fukuen, Voiced by: Asami Tano, Voiced by: Hisako Kanemoto, Voiced by: Marina Inoue, Voiced by: Chinami Nishimura

Clones created from the Smile Cures by Joker in Episode 46 using Joker's five trap cards. Each of the Bad End Cures are a reflection of the original, but they selfishly seek their own happiness and others' misfortune instead of the happiness of others.

Akanbe (アカンベェ, Akanbee)

Voiced by: Hiro Sasaki

The Akanbe are the series' monster of the week, created when the Akanbe Noses created by Joker enter a random object. They have many different versions in this story. Akanbe literally means the action of "pulling one's eyelid down and sticking out one's tongue".

• Red nosed Akanbe: require a Cure Decor to be summoned, the basic version of the bunch.
• Blue nosed Akanbe: do not require Cure Decors and are resistant to most of the Cures' attacks.
• Yellow nosed Akanbe: Joker's personal Akanbe which, like the red nosed Akanbe are created with one Cure Decor, though are slightly stronger.
• Super Akanbe: summoned from large noses formed by combining two noses (thus using two Cure Decors), and are more powerful than normal Akanbe, though have a tendency to go out of control.
• Hyper Akanbe: created from noses covered with black ink and fuses the Akanbe with its user, giving them direct control and more resistance against Cure attacks, but drains the user's life force.

Minor characters

Namie Sasaki (佐々木 なみえ, Sasaki Namie)

Voiced by: Ryōko Ono

Miyuki's homeroom teacher in Nanairogaoka Public Middle School.

Keita, Haru, Hina, Yūta and Kōta Midorikawa (緑川 けいた、はる、ひな、ゆうた、こうた, Midorikawa Keita, Haru, Hina, Yūta, Kōta)

Voiced by: Yuka Terasaki, Chinatsu Akasaki, Yukiyo Fujii, Ikumi Nakagami, Ryōko Hikida

Nao's five younger siblings. In order of age, the 3rd and 4th ones are girls, the rest are boys. In episode 42, Tomoko also gives birth to the youngest daughter, Yui (ゆい).

Genji Midorikawa (緑川 源次, Midorikawa Genji) and Tomoko Midorikawa (緑川 とも子, Midorikawa Tomoko)

Voiced by: Nobutoshi Canna, Voiced by: Rie Takahashi

Nao's parents.

Irie (入江)

Voiced by: Tomoyuki Higuchi

The student council president in Nanairogaoka Public Middle School, he's a handsome guy and very popular among female students.

Runa Terada (寺田 るな, Terada Runa)

Voiced by: Chinatsu Akasaki

The student council clerk in Nanairogaoka Public Middle School.

Chiharu Kise (黄瀬 ちはる, Kise Chiharu)

Voiced by: Kyoko Hikami

Yayoi's mother, who works as a fashion stage manager.

Yūichi Kise (黄瀬 勇一, Kise Yūichi)

Voiced by: Shuhei Sakaguchi

Yayoi's late father. He was the one who gave Yayoi her name.

Daigo Hino (日野 大悟, Hino Daigo)

Voiced by: Masaki Terasoma

Akane's father. He runs the okonomiyaki shop "Akane", named after his daughter because it opened after her birth.

Masako Hino (日野 正子, Hino Masako)

Voiced by: Satsuki Yukino

Akane's mother. She doesn't help her husband's business because she can't cook herself.

Genki Hino (日野 げんき, Hino Genki)

Voiced by: Ryoko Shiraishi

Akane's younger brother, a freshman in the basketball club in Nanairogaoka Public Middle School.

Ikuyo Hoshizora (星空 育代, Hoshizora Ikuyo) and Hiroshi Hoshizora (星空 博司, Hoshizora Hiroshi)

Voiced by: Mariko Kouda, Voiced by: Toshihiko Seki

Miyuki's parents.

Tae Hoshizora (星空 タエ, Hoshizora Tae)

Voiced by: Yoshiko Matsuo

Miyuki's grandmother, who lives alone in the countryside. Her unfaltering optimism makes her incapable of falling into despair.

Soutarou Aoki (青木 曾太郎, Aoki Sōtarō)

Voiced by: Tomomichi Nishimura

Reika's grandfather, who is a Japanese calligraphy expert.

Shizuko Aoki (青木 静子, Aoki Shizuko)

Voiced by: Emi Shinohara

Reika's mother, who is an aikido expert.

Junnosuke Aoki (青木 淳之介, Aoki Junnosuke)

Voiced by: Kiyohito Yoshikai

Reika's older brother, who is now a judo protégé.

Brian Taylor (ブライアン・テイラー, Buraian Teirā)

Voiced by: Tetsuya Kakihara

A guest character in episode 36. He is an exchange student from the United Kingdom. He comes to Miyuki's class for three weeks, and befriends Akane over the course of these three weeks.

Fujiwara

Voiced by: Toshifumi Fujimoto and Takayuki Haranishi

An owarai comedy duo who guest star in episode 17.

Movie Characters

Nico (ニコ, Niko)

Voiced by: Megumi Hayashibara

A purple-haired girl who appears in the movie. She comes from a world of picture books, her story being from a book whose pages had been torn out, leaving the story unfinished. The book was picked up by a young Miyuki, who made a promise to draw the ending herself but gave up due to her inability to draw well. This led Nico to build up a resentment towards Miyuki over time, and became persuaded by the Demon Lord of her book to hate her, fuelling his power.

Demon King (魔王, Maō)

The antagonist in the movie who used Nico's hatred against Miyuki as his power. Once purified, he returns back as his small form.

Media

Anime

The anime aired on ABC and other ANN stations between February 5, 2012 and January 27, 2013, replacing Suite PreCure♪ in its previous timeslot. The opening theme is "Let's go! Smile PreCure!" (Let’s go!スマイルプリキュア！, Retsu gō! Sumairu Purikyua) by Aya Ikeda. The ending theme used in episodes 1-24 is "Yay! Yay! Yay!" (イェイ！イェイ！イェイ！, Yei! Yei! Yei!) by Hitomi Yoshida, and the ending theme for episodes 25-48 is "Mankai Smile!" (満開＊スマイル！, Mankai Sumairu!, "Full Bloom Smile!") also by Yoshida.^[2] All three songs are composed by Hideaki Takatori. A Blu-ray Box Set by Marvelous AQL and TC Entertainment was released on October 26, 2012, in the same fashion as Suite PreCure.^[3] Standard DVD releases were also issued.

Films

The heroines appear in the fourth Pretty Cure All Stars movie, titled Pretty Cure All Stars New Stage: Friends of the Future (プリキュアオールスターズ New Stage みらいのともだち, PuriKyua Ōru Sutāzu Nyū Sutēji: Mirai no Tomodachi). The movie was released in Japanese theatres on March 17, 2012 and on DVD on July 18, 2012. They also appeared in its follow-up, Pretty Cure All Stars New Stage 2: Friends of the Heart (プリキュアオールスターズ New Stage 2 こころのともだち, PuriKyua Ōru Sutāzu Nyū Sutēji 2: Kokoro no Tomodachi), which was released on March 16, 2013. A film based on the series, titled Smile PreCure! The Movie: Big Mismatch in a Picture Book! (映画 スマイルプリキュア！ 絵本の中はみんなチグハグ！, Eiga Sumairu Purikyua!: Ehon no Naka wa Minna Chiguhagu!)^[4][5] was released in Japanese theaters on October 27, 2012.^[6] It is currently the highest rated Pretty Cure movie to date, debuting at the no.1 spot in the Japanese Box Office and earned a total revenue of ¥193,000,000 (US$2.42 million).^[7]

Soundtracks

The music in the anime is composed and arranged by Yasuharu Takanashi, who previously composed the other Pretty Cure series Fresh Pretty Cure!, HeartCatch PreCure! and Suite PreCure. The official soundtrack to the series is divided into two editions, "PreCure Sound Parade!!" and "PreCure Sound Rainbow!!". There are also three vocal albums as well: "Spread out! Smile World!!", "Hey, Everyone Smile!!" and the vocal best album along with the movie's official soundtrack.

Manga

A manga adaptation by Futago Kamikita began serialization in Kodansha's Nakayoshi magazine in March 2012 and ended in February 2013.

Merchandise

Merchandise of the anime were also issued during the series's initial run including bags, watches, raincoats, etc. Several toys featuring the Cure's transformation devices and weapons were also released by Bandai during the series' airing. Some of the cures were also released as part of Bandai's long running S.H.Figuarts line of collectors figures.

Video game

A video game titled 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, Sumairu PuriKyua! Rettsu Gō! Meruhenwārudo) was developed by Namco Bandai Games and released in Japan for the Nintendo 3DS on August 2, 2012. The game sees the Cures take on the roles of various fairy tales such as Snow White, The Tortoise and the Hare, Cinderella and Hansel and Gretel.^[8]

References

External links

• Toei Animation's Smile PreCure! site (Japanese)
• ABC's Smile PreCure! site (Japanese)
• Smile PreCure! (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia