Precure
| Fandom | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Pretty Cure (プリキュアシリーズ, Purikyua Shirīzu) |
| Abbreviation(s): | PreCure, Precure, PC |
| Creator: | Izumi Todo |
| Date(s): | 2004-Present |
| Medium: | Anime, Manga, Video Games |
| Country of Origin: | Japan |
| External Links: | Offical Website/JPWikipedia |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Pretty Cure, also known as PreCure/Precure or Purikyua Shirīzu, is a Japanese magical girl series that codified the Magical Girl Warrior archetype. The franchise is noted for several key elements; a new season with a new cast and motifs (similar to Super Sentai and Kamen Rider), physical fights in most seasons, and a crossover movie series called All Stars. The anime has run each year with a different cast and plot, with the exceptions of Futari Wa Pretty Cure Max Heart and Yes! Precure 5 GoGo! (both being direct sequels to the previous season).
The English dub can be found on Netflix, under the name Glitter Force and Glitter Force Doki Doki. The dubs are of Smile! Pretty Cure, and DokiDoki! Pretty Cure respectively. The dubs were released in 2015-2016. Futari Wa Pretty Cure was dubbed in 2005, and was only available in the USA and Canada.
Canon
Series and Seasons
| Number | Title | Generation | Run | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Futari Wa Precure | 1 | 2004–2005 | 49 |
| 2 | Futari Wa Precure Max Heart | 2005–2006 | 47 | |
| 3 | Futari Wa Precure Splash Star | 2 | 2006–2007 | 49 |
| 4 | Yes! Precure 5 | 3 | 2007–2008 | 49 |
| 5 | Yes! Precure 5 GoGo | 2008–2009 | 48 | |
| 6 | Fresh Precure | 4 | 2009 – 2010 | 50 |
| 7 | HeartCatch Precure | 5 | 2010–2011 | 49 |
| 8 | Suite Precure | 6 | 2011–2012 | 48 |
| 9 | Smile Precure | 7 | 2012–2013 | 48 |
| 10 | Doki Doki! Precure | 8 | 2013–2014 | 49 |
| 11 | Happiness Charge Precure! | 9 | 2014–2015 | 49 |
| 12 | Go Princess Precure | 10 | 2015–2016 | 50 |
| 13 | Mahou Girls Precure | 11 | 2016–2017 | 50 |
| 14 | Kira Kira Precure | 12 | 2017–2018 | 49 |
| 15 | HUGtto Precure | 13 | 2018–2019 | 49 |
| 16 | Star Twinkle Precure | 14 | 2019–2020 | 49 |
| 17 | Healin' Good Precure | 15 | 2020–2021 | 45 |
| 18 | Tropical Rouge! Precure | 16 | 2021–2022 | 46 |
| 19 | Delicious Party Precure | 17 | 2022–2023 | 45 |
| 20 | Hirogaru Sky Precure | 18 | 2023–2024 | 50 |
| 21 | Wonderful Precure | 19 | 2024–TBA | TBA |
Precure season generations, while similar to season number, correlates to how many unique seasons of Precure there has been.
Glitter Force
Glitter Force is an English dub of Precure, which the first season becoming available on Netfilx in 2015. The dub consisted of a range of 40 episodes from Smile Precure, with 20 episodes for each season of the show. The second season aired in 2016[1]. Both of these seasons feature changes to character names, terminology and music; with additionally CGI endings created for the new ending songs in the show. These new CGI endings, due to being lower quality than the original CGI endings, spurred many criticisms from fans at the time[2]. Particularly, the cheap appearance of the lack of effort[3] that appeared to be put into the CGI endings was noted.
Further Glitter Force adaptions include Glitter Force Doki Doki, an adaptation of Doki Doki! Precure. Airing both seasons in 2017[4][5] it followed the lead of Glitter Force and changed the names and terminology in the show and cut out numerous episodes from the original show. Both seasons of Glitter Force Doki Doki consisted of 15 episodes, totalling 30 episodes in total. The cut 19 episodes from the original series confused fans[6], who wondered why certain episodes were cut.
Fandom
Shipping
Pie chart of top ten relationships in Ao3 under the PreCure fandom tag as of April 25th, 2024. Pie chart considers each relationship as if it was an individual fanwork.
Due to being a female-dominated franchise, yuri ships are very common and highly popular with older fans of the series. Several popular yuri ships are:
- Cure Black/Cure White
- Cure Peach/Cure Passion
- Cure Sunny/Cure March
- Cure Macron/Cure Chocolat
- Cure Star/Cure Milky
- Cure Summer/Cure La Mer
- Cure Sky/Cure Prism
Problematic ships include:
- Cure Dream/Coco, while canon, is problematic due to the teacher/student dynamic of their pairing
- Cure Beauty/Joker (Chloe/Rascal in the dub)
- Cure Grace/Daruizen, Enemies to Lovers
- Cure Wing/Cure Butterfly, while more popular in Japan, is taboo in the West due to their large age gap
Fanfiction
As of the April 25th 2024, the amount of fanfiction under the 'PreCure' fandom tag on Ao3 is 2,263. The most popular ships written about include Cure Black/Cure White and Cure Prism/Cure Sky. Notable examples of fanfiction include:
- Rekindle the Stars by teawithmugi
- Just Because the World is Still Around Doesn’t Mean the Ones Protecting it Aren’t Teenage Idiots by SpinoKitten
- To You Far and Beyond by reallyafairy
Fanseries
A common feature within the Precure fandom is the creation of Precure fanseries, which often use tropes common to the Precure canon, the 'Cure' naming convention, and themes and motifs. This may be done to simulate being 'in charge of the brand' [7] Notable examples of fanseries include:
- Pretty Cure Season Touch by 我藤がなは (Gatoh Ganaha)
- Cure Queentet! by Hisaaki Ikumasa
- Tidal Song Precure by Kazuko.
Dubs, Subs, Fansubs, and Fandubs
Precure has been dubbed before (instances have been mentioned above), with subs of Futari Wa Pretty Cure, and Healin' Good Pretty Cure available on Crunchyroll. Fansubs can be found online. Fandubbing series, episodes, or clips are popular activities in the fandom. They can be found online on YouTube.
Futari Wa Precure would gain a Canadian dub in 2009. Smile Precure would gain an offical dub under the name Glitter Force in later 2015, with Doki Doki! Precure following in 2017 with Glitter Force Doki Doki. By many in the community, these dubs are viewed poorly, as they both removed mentions of Japanese culture and names, disgarded plot points and several episodes from both seasons. Despite this, Glitter Force resulted in an introduction of new fans to the community.
Fangames
Within the Precure fandom, dress up games or doll makers are highly popular and are used to create OC's or fanteams. Notable games/sites include: Glitter Cure, a dress up game with Precure inspired assets, the Gacha series by Lunime, and Picrew.
Notable fangames include:
- Laura Quest by intergoatlatic
- Assorted Dress Up Games by hapuriainen
Fanactivities
The Precure fandom commonly participates in challenges and other fandom activities.
Zines
- The Healin' Good Precure Zine (2021), by Cure Sparling Dreams can be found here:Amino - HGP Zine
- PreCure Forever Zine (2022) can be found on their Twitter.
- Habatake!: A Pretty Cure 20th Anniversary Zine (2023-2024)
Challenges and Events
The Precure community often interacts through challenges and events that provide space for the uplifting of creators. These events include:
References
- ^ https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2016-07-25/glitter-force-season-2-premieres-on-netflix-on-august-26/.104680
- ^ https://magicalgirlconfessions.tumblr.com/post/139779328965/im-mostly-just-amused-by-glitterforce-but-it-does
- ^ https://mlpforums.com/blogs/entry/18847-the-crappy-dubs-strike-back-glitter-force/
- ^ https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2017-07-19/glitter-force-doki-doki-listed-for-august-18-on-netflix/.119040
- ^ https://usa.newonnetflix.info/info/80175619
- ^ https://www.reddit.com/r/precure/comments/ms1a2w/about_the_episodes_missing_in_glitter_force_doki/
- ^ https://www.reddit.com/r/precure/comments/8rd4fl/what_makes_a_fan_series/