Futari wa Pretty Cure - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Pretty Cure, known in Japan as , is a Japanese magical girl

Magical girl

belong to a sub-genre of Japanese fantasy anime and manga. Magical girl stories feature young girls with superhuman abilities, forced to fight evil and to protect the Earth. They often possess a secret identity, although the name can just refer to young girls who follow a plotline involving magic...

anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

series, part of the Pretty Cure
Pretty Cure
is a Japanese magical girl anime metaseries created by Izumi Todo and produced by ABC and Toei Animation. The first program Futari wa Pretty Cure debuted in 2004 and has continued with sequels and spinoffs into the current series Suite PreCure♪ airing in 2011 as part of Asahi Broadcasting...

metaseries produced by Toei Animation

Toei Animation

Toei Animation Co., Ltd. is a Japanese animation studio owned by Toei Co., Ltd. The studio was founded in 1948 as Japan Animated Films . In 1956, Toei purchased the studio and it was reincorporated under its current name...

and broadcast across Japan by Animax

Animax

is a Japanese anime satellite television network, dedicated to broadcasting anime programming. A subsidiary of Japanese media conglomerate Sony, it is headquartered in in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, with its co-founders and shareholders including Sony Pictures Entertainment and the noted anime studios...

, TV Asahi

TV Asahi

, also known as EX and , is a Japanese television network headquartered in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The company writes its name in lower-case letters, tv asahi, in its logo and public-image materials. The company also owns All-Nippon News Network....

and Asahi Broadcasting Corporation

Asahi Broadcasting Corporation

is a regional radio and television broadcaster headquartered in Osaka, Japan, serving in the Kansai region.-Offices:*Headquarters: 1-30, Fukushima Itchome, Fukushima-ku, Osaka-shi, Japan...

. The series is watched mostly by elementary and secondary students in Japan; it is also broadcast around the world. The original Pretty Cure series, directed by Daisuke Nishio

Daisuke Nishio

Daisuke Nishio in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. He is a Japanese animator. He joined Toei Doga as animator in 1981. After doing several TV series, was promoted to assistant director with "Dr. Slump" in 1982. Debuted as film director with "Dragon Ball: Secret of Dragon God" in 1986...

aired on TV Asahi between February 1, 2004 and January 30, 2005. It is the only Pretty Cure series to date to have received an English language version, which aired in Canada from March 2009. A direct sequel, , or simply Max Heart, aired in Japan between February 6, 2005 and January 29, 2006. Two Max Heart movies were released on April 16, 2005 and December 10, 2005 respectively.

Plot

The first story revolves around two girls, Nagisa Misumi and Honoka Yukishiro, who encounter the Garden of Light's Mipple and Mepple, who give them the means to the fight the forces of the Dark Zone: a dimension of evil

Evil

Evil is the violation of, or intent to violate, some moral code. Evil is usually seen as the dualistic opposite of good. Definitions of evil vary along with analysis of its root motive causes, however general actions commonly considered evil include: conscious and deliberate wrongdoing,...

that has encroached on the Garden of Light and is now about to do the same to the Garden of Rainbows, Earth. The initial run of the series has Cure White and Cure Black searching for the Prism Stones, and they place them in a heart-shaped device known as the Prism Hopish. The Hopish is protected by the Guardian, Wisdom. Once they have discovered all the Prism Stones, its power takes them to the Garden of Light and repairs most of the damage done by the Dark Zone. Later in the series, Porun, the Prince of the Garden of Light, grants the Pretty Cure duo use of their Rainbow Bracelets as they defeat the Dark King.

Max Heart continues the story when Nagisa and Honoka meet the mysterious Hikari Kujou, revealed to be the "Life" of the Queen with no memory of her life before and powers scattered in the form of the "Heartiel." But as the Pretty Cure duo attempt to find the Heartiel, remnants of the Dark Zone are protecting a mysterious boy suspected to be the "Life" of the Dark King. Cure Black and Cure White fight back these new enemies with Hikari backing them up as Shiny Luminous.

Characters

Where appropriate, names on the left are from the original Japanese version, whilst names on the right without Japanese text are from the Canadian English dub. Character descriptions pertain to the Japanese version of the show.

Pretty Cures

/ Natalie Blackstone /

Nagisa is the ace of the school lacrosse

Lacrosse

Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...

team. She is also a close friend of Akane Fujita, a former lacrosse player who runs her own takoyaki

Takoyaki

is a popular ball-shaped Japanese dumpling or more like a savory pancake made of batter and cooked in a special takoyaki pan...

stand. She is strong-hearted, though it usually quite lazy when it comes to her homework. She is also a food lover, her favourite dish being the takoyaki

Takoyaki

is a popular ball-shaped Japanese dumpling or more like a savory pancake made of batter and cooked in a special takoyaki pan...

served at Akane's stand. Although generally courageous, she will become quite flustered when near Shougo, who she has a crush on. She is often known for her catchphrase of yelling . As Cure Black, she is strong and passionate.

/ Hannah Whitehouse /

A quiet girl who lives with her grandmother Sanae and her dog Chuutaro, as her parents are constantly working overseas. She is quite knowledgable and is often nicknamed 'The Queen of Knowledge. Her specialty is the science club, where she is looked up to by the others. Honoka has not had many friends, but the few she has seem to be really close to her, and she has come to appreciate Nagisa's friendship. As Cure White, she is swift and graceful.

A shy blonde girl who appears in Max Heart. She is "Life of the Queen" in human form after the Queen got split apart following her last encounter with the Dark King. Going under the guise of Akane's cousin and working at her takoyaki stand, Akane enrols into Nagisa and Honoka's middle school two years under them and becomes friends with them. She later gains the ability to use Porun to transform in Shiny Luminous, gaining further power from Lulun. Although she does not have much strength or skill in fighting, she can use her abilities to hamper opponents and enhance Black and White's attacks.

The Garden of Light

Mepple is the chosen protector of the Princess of Hope who allows Nagisa to transform into Cure Black. He is rather lovey-dover with Mipple and is often annoyed when Porun takes her attention away from him. He is noticeably selfish as he often bothers Nagisa to feed him and occasionally pokes fun at her. He resides with Nagisa and ends his sentences with "mepo". Both Mipple and Mepple can only stay in their true forms for a short time before growing tired, so they generally take energy-saving forms resembling cellphones.

Mepple is the Princess of Hope

Hope

Hope is the emotional state which promotes the belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances in one's life. It is the "feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best" or the act of "look[ing] forward to with desire and reasonable confidence" or...

from the Garden of Light. She, like Honoka, is generally more reserved than her male counterpart. She's always sticking up for Porun, though, once he comes on the scene, and that tends to cause problems between her and Mepple. She resides predominantly with Honoka and ends all her sentences with the word "mipo". She gets annoyed of Mepple getting angry at Poron very often.

Porun is the Prince of the Garden of Light. He is sent to Earth after Pretty Cure gather all the prism stones. The Queen gives a cryptic

Cryptic

Cryptic can refer to:* Crypsis, of animals that are difficult to observe* Cryptic crossword, a crossword with cryptic clues* Cryptic era, earliest period of the Earth* Cryptic, an album by Edge of Sanity* Cryptic Writings, an album by Megadeth...

statement about his powers aiding Pretty Cure. Later, when Wisdom is in trouble, Wisdom places the power of the Rainbow Stones into Porrun without his knowledge. This gives him the ability to remain in his regular form as well as the ability to communicate with various people from the Garden of Light. When communicating with members of the Garden of Light, he turns into what looks like a gaming console and everyone can hear what is said and communicate openly. He also grants Pretty Cure the power of light which gives them their Rainbow Bracelets. He tends to be extremely selfish and think only of himself. He is quite childish and has a lot of energy. He can get a little annoying at times and definitely annoys Mepple when he wants to be alone with Mipple. Conversely, he himself is bothered whenever Lulun wants to play with him. He lives predominantly with Nagisa in Pretty Cure and with Hikari in Max Heart. He tends to end his sentences with "popo". He enjoys getting between Mipple and Mepple.

The Princess of Light who can connect the future who appears in Max Heart. She thinks of Porun as her older brother and always annoyed him. Lulun can give the Heartiel Broach to Luminous. She ends her sentences with "-lulu".

The ruler of the , a realm protected by the power of the Prism stones. She appears as a huge CGI

Computer-generated imagery

Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...

woman sitting on a throne, though she is easily overtowered by the Dark King. She carries a heart-shaped item of some sort. She has stated that she is impressed with the courage of Pretty Cure and aids them when she can. She seems to always be closing her eyes. During Max Heart, the Queen's is split apart into Hikari and the twelve Heatiels.

Wisdom, often referred to as simple is the keeper of Prism Stones, often residing on top of the Prism Hopish. His expressions often range from very sleepy to overly spooked.

A wise sage who resides in the Garden of Light. Despite his wisdom, he often keeps forgetting Nagisa and Honoka's names and referring to them as the Pretty Cura.

The Heartiels are twelve fairies who are the embodiment of the Queen's Will. The Pretty Cure duo gather the Heartiels and place them in the Queen Chairect, an item that represent the Queen's Heart, in hopes of making Queen whole again. When Pretty Cure wants one of the Heartiels to come out of the Queen Chairect and help them, Seekun will turn the knob around to let out one of the Heartiels.

: The first of the Heartiels discovered, representing the Queen's sense of adventure and discovery. She asks a lot of questions and seems relatively naive about the world. When the girls need the help of another Heartiel, it is Seekun's job to call the Heartiel out of the Queen Chairect. She is the last Heartiel to enter the chairect. Her symbol in the chairect is the telescope. She seems to prefer Nagisa, as she enjoys spending time with her more than Honoka.

can sometimes be seen flying with a white dove in some episodes. His symbol in the chairect is the torch. His Pigeon always lands on Nagisa's head.

first appeared in episode 9, but met Pretty Cure in episode 10. She is mostly seen with a treasure box with her. Her symbol in the chairect is the treasure chest.

Her symbol in the chairect is the snowflake.

is the only Heartiel who has been entrusted with the Book of Wisdom. In episode 22, she helped Pretty Cure find a solution to oppose the power of Baldez with the help of the Book of Wisdom. At first, she did not like Nagisa, but she soon developed a liking for Nagisa, after seeing her Pure heart. Her symbol in the chairect is the book.

Her symbol in the chairect is the mirror.

First seen at the end of episode 31.

Her symbol in the chairect is the bell.

His symbol in the chairect is the pocket watch.

Dark Zone

The villains of the first series emerge from the , which is a realm of darkness ruled by the Dark King.

The imprisoned ruler of the Dark Zone, somewhat humanoid in form that appears to come out of the ground. He is very tall and muscular with red eyes and extremely long arms. He does not appear to wear clothing. He wants to acquire the Prism Stones to prevent the "power to consume all things" from eventually destroying his own body, and to become immortal—he believes that it is the fate of all things to be consumed by the darkness. Like the Queen of the Garden of Light, the Dark King is animated by CGI

Computer-generated imagery

are the grunts that serve under the Dark Zone, infecting people or items to turn them evil.

Dark Five

The Dark King's first wave of servants.

/ Pijard

The first of the Dark Five to appear. Pisard is often thought to resemble a member of KISS

KISS (band)

Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...

, but when one looks closely, his look is closer to that of a male Kabuki

Kabuki

is classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.The individual kanji characters, from left to right, mean sing , dance , and skill...

actor in "keshō" ("make up"), having long hair and a painted face.

The strongman of the Dark Five, large and muscular with a moai

Moai

Moai , or mo‘ai, are monolithic human figures carved from rock on the Chilean Polynesian island of Easter Island between the years 1250 and 1500. Nearly half are still at Rano Raraku, the main moai quarry, but hundreds were transported from there and set on stone platforms called ahu around the...

-shaped head. He relies on his brawn rather than his brain. Easily having the highest fortitude of the group, Gekidrago can take a direct, unprotected hit from a Marble Screw (or Twister in the English Dub) and only be knocked out for a few minutes. He often ends his sentences with "-Muka".

/ Pandora

The only woman of the Dark Five. Instead of making a big show of calling on Zakenna like Pisard and Gekidorago, she snaps her fingers and is much more discreet about it. She often takes on a human appearance to gain the trust of the girls before attacking. In her true form, she resembles a vampire

Vampire

Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...

: She is pale, dresses in black tinted with red, wears a cape and has fangs, dark-rimmed yellow and red eyes and long red hair.

/ Kirea

The youngest of the Dark Five, Poisonny's younger brother, he comes to the Garden of Rainbows (Earth) in order to spy on Nagisa and Honoka, infiltrating their school as a freshman and ends up becoming friends with them, developing a fondness and love for Honoka after she shows kindness to him. Later on he starts to have emotions and feelings for Honoka while trying to understand human emotions, resulting with him unable to fight the Pretty Cure duo. This act results with him sent back to the Dark Zone, but not before willingly giving a Prism Stone to the Pretty Cure duo. After the Dark King is destroyed, Kiriya returns as a normal human and lives an equally normal life.

The most powerful of the five and the Dark King's right-hand man. He can block the Marble Screw with just his abilities, as well as many other attacks, but his fortitude isn't as high as Gekidrago, as a direct hit will still hurt him. He first appeared on Earth, but did not start seriously fighting the girls until after Kiriya is sent back to the Dark Zone. He is defeated in episode 24 but made a brief comeback in episode 25 in which he battles Pretty Cure and takes them to the Dark Zone in a far more monstrous (and powerful) form. He is large, pale and bald with pointed ears and dark-rimmed eyes that resemble those of Kiriya. He wears a white robe and carries a purple sphere.

Three Seeds of Darkness

When the Dark Five are defeated, new enemies appear: the Three Seeds of Darkness. The Seeds of Darkness are joined by Macaw
Macaw
Macaws are small to large, often colourful New World parrots. Of the many different Psittacidae genera, six are classified as macaws: Ara, Anodorhynchus, Cyanopsitta, Primolius, Orthopsittaca, and Diopsittaca...

, their pet bird; and the . The butlers serve as comic relief

Comic relief

Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.-Definition:...

, as they are unintelligent and tend to fight and bicker a lot. However, unlike other Zakenna, they speak human language, only using "-zakenna" to end their sentences. The taller Zakenna is laid back and somewhat clumsy, while the shorter Zakenna is quick to anger.

/

The de facto

De facto

De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...

leader of the group. He's a plotter and a sadist

Sadism and masochism as medical terms

In psychiatry, the terms sadism and masochism describe a personality type characterized by the actor or actrix deriving pleasure and gratification from inflicting physical pain and humiliation ; and from suffering pain and humiliation upon the self ; such pleasure often is sexual, but not...

. He is first seen in the series impersonating a doctor. He is able to blend in by making people think he is someone else. Due to his own ego, it's always someone of a high position, like head doctor or principal.

The lone female of the trio. She starts out as a pretty red head, but then transforms and her hair stands straight back, then bounces into six curls. When in human form, she has a tendency to mumble things twice, then suddenly she will scream out without warning, shocking everyone. She is far more confident in her dark form, though.

The tall young man of the trio. More the muscle of the group, Juna is quite stoic and his expression seldom changes. His human alias is who is made as his original form in the English version.

The Zakenna butlers are intelligent Zakenna (though not by much) who look after the mansion resided by The Three Seeds and the Four Guardians.

Four Guardians

The Four Guardians are what remains of the Dark Zone, serving as the protectors of the "Life" of the Evil King whom they go to lengths to revive.

The strongest of the four Guardians. He can repel the Marble Screw, Luminous Heartiel Action and Extreme Luminario attacks. Moreover, his true form is the spirit of the Dark King.

Appears to be the "leader" of the group whenever Baldez isn't around. He often bickers with Uraganos.

Large and dim-witted. He is clumsy and tends to destroy things by accident due to his size and strength. Uraganos also to never seem to hear people finish their sentences, especially Circulas.

The more serious of the group. She often scolds Uraganos and Circulas when they argue and is more intimidating. She is also the type to never apologize even when she was wrong.

A mysterious boy who is actually the 'Life' of the Dark King. He often plays games with the Butler Zakenna though often seeks fun outside of the mansion. He is seemingly linked to Hikari, as various incidents occur when the two come face to face. At the end of the series, the boy becomes Hikari's little brother, Hikaru.

Other characters

/ Alex

Akane is a previous captain of Nagisa's lacrosse team who now runs her own takoyaki

Takoyaki

is a popular ball-shaped Japanese dumpling or more like a savory pancake made of batter and cooked in a special takoyaki pan...

stand, which Nagisa frequently visits. In Max Heart, she serves as Hikari's guardian under the assumption that she is her cousin, possibly due to the manipulation of the Queen.

/ Ferguson

Often nicknamed 'Fujipi' by his friends, Shogo is a childhood friend of Honoka who Nagisa has a crush on. He is a hardworking player on his soccer team and often finds comfort in Nagisa's advice.

/ Ryan Blackstone

Nagisa's little brother, who has a habit of annoying her and getting put in a headlock as punishment.

Honoka's grandmother who takes care of her whilst her parents work overseas. She appears to know a lot about the Pretty Cure, as she found Mipple at a young age, though she keeps this a secret from Honoka and Nagisa.

Special Moves

Cure Black and Cure White's main finishing technique, in which they combine their Black Thunder and White Thunder and fire it into a fearsome corkscrew that blasts through the enemy. Known as the Marble Twister in the Canadian English Dub.

A move which was seldom used by Cure Black and Cure White. This combines the power of a Black Pulsar and a White Pulsar to form a healing aura that cleanses and object or person of Zakenna influence.

A move performed by Cure Black and Cure White using Rainbow Gauntlets given to them by Porun after he was giving the power of the Prism Stones. Launches a powerful rainbow coloured blast which overwhelms enemies.

An enhanced version of the Marble Screw that Cure Black and Cure White are able to use after Mepple and Mipple are upgraded in Max Heart.

Using the Sparkle Bracelets, Cure Black and Cure White can further enhance the power of the Marble Screw Max.

A support move performed by Shiny Luminous, in which she increases the size of her Heartiel Baton and launches it at the enemy, slowing down their movements.

A combination attack performed by Cure Black, Cure White and Shiny Luminous. Luminous fires rainbow power from her Heartiel Baton which powers of Black and White, allowing them to launch a rainbow coloured blast at the opponent.

Anime

The original Futari wa Pretty Cure anime aired in Japan between February 1, 2004 and January 30, 2005. The opening theme is by Mayumi Gojo

Mayumi Gojo

is a Japanese singer from Ibaraki Prefecture. She formerly worked under Hyper Voice Managements. Currently she is affiliated with the Love&Light talent management agency. Gojo is known for her theme song performances for anime series such as Ojamajo Doremi, Pretty Cure, and Yumeiro Patissiere...

whilst the ending theme is also by Gojo. The follow up series, Futari wa Pretty Cure 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 Flesh, whilst the second ending theme, used for episodes 37-47 is by Gojo.

On February 25, 2006, 4Kids Entertainment

4Kids Entertainment

4Kids Entertainment is an American film and television production company in bankruptcy since April 2011. It is known for English-dubbing Japanese anime and specializing in the acquisition, production and licensing of children's entertainment around the United States...

announced broadcasting and distribution rights for Pretty Cure in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, though never produced an English version of it. In July, 2008, Toei Animation began making episodes available through IGN

IGN

IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...

's Direct2Drive

Direct2Drive

Direct2Drive is an online game store offering PC videogames via direct download. On May 25, 2011, Gamefly acquired Direct2Drive from IGN Entertainment Group .- Competition with Steam :...

service subtitled into English., and have also started making those same episodes available for free internet streaming on the Crunchyroll website. The subtitles were produced by "Nippon Golden Network", a Hawaii-based cable network that broadcasts Asian programming (mostly from Japan). In April 2009, Funimation licensed the English-subtitled version of the series for online distribution on the company's website.

An English-dubbed version was produced by Toei and Ocean Productions

The Ocean Group

Ocean Productions Inc. is a voice-recording production company located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. There services include localizing foreign animation into English, as well as translation, script writing, original music scores, sound FX and video production.Their most prolific clients...

which aired on Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

's YTV channel from March 6, 2009 to July 31, 2010. The English dub makes several changes to character names, cultural references and theme music, though mostly retains the original version's main soundtrack. This dub also aired in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

on the PopGirl digital channel from September 6, 2010.

Movies

Two movies set in the Max Heart season. The first, premiered April 16, 2005. In the movie, the creatures Round, Square, Marquis, Oval, Heart, Pear and Triliant who reside in the Garden of Hope (希望の園 Kibou no Sono) have called in Pretty Cure to save their world from a witch from the Dark Zone who wants to take the Garden of Hope's Diamond Line, which consists of several pieces of jewelry worn by the Queen of Hope on her birthday. These jewels, if fallen in the wrong hands, will cause the Garden of Hope to become unbalanced, thereby causing everything else to become destroyed and enabling the restoration of the Dark King.

The second movie, premiered December 10, 2005. In this movie, Sage accidentally drops the egg containing a houou to the Garden of Rainbows. Hikari retrieves the creature and names it Hinata (warm). Sage eventually finds Hinata and travels up into the Garden of Clouds with Pretty Cure and Hikari. Sage explains that this rare houou is important in contributing heat and warmth to all the worlds. They need a blessing from the queen in the Garden of Light to ensure its healthy life. However, Frozen and Freezen, both against warmth, inhibits Hinata's success by freezing her.

Nagisa, Honoka and Hikari also appear in the Pretty Cure All Stars DX
Pretty Cure All Stars DX
or Pretty Cure All Stars DX are a series of Japanese anime films based on the Pretty Cure franchise. Each movie features a storyline which crosses over characters from all the Pretty Cure anime series to date.-Common elements:...

crossover movies, released between 2009 and 2011.

Videogames

Four video games based on the two series have been released in Japan by Bandai

Bandai

is a Japanese toy making and video game company, as well as the producer of a large number of plastic model kits. It is the world's third-largest producer of toys . Some ex-Bandai group companies produce anime and tokusatsu programs...

. An educational video game was released for the Sega Pico

Sega Pico

The Sega Pico, also known as , was an electronic toy by Sega. The aim of creating the Pico was to get more young children to use video game systems....

in 2004. A puzzle platformer, , was released for Game Boy Advance

Game Boy Advance

The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...

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

Beat 'em up

Beat 'em up is a video game genre featuring melee combat between the protagonist and a large number of underpowered antagonists. These games typically take place in urban settings and feature crime-fighting and revenge-based plots, though some games may employ historical or fantasy themes...

game, was also released in 2005 for the Nintendo DS

Nintendo DS

The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...

. Nagisa, Honoka and Hikari have also appeared in other Nintendo DS

Nintendo DS

games based on subsequent Pretty Cure series.

Reception

The series has proven popular enough with Japanese viewers to warrant several spin off series. In a TV Asahi

TV Asahi

opinion poll, Pretty Cure appeared in the 45th position, above other series of the magical girl

Magical girl

genre like Cutie Honey
Cutie Honey
is a Japanese media franchise created by Go Nagai. Cutie Honey first appears on volume 41 of the 1973 edition of Shōnen Champion. According to Nagai, she is the first female to be the protagonist of a shōnen manga series....

(technically not a "magical girl" series in the same sense; see article for details), Cardcaptor Sakura
Cardcaptor Sakura
, abbreviated as CCS and also known as Cardcaptors, is a Japanese shōjo manga series written and illustrated by the manga artist group Clamp. The manga was originally serialized monthly in Nakayoshi from the May 1996 until the June 2000 issue, and later published in 12 tankōbon volumes by Kodansha...

, and Magical Angel Creamy Mami.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.