Futari wa Pretty Cure

Futari wa Pretty Cure (ふたりはプリキュア Futari wa Purikyua?, Lit. "We are Pretty Cure") is the original anime series that spawned the Pretty Cure franchise.
Directed by Nishio Daisuke and produced by Toei Animation, it premiered on TV Asahi on February 1, 2004, replacing the series Tomorrow's Nadja in its timeslot. The story revolves around two girls, Misumi Nagisa and Yukishiro Honoka, who fight the forces of the evil Dotsuku Zone. Unusual for a magical girl series, the fights are mostly physical hand-to-hand combat.
It has a sequel, Futari wa Pretty Cure Max Heart. The 15th anniversary of the series was celebrated in 2018 during the airing of HUGtto! Pretty Cure.
== Summary ==
The Dotsuku Zone's actions necessitated the escape of two of the Garden of Light's protectors, odd talkative creatures named Mepple and Mipple. They serve as a source of information and peanut gallery for the series and are usually found within Card Communes, transformation devices which resemble mobile phones. For some periods, they can transform into their real selves and interact more easily with each other.
The initial run of the series has Cure White and Cure Black searching for the Prism Stones, which they collect in a heart shaped device known as the Prism Hopish. The Prism Hopish is protected by the Guardian, Wisdom. Once they have collected all of the Prism Stones, their power takes them to the Garden of Light and repairs most of the damage.
The series motifs are rainbows and hearts, and the Cures' signature motif is the two parts of the Yin-Yang symbol, though it was later omitted in the sequel. Other than the rainbow and hearts motif, no true scheme of the whole season is noticed.
== Licensing ==
On February 25, 2006, 4Kids Entertainment announced broadcasting and distribution rights for Pretty Cure in the United States of America. However, 4Kids Entertainment never aired the show or produced an English version of it. The license eventually expired.
In April 2006, Mediacorp Central in Singapore started showing an English dubbed version of Pretty Cure in their Kids Central programming block. The dub was produced by Odex and Voiceovers Unlimited. This dub was never released on DVD or broadcast elsewhere, and no information other than the titles of some episodes and the names of some of the voice actors is known.
As of 2008, Toei Animation had attempted to market it themselves in the United States. In July 2008, they began making episodes available through IGN's Direct2Drive service subtitled into English.Toei also made 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. On Crunchyroll, the show appears in low video quality with a slight amount of white noise can be heard throughout. As of 2021, the quality is improved; no white noise, and the subtitles are made by Crunchyroll.
On December 16, 2008, Anime News Network, citing Animation Magazine, reported that Toei Animation made an agreement with the Canadian cable network YTV to air an English-dubbed version of the first Pretty Cure series in Canada. The series premiered on March 6, 2009, with Nagisa and Honoka renamed as "Natalie Blackstone" and "Hannah Whitehouse" respectively. The dub is produced by Ocean Studios in Vancouver, BC, Canada, and recorded at Blue Water Studios in Calgary, Alberta. The final five episodes of the first series aired on July 31, 2010 on that channel.
In 2009, Funimation licensed the series for online distribution on the company's website as well as several other Toei titles, but Funimation no longer streams the show.
The show was also available on Hulu, with a slightly better quality than how it appeared on Crunchyroll. As of June 2016, it is no longer available.
It was also recently announced that the YTV version has begun airing on the UK Sky Digital Channel PopGirl. It is unknown who in the UK licensed the Canadian version for broadcast.
The show is available for streaming on the Tubi TV website. As of 2021, it uses the Nippon Golden Network release, including the subtitles. However, no white noise is heard.
== Characters ==
=== Pretty Cure ===
* Misumi Nagisa (美墨なぎさ Misumi Nagisa?) (Natalie "Nat" Blackstone in the English dub): Nagisa is the athletic heroine of the series. She is a member of the school's lacrosse team and is very popular. Although she is bad at school and is immature, she has her own sense of justice and never lets anyone dear to her down. Her alter ego is Cure Black (キュア・ブラック Kyua Burakku?), with her special abilities lying in her great physical strength and prowess.
* Yukishiro Honoka (雪城ほのか Yukishiro Honoka?) (Hannah Whitehouse in the English dub): Honoka is the best student in the class, and loves reading books and science. Though popular with the boys, she has no interest in them. She had a special bond with Kiriya, helping to teach him the virtues of kindness and friendship. The friends that she has are very close to her, and she will do everything to protect them. She has a lot of hope and can always see the good in people. Her alter ego is Cure White (キュア・ホワイト Kyua Howaito?), with her abilities lying in her vast intelligence and agility.
=== Mascots ===
* Mepple (メップル Meppuru?): He is the chosen protector of the Princess of Hope, and is in Nagisa's care. He is quite arrogant and constantly argues with with his care-taker, but he loves Mipple, and they are often seen having a "lovey-dovey" relationship. He ends his sentences with "-mepo" in the Japanese episodes.
* Mipple (ミップル Mippuru?): The Princess of Hope, and also in Honoka's care. Unlike Mepple, she is reserved and seems to get along well with her care-taker, but she still cares very much for him. She ends her sentences with "-mipo" in the Japanese episodes.
* Pollun (ポルン Porun?): The Prince of Light who is sent to be with Pretty Cure in the second half of the series. He is extremely selfish and usually only thinks of himself. He lives with Nagisa and annoys her and Mipple to a great extend. He ends his sentences with "-popo" in the Japanese episodes.
=== Dotsuku Zone ===
* Pisard (ピーサード Pīsādo?) (Pijard in the English dub): The first denizen of the Dotsuku Zone. He mainly uses his Zakenna to possess daily objects for use in fighting Pretty Cure. His prism stone was green.
* Gekidrago (ゲキドラーゴ Gekidorāgo?): The second denizen of the Dotsuku Zone. He is large, monstrous and muscular, and relies more on strength than intelligence. His prism stone was blue.
* Poisony (ポイズニー Poizonī?) (Pandora in the English dub): The only female of the Denizens, Poisony is the third of them. She is much more sly and careful than the others, and usually transforms into a human to gain Pretty Cure's trust first. Unlike the others she summons Zakenna by clicking her fingers. She has a younger brother, Kiriya. Her prism stone was orange.
* Kiriya (キリヤ Kiriya?) (Kirea in the English dub): The youngest and fourth of the denizens, and Poisony's little brother. He is arrogant and thinks of himself as being better than the others. He was sent to the Garden Of Rainbows to spy on Nagisa and Honoka but fails because of Honoka's kindness and relationship with him. His prism stone was yellow.
* Ilkubo (イルクーボ Irukūbo?): The last and strongest of the denizens, emotionless Ilkubo can be considered the Evil King's right hand man. His prism stone was purple.
==== Seeds Of Darkness ====
* Belzei Gertrude (ベルゼイ・ガートルード Beruzei Gātorūdo?): One of the Seeds of Darkness that appears in the second half of the series. He is a plotter and a sadist. His human alias is Yuuki Hidehiko (ゆうき ひでひこ Yuuki Hidehiko?).
* Regine (レギーネ Regīne?): The only female of the Seeds of Darkness. As a human, she has much lower confidence than when she is in her real form. Her human alias is Koyama Shouko (こやま しょうこ Koyama Shouko?).
* Juna (ジュナ Jyuna?): 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 Kazukawa Ryuuichirou (かくざわ りゅういちろう Kazukawa Ryuuichirou?).
* Zakenna (ザケンナー Zakennā?): The physical form of the Dotsuku Zone's power. They infect items or people's shadows to turn them into evil mascots.
* Evil King (ジャアクキング Jākukingu?): The imprisoned ruler of the Dotsuku Zone, and also the series' main antagonist. He is made of darkness and has red glowing eyes. He wants the Prism Stones to prevent the power to consume all things to consume himself, and to gain immortality to destroy all worlds.
=== Others from the Garden of Light ===
* Wisdom (ウィズダム Wizudamu?): Wisdom is the mysterious guardian of the Prism Stones who usually appears when summoned by the Pretty Cure and who's name is only mentioned once by Ilkubo. He usually hides between dimensions to guard the stones.
* Queen (クイーン Kuīn?): The queen of the Garden of Light. She is a grand woman, whose height is only rivaled by that of the Evil King. She is always seen sitting on her throne with closed eyes, never moving even if she is talking.
* Elder (長老 Chōrō?): 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.
=== Others from the Garden of Rainbows ===
* Takashimizu Rina (高清水 莉奈 Takashimizu Rina?): One of Nagisa's best friends. She is the trio's wisest when she needs to be, and is also the defense of the lacrosse team.
* Kubota Shiho (久保田志穂 Kubota Shiho?) (Shauna in the English dub): The other friend of Nagisa. Out of the trio, she is the most hyper one, and can often be heard repeating certain words three times.
* Takenouchi Yoshimi (吉見竹之内 Takenouchi Yoshimi?) (Yvette Woodgrove in the English dub): The teacher of Verone Academy's Cherry Blossom class. Though strict at times, she has a good heart and close relationship with her students.
* Fujimura Shougo (藤村省吾 Fujimura Shougo?) (Shawn Ferguson in the English dub): Honoka's childhood friend, whom Nagisa has had a crush on from before the series' start. Although nice and cheerful at all times, he does not catch Nagisa's hints. Though he does not like it, friends call him Fujipi (藤P Fujipi?) (Fergie in the English dub).
* Kimata (木全 Kimata?) (Kossner in the English dub): Shougo's best friend who is also part of the football team. He seems to know about Nagisa's crush on Shougo.
* Fujita Akane (藤田 アカネ Fujita Akane?) (Alex in the English dub): Former lacrosse captain when she was a Verone Academy student, she now owns a mobile takoyaki shop that Nagisa, Honoka and their friends frequently visit.
* Nakagawa Yumiko (中川弓子 Nakagawa Yumiko?) (Nickie in the English dub): The present captain of the lacrosse team and a senior student.
* The Principal (校長先生 Kōchō sensei?): The principal of Verone Academy. Though he may look strict, he is actually very calm and slightly goofy.
* Kometsuki Kyouto (米槻教頭 Kometsuki Kyouto?) (Mr. Weaver in the English dub): The vice-Principal of Verone Academy, and tries desperately to be on the principal's good side, following him everywhere.
* Hasekura Kazuki (支倉一樹 Hasekura Kazuki) (Hamilton in the English dub): is one of the popular male students of Verone Academy, and a star player of the basketball team, He has a crush on Nagisa.
* Kashiwada Mayu (柏田真由 Kashiwada Mayu) (Maya Kennedy in the English Dub):is a student at Verone Academy. She has an interest in art. Especially paintings by the Italian artist, Mario Piccalini. She is also very knowledgeable when it comes to art.
* Koshino Natsuko (越野夏子 Koshino Natsuko) (Summer in English Dub) is a girl in the same class as Nagisa and Honoka
== Items ==
* Card Communes - The device that allows the pair to transform into their Pretty Cure forms.
* Pretty Cure Rainbow Bracelets - A power-up received later in the series that lets them use Pretty Cure Rainbow Storm.
* Prism True Love Detector - A magical device that can be used to measure the compatibility between two people or animals.
* Pretty Commune - The form that Pollun takes in the Garden of Rainbows.
* Prism Hopish - Is the Garden of Light's source of power, and also the source of light in the whole universe.
== Locations ==
* Garden of Rainbows (虹の園 Niji no Sono?): The term used by residents of the Garden of Light and Dotsuku Zone that refers to the Earth.
* Garden of Light (光の園 Hikari no Sono?): The world where Mepple, Mipple, Porun and Lulun come from. The Garden of Light is protected by the power of the Prism stones. It is daylight all the time and flowers bloom all year long. Time works differently here than in the Garden of Rainbows. Mepple and Mipple had visited the Garden of Rainbows 100 years before the start of the series. From their point of view, however, the 100 years that had passed was merely a single day.
* Koizumi Gakuen (小泉学園 Koizumi Gakuen?): The city where Nagisa and Honoka live. It appears to be modeled after Ooizumi Gakuen, which is a district of the Narima ward in Tokyo.
* Verone Academy (or Verone Academy Junior High School): Nagisa and Honoka's school.
* Kappa Mountain and Lake Hyoutan: The places where Mepple dropped the Prism Hopeish into. The outline of the lake looks like a figure eight. In Max Heart, Pretty Cure went to the same place to find a piece of shining earth that "contained great power of hope which was surrounded by six pillars" in Lake Hyoutan.
* Tako Café: A mobile cafe created by Akane. Nagisa and Honoka are frequent visitors.
* Wakaba City: The city that is the hometown of Nagisa, Honoka and the entire Futari cast.
== Story ==
The story revolves around two girls, Misumi Nagisa and Yukishiro Honoka, who fight the forces of the Dotsuku Zone; a dimension of evil that encroached on the Garden of Light. The Dotsuku Zone's power takes the form of the Zakenna, creatures that infect people or items to turn them evil. The Princess of Hope, Mipple, and her chosen warrior Mepple are told to go to the Garden of Rainbows where it is said that they will find the legendary warriors, Pretty Cure.
Nagisa and Honoka have not really spoken to each other, and hardly know the other exists because of their differences. However, when they meet Mepple and Mipple, they are led to each other through them. Then, they are able to use the power of light to transform into Cure Black and Cure White and fight the denizens of the Dotsuku Zone.
After defeating the first denizen, the girls find a Prism Stone, one of the seven artifacts that protected the Garden of Light from danger, whereas now most of them are in the hands of each of the denizens. Now that they have gotten the first Prism Stone from the hands of danger, they look for the Prism Hopish and its guardian, Wisdom, to keep the stones safe.
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 Dotsuku Zone. However, they have to defeat the Evil King himself, using all of their strength to manage that. Eventually, they get help from the Queen, and the Evil King perishes.
Later in the series, Pollun, the Prince of Light, is added to the mix. He transforms into what looks like an electronic notebook, and stays with Nagisa in order to help them fight against the Seeds of Darkness, which are creatures that the Evil King managed to make right before he got destroyed. When the Seeds of Darkness awaken, they begin working together in order to revive the Evil King. Eventually, they kidnap Wisdom, but he manages to put the power of the Prism Stones inside of Pollun before he is taken away. Following this, whenever Pollun becomes agitated, he shoots out power, granting Pretty Cure their Rainbow Bracelets. These vastly strengthen them physically and supply them with a new attack. Pollun also has the added ability of premonition.
After fighting with Pretty Cure for a long time, the Seeds of Darkness realize that as soon as the Evil King is back in control, they will cease to exist, and thus plan to take over him and the Prism Stones' powers. Eventually, they are able to fuse together and acquire the power of light, which makes them unstoppable in the fight against Pretty Cure. However, Evil King uses all of his strength to suck the fused Seeds of Darkness within him, and also the power of the Prism Stones. The girls try all their might to fight him, and with the help of Pollun and the Queen, are able to defeat him once and for all.
At the very end of the series, Mepple and Mipple bid a tearful goodbye to Nagisa and Honoka, who beg the two of them not to go. Although they are no longer Pretty Cure, Nagisa and Honoka continue being best friends, and still keep their Card Communes that Mepple and Mipple are now asleep in.
: Futari wa Pretty Cure Max Heart follows what happens after the summer break, in the girls' third and last year at Verone Academy.
== Reception ==
The series has proven popular enough with Japanese viewers to warrant numerous spin-off 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, Cardcaptor Sakura, and Magical Angel Creamy Mami. Sailor Moon appears in the Top 20. The show won the "Best Theme Song Award" at the 9th Animation Kobe (2004) with Mayumi Gojo's "DANZEN! Futari wa Pretty Cure".
Its popularity has also led to a spoof of the show in an episode of the Gin Tama anime. Cure Black and Cure White have also appeared in a panel of the manga Mahou Sensei Negima!.
Anime News Network gave two reviews for the show, one with an overall rating B, while second gave it C+.
Fan reception for the English dub is a little hard to judge. It is said the show had higher viewership than Digimon on YTV. The dub is considered to be faithful to the original Japanese version in terms of scripting, the music score is retained, and some scenes were cut out, while there is some criticism on the English opening for being far different from the Japanese version. The English dub of the show is considered to be the most accurate adaption to the show in the Pretty Cure series so far.
== Sequel ==
Futari wa Pretty Cure Max Heart is a sequel to Futari wa Pretty Cure. The Queen disappears, it is revealed that the Evil King is going through a resurrection, new and even stronger servants of the dark powers appear, and the girls get a new ally; a girl named Kujou Hikari who can transform into Shiny Luminous.
== International Dubs and Broadcasts ==