Erika Kurumi

Erika

Cure Marine

**Erika** **Kurumi** is one of the four main Cures in *Heartcatch PreCure!*. She is a second-year student at Myoudou Academy and is in the same class as Tsubomi.

Her catchphrase is **"Even if my heart is larger than the sea, I have reached my limit!"**.

Erika's alter ego is **Cure Marine** and she reprents the flower daisy.

## Bio

### Appearance

Erika is the shortest of the group, reaching to Tsubomi's chest. She has dark blue eyes and wavy, shoulder length hair and forelocks, her bangs parted at the center.

Casually, she wears a pale blue frilly dress with layered skirt, beneath a turquoise blouse with a yellow bow and heart design. She also wears white tube socks and light brown boots. In the movie she wears a jacket with an off-white torso, fluffy pale blue trim, and navy sleeves with a yellow ribbon design on the arm. She also wears denim shorts, grey stockings, and a pair of blue sneakers.

As **Cure Marine**, Erika's eyes and hair become sky blue, and her hair grows longer, splitting in two sections so far down. On her head is a blue heart with a bow and pearls to match her earrings, and she gains a dark blue choker. Her white mini-dress has puffed sleeves and dark blue lining, a band of blue going down each side of the chest to accent the petals of her skirt and chest ribbon. At the center is a silver and cyan heart brooch. On each hip is a baby blue flower. Her wrist accessories accent her skirt, and she gains blue shoes with white buttons and a cuff held by a baby blue flower, along with white stockings.

### Personality

Erika is a feminine young girl who loves fashion and dreams of becoming a fashion designer. Everything she loves revolves around fashion, and she has turned it into an art form capable of helping others open up and feel their best. She is able to tell their feelings or moods using the color therapy she is going through. She is also a very fast learner and shows that when she puts her mind to things she has some skill.

Usually, she is cheery and energetic, but she has times when she can come off as selfish by acting lazy, childish, and immature. She has a short-temper and can be impatient, and she's pretty blunt and likely to be nosy when curious. This brash personality causes her to come off as abrasive towards more shy or reserved types, but at the same time she can become more mindful towards them and will always be there to comfort them should they need it. She cares deeply for her friends, even if she struggles to express it in a way that doesn't cause them further anxiety.

Despite their similarities and shared interests, Erika is very jealous of Momoka and often ignores or pushes her away as her sister attempts to help her or make suggestions. She wishes to surpass Momoka someday and would rather do it on her own then ask her for help. But over time she gradually begins to open up to her sister and grows less hostile.

## Cure Marine

**"The flower that flutters in the ocean winds, Cure Marine!"**
海風に揺れる一輪の花、キュアマリン！
*Umikaze ni yureru ichirin no hana, Kyua Marin!*

**Cure Marine** is Erika’s Pretty Cure alter ego. Her powers are like Cure Blossom's, in that she controls flowers while possessing fluid traits shared with water.

## Trivia

* According to character designer Umakoshi Yoshihiko, she was originally to have an updo hairstyle as Cure Marine.
* Her heart flower is the white cyclamen, though it can turn red if Erika experiences extreme jealousy of her older sister, Kurumi Momoka.
	+ As her Heart Flower simply changes color instead of withering, her Desertrian is the weakest. As stated by Hanasaki Kaoruko, however, its color changing is the stage before a Heart Flower starts wilting.
* Upon transforming into Cure Marine, Erika knew what name she was going to have. This is because Tsubomi told her about Pretty Cure earlier, prompting Erika to start coming up with a name. This makes her the only Cure to have thought up a name prior to becoming a Pretty Cure.
* For the *Pretty Cure All Stars DX3 Movie* Character Polls held by Toei Animation, Cure Marine appeared in the following rankings:
	+ 2nd in "Favorite Pretty Cure"
	+ 1st in "The Pretty Cure you want to team up with most"
	+ 7th in "The Pretty Cure you want to be most"
	+ 5th in "The Pretty Cure you want to bake with most"
* In the Pretty Cure All Stars Suite Flower Card Collection, Erika is represented by the daisy, which symbolizes innocence and a bright energetic personality in the Language of Flowers.
* Cure Marine often breaks the fourth wall. In many All Stars posters and in the end of the *All Stars New Stage 2* credits, Cure Marine is seen looking towards the viewer smiling and winking, while the other Pretty Cures were facing straight forward.
* Cure Marine gives the 10th Anniversary Congratulatory Message at the beginning of episode 28 in *Happiness Charge PreCure!*
* Erika shares her voice actress with Kagayama Miu and Eternalun from *Futari wa PreCure Max Heart*.
* In the *All Pretty Cure Big Poll*, Erika is ranked 3rd in "Favorite Pretty Cure".
* Erika is the only *Heartcatch!* Cure who did not end her Cure debut episode with her transformation sequence or her first fight did not occur in two episodes.
* Her phrase "yarusshu" is actually an ad lib from her voice actress, which has become a trademark gag whenever she appears in an *All Stars* movie.

## Gallery

ErikaErika as Cure MarineCure Marine’s transformation pose