The Pretty Cure series has finally begun to establish an official presence outside of Japan, with Crunchyroll licensing four of its past seasons and currently airing the series' first complete simulcast with Tropical-Rouge! Precure. But since the franchise has been around since 2004, with 18 seasons of over 40 episodes each, 16 mostly separate continuities and an entire series of crossover movies, it can be hard for beginners to know where to start. Since most Pretty Cure seasons are unconnected, almost any one of them can be a good jumping-on point, but here are five that would make especially good introductions.
Tropical-Rouge! Precure
With only seven episodes out so far, Tropical-Rouge! Precure is a great starting place for anyone hesitant to binge a full season right away. Crunchyroll is simulcasting the series, which stars Manatsu Natsuumi, an energetic girl who becomes Cure Summer after meeting a mermaid named Laura.
Manatsu and her friends are a fun, likable group with appealing character designs and personalities, and Tropical-Rouge! has all the major hallmarks of a typical Pretty Cure series with the added twists of its energetic good humor and tropical theme. Since the series has only just begun, it's impossible to say if it will maintain its quality throughout its entire run, but it will likely stay the franchise's most easily accessible entry to newcomers for quite a while.
Pretty Cure
Another series available on Crunchyroll, Pretty Cure is the first entry in the franchise and the most iconic. The standard formula of a typical Pretty Cure series hadn't exactly been set yet, so it feels a bit different from later installments, but the charm and core themes of the franchise were already there. Pretty Cure stars a duo of Cures -- cynical, athletic Nagisa Misumi, aka Cure Black, and refined brainiac Honoka Yukishiro, aka Cure White -- who must be together to transform, a concept that Pretty Cure would revisit in a handful of other seasons.
At first, Nagisa and Honoka have a hard time getting along, but they quickly become close, establishing the pattern of powerful friendships that form the core of Pretty Cure. The downsides of Crunchyroll's stream are that the videos are of lower quality than usual and that the sequel series, Futari wa Precure Max Heart introduced a new team member, Hikari Kujou/Shiny Luminous, is unavailable. Adding a new Cure to each series' team partway through their stories would go on to become another franchise tradition.
Smile Precure!
Smile Precure! is the ideal series to ease into the franchise. It focuses more on its characters and self-contained stories than its overarching plot, making it a relaxed, easy-to-follow show. Main heroine Miyuki Hoshizora, aka Cure Happy, is obsessed with fairy tales, and in one example of a typical episode, she is sucked into a storybook and forced to play the role of Cinderella. Other episodes focus on things like an April Fool's prank gone wrong, Miyuki swapping bodies with mascot character Candy and a relay race at the school sports festival.
But that's not to say the show is shallow -- Smile has its fair share of dark and emotional moments and even a rather disturbing villain in Joker. Currently, the only way to legally watch Smile outside of Japan is via its Netflix dub, Glitter Force, which Americanizes the series and cuts a significant amount of content but is still surprisingly true to the original spirit of the show.
Kira Kira Pretty Cure a la Mode
Another series available on Crunchyroll, Kira Kira follows Ichika Usami, a sweets-loving girl who becomes the rabbit-eared Cure Whip, one of the "Legendary Pâtissiers" who must save the world with the power of "kirakiral," a substance found in sweets that have been baked with love. Most Pretty Cure series have a central theme or gimmick, and Kira Kira's sweets theme is one of the most front and center, with the Cures devising a new recipe almost every episode.
Kira Kira is lighthearted and fun with a likable cast of characters, so even though its premise might be a bit hard to take seriously, the series is easy to get invested in. Since it's readily available with high-quality official subs, it is also one of the most accessible choices for newcomers at the moment. Unfortunately, its accompanying movie -- like all of the Pretty Cure movies -- has yet to be licensed, despite providing important backstory for one of the Cures.
Heartcatch Precure!
A fan-favorite Pretty Cure series, Heartcatch is one of the best options for new viewers. It is the seventh season and fifth continuity in the franchise, and it and the preceding season, Fresh, helped to finalize the Pretty Cure formula that is still being used today. Heartcatch is best known for its dynamic fight scenes and darker themes, including character death, which make it popular among older fans.
Its heroine, Tsubomi Hanasaki aka Cure Blossom, was also the first lead Cure to have a shy and insecure personality, for which she is fondly remembered. The catch? Heartcatch isn't yet legally available outside Japan in any form, subbed or dubbed. Its movie has, however, been dubbed into French -- fitting, since the film is set in Paris.