Pretty Cure, or PreCure for short, is a massive magical girl franchise spanning 17 different anime series, multiple spin-offs and crossover movies, and a large variety of videogames, toys, even musicals. Despite how hugely popular the franchise is in Japan, only three series in the franchise have been available to American fans up until now: the first series Futari Wa Pretty Cure is subbed on Crunchyroll, while Smile PreCure! and DokiDoki! PreCure were horribly butchered into Glitter Force and Glitter Force Doki Doki on Netflix.

Crunchyroll finally listened to the requests of fans begging for more PreCure and have acquired the newest PreCure series Healin' Good PreCure. Though Crunchyroll hasn't announced a launch date yet, it is under their Summer 2020 simulcast lineup. In celebration of this news, let's go over what new fans and old fans alike should know about PreCure.

History of PreCure

PreCure is a magical girl franchise series produced by Toei Animation, well known for popular series such as One Piece, Dragon Ball and Sailor Moon. PreCure airs Sundays in Japan during the Nichi Asa Kids Time block, which includes The Super Hero Time block that airs Super Sentai and Kamen Rider. Generally, the new Sentai and PreCure series would start around the same time each year, though this past year the gap between the two has increased by a month.

It's no surprise then that the PreCure series would draw inspiration not only from Super Sentai but other past Toei properties. The original 2004 series, Futari wa Pretty Cure, was directed by Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z director Daisuke Nishio. Nishio brought his fisticuffs expertise to the series, opting to focus on hand-to-hand combat with magical girls saving the world. This gave the series a unique spin on the magical girl genre, adding a touch of Super Sentai and shonen influence.

In terms of plot, the PreCure series stick to a "monster of the week" formula. Each series follows a story that involves another world of characters, usually mascot-like in appearance, being attacked by an evil force. They then must send one of their kind to Earth and recruit characters to become PreCure, defeat this evil force and keep Earth safe.

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Why is PreCure So Unknown Outside of Japan?

An image from Smile Precure! Glitter Force.

PreCure has had trouble getting licensed. The first series Futari wa Precure did get an English dub many years after its Japanese release, but it only aired on Canada's YTV channel and the UK's Pop Girl digital channel.

Skip ahead to 2015 and Netflix premieres Glitter Force, the English version of Smile PreCure! dubbed by Saban Brands. Akin to the 4Kids dub of One Piece or the Dic Entertainment dub of Sailor Moon, Glitter Force is riddled with Americanized name changes, erasure of Japanese text, rescored music and editing out episodes that were either too dark in content or too Japanese-focused, causing Glitter Force to be a total of 40 episodes instead of the original 48. This excessive editing continued in Glitter Force DokiDoki, which cut down DokiDoki! PreCure from 49 episodes to 30. Smile PreCure! was release in 2012 in response to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake, including themes focused on being happy regardless of the hardships one may face. The English dub erased these messages, instead centering on generic magical girl themes of friendship and unity.

Obviously, fans weren't too pleased with these changes, and the series never really kicked off. Luckily, Saban Brands sold its assets to Hasbro, and with Healin' Good on Crunchyroll's Summer 2020 lineup, it seems unlikely Saban will ever continue the Glitter Force brand.

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Where to Watch PreCure?

With hundreds of episodes, getting into the PreCure series at first glance may seem rather daunting. Luckily, the majority of PreCure composes of standalone series, with only Futari wa Pretty Cure and Yes! Precure 5 having direct sequel series. Though Smile! PreCure's English variant Glitter Force would not be the recommended starting place for the franchise, Futari wa Precure and Healin' Good are fine places to start.

Last year NHK announced the results of its All PreCure Mega-Poll, with the Futari wa Pretty Cure characters, music and series topping the list. As such, starting off by watching the first and most popular PreCure in Japan would not be a bad way to go. The series currently is streaming on Crunchyroll and revolves around two girls, Nagisa Misumi and Honoka Yukishiro, who are given the power to transform into the magical girls Cure Black and Cure White. Their duty is to fight against the Dark Zone, an evil force encroaching upon Earth, and also find the Prism Stones so they can repair the damage the Dark Zone has done to other worlds.

Meanwhile, the newest series Healin' Good Precure revolves around protagonist Nodoka Hanadera, a frail girl who moves into a new city for a fresh start. There she encounters Rabirin, an adorable healing animal sent from the Healing Garden, a place deep below Earth's surface that is being infected by enemies known as the Byougen who intend to poison the entire Earth. Rabirin and other healing animals give her and her friends the power to become PreCure to defend Earth from becoming further infected.

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Heartcatch PreCure is the series that introduced many new fans to PreCure. With character designs by Yoshihiko Umakoshi, now known for his work on My Hero Academia, the series style is immediately eye-catching and different. In terms of story, the lead character subverted expectations. Instead of raring for a fight constantly and exuding an extroverted personality, Tsubomi or Cure Blossom, is shy and rather weak, even being dubbed as the "weakest PreCure in history" by her foes. With such a unique take on the series, it's no wonder fans still dub Heartcatch Precure as one of the best in the franchise.

Though every PreCure series includes fantastically animated fight scenes, many would argue that Go! Princess Precure has some of the best fights in the franchise overall. Featuring an all-star cast of animators like Shingo Fujii, Kodai Watanabe and Kazuhiro Ota, GoPri's fight scenes are bombastic and epic in proportions, with characters regularly running up giant kaiju-sized monsters to deliver finishing blows.

Finally, there is also Hugtto! PreCure, which captured the hearts of many anime fans recently, even landing first place for anime of the year in the r/anime subreddit's 2019 Anime Awards. Directed by Sailor Moon director Junichi Sato, Hugtto! Precure manages to develop and humanize each of its main characters, delivering astounding dramatic character moments and commentary on the series overarching theme of the future.

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In Conclusion

The Pretty Cure franchise is massive, and unfortunately hasn't received the amount of attention it deserves outside of Japan. Hopefully, Crunchyroll licensing Healin' Good PreCure will be the first step to more PreCure series being properly licensed and delivered to international audiences.

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