is a 2012 Japanese anime television series produced by Toei Animation and the ninth installment in Izumi Todo's Pretty Cure metaseries, featuring the seventh generation of Cures. The series is written by Shōji Yonemura, best known as the head writer of Glass Fleet and Kamen Rider Kabuto. The character designs were done by Toshie Kawamura, who previously worked on character designs for Yes! PreCure 5. Like Yes! Pretty Cure 5, the team has five members with a color scheme of pink, red,Cure Sunny's main color is orange, despite this, her transformation sequence primarily features red. She is the second Cure with fire powers after Cure Rouge, and was the only orange Cure until Cure Wing from Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure. yellow, green,Although Cure March's initial theme color was purple, it was changed to green because "when the characters are lined up, the overall image has a "bright rainbow color". and blue, but unlike it the team's members are classmates in their second year of middle school. There are no additional team members.Toei Animation producer Atsunori Umezawa stated that the previous three series had additional members because of the need for "a character that condenses and highlights the theme that he wants to do". The series aired on All-Nippon News Network (ANN)'s TV Asahi network between February 5, 2012, and January 27, 2013, replacing Suite PreCure♪ in its timeslot, and was succeeded by DokiDoki! PreCure. A film was released in Japanese theaters on October 26, 2012, and a novel was released in 2016, serving as an epilogue that takes place 10 years after the anime's events. An illustration book of Toshie Kawamura's works was released on February 12, 2014. The series' main topics are fairy tales and happiness.
The series was adapted into English by Saban Brands under the name Glitter Force and was released as a Netflix exclusive outside of Asia and in multiple languages on December 18, 2015. As of May 24, 2017, the Glitter Force trademark and the license are owned by Toei Animation. As of June 14, 2018, Hasbro currently owns the rights to the brand alongside other Saban Brands entertainment assets. It is the second series in the franchise to receive an English-dubbed adaptation, after the original Pretty Cure series.
The English dub was removed from Netflix on November 9, 2024, alongside Glitter Force: Doki Doki.
Plot The kingdom of , the home of various characters from fairy tales, is attacked by the evil Pierrot, who intends to give the world an unhappy ending, but is stopped when the queen uses the last of her energy to seal him away. When Pierrot's minions from the Bad End Kingdom plan to revive him by harnessing Bad End Energy from the people of Earth, the queen sends the fairy Candy to assemble a team of five magical girls. The series follows the formation of the team and their adventures as they fight off their enemies to collect the Cure Decor, which embodies the queen's power of happiness and can be used to upgrade their powers and revive the queen.
Characters Main characters The titular characters are a team of magical girls whose secret base is the , a pocket dimension where fairy tales and stories are stored. They collect the , which are stored in a jewelry box called the and are needed to revive the queen. The girls place the items in a compact case called a , applying the compact powder to themselves while shouting to transform. Pretty Cures /
The main protagonist. A transfer student to , who loves fairy tales. She is energetic and optimistic, but clumsy. Her theme color is pink, and she has the power of light. /
A student at Nanairogaoka Middle School and a star member of its volleyball team. She is from Osaka and speaks with a Kansai dialect. Her family runs an okonomiyaki restaurant called Okonomiyaki Akane, which she sometimes works at. Although she often jokes around, she is passionate about what she cares about. Her theme color is orange or red, and she has the power of fire. /
A 13-year-old girl who is a student at Nanairogaoka Middle School and a member of its homemaking club. Her father Yuichi died when she was young. She enjoys drawing action hero characters and aspires to be a mangaka. Though timid, shy, and prone to crying, Yayoi is loyal, diligent, and headstrong when it comes to those she cares about. Her theme color is yellow, and she has the powers of lightning and electricity. /
A 14-year-old girl who is a student at Nanairogaoka Middle School and the captain of its soccer team. She is straightforward, reliable, and has a strong sense of justice, though gets frustrated when things don't go her way. She is the oldest of six siblings, taking on a motherly role in her family. Her theme color is green, and she has the powers of wind and super speed. /
A 14-year-old girl who is a student at Nanairogaoka Middle School. She is the vice president of its student council and a member of its archery club and art club. She is intelligent, elegant, and kind, but becomes angered once her patience reaches its limits. Her theme color is blue, and she has the power of ice.
Mascots
A lamb-like fairy with light pink fur and long curly fluffy yellow ears worn with pink bows who is the team's mascot. She is cheerful, energetic, and fashionable, enjoying her ears being styled like hair. The Royale Queen sends her to Earth to recruit the Pretty Cure for her to succeed Queen as the new ruler of Märchenland. This results in her gaining the ability to transform into the human-like once the Cure Decors are finally gathered, helping her friends in the final battle before assuming her role as Märchenland's sovereign.
Candy's older brother, a lion-like fairy/pixie with light orange fur and an orange mane who takes pride in his masculinity and hates being called "cute". However, he becomes flustered when Yayoi calls him "fierce and cool". He is capable of using ninjutsu arts, including transformation into various forms to assist the Pretty Cure in battle.
The Queen of Märchenland and the origin of the fairies/pixies, who regard her as their mother. When Pierrot attacked Märchenland, the Cure Decors were stolen and she sacrificed herself to seal away Pierrot. She sends Candy to search for the Pretty Cure to recover the Cure Decors and restore her power.
Bad End Kingdom The , are the main antagonists, who strive to revive Emperor Pierrot by collecting Bad End Energy from people. They do this by smearing the pages of a magic book with the contents of a black paint tube, which is a manifestation of Pierrot's will. This creates a spatial field called a Dark Zone, which amplifies negativity and places those unprotected into a deep despair while their Bad End Energy is extracted and collected into the book. This process advances a clock-like meter called the "Wheel of Doom" which counts down Pierrot's resurrection. Joker and the Akanbe are based on clowns, while the three generals are based on villains from fairy tales. .
The main antagonist of the series, who aims to wipe out hope until only despair remains. Prior to the series' events, Pierrot attacked Märchenland and stole the Cure Decors from the Royale Queen, who used the last of her strength to seal him away. He evolves into a new form and almost destroys the world until he is permanently killed by the Pretty Cure.
The secondary antagonist of the series, who is based on a harlequin and acts as an intermediary to the Three Commanders who observes their progress. He is playful yet sadistic, and has the power to create Akanbe Noses from his headdress. He also seeks the Miracle Jewel with the intention of destroying it and anything that gives others hope as he is a fragment of his master's being and dissolves into black paint while allowing himself to be absorbed by Pierrot. Joker returns as the main antagonist of the epilogue novel, having survived Pierrot's destruction as an immortal embodiment of despair. He uses Miyuki's book to feed on the adult Pretty Cures' negative energy to regain a physical form as , but is defeated.
An anthropomorphic gray wolf with violet eyes and white hair who wears a blue leather outfit that resembles that of a biker. He is bitter and rude and looks down upon peoples' hopes and dreams, expressing disgust towards the Pretty Cures' ideals. He is based on the Big Bad Wolf in fairy tales such as the Three Little Pigs and Little Red Riding Hood.
A red-skinned troll with an afro and horns who carries a large club. He is based on the oni in fairy tales such as Momotaro. He is not as intelligent as to the other villains. He prefers to use brute force when fighting his opponents.
An elderly witch based on the witches in fairy tales such as Snow White. She devises various inventions to use against the girls, which her fellow commanders thoughtlessly throw them into the human world. She can also temporary transform into a youthful and beautiful version of herself to fight opponents directly, and has the power to create clones of herself.
Clown-like monsters created when an Akanbe Nose is combined with an object such as a volleyball or a tree. The standard red-nosed Akanbes are created with noses fashioned from a Cure Decor and drop it upon being purified. Joker later creates other types, such as like the blue-nosed Akanbes, his personal yellow-nosed Akanbe, and others.
Constructs of Bad End Energy which Pierrot used in his attack on Märchenland. After his resurrection on Earth, the Despair Giants are summoned to cover the planet in darkness before being absorbed by Pierrot.
Pierrot's personal army of monsters, which are created from black ink and can regenerate at a fast rate. He sends them to overwhelm the Pretty Cure before they acquire their Royale Mode forms and are able to easily defeat them.
Clones of the Pretty Cures, which Joker creates using the last Cure Decor and the Three Commanders' expunged darkness to keep the Pretty Cures from preventing Pierot's resurrection. They are dark reflections of the Cures who seek to prove their superiority to the originals. Each Bad End Cure separates her original from the others to engage in one-on-one death matches, only to be destroyed.
Supporting characters Family members
Miyuki's mother.
Miyuki's father.
Miyuki's grandmother. who lives alone in the countryside. Her unfaltering optimism makes her incapable of falling into despair.
Akane's father. He runs an okonomiyaki shop called Okonomiyaki Akane, which he named after his daughter because it opened after her birth.
Akane's mother. She doesn't help with her husband's business because she is unable to cook.
Akane's younger brother, who is a freshman at Nanairogaoka Public Middle School and a member of its basketball club.
Yayoi's mother, who works as a fashion stage manager for Fairy Drop.
Yayoi's late father, who gave her her name.
Nao's mother.
Nao's father.
Nao's five younger siblings. Haru and Hina are girls, while the rest are boys.
Reika's mother, who is an aikido expert.
Reika's older brother, who is a judo protégé.
Reika's grandfather, who is a Japanese calligraphy expert.
Other characters
The homeroom teacher of class 2-2.
A foreign exchange student from the United Kingdom, who Akane has a crush on.
A middle school teacher. Fujiwara
An owarai comedy duo who guest star as themselves in episode 17.
A policeman who often meets Majorina as she loses her inventions, but she usually runs off without saying goodbye.
Minor characters
The president of Nanairogaoka Public Middle School's student council, who is very popular among female students for his handsome looks.
The clerk of Nanairogaoka Public Middle School's student council.
Movie characters Characters who appear in the film Smile PreCure! The Movie: Big Mismatch in a Picture Book!