HeartCatch PreCure!, or HeartCatch Pretty Cure! is a Japanese anime series and the seventh installment in the Pretty Curemetaseries by Izumi Todo, featuring the fifth generation of Cures. Produced by Toei Animation, the series is directed by Tatsuya Nagamine and written by Takashi Yamada. Official character designs were done by Yoshihiko Umakoshi. The series premiered on February 7, 2010 on TV Asahi's ANN network, following Fresh Pretty Cure!, and ended on January 30, 2011, where it was followed by Suite PreCure. The series has two main topics. One is fashion, which is referenced in Tsubomi joining the fashion club. And second is the language of flowers, which most episodes contain at least one reference to. The cure's main motifs is related to both flowers and nature, which are prominent in the naming of numerous characters and items, as well as in the main storyline.
Story
In each person resides a Heart Flower, which is connected to the great Heart Tree that watches over everyone. Protecting this tree are the HeartCatch Pretty Cures, who defend it against the Desert Apostles, who plan to wilt everything and turn the world into a desert. However, when the current Pretty Cure, Cure Moonlight, has been defeated in battle and the Heart Tree loses its flowers, she sends two fairies, Chypre and Coffret, to the surface in order to seek out her replacement. They find Tsubomi Hanasaki, a shy flower-loving girl that had just moved into the city with her family, who is given the power to become Cure Blossom. Joined by her new friend, Erika Kurumi, who becomes Cure Marine, they fight against the Desert Apostles who transform the wilting Heart Flowers inside people into monsters known as Desertarians. By defeating these monsters, they gain Heart Seeds which allow the Heart Tree to become healthier again.
Rather than other fairies in previous series of Pretty Cure, the fairies were born in the Heart Tree in order. Each one could separately find their own partner of Pretty Cure. Unlike previous mascots who end their sentences with a word typically referring to their own name, the fairies all end their sentences with "desu". ;Chypre ;Coffret ;Potpourri ;Cologne ;Coupé
The Desert Apostles are the main antagonists of the series. They are a notorious group whose aims were to collect wilted Heart Flowers from their victims and take over the world by turning it into a giant desert. They're also responsible for the withering of the Great Tree of Hearts. It's revealed in Episode 20 that the Desert Apostles were serving Dune and taking orders from him. ;Dune ;Hideaki Tsukikage Professor Sabark ;Dark Pretty Cure ;Sasorina ;Kumojacky ;Cobraja ;Snackey ;Desertrian
Film-only characters
;Olivier Loup-Garou ;Baron Salamander
Media
Anime
The anime, directed by Tatsuya Nagamine and produced by Toei Animation, aired in Japan on ABC and other ANN stations between February 7, 2010 and January 30, 2011. The series uses three pieces of theme music, one opening and two ending themes. The opening theme is "Alright! HeartCatch PreCure!" by Aya Ikeda. The ending theme for episodes 1–24 is "HeartCatch☆Paradise!" by Mayu Kudou, whilst the ending theme for episodes 25–49 is "Tomorrow Song ~Ashita no Uta~" by Kudou.
Print
A manga adaptation by Futago Kamikita began serialization in Kodansha's Nakayoshi magazine From March 2010 until February 2011. A novel adaptation, which expands the series was then released on September 16, 2015 under Kodansha's Character Bunko label. It is written by Takashi Yamada and illustrated by Yoshihiko Umakoshi.
Films
A movie based on the HeartCatch PreCure series titled HeartCatch PreCure The Movie: Fashion Show in the Flower Capital... Really?! was released in Japan on October 30, 2010. It follows the Pretty Cures as they go to France and encounter a mysterious boy named Olivier, who is being manipulated by the mysterious villain, Baron Salamander. The French-language version released by Imagine in France on January 26, 2011 under the title HeartCatch Pretty Cure! Le film: Mission défilé à Paris. The film has been nominated for a Kidscreen Award for Best One-off, Special or TV Movie for Kids. The heroines also appear in all Pretty Cure All Stars movies, starting with Pretty Cure All Stars DX2: Light of Hope☆Protect the Rainbow Jewel! The DX2 movie was released on March 20, 2010.
Video games
There are currently three videogames based on the series produced by Bandai. An educational game, Fashionable Transformation★HeartCatch PreCure!, was released for the Sega Beena on July 22, 2010. HeartCatch PreCure! Fashion Collection is a minigame collection for the Nintendo DS and was released on August 5, 2010. Another DS title, Let's Play with Voices! HeartCatch PreCure!, released on November 11, 2010, allows players to record their own voices over scenes from the anime.
Reception
In Japan alone, HeartCatch PreCure! is both the most popular series in the Pretty Cure anime franchise to date and also the darkest, with certain tones reflecting personal drama between each of the main characters and villains. The series' success received a cult following by fans and praises of the series' overall presentation and story. The series' character designer, Yoshihiko Umakoshi was also awarded as best Character Designer in the 2010 Tokyo Anime Awards and the 2011 Tokyo International Anime Fair. It was also one of the selected anime series of the year in the December 2010 issue of British magazine Impact.
