Well, Cure Wing, looks like you won’t be the only male Precure for long! Toei just announced a brand-new stage play called Dancing Star Precure: The Stage, featuring the franchise’s first all-male Precure team. The show will open this fall.
Not surprisingly, fans are already asking for a full season of these characters. Maybe this is Toei’s way of testing the waters. It wouldn’t be the first magical boy anime ever. Some people are comparing these characters designs to those from Cute High Earth Defense Club LOVE! (No, that wasn’t a Mad Lib.)
Whatever happens, it looks like the 20th anniversary of Precure isn’t done making history.
The original story depicts their daily life devoted to dancing and their mission as Precure. The stage will deliver the exciting world of new Precure, with direction that is unique for a stage play, powerful dance and action that will unfold before the audience’s eyes!”
No matter what the Precure fandom thought of this week’s episode, one thing’s for sure: they’ll never forget it. It introduced the series’ first-ever official male Precure. And beyond his history maker status, Tsubasa is a charming addition to the team. He’s a shy boy who got into aviation because he dreams of flying — a dream that half comes true in this episode, but of course, he can’t flap around as Cure Wing all the time.
Oh, I forgot to mention he’s also a bird, a flightless bird from Skyland, Sora’s home world. I guess he fills our fairy quota for the season as well (though you could argue that’s Ellee).
With this, there are only two new Precure left, one of which has been acting as an honorary team member since a few episodes ago. Here’s hoping Ageha, a.k.a. Cure Butterfly, becomes a permanent member soon.
But for now, our duo has become a trio — or more like a duo + 1, dynamic-wise. Here’s Tsubasa Yuunagi, our resident hero boy, transforming into his alter-ego, Cure Wing!
Like a rainbow after a rainstorm, Cure Prism is here to brighten up our day! Her transformation is nowhere near as energetic as Cure Sky’s, but why would it be? She’s the calm one of the duo, after all. Slower and cuter, with more peace signs than Cure Peace, is more her style.
We also got to meet our bubbly butterfly waiting in the wings: 18-year-old Ageha Hijiri. She’s Mashiro’s childhood friend and former neighbor who treats her like a little sister. I’m sure we’ll see plenty of her even before she becomes a Precure, especially since she already knows Sora and Mashiro are.
But this episode was Mashiro’s time to shine — literally, of course, in true magical girl fashion! Here she is transforming into her alter-ego, Cure Prism!
Soar into the sky, higher than the highest Let’s go to a broader world! Precure! (Shiny sky! Sunny blue sky!) (Fly high!)
VERSE
A rainbow prism after the rain The sky tells us something’s beginning I reach out my hand to see what it is Then in my hand, I found the light of hope Quickly, catch, catch!
Overcoming despair We’ll become stronger Wipe away your tears and take off!
CHORUS
Soar into the sky with the highest spirits Change your frustration to glittering hearts The unknown world and the future are full of possibilities We’re friends linked together under the same sky! Continue tomorrow, miracles! Hero Girl Sky! Precure
The premiere of Hirogaru Sky! Precure (a.k.a. Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure) came out swinging! So much energy, such a bold and triumphant atmosphere, and a protagonist who’s hard not to love! Our hero girl Sora was determined to save the day even before she got her Precure powers.
Of course, having magical muscles and the ability to leap tall buildings in a single bound definitely helps! So, here’s our first-ever blue leader, Sora Hanewataru, transforming into her alter-ego, Cure Sky!
ten takaku habataite saijou yori mo takaku saa ikou hirogaru sekai e to PURIKYUA HAREBARE SUKAI HARERUYA SUKAI FLY HIGH
VERSE
ameagari ni niji no PURIZUMU nanika ga hajimaru sora no kehai tashikameru you ni te o nobashitara kibou to iu hikari tsukandeta byou de KYATCHI KYATCHI
zetsubou o koete watashitachi wa tsuyoku naru namida o fuite TAKE OFF
CHORUS
ten takaku habataite saijou no KOKORO iki IRAIRA mo KIRAKIRA ni CHENJI shite michiru sekai miraizu wa kanousei de ippai onaji sora tsunagaru nakama ashita e tsuzuke KISEKI HERO GIRL SUKAI PURIKYUA
For the fourth year in a row, Toei Animation and Crunchyroll are teaming up to bring us the next season of Precure! Hirogaru Sky! Precure will begin streaming this Saturday, Feb. 4 under a new name: Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure. Yeah, we’re losing the “hero girl” pun, but in exchange, this name combines two of the other major themes — flying and the sky — in a familiar phrase.
This is the 20th anniversary season, and in case you haven’t heard, Toei is changing things up! We’ve got the first blue leader (Cure Sky), the first official male Precure (Cure Wing, orange), and the first official adult Precure (Cure Butterfly, pink)! More on that and what we know about the story, transformation items, etc. in the posts below:
Geez! Hirogaru Sky! Precure took the rulebook and dropkicked it into the stratosphere! Not only are we getting the first-ever blue leader, Cure Sky, but we’re also getting the first official male Precure and the first official adult Precure!
Cure Wing
Cure Wing (civilian name TBA) is a 12-year-old boy who joins the team this season. Technically, he’s not the first-ever male Precure. That title goes to Henri Wakamiya, a.k.a. Cure Infini, from HUGtto! Precure (coincidentally also an anniversary season). But he only fought in a couple episodes, and he wasn’t advertised from the get-go like Cure Wing.
There was also the “everyone’s a Precure” finale at the end of the season, which gave us a bunch of one-off male Cures, but none of them are worth mentioning. They didn’t even have names!
Finally, last season (good riddance), we had Yui’s childhood friend Takumi, who became Black Pepper, a Tuxedo Mask clone who occasionally helped the Precure. Rosemary, the Cures’ mentor/big brother, got to swing some punches as well. But neither of them had “Cure” in their names, so they don’t count, either.
Nope, Cure Wing is the first official, full-fledged male Precure. I’ve gotta admit — I don’t know how to feel about this. I know Toei’s going for an “anyone can be a Precure” vibe, and lots of guys watch this show. But isn’t the pun in the title this season “hero girl”?
Oh, well. We’ll see how it plays out.
Cure Butterfly
I thought something looked different about Cure Butterfly (civilian name also unknown). It was something in her face, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Now, it makes sense. She’s a magical woman, having just turned 18. (Apparently, Japan lowered the age of adulthood to 18 last year. They still can’t drink until they’re 20, though. 😂)
Again, this isn’t brand-new territory for Precure, either. In Healin’ Good Precure, we had Asumi Fuurin, a.k.a. Cure Earth, who was physically 20 years old. But she didn’t act like it. As the Precure Wiki explains:
…Because of the circumstances surrounding her nature as a spirit, she is actually the youngest Pretty Cure in the series age-wise.
Basically, Asumi was reborn — or reanimated — into the body of a 20-year-old, but her mind was like a child’s. She “grew up” over the course of the season, but she never gained the mental faculties of an actual 20-year-old.
Aside from her, we’ve had retired Cures and legendary Cures who’ve shown up from time to time, but they’ve never stayed around for long. Cure Butterfly is the oldest permanent Precure and the first official adult on a Precure team.
Final Thoughts
So, in Hirogaru Sky! Precure, we’ve got two 14-year-old girls, a 12-year-old boy, an 18-year-old woman, and a baby…who may not stay a baby, but with the ground this season is breaking, anything’s possible! What an unusual team! Is this an one-time-only experiment just for views, or is it a sign of things to come for the Precure franchise?
And more importantly…will this season be good?
We’ll find out soon. The adventures of the hero girls — and boy — begin this weekend!
Ah, I love it when a new season of Precure — or any show I like — is on its way! The hype is at all-time high throughout the fandom, especially this weekend, since the website for Hirogaru Sky! Precure updated. We finally have high-quality art of the characters and a synopsis of the story. Plus, the first commercial aired!
Here’s a breakdown of what we know so far about Hirogaru Sky! Credit goes to the “big names” in the Precure fandom, like Cure Hibiki, Magical Cinnamon, and AzenZone, as well as the Precure Wiki.
The Themes of the Season
We already knew the main theme is flying/the sky. It’s right there in the title. But the secondary theme snuck past us as a pun: heroes. “Hirogaru” sounds like how the Japanese would say “hero girl”. In fact, the opening theme for the season is called “Hirogaru Sky! Precure ~Hero Girls~”.
So, flying heroes. Checks out, doesn’t it?
There may also be a third theme: music/sound. The Precure’s transformation trinkets are called the Sky Tones, and their base city is called Sorashido. Get it? Sorashido? So, la, ti, do? The “la” and “ti” sounds don’t exist in Japanese, so the closest sounds are “ra” (ら) and “shi” (し).
Not sure how they’ll incorporate music in the hero theme, but hey, it’s Precure. This wouldn’t be the oddest match-up. (Hugging, job searching, and time travel? Now, that was a weird one.)
The New Precure
Let’s meet these new hero girls, shall we?
Sora Harewataru/Cure Sky
Called it! The leader’s name is Sora. I got her Cure name wrong, though, since I didn’t think they stick with a word that’s in the title. But with the “hero girl” thing, I get the point. Sora literally wants to be a hero, so…”Hero Girl Sky”. You win, Toei.
Sora is from the magic kingdom of Sky Land, and she comes to Earth to protect Princess Ellee-chan, the fairy/magic baby of the season. I’m getting HappinessCharge! Precure and HUGtto! Precure vibes from this setup. Maybe that’s fitting since those were the tenth and 15th anniversary seasons, respectively. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right?
Oh, and as you can see, Sky is a blue Cure. That’s right — she’s the first-ever blue leader. With at least two non-pink leaders now, I wonder if the pattern is officially broken, and any Cure can lead the team.
Mashiro Nijigaoka/Cure Prism
I got this one half right, too: wrong Cure name, correct theme. Not that I mind, since Cure Prism sounds better than Cure Rainbow, Cure Spectrum, or whatever else I thought of. Although I did come up with a rainbow Cure for Healin’ Good named Cure Iris. That would have been pretty, but Cure Prism is fine.
Mashiro hails from Sorashido. She’s a nature-loving girl who lives with her grandmother, Yoyo, who may or may not know something about the Precure. It’s a rumor for now, so we’ll see how it plays out.
Cure Wing and Cure Butterfly
Rumor has it Cure Sky and Cure Prism will fight as a duo for a while. Later, Cure Wing (orange) and Cure Butterfly (pink) will debut, and according to Azenzone, they might act as a rival team. It’s an interesting concept and could be a character growth opportunity for Sky. Why does she wanna be a hero? To help people or to get the fame and glory for it?
We don’t know anything else about Wing and Butterfly, but this is enough for now since we may not see them for a while. We’ll get to know them better soon.
What’s that? Oh, yeah — Butterfly is pink, isn’t she? How about that? She’s the first pink Cure who isn’t the leader — although from the attitude oozing from her stock art, I don’t think she’ll take orders from Sky so easily. 😂
Will There Be a Fifth Cure?
Based on the colors of the rainbow in the logo…
…there may be a purple Cure this season. And since Ellee-chan’s design has a lot of purple in it, people already think she’s gonna grow abnormally fast so she can fill the fifth spot on the team. It wouldn’t be a first for this franchise, so why not?
Final Thoughts
So, what do you think so far? Personally, I can’t wait for this season. It already looks miles better than Delicious Party Precure. Besides, Toei wouldn’t botch the 20th anniversary season, would they?
I was feeling nostalgic, so I thought I’d put this opening up. (Thought I had already, but oh well.) If you haven’t watched this show…it’s a trip. It’s a parody of shounen anime with a baking theme.
The main character, Kazuma Azuma, is trying to create a uniquely Japanese-style bread — a “JA-pan”, you might say. “Pan” (パン; ぱん) means “bread”. Get it? Yeah, it’s that kind of show.
I know this is a random thing to end the year with, but…um…Happy New Year! May your…fortunes rise like bread? I don’t know. 😂
VERSE dokoka tooku de mimi o sumashiteru hito ga iru arayuru basho de sora o miageteru hito ga iru yozora no shita de kuchibue fuiteru bokutachi wa kotoba mo nai mama yubi de tada seiza o nazotteru
samugariya no yume tsumetai kimi no te atatameru mahou wa hitotsu no michi o shinjiru koto
CHORUS houki gumo no muKOU ni mitsuketa hitotsubu no hoshi wa kagayaku hoshi demo kasuka na hoshi demo kimi dake no hikari
mune no kumo no muKOU ni mienai mama no michishirube saa kono te o hiraite ima nani o shinjimasu ka
Notes:
“Yakitate” (焼きたて) means “freshly baked”, so the title of the show roughly translates to “Freshly Baked!! Japanese Bread”.
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