HappinessCharge Pretty Cure!

Did You Know?

• Megumi Aino's mother influenced her to help others, and Megumi's wish is to cure her mother.
• Hime Shirayuki is actually named Himelda Window, Cure Queen of the Blue Sky, and she accidentally freed the Phantom Empire by opening Axia after hearing a sad voice.
• Iona Hikawa's older sister Maria was Cure Tender until Phantom defeated her and trapped her in a mirror; Iona's wish is to become stronger to defeat Phantom and rescue Maria.
• Cure Honey first appeared in Pretty Cure All Stars New Stage 3: Eien no Tomodachi before her debut in the series.

Plot

The Phantom Empire, led by Queen Mirage, invades Earth with Choiarks and Saiarks. Pretty Cures worldwide fight back. Hime Shirayuki, princess of the conquered Blue Sky Kingdom, becomes Cure Princess but is too timid. Blue, the spirit of Earth, gives her a Crystal of Love and tells her to find a partner. Hime throws the crystal in Pikarigaoka; it lands on Megumi Aino, who becomes Cure Lovely. Together with Cure Honey and Cure Fortune, they form the Happiness Charge Pretty Cure team to collect PreCards and protect Earth.

Characters

The Pretty Cures are Warriors of Light chosen by Blue to protect Earth. They transform using the Pretty Change Mirror and PreCards with the phrase 'Pretty Cure Rolling Mirror Change!'; Cure Fortune uses the Fortune Piano and says 'Pretty Cure Shining Star Symphony!'. PreCards also change outfits and grant wishes if enough are collected. The team in Pikarigaoka includes Cure Lovely and Cure Princess, who use the LovePreBrace; Cure Honey, who uses the Triple Dance Honey Baton; and Cure Fortune, who uses the Fortune Tambourine. They perform the group attack Innocent Purification with the Shining Make Dresser. Innocent Form, resembling Japanese idols, is activated by protecting someone important.

Production

Toei filed the series with the Japan Patent Office on October 2, 2013, made public on October 24, 2013. The project was officially revealed in the January 2014 issue of CoroCoro Comic Magazine. The anime used advanced 3D/CGI graphics and motion capture for its form-changing ending themes. On January 3, 2014, Megumi Nakajima announced she would voice Megumi Aino, her first lead anime role after an indefinite hiatus from music. The first commercial aired at the end of DokiDoki PreCure! episode 46, and the trailer aired after the final episode.

Media

HappinessCharge Pretty Cure! first aired on ABC and other ANN stations on February 2, 2014, taking over the timeslot from DokiDoki! Precure, with the Broadcasting System of San-in following on February 8. The initial 34 episodes featured a special 10th anniversary message from previous Pretty Cures. DVD and Blu-ray releases came in volumes. The main characters appeared in the film Pretty Cure All Stars New Stage 3: Eternal Friends on March 15, 2014. A spinoff movie, HappinessCharge PreCure! the Movie: The Ballerina of the Land of Dolls, debuted on October 11, 2014. The opening theme, "HappinessCharge PreCure! WOW!", was performed by Sayaka Nakaya. The two ending themes, "PreCure Memory" (episodes 1-26) and "Party Has Come" (episodes 27-49), were both sung by Hitomi Yoshida. Multiple soundtracks and vocal albums were released in 2014 and 2015. A manga adaptation by Futago Kamikita began serialization in Kodansha's Nakayoshi magazine in March 2014.