The long-running Pretty Cure magical girl franchise is celebrating a major milestone this year. To celebrate, PreCure released a special 20th-anniversary visual that features all the lead characters of the past anime seasons.
This special visual was shared via the PreCure official website and Twitter account, and it’s a collaboration of character designers and artists who worked on the anime since the franchise’s debut.
Pretty Cure: One of Japan's Most Popular Magical Girl Series
While it may not be a household name outside Japan on the level of Sailor Moon, PreCure is still easily one of the most popular magical girl franchises, especially in its home country.
The franchise began with the release of Futari wa Pretty Cure, the first TV anime in the series.
Following this series’ success, PreCure continued with new titles, with the latest ongoing season being the 19th, with a 20th season also confirmed.
As with most other magical girl series, PreCure follows a group of teenage girls who gain special items that allow them to transform into magical girls known as “Pretty Cure.”
With this power, the girls use their abilities to defend Earth against various evil forces.
As each season progresses, the girls face tougher foes which they must overcome with new magical items, and even new allies.
Some anime seasons are sequels of a previous one. Though for the most part, each season features a standalone story with a new lead along with new supporting characters.
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PreCure 20th Anniversary Visual
With the series being nearly two decades old, PreCure tapped the artists and designers who worked on the franchise over the past years.
Their expertise was needed as the visual features all the lead characters from the franchise.
Check it out here:
As you can see, the first eight Lead Cures can be seen at the top, with the next eleven at the bottom.
At the bottom right is Sora Harewataru from the upcoming Hirogaru Sky! Pretty Cure series that will begin airing this February.
This is just the start of the anniversary celebration, so fans can expect more activities, special goods, and other things in store as the year progresses.
In the meantime, fans can watch Delicious Party Pretty Cure which is currently ongoing. New episodes of the latest PreCure anime are streamed every week on Crunchyroll.
Get the latest anime news and info by following us on Twitter @epicstreamanime.
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Sources: PreCure Twitter account, official Website