Glitter Force, known in Japan as Smile PreCure! (Japanese: ?????????!, Hepburn: Sumairu PuriKyua!, lit. "Smile Pretty Cure!"), is a 2012 Japanese anime television series by Toei Animation and the ninth installment in Izumi Todo's Pretty Cure franchise. The series is written by Sh?ji Yonemura, who is 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 the character designs for Yes! PreCure 5. 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 initial timeslot, and is succeeded by Dokidoki! PreCure. A film was released in Japanese theaters on October 27, 2012. The series' main motif is fairy tales.
The series was adapted into English by Saban Brands and was released as a Netflix exclusive outside of Asia and in multiple languages on December 18, 2015. As of May 24, 2017, the trademark and the license is been transferred to Toei Company. It is the second series in the franchise to receive an English-dubbed adaptation following the original Pretty Cure series.
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Plot
The kingdom of Jubiland (???????, Meruhenrando, Märchenland), where various characters from fairy tales reside, is attacked by the evil Emperor Nogo, who intends to direct its world to have its unhappy ending, but is stopped when Queen Euphoria uses the last of her energy to seal him away. When Nogo's minions from the Shadow Realm try to revive him by harnessing negative energy from the people of Earth, Queen Euphoria sends the messenger Candy to assemble a team of five magical girls known as the Glitter Force (Smile Pretty Cure). The series follows the formation of the team and the adventures of the girls as they try to fight off their enemies to collect the magical Glitter Charms that will enable them to upgrade their powers and revive Euphoria.
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Characters
Where available, names and terms from the Saban English version are presented on the left while the original Japanese names are on the right. Some international releases feature alternative names.
Main characters
The title characters are a team of magical girls. They derive their powers by collecting various items known as Glitter Charms (??????, Kyua Dekoru, Cure Decors) which they place in a compact case called the Glitter Pact (???????, Sumairu Pakuto, Smile Pact). When transforming into their magical girl form, they apply the compact powder to themselves and shout "Glitter Force Makeover!" (??????????????!, PuriKyua, Sumairu Ch?ji!, "Pretty Cure, Smile Charge!"), and then recite their group catchphrase: "Time to blaze our way to a happy ending! Shining bright! Here comes the Glitter Force!" (5????????!??!?????????!, Itsutsu no hikari ga michibiku mirai! Kagayake! Sumairu PuriKyua!, "Our five lights will guide us to the future! Sparkle! Smile Pretty Cure!"). Later in the series, as they collect more charms, they attain upgraded transformations such as Tiara Mode and Princess Form (?????????, Purinsesu F?mu).
Antagonists
Hailing from the Shadow Realm (????????, Baddo Endo ?koku, Bad End Kingdom), the villains strive to revive their emperor of evil. The villains crush a paint tube with their hand and wipes it over a magic book page which then manifests negative energy around nearby creatures so that they feel mass despair; the energy is collected into the book and advances a clock-like meter called the "Wheel of Doom" which, when full, revives their emperor of evil, Nogo. They also summon monsters known as Buffoons from ordinary objects.
Supporting characters
Several of the characters from the fairy tale world of Jubiland.
Media
Anime
The 48-episode Smile PreCure! anime aired on TV Asahi and other Japanese stations between February 5, 2012 and January 27, 2013, replacing Suite PreCure? in its previous timeslot. The opening theme is "Let's go! Smile PreCure!" (Let's go!?????????!, Retsu g?! Sumairu Purikyua) by Aya Ikeda. The ending theme used in episodes 1-24 is "Yay! Yay! Yay!" (???!???!???!, Yei! Yei! Yei!) by Hitomi Yoshida, and the ending theme for episodes 25-48 is "Mankai Smile!" (??*????!, Mankai Sumairu!, "Full Bloom Smile!") also by Yoshida. All three songs are composed by Hideaki Takatori. A Blu-ray Box Set by Marvelous AQL and TC Entertainment was released on October 26, 2012, in the same fashion as Suite PreCure. Standard DVD releases were also issued.
Saban Brands have licensed the series outside of Asia under the name Glitter Force, releasing it as a Netflix exclusive. This version consists of 40 episodes, with twenty episodes released on Netflix on December 18, 2015 and the other twenty released on August 26, 2016. The adaptation, which was dubbed into English by Studiopolis, features changes to character names, terminology, and music. The opening theme is "Glitter Force", performed by Blush, who also perform various insert songs. Shirley Pelts wrote that "Netflix is investing heavily in legacy cartoons such as Popples and Glitter Force, which it considers to be important toy and entertainment brands."
Feature films
The heroines appear in the Pretty Cure All Stars cross-over movie series, first appearing in the fourth entry, Pretty Cure All Stars New Stage: Friends of the Future, which was released in Japanese theatres on March 17, 2012 and on DVD on July 18, 2012.
A film based on the series, titled Smile PreCure! The Movie: Big Mismatch in a Picture Book! (?? ?????????! ????????????!, Eiga Sumairu Purikyua!: Ehon no Naka wa Minna Chiguhagu!) was released in Japanese theaters on October 27, 2012. It debuted at the number-one spot in the Japanese Box Office and earned a total revenue of ¥193,000,000 (US$2.42 million), and was the highest grossing PreCure movie to date.
Soundtracks
The music in the anime is composed and arranged by Yasuharu Takanashi, who previously composed the other Pretty Cure series Fresh Pretty Cure!, HeartCatch PreCure! and Suite PreCure. The official soundtrack to the series is divided into two editions, "PreCure Sound Parade!!" and "PreCure Sound Rainbow!!". There are also three vocal albums as well: "Spread out! Smile World!!", "Hey, Everyone Smile!!" and the vocal best album along with the movie's official soundtrack. The background music in the Saban dub is composed by Noam Kaniel. The songs from the Saban version were performed by the girl group Blush.
Manga
A manga adaptation by Futago Kamikita began serialization in Kodansha's Nakayoshi magazine in March 2012 and ended in February 2013.
Merchandise
Merchandise of the anime were also issued during the series's initial run including bags, watches, raincoats, etc. Several toys featuring the Cure's transformation devices and weapons were also released by Bandai during the series' airing. Some of the cures were also released as part of Bandai's long running S.H. Figuarts line of collectors figures.
Video game
A video game titled Smile Precure! Let's Go! Märchen World (?????????! ?????!????????, Sumairu PuriKyua! Rettsu G?! Meruhenw?rudo) was developed by Namco Bandai Games and released in Japan for the Nintendo 3DS on August 2, 2012. The game sees the Cures take on the roles of various fairy tales such as Snow White, The Tortoise and the Hare, Cinderella and Hansel and Gretel.
Reception
The series was well-received, placing regularly in Japan's weekly top ten anime shows broadcast.
Brad Stephenson of About.com describes the English adaptation as "a return to when anime was fun and the priority of everyone involved was to make a super accessible series that could be enjoyed by as many people as possible." He liked the variety of animation for the physical attacks, the energetic singing of Blush, and that "young English-speaking children can have the same experience as the Japanese audience did when they first saw it." He also found the Japanese references to not be a deterrent and would encourage kids to look into Japanese culture as with Sailor Moon.
Ella Anders of BSC Kids, who had also reviewed many other recent magical girl adaptations such as LoliRock and Miraculous Ladybug, thought the series was better than she expected, but disliked the amount of localization provided by the Saban dub, writing that the "With the world so interconnected as it is now the removal of cultural aspects was saddening. It would be such a great chance to celebrate and focus on the Japanese culture."
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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