Witchy Pretty Cure!

, also known as ''Maho Girls PreCure!'', is a Japanese anime television series by Toei Animation, billed as the thirteenth installment in the '' Pretty Cure'' series. The series, directed by Masato Mitsuka and written by Isao Murayama with character design by Emiko Miyamoto, aired on ANN television stations between February 2016 and January 2017, succeeding '' Go! Princess PreCure'' in its timeslot, and was succeeded by ''Kirakira Pretty Cure a la Mode''. The series' main topic is friendship, while its motifs are magic and jewelry. An adult animated sequel series is set to premiere in January 2025 on ANN's Animazing!!! programming block.

Story

Mirai Asahina, a thirteen-year-old girl who is excited by various things, goes with her stuffed bear, Mofurun, to investigate a mysterious object that fell from the sky. There, she meets a young magician named Liko, who is searching for something known as the Linkle Stone Emerald. When dark servants of Dokurokushe arrive seeking the Linkle Stone Emerald, Mirai and Liko join hands with Mofurun and transform into the legendary magicians known as Pretty Cures to fight against them. Thus, Mirai joins Liko in attending Magic School, where they learn how to use magic while fighting the minions of Dokurokushe and Never Ending Chaos.

Characters

Witchy Pretty Cures

The Witchy Pretty Cures are legendary magicians who once fought against evil, possessing powerful magic and items called . In the modern day, Mirai and Liko inherit the powers of the legendary magicians and search for the Linkle Stone Emerald. All magicians in the Magical World can perform spells with their wands by chanting the phrase . Using the power of the Linkle Stones, Mirai and Liko can transform into Pretty Cures by holding hands with Mofurun and chanting , and can perform purifying attacks with the . By using different Linkle Stones, the Cures can transform into four different styles; Diamond, Ruby, Sapphire, and Topaz, each with their own elemental powers. Cure Felice uses the and the Linkle Stone Emerald to transform by chanting and attacks with the . Later, they receive the to use more powerful attacks with the Alexandrite Style.

Main characters

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:A 13-year-old girl and a middle-school student living in the town of in the human world, which is referred to by magicians as the . She is a lovely, energetic, and happy girl who is interested in many things, especially magicians and witches. Though she has no friends, she usually goes out with her teddy bear Mofurun until she meets Liko. After she and Liko become Pretty Cures, she begins attending magic school and discovers her own skill and talent for magic, thus making her the "Magic" of the duo. Her family runs an accessories and jewelry shop. Following Deusmast's death, she enrolls in college. Despite her title as Cure Miracle, she is the Pretty Cure of Magic who, ironically, introduces herself as . Her theme color is pink, and her style's colors are red, blue, and yellow.

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:A mysterious and sassy 14-year-old girl from the Magic World and Liz's younger sister, who attends the . Though she is good at studying and often believes her calculations to be correct, she is not good at casting magic and often has trouble riding her broom, thus making her the "Miracle" of the duo. After her world is targeted by the Dark Magicians, she decides to search for the Linkle Stone Emerald, which leads her to meet Mirai for the first time. Liz gave her the Linkle Stone Diamond, and she wants to surpass her to become a famous witch. After passing the test, she is allowed to leave her homeland and follow Mirai to the No Magic World, where the other Linkle Stones are hidden. She later enrolls in with Mirai while in the No Magic World and begins living with Mirai and her family. Following Deusmast's death, she stays in the Magic World until she reunites with Mirai and Kotoha. It is later revealed that she became a teacher at the Magic School. Despite her title as Cure Magical, she is the Pretty Cure of Miracles who, ironically, introduces herself as . Her theme color is purple, and her style's colors are red, blue, and yellow.

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:A shy and mysterious fairy who resides in the Linkle Smartbook. As the series progresses, she grows up and begins to speak. By eating food that comes from using the Linkle Stones with the Linkle Smartbook, she can change into various forms with different abilities. During their first encounter, Sparda suspects that she might be related to the Linkle Stones, specifically the Linkle Stone Emerald. She disappears along with Kushe after the Cures' battle against him, but reappears as a girl named Kotoha Hanami and rescues them as Cure Felice. However, they are unaware of her identity as Ha-chan until after they reunite with each other. She also lives at Mirai's house alongside Liko. Later on, Orba reveals that Ha-chan is the reincarnation of Mother Rapapa, and inherited her powers. As Cure Felice, she is the Pretty Cure of Life and introduces herself as . Her theme color is green.

Partner Doll

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:A teddy bear who was given to Mirai by her grandmother when she was a baby, who the former treats as a dear friend. Following Mirai and Liko's first transformation into Pretty Cures, Mofurun comes to life and serves as their transformation device. It can detect the presence of other Linkle Stones as a sweet scent and often ends sentences with "mofu". In the film, Mofurun receives an exclusive Pretty Cure form named through the powers of the Linkle Stone Mofurun and, later, the Linkle Stone Heartful. In this form, she can fight alongside the other Cures and turn into different styles through the Linkle Stones. Mofurun can also summon the Rainbow Carriage at will and unlock the Heartful Styles for it and the other Cures to use the attack Heartful Rainbow. As Cure Mofurun, it is the Pretty Cure of Wishes and introduces herself as . Mofurun's theme color is yellow and her style's colors are red and blue.

Magic School

Teachers

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:The principal of the Magic School, who is also known as the greatest magician of the Magic World. After he sees Mirai and Liko transform into Pretty Cure, he proposes that Mirai attends the Magic School to improve her skills. He met Kanoko when she was young, saving her cat and receiving cookies from her. He becomes older after he battles Dokurokushe in his lair, but is restored to normal along with Magic Crystal after Dokurokushe's demise. When he was younger, he was good friends with Kushe until he turned to dark magic and became Dokurokushe.

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:The head teacher of the Magic School.

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:A mysterious woman who communicates with the Headmaster through a crystal ball. She is very moody and is often misunderstood by the Head Teacher. She becomes older after she and the Headmaster battle Dokurokushe in his lair, but both of them are restored to normal after Dokurokushe's demise.

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:A somewhat forgetful teacher who teaches supplementary classes.

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:Liko's older sister and a teacher trainee at the Magic School, who once owned the Linkle Stone Diamond before giving it to Liko. She is highly skilled at both studies and magic and is often called upon to teach lessons.

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:A teacher in the mermaid's village.

Students

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:A blue-haired student who has a tomboyish personality and often skips classes, giving her a bad attendance record.

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:An orange-haired student who is prone to being tardy and losing her belongings.

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:A yellow-haired student who is easily frightened. She winds up in supplementary classes because of her fear of spiders or flying her broom in the skies with the other students.

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:Residents of the mermaid's village. Following Deusmast's death, they enroll in the Magic School.

Antagonists

Dark Magicians

The are the main antagonists of the first half of the series, who aim to acquire the Linkle Stone Emerald and allow their leader Dokurokushe to conquer the Magic World and the No Magic World with dark magic. They also want the Linkle Smartbook after discovering Ha-chan's power. Dokurokushe's subordinates were originally animals who were infused with magic and assumed a humanoid form to act in his stead due to his physical condition.

Leaders

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:The main antagonist in the first half of the series and the leader of the Dark Magicians. He is a power-hungry skeleton magician with great magical prowess, yet is mostly inactive due to his ailing physical constitution. He rarely moves or talks, but when he does Yamoh interprets his body movements as commands. In truth, he was originally a magician and a close friend of the Headmaster, whose obsession with studying magic to prevent a great calamity resulted in him turning to dark magic. This reduced his body into a skeleton, with his desire to obtain the Linkle Stone Emerald and dominate the world causing him to return. After obtaining the Linkle Stone Emerald and the Smartbook, he absorbs their powers and Yamoh's power and transforms into a giant demonic skeleton to fight the Pretty Cure. After he is purified and cleansed of his grudge, his spirit leaves his body as it breaks apart, and Yamoh uses his remains to create more powerful Yokubaru. Eventually, his ghost returned to the effigy Yamoh made of him, aiding his subordinates in battle once more before disappearing for good. His mostly passive role makes his personality hard to describe, but his actions sometimes remind him of his past kindness. He also kept a photo of the Headmaster and himself in the book of dark magic that he wrote.

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:A humanoid gecko and Dokurokushe's second-in-command, who is clairvoyant and can see the future through his cauldron. His fancy garments and curly white hair are reminiscent of western fashion from the 1700s. He is in charge of leading the others under Dokurokushe's orders and can interpret his body movements. He often worries about Dokurokushe's health and wants nothing more than to help him succeed in his goals. He is absorbed by Dokurokushe during his final fight with the Pretty Cure, but Labut uses the remains of his discarded tail to revive him with an altered appearance, having simpler, darker clothing and looser hair. Appalled by Dokurokushe's demise, he uses Dokurokushe's bones to create stronger Yokubaru and seek revenge, making an effigy of Dokurokushe to report his progress to. He uses Dokurokushe's last bone to turn himself into a Yokubaru to capture Kotoha and the Linkle Stone Emerald, but is defeated and becomes a regular gecko. Later on, Batty fuses he and his group into a Yokubaru to fight Orba's Donyokubaru. After this, he left together with Batty, still in his animal form. He was seemingly restored back into his humanoid form by his love for his master after witnessing his return. The last remaining bone of Dokurokushe was the tooth that Yamoh had pulled out a long time ago after it had a cavity, and the spirit lingering in it was revived as an entity who loves sweets and resembles the effigy that Yamoh created. Chikurun supports Yamoh by supplying him with honey to make this version of Dokurokushe happy.

Subordinates

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:A polite humanoid bat dressed in formal attire with a long cape that allows him to fly. He is suspicious of Yamoh and accuses him of making up his orders. After Dokurokushe powers him up, he becomes loyal towards him and is depressed at being unable to protect his master, calling himself a failure. Batty is attentive to his teammates, observing their final fights and taking them to Dokurokushe's lair after they revert to their animal forms. Sparda and Gamets, in their animal forms, lend him their wands to transform him into a powerful monster, and after his defeat he retains his humanoid form. When he tries to grab the Linkle Stone Emerald, it extracts his magic and reverts him to his original state. Sparda then finds him and he is restored to his human form by Orba, but he is depressed and does not want to fight anymore. When Orba mocks dark magic, he gets fired up again and defeats Orba's Donyokubaru with a Yokubaru created from his friends, then leaves with them. Following Deusmast's death, he enrolls at the Magic School.

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:A humanoid spider who is a cunning, direct, and rude tactician and uses webs to snatch objects and for combat. She loves dark magic and is the most invested in Dokurokushe's idea of a world ruled by it. She often experiments with magic, including on living beings, and is the first to fuse with a Yokubaru. Despite being a tactician, her decisions are reckless, as the Yokubaru fusion goes out of control. The Pretty Cure defeat her in this form and she returns to her original form as a spider, who is taken home by Batty. Later in the series, Orba, seeking to learn more about dark magic, returns her to her humanoid form. She seemingly acts as his loyal servant, but it turns out to be a ploy to resurrect her teammates and steal Dokurokushe's book from him. Orba then turns her back into a regular spider, but she becomes part of a Yokubaru fusion that defeats Orba's Donyokubaru. After this, she leaves with Batty and the others.

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:A humanoid turtle and a strong soldier, who calls himself a magic warrior instead of a magician. He dresses like a Roman legionary and seeks fights to test his strength. He steals the Linkle Stone Garnet and uses magic to make himself tall and nimble, bursting his shell in the process. In this form, he challenges the Cures to fight him on a remote island, and following his defeat he is satisfied as he reverts to his original state. After being revived by Orba, Sparda goads Gamets into standing up against the Pretty Cure by using the group's third member as an incentive. He is angry at Orba and, along with Sparda, fights him when he interrupts his "sacred battle" with Cure Felice. He is turned back into a regular turtle and becomes part of the Yokubaru fusion that defeats Orba's Donyokubaru. After this, he leaves with Batty and the others.

Never Ending Chaos

The are the main antagonists of the second half of the series, who aim to unleash chaos upon the world and revive their master Deusmast. Deusmast was sealed within the sun by Mother Rapapa, and if reawakened would consume the world.

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:The main antagonist of the second half of the series, an evil deity of chaos who consumes worlds. His foretold return played a role in Kushe's transformation into Dokurokushe, as he sought to prevent this calamity from occurring. Deusmast was born from the fusion of four god-like magical beings known as Never Ending Chaos, who possess the reality-bending power of . Though Mother Rapapa sealed Deusmast in the sun, the Dark Magicians' actions enabled Deusmast to create constructs in the form of the members of Never Ending Chaos, who prepare Earth for Deusmast's eventual return. Though three of the Endless Chaos members are sent back to the sun, the seal eventually breaks and a reconstituted Deusmast fuses the No Magic World and Magic World into one. But he is killed when the Cures destroy him and his components with Extreme Rainbow, separating the worlds and sending Deusmast into oblivion. Deusmast speaks in the voices of the members of Never Ending Chaos, who form the orb-like eyes that revolve around his body.

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:The first of the Never Ending Chaos members the Pretty Cure encounter. He is a sly and easygoing genie who considers himself to be superior to magicians because of his innate level of magic and ability to bend reality with a snap of his fingers. Labut emerges from his lamp following Dokurokushe's demise and revives Yamoh to do his dirty work, before using Donyokubaru after he fails him. Labut later takes the battle into his own hands by throwing the Cures into a different dimension and separating them, where he shows his true god-like form. After Mirai saves her teammates, they kill him with Extreme Rainbow and send his essence into the sun. Though he is later revived as part of Deusmast, he is killed again when the Cures kill Deusmast.

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:A serious and quiet tengu-like man who dresses in traditional Japanese clothing and talks like a soldier. He orders Chikurun to steal the Linkle Stones for him, and then consumes them to become more powerful, but Chikurun retrieves them again. After he injures Chikurun, the Cures' feelings for Chikurun let them overpower him and kill him with Extreme Rainbow. Though he is later revived as part of Deusmast, Shakince is killed again when the Cures kill Deusmast.

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:A Raijin-like woman who has the powers of lightning and teleportation and speaks like a gyaru. She wears armor on her arms and legs and is surrounded by a red, thorny halo. After all her comrades are defeated by the Pretty Cure, she uses their powers to assume a demonic form and fights the Cures. She is nearly killed until she becomes part of Deusmast, making her the only member to not be defeated by the Cures until she is fused. Benigyo is killed again when the Cures kill Deusmast.

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:A cold and condescending figure who resembles a fallen angel and studies his enemies before attacking them. He steals Dokurokushe's book and uses it to revive the Magician Trio so he can study dark magic, and also manipulates Chikurun into working for him. He confronts the Cures, but is betrayed by Sparda, who tries to steal the book back after he mocked dark magic and her old master. He assumes his demonic form to turn Sparda and Gamets back into their animal forms and punish them for their betrayal. The Cures kill him with Extreme Rainbow, but he still manages to revive his Endless Chaos comrades around the world with Dokurokushe's book before he dies. Though he is later revived as part of Deusmast, he is killed again when the Cures kill Deusmast.

Monsters

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:The monsters of the series, created by the Dark Magicians with dark magic by fusing two objects together through a wand with a skull head. A stronger variant of Yokubaru is called , which has a red skull and is created using Dokurokushe's bones. Another version of the Yokubaru is called , and is created by Never Ending Chaos generals. The version of Yokubaru created by the Magician Trio has a black skull and is more powerful than the usual Yokubaru. is derived from the Japanese word meaning "to covet", while is derived from the Japanese words for "greed" and "avarice".

Others

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:A bee-like fairy from Fairy Village who works for Orba and spies on the Cures to get information about them, taking an interest in Mofurun. When Chikurun steals the Linkle Stones, he is exposed as a spy. After he retrieves the Linkle Stones from Shakince, he is forgiven for his actions. Later on, he provides Yamoh with honey to make Dokurokushe, the spirit of Dokurokushe's sweet tooth, happy.

Other characters

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:Mirai's mother, Daikichi's wife, and Kanoko's daughter, whose original name was . She is the owner of the Power Stone shop.

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:Mirai's father and Kyoko's husband, who is a maker of consumer electronics.

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:Mirai's grandmother and Kyoko's mother, who gave her Mofurun when she was a baby. She is very caring and always believes Mirai's stories about magicians. She met the Headmaster when she was younger and he saved her cat.

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:A wizard who sells uniforms.

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:A wizard who sells Magic Brooms.

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:A wizard who sells fruits and vegetables.

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:An elderly wizard who likes to spread rumors.

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:Mirai and Liko's friends and classmates.

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:Mirai and Liko's homeroom teacher.

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:A famous archaeologist in the Magic World and Liko and Liz's father.

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:A famous cooking expert in the Magic World and Liko and Liz's mother.

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:The current queen of the Fairy Village.

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:The former queen of the Fairy Village.

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:The protector of Earth, who sealed away Deusmast and his minions before losing her powers, creating the Magic World and the No Magic World. Kotoha is her reincarnation and inherited her powers.

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:A pink-colored Pretty Cure from ''Kirakira Pretty Cure a la Mode''.

Movie characters

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:The main antagonist of the film. He is a black bear with the ability to use magic and wishes to help people. But because they fear him, he has a vendetta towards them and is brainwashed, taking on the appearance of an adult bear wearing a mask. He takes the form of a young bear to manipulate Mofurun and captures her to help him make his wish come true, but she escapes. He attacks the Cures, but Mofurun allows herself to be defeated to make him snap out of it. After Dark Matter emerges from his body, he helps the Cures battle it. After the end of the movie, a now magic-less Kumata befriends with the bears of the forest.
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:Dark Matter's magic helpers, who he summons when he attacks the Grand Magic Festival and when Mofurun flees his lair. Some of them possess the Flare Dragon and turn it into the Shadow Dragon. After Kumata loses his magic power, it turns into a giant version of these shadows.
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:A flare dragon who performs tricks in the Grand Magic Festival's Circus Balloon. Kotoha is able to communicate with it, and together they spew a fireball and turn it into fireworks. When Dark Matter disrupts the festival and abducts both the Wishing Stone and Mofurun, he turns the Flare Dragon into a Shadow Dragon and flies away on it. Later, when the girls are looking for Mofurun, the Shadow Dragon shows up again and attacks them. Being the only one left who can do so, Kotoha transforms into Cure Felice and distracts it while the others go ahead to Dark Matter's lair. When Cure Mofurun is fighting an enraged Dark Matter while Mirai frees Liko, Cure Felice returns with the Flare Dragon. The others are surprised to see it, but Felice explains how she discovered that the Shadow Dragon was actually the Flare Dragon, who was possessed by Dark Matter's shadows, and used the Pink Tourmaline to rid it of the shadows. After that, the Flare Dragon helps the Cures fly out of Dark Matter's lair. Later, it helps them break into the giant shadow to battle Pure Shadow Matter.
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:Inhabitants of the forest, who Mofurun meets and befriends when she escapes from Dark Matter's lair. When Kumata shows up, they all flee or hide because they're afraid of his magic power, but Mofurun is the only one who isn't scared of his magic. When everyone is wishing for Mofurun to come back alive and shouting "Cure Up・RaPaPa!", the bears join in with "Kumappu・KuMaMa!". At the end of the movie, Kumata is accepted as one of them.

Development and Production

The series marks as the 13th series in the ''Pretty Cure'' franchise, as it focuses on the theme of Magic and Sorcery while using Friendship as its main theme. Producer Mikio Uezuki said that "While following the universal themes of love, justice, dreams, and friendship that the Pretty Cure series has so far, we want to make a work that boldly draws its worldview and motifs that go beyond the framework of the series. It is by no means a panacea, and what is important is the contact of the 'heart' between people." Keisuke Naito, producer of Toei Animation also said, "By joining hands with each other, we connect hearts, hope, and the world I would like to convey it through the world."

In regard to one of the characters in the series, Yuta Tanaka said while promoting the film that Mofurun is a gender androgynous character with the film's staff designing its cure form in the film to match its rather gender-neutral look. Several staff in the anime including Emiko Miyamoto, Ken Ueno, Yu Kaminoki, Keisuke Naito, and series director Mitsuka Masato all confirmed Mofurun's gender. Toei and Bandai also refer to Mofurun's gender as just "Mofurun". Isao Murayama also stated in a separate interview that the character is meant to be a girl in the start but did not include it due to time constraints.

The sequel was first announced on March 14, 2023, during the franchise's 20th Anniversary and marks as the first sequel series to be released in the TV Asahi's currently running ''ANiMAZiNG!!!'' Midnight Anime block. The series's full title is later revealed on May 28, 2024 alongside its airing date under its new title Witchy Pretty Cure!! Future Days''. All 4 of the main cast from the previous series is set to return to reprise their roles for the new season.

Media

Anime

The series was first revealed via a trademark filing posted on October 19, 2015, and was publicly announced on November 26, 2015. The series aired on all ANN television stations between February 7, 2016 and January 29, 2017. The series was pitched to licensors at AnimeJapan 2016 under the English name ''Witchy Pretty Cure'', but an English adaptation has yet to be announced.

A sequel anime television series titled is set to premiere on ABC and TV Asahi's Animazing!!! programming block on January 12, 2025.

Films

The Witchy Pretty Cure have appeared in the following crossover films: '' Pretty Cure All Stars: Singing with Everyone♪ Miraculous Magic!'', ''PreCure Dream Stars!'', ''PreCure Super Stars!'', and ''Hugtto! PreCure Futari wa Pretty Cure: All Stars Memories''. A film based on the series, titled , including a fully CG animated short titled was released on October 29, 2016.

Music

In the first 21 episodes, the opening theme is composed by Aiko Okumura and performed by Rie Kitagawa, who previously performed the ending themes for '' Go! Princess PreCure'', while the ending theme is composed by Akifumi Tada and performed by Rie Takahashi and Yui Horie.

From episode 22 onwards, the opening theme is performed by Rie Kitagawa and the ending theme is called performed by Rie Takahashi, Yui Horie and Saori Hayami. The music is composed by Hiroshi Takaki, who previously composed the music for '' DokiDoki! PreCure'', '' HappinessCharge PreCure!'', and '' Go! Princess PreCure''. The single was released on March 2, 2016 by Marvelous! featuring the theme songs from the first 21 episodes. The first official soundtrack of the series, titled ''PreCure♡Miracle☆Sound!!'' was released on May 25, 2016 along with the vocal album on July 13, 2016 with the title ''Linkle☆Melodies''. The single for the second opening and ending theme was released on August 10, 2016. On November 23, 2016, the second official soundtrack of the series was released, titled ''PreCure☆Magical♡Sound!!''.

Manga

A manga adaptation illustrated by Futago Kamikita began serialization in Kodansha's '' Nakayoshi'' magazine from February 3, 2016.

Merchandise

Bandai released various merchandise during the series including watches, bags, and transformation items.

''Witchy PreCure!'' will also be branded as official Tokyo 2020 mascots as merchandise, along with other well known anime series like '' One Piece'', ''Dragon Ball'', '' Naruto'' and ''Sailor Moon''.

References

External links

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Witchy Pretty Cure!
at ABC
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{{Toei Animation

2016 anime television series debuts
2017 Japanese television series endings
2016 manga
2017 comics endings
2025 anime television series debuts
Upcoming anime television series
Cancelled Nintendo 3DS games
Crunchyroll anime
Magical girl anime and manga
Pretty Cure
Television series about witchcraft
Toei Animation television
TV Asahi original programming
Asahi Broadcasting Corporation original programming
Anime and manga about witchcraft
Animazing!!!
2016 films