The long-running, popular children’s anime seriesPrecureis celebrating its 20th anniversary and published a new special video on its website last week to celebrate. The video features a new song set to footage from the franchise over the years as a tribute and memory to where the series has come from. This video has been released ahead of the show’s 20th title, which will be premiering in February.
Precure, sometimes anglicized asPretty Cure, always follows a group of teenage girls who aregiven magical powersto fight against evil and protect the world. They have fairies as helpers, and gain more powers and abilities every series as their enemies also become stronger. While the franchise is aimed at young girls specifically, its actual demographic is much wider and encompasses a wide variety of people both in Japan and abroad.
RELATED:Best Magical Girl Anime, Ranked
Precureis not just one anime, but a franchise. There have been 20 titles so far, with the first,Futari no Precureairing in 2004-2005. The latest title isHirogaru Sky! Precure, which will air in February 2023 for the show’s 20th anniversary. Additionally, there have beenPrecurefilms, over 20 video games, and even a live action drama in 2018 that celebrated the franchise’s 15th anniversary. 3Precuretitles have been given English adaptations, and the 19th series is currently available for streaming onNetflix,Crunchyroll,Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video.
Precurehas consistently been ranked in the Top 10 animations in Japan, and its popularity has only grown over the past 20 years. The new promotional video features a brand-new song the band Ikimono-gakari, who also did the theme songs forThe Seven Deadly Sins,Naruto Shippuden,Bleach, and more. The song is called “Tokimeki,” and it was written exclusively for this video, showing just how much cultural impactPrecurehas in Japan.
To celebrate 20 years of magical girl transformations and good conquering over evil, the video shows highlights from the previous 19Precuretitles. It is not meant as a preview forHirogaru Sky! Precure, but rather inmemory of the seriesthat have already finished. After all, everyone is already excited about the new series to air next month, and it would have never gotten this far without all the past seasons.
The new promotional video is a real celebration in that way, highlighting where the franchise has come from rather than just focusing on where it is going. No special events have been announced yet for thePrecure20th anniversary, but it’s only the start of the year. Once the new series begins to air next month, it’s likely that at least someevents and collaborationswill be coming over the course of 2023. And you still have time to catch up and enjoy the latest series on your favorite streaming service in the meantime!
