is a Japanese anime television series produced by Toei Animation. It is the twenty-first installment in the Pretty Cure franchise and its first entry with a title written in hiragana. It is directed by Masanori Sato and written by Yoshimi Narita, with character designs by Yoko Uchida and costume designs by NaSka. It began airing on all ANN stations in Japan from February 4, 2024, to January 26, 2025, succeeding Soaring Sky! Pretty Cures timeslot, and was succeeded by You and Idol Pretty Cure. The series' main theme is bonds and its main motifs are pets and animals in general.
Story After the magical realm of Niko Garden is attacked, its animal inhabitants are corrupted and transformed into evil eggs. In Animal Town, where humans and animals live together, middle school student Iroha Inukai is walking her family's dog Komugi, who finds a stone-like object. When one of the eggs hatches into a mysterious monster called a Garugaru that begins rampaging, Komugi's desire to protect Iroha resonates with the Mirror Stone and causes the stone to transform into a Wonderful Pact, which grants her the power to become human and transform into a Pretty Cure. She purifies the Garugaru and returns it to its original form: a Niko Animal named Mey Mey. He tells her and Iroha what happened to Niko Garden and that they must purify the Garugaru and return them to Niko Garden. Together with Iroha, Yuki, and Mayu, Komugi works to save the Garugaru and Niko Garden.
Later in the story, the Gaou-tachi, a pack of vengeful Japanese wolf spirits, are revealed to be responsible for attacking Niko Garden and transforming its inhabitants into Garugaru, as they seek revenge against humanity for causing their extinction.
Characters
Pretty Cures /
The Inukai family's pet Papillon. She is curious, athletic, gluttonous, and loves to go for walks. After gaining the ability to transform into a human, she is able to talk to Iroha and loves to imitate her catchphrase, . She is the first mascot of the franchise to be a protagonist. Her theme color is pink.
/
An honest and athletic 14-year-old girl and a second-year middle school student who lives in Animal Town and is Komugi's owner, whose daily routine is taking her for morning walks. She has many friends whom she loves to help and is liked by a lot of animals. Her catchphrase is . Iroha transforms into Cure Friendy using the Wonderful Pact. Her theme color is purple.
/
Mayu's pet cat, who has recently moved to Animal Town with her and supports her when she is shy. Calm and collected, she goes at her own pace, thinks highly of herself and loves to nap. Yuki transforms into Cure Nyammy using the Shiny Cats Pact. Her theme color is blue.
/
A 14-year-old girl who has recently moved to Animal Town, where her parents own a branch of Pretty Holic. Despite wanting to make friends, she is shy and often needs her pet cat, Yuki, to motivate her at first. However, after meeting Iroha and Komugi, she begins to befriend them. Mayu transforms into Cure Lillian using the Shiny Cats Pact. Her theme color is green.
Pretty Cure Allies
Satoru's pet Holland Lop rabbit, who usually plays with Komugi. His theme color is yellow.
Iroha's classmate, who is kindhearted and good at studying; he has a crush on her, which she is unaware of. He is researching Animal Town's history in hopes of learning more about the Mirror Stone, and, after learning that Komugi and Iroha are Pretty Cure, uses his extensive knowledge of animals to support them, Yuki and Mayu. His theme color is orange.
Niko Garden The is a magical realm where Niko Animals and Kirarin Animals live in peace. Prior to the events of the series, its ruler, Niko, created the realm and brought animals from Earth to live there happily. After Gaou attacked and damaged the Niko Diamond, he used its power to transform its inhabitants into Garugaru, whom the Pretty Cure must save.
A unicorn who is the leader and creator of Niko Garden, who Mey Mey worked for as a butler until she went missing after Gaou's attack. She has special powers that the Niko Animals and Kirarin Animals don't have. Everyone loves her and calls her "Niko-sama" (ニコ様)?. Although she looks cute, she is brave and dignified. She can be strict, but she is also kind, and cherishes all life.
A sheep Niko Animal, who was saved by the Pretty Cure when he became a Garugaru. Mey Mey is Niko's butler, and supports the Pretty Cure in saving Niko Garden. Mey Mey considers himself to be a capable butler, but can sometimes be out of his element. He is skilled at making Niko Garden's special tea.
Animals that live in Niko Garden and were corrupted and transformed into Garugaru after Gaou's attack. The Pretty Cure work to save them and bring them back to Niko Garden. When a Kirarin Animal is rescued, and returns to their respective Kirarin House, a part of Niko Garden and its power source, the Niko Diamond, is restored. They all usually end their sentences with "~kira" (～キラ)?.
Kirarin Animals The are a special type of Niko Animal, which each grant a special ability to the Cures.
The first Kirarin Animal to appear. It has the ability to enhance hearing.
The second Kirarin Animal to appear. It has the ability to generate ice and slide on it.
The third Kirarin Animal to appear. It has the ability to enhance speed.
The fourth Kirarin Animal to appear. It has the ability to enhance strength.
The fifth Kirarin Animal to appear. It has the ability to enhance jumping.
The sixth Kirarin Animal to appear. It has the ability to shrink.
The seventh Kirarin Animal to appear. It has the ability to shapeshift.
The eighth Kirarin Animal to appear. It has the ability to put others to sleep.
The ninth and final Kirarin Animal to appear. It has the ability to fly.
Gaou-tachi The are the main antagonists of the series, who are the vengeful spirits of Japanese wolves that went extinct a hundred years ago. Prior to the events of the series, they attacked Niko Garden, corrupting the Kirarin Animals and Niko Animals and transforming them into Garugaru using the damaged Niko Diamond's power. They aim to destroy humanity as revenge for them causing the extinction of their species.
Leader /
The mysterious leader of the Gaou-tachi and the main antagonist of the series, who was responsible for attacking Niko Garden and transforming its inhabitants into Garugaru and harbors hatred towards humanity. He can empower the Garugaru, as seen when he empowers the hamster Garugaru, granting it the ability to shrink others in addition to itself.
Generals
One of Gaou's generals, a Japanese wolf who can assume a human form resembling a young woman. She has a crush on Gaou and often competes with Torame for his attention. Despite her hatred towards humanity, Zakuro cares for her wolf companions, especially Gaou.
One of Gaou's generals, a Japanese wolf who can assume a human form resembling a young boy. He is energetic and fun-loving and admires Gaou, often competing with Zakuro for his attention. Despite his hatred towards humanity, he has a kind heart, as he realizes humans can care for animals.
Monsters
The main monsters of the series. They are born from corrupted Niko Animals or Kirarin Animals that are trapped in eggs, which eventually hatch to wreak havoc under Gaou's orders.
A more powerful type of Garugaru that Zakuro and Torame summon. Torame empowers the Garugaru eggs, while Zakuro transforms normal animals of Animal Town into Gaogaon by corrupting their hearts. .
Supporting Characters Cures' family members
Iroha's mother, who works as a veterinarian at Friendly Animal Hospital & Salon.
Iroha's father, who owns and runs the Friendly Animal Hospital & Salon.
Mayu's mother, who runs Pretty Holic.
Mayu's father, who works overseas as a photographer and later moves to Animal Town with Mayu and Sumire after he returns from his latest work in Africa.
Animal Town residents
A girl who owns a Pomeranian named Pon.
Ema's pet Pomeranian.
A girl who owns a Poodle named Choco.
Inui's pet Poodle.
Iroha, Mayu and Satoru's classmate, who, along with her parents, runs a farm in Animal Town called .
Iroha, Mayu and Satoru's classmate. She owns two freshwater crabs named and .
, , , , & (Youda & Saruwatari), Misato Matsuoka (Torieda), Aika Wakuno (Ushigome), Yuki Kodaira (Kamogawa) & Masahiro Yamanaka (Takayama) Iroha, Mayu, and Satoru's classmates. Torieda owns a cockatiel named who Takayuki takes pictures of for the Animal Calendar project.
Iroha, Mayu, and Satoru's classmate, who plays soccer and begins to see Komugi as his rival.
Iroha, Mayu, and Satoru's homeroom teacher. He owns a horse named .
&
Two classmates of Iroha, Mayu, and Satoru and members of the drama club, who admire Yuki and wish for her to join the club. They produce a play about the past of a wolf and his human friend, Subaru.
A classmate of Iroha, Mayu, and Satoru. Her parents run the Mirror Stone Sanctuary in Animal Town.
A trio of regular customers at Pretty Holic.
Otsuru's pet dog, whom she adopted at an adoption event after Suzu's death and whom Iroha has known since childhood. As the Cures and Otsuru celebrate the anniversary of her adoption, her condition deteriorates and she dies, but she is able to say goodbye to Otsuru after Niko gives her the strength to.
A dog trainer and friend of Iroha, who is a frequenter of her parents' business. She owns a Border Collie named Witt.
Inuzuka's pet Border Collie, with which he participates in agility dog competitions.
The mayor of Animal Town.
A sheepdog of the Okuma Farm's sheepdog show.
A young man friend of Iroha, who is training his dog, Keiji, to become a police dog.
Keiichi's pet dog, who is training to become a police dog.
A volunteer at the animal shelter where Komugi was left after her owner, Kurihara, was placed in a nursing home two years ago. She reunites with Komugi when she visits Friendly Animal Hospital & Salon and tells the Inukai family about Kurihara.
A kindly elderly man and Komugi's original owner. Two years prior to the events of the series, he was placed in a nursing home due to his frail condition and age. While looking for him, Komugi ran away from the animal shelter where she was housed temporarily and met Iroha. He later learns that Komugi can transform into a human and asks her to stay with Iroha. After remembering Kurihara, Komugi begins to see him as her grandfather, as she calls him "grandpa".
The original Gaou and leader of the wolf pack, who was Subaru's friend and sacrificed himself to protect him. His soul started to communicate with Komugi in mid-season and in the finale both he and Subaru reunite at last. After Subaru is purified, he, along with him and Zakuro, depart for the afterlife with the other wolves.
Others
Mayu's friend from her old school who was close to her, but stopped being her friend after a misunderstanding, believing that she was ignoring her when she was actually concentrating on making her a birthday present. She and Mayu reconcile after she returns to Animal Town after seeing Mayu's posts on CureSta about Yuki. She lives in Mayu's hometown.
Yuma's pet chinchilla. While she and her mother are on their way home from taking him to the vet for a checkup, Zakuro transforms him into a Gaogaon. However, the Cures rescue him and reunite him with Yuma.
Yuma's mother, who accompanies her to Animal Town to take Kotetsu to a check-up at Friendly Animal Hospital & Salon.
The main protagonist of Crayon Shin-chan, who appears in episode 16 as a guest along with Shiro. In episode 1233 of Crayon Shin-chan, he transforms into to fight against a Garugaru.
Shinnosuke's pet Maltese from Crayon Shin-chan, who appears in episode 16 as a guest along with Shinnosuke. In episode 1233 of Crayon Shin-chan, he transforms into to fight against a Garugaru.