New cast members including Rie Hikisaka, Rina Motozumi, and Yui Ogura! HUGT! Pretty Cure" & "Pretty Cure Superstars the Movie! Report from the joint press conference

The new TV anime series "Pretty Cure" starting on February 4, "HUGt! Pretty Cure" and "Pretty Cure Superstars the Movie," which will be released in theaters nationwide on March 17, held a joint press conference on February 1. The joint press conference was held on February 1, with the regular voice actors of "HUGt! Pretty Cure" regular voice actors Rie Hikisaka as Cure Air (Hana Nono), Rina Honzumi as Cure Ange (Saya Yakushiji), Yui Ogura as Cure Etoile (Homare Teruki), and guest voice actors from "Pretty Cure Superstars! Kazuki Kitamura as Usoberkka and Kensho Ono as Clover appeared on stage as guest voice actors from the "Pretty Cure Superstars! February 1 was officially designated as "Pretty Cure Day" by the Japan Anniversary Association.

This joint press conference began with the screening of a special video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8RgxkgsmEw), as 2018 is the 15th anniversary of the birth of the "Pretty Cure" series. Producer Ten Washio of Toei Animation explained that the intention of this video was to appeal to the generation of women who watched the first "Futari wa Pretty Cure," which began airing in 2004. The video is currently being shown in Ikebukuro Station, and many women stop in front of the huge posters displayed in six locations in Tokyo. The company plans to aggressively market to the "Pretty Cure Generation" in the future. Producer Washio stated, "We would like to develop this work for the children of today and the ladies of the future.

He continued to introduce "HUGt! Pretty Cure" and "Pretty Cure Superstars! and "Pretty Cure Superstars the Movie!" Producer Kazusa Umeda of ABC Animation gave a presentation on "HUGt! HUGt! Pretty Cure" and "Pretty Cure Superstars: The Movie," producer Kazusa Umeda of ABC Animation explained about "HUGt! HUGt! Pretty Cure" is a work that portrays "Pretty Cure as a mother who protects her child," and "A baby is a symbol of the future. The baby is a symbol of the future. With friendship with friends, courage, and hope for tomorrow, she faces and overcomes obstacles. I hope to deliver this message of a better future and unlimited possibilities to children through the activities of Pretty Cure," says producer Umeda.

Also, with regard to "Pretty Cure Superstars the Movie! movie," the three main points of the movie were introduced in reference to the fact that the latest three generations of Pretty Cure characters have appeared in the series. The first is that the theme of the movie is "promise. The first is that the theme of the film is "promise," and that the film depicts how important "promise" is and how feelings and actions have the power to change reality. The second point is the "clover," the motif of the work. The three leaves of the clover represent the three generations of Precure, and the words "promise," "revenge," and "happiness," which were mentioned earlier, are all used in the film as elements of the story. The three leaves of clover represent the three generations of Pretty Cure, and the words "promise," "revenge," and "happiness" are all incorporated into the movie as elements of the story. The "Miracle Light," a well-known item in Pretty Cure movies, is also a clover design in this film. The third point mentioned was Irish culture. He said that this film incorporates Irish culture in part of its worldview and art settings, and he hoped that parents who came to see the film with their children would enjoy the film by paying attention to these details.

Taking the baton from the producers were the regular voice actors of "HUGT! Pretty Cure" regular voice actors Rie Hikisaka, Rina Honzumi, and Yui Ogura. After each of them greeted the audience, they answered questions from the audience. When asked about their memories of postrecording, they revealed that the hand waving gesture they all do to keep in sync with each other is like the Ostrich Club, which drew laughter. As for the highlight of the battle scenes in the film, Hikisaka said, "Going back to the basics, or fighting with fists, is the hot point of the film.

The joint press conference then moved on to the second part. The second part of the joint press conference was "Pretty Cure Superstars: The Movie! The most recent three generations of "Magical Pretty Cure! Kirakira Pretty Cure Alamode" and "HUGt! Pretty Cure Show" by the 12 Pretty Cure characters from the last three generations of "Magic Cure Superstars! In the second part, the regular cast of "HUGt! Pretty Cure" regular cast members, as well as Kazuki Kitamura and Kensho Ono. Kitamura, who is making his first attempt as a voice actor, was surrounded by the 12 Pretty Cure girls and looked embarrassed as he said, "I'm so excited by every single one of their straight eyes. Normally, Mr. Kitamura is active as an actor, but when asked how he felt about recording the anime, he replied, "What was interesting to discover was that I was asked to do the voice when they turn around. I wondered what kind of voice I would make. It was very fresh and interesting," he said, expressing interest in acting unique to anime.

During the Q&A session, a reporter asked, "What would you like to promise to the audience, given the theme of the movie, "Promise"? The audience was puzzled when the reporter asked the question, "What would you like to promise to the audience? I would like to do what I can do to make "HUGt! Pretty Cure" will be fun! (Hikisaka) and "I promise to make the movie as exciting as possible" (Ono). The joint press conference was thus concluded.

Thus ended the joint press conference. However, the 15th anniversary of "Pretty Cure" has just begun. As producer Washio said at the beginning of the conference, we can look forward to more developments in the future. Akiba Soken" interviewed Rie Hikisaka, Rina Honzumi, and Yui Ogura, the three regular cast members of "HUGt! Pretty Cure" regular cast members Rie Hikisaka, Rina Honizumi, and Yui Ogura, and interviews with Kazuki Kitamura and Kensho Ono about "Pretty Cure Superstars: The Movie! will also be released at a later date, so please look forward to those as well.

(Interview, text, and photography by Michi Sugahara)