Magical Girls, meet Magical Boy!
In an online conference on Wednesday, Hirogaru Sky! Pretty Cure revealed two new voice actors in its main cast. This included the announcement that the 20th entry in the long-running magical girl series would, for the first time, include a magical boy in the cast of its main team.
Previously unveiled last month, Hirogaru Sky! Pretty Cure is the latest entry in Toei’s Pretty Cure magical girl franchise, which began with Futari Wa Pretty Cure in 2004. Hirogaru Sky! Pretty Cure is set to premiere this Sunday, February 5, taking the place of Delicious Party Pretty Cure, which just wrapped up its run last week.
After initially revealing the voices for the first two members of its main team of Pretty Cures, this newest announcement for Hirogaru Sky! Pretty Cure confirms who will be playing the remaining two of the core quartet. Cure Wing will be played by voice actor Ayumu Murase, making him the first male Pretty Cure to be part of the main team in the series’ history. Cure Butterfly, who will be voiced by Ayaka Nanase, similarly goes against tradition by being the first full-time adult Pretty Cure, with the character being said to have recently turned eighteen years old.
Cure Wing is not technically the first male Cure in the franchise. 2018’s Hugtto! Pretty Cure featured the character of Wakamiya Henri, who temporarily transformed and joined in with that series’ team as Cure Infini. Other series have featured brief gag sequences or imagination spots teasing at the idea of male Cures. Last year’s Delicious Party Pretty Cure also included Black Pepper, a magically-empowered boy who acted as an ally to the team of magical girls, though he was not a Cure in his own right.
Ayumu Murase’s role thus makes him the first proper male Cure to act as a full-time member of the titular team. Murase is an accomplished voice actor, perhaps most well known for playing Shoyo Hinata in the volleyball anime Haikyu!!. Ayaka Nanase, for her part, previously appeared in such roles as the young Kazuma Souma in 2019’s Fruits Basket reboot, and Mary Read in 2021’s Fena: Pirate Princess.
The opening announcements for Hirogaru Sky! Pretty Cure had already indicated that this entry would be bucking traditions. The main Cure leading the team, Cure Sky, is color-coded as a blue heroine, as opposed to the usual Pink or White-themed characters the series are centered on. The additional confirmation of Cure Wing and Cure Butterfly’s roles build on those distinguishing choices. Fans of magical girls (and boys) will get to see exactly how Hirogaru Sky! Pretty Cure’s shake-ups play out once the series premieres this Sunday.
