Healin' Good Pretty Cure (Japanese: ヒーリングっど♡プリキュア, Hepburn: Hīrin Guddo Purikyua; written as Healin' Good♡Precure) is a Japanese magical girl anime series created by Toei Animation. It is the 17th series in the Pretty Cure franchise and the first in the Reiwa era. The show first aired on ANN on February 2, 2020, following Star Twinkle Pretty Cure in its time slot. It is the second Pretty Cure series to focus on nature, with medicine as a key theme, after Futari wa Pretty Cure Splash Star. The series was followed by Tropical-Rouge! Pretty Cure on February 28, 2021.
Story
Thirteen-year-old Nodoka Hanadera moves to Sukoyaka City with her family to begin a new chapter in her life. At the same time, a special place deep inside the Earth called the "Healing Garden" is being attacked by a harmful group known as the Byogens. These attackers want to harm the Healing Garden and damage the planet. Queen Teatine, the ruler of the Healing Garden, asks three magical animals—Rabirin, Pegitan, and Nyatoran—to care for her daughter, Latte. She also sends them to the surface world to find three people whose hearts can connect with the animals' paws and become their partners. While on Earth, Nodoka and fairies see the Byogens attack. In a surprising event, Rabirin meets Nodoka. Even though Nodoka is not very strong, she is determined to help others. This connection gives Nodoka the power to become Cure Grace, a hero predicted in stories. Later, Nodoka joins forces with Chiyu (Cure Fontaine), Hinata (Cure Sparkle), and Asumi (Cure Earth). Together, they form the Healin' Good Pretty Cure team to fight the Byogens and protect Earth and the Healing Garden.
Characters
The Healing Garden (ヒーリングガーデン, Hīringu Gāden) is a special place that Queen Teatine ruled until the Byogens attacked.
The Elemental Spirits (エレメントさん, Eremento-san) are beings that live in nature and objects. The Byogens use Nanobyogens to change these spirits into Megabyogens. After being cleaned of the corruption, the spirits give Element Bottles to the Cures, who use them to help treat Latte. These spirits are voiced by Yumiri Hanamori, Sayaka Senbongi, and Ai Furihata.
The Byogens (ビョーゲンズ, Byōgenzu) are the main villains of the story. They are a group of germ-themed enemies inspired by demons who live in the Byogen Kingdom (ビョーゲンキングダム, Byōgen Kingudamu). Their goal is to spread sickness to the Healing Garden and the world to wake up King Byogen. The name "Byogens" comes from the Japanese word "Byōgen" (病源), which means "origin of disease." The members of this group are named after Japanese words related to illness.
Terra Byogens (テラビョーゲン, Terabyōgen) are demonic creatures created when a Megabyogen's Dark Seed infects a person, grows over time, and then leaves the host to take human form. They work for King Byogen as his generals and try to spread disease on Earth to bring him back to life. They use Nanobyogens to change Elemental Spirits into Megabyogens. These large monsters can be made stronger with crystals called Mega Parts, which are taken from defeated Megabyogens. When enhanced, the monsters can infect humans and turn them into Giga Byogens. All Terra Byogens have tails and horns that look like those of scorpions, and they wear red coats.
Media
On October 23, 2019, the Japan Patent Office notified about a patent application for the series. On November 28, 2019, Toei Animation launched the official website for Healin' Good PreCure. A special passing of the baton, featuring Cure Star (the main character from the previous Pretty Cure season, Star Twinkle PreCure) and Cure Grace, along with Fuwa and Rate, was shown at the end of episode 49, which was the final episode of Star Twinkle PreCure. The series is directed by Yoko Ikeda, with Junko Komura writing the scripts, Naoko Yamaoka designing the characters, and Shiho Terada composing the music. It began airing on ANN on February 2, 2020, following a live YouTube broadcast from Sunshine City, Tokyo, the day before the premiere. The 13th episode, originally planned for April 26, 2020, was delayed until June 28, 2020, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time, some episodes were re-aired. Toei Animation and Arstech Guild used Unreal Engine 4 for the second ending animation. Crunchyroll streamed the series with original Japanese audio and English subtitles.
The series is available on DVD and Blu-ray in Japan through Pony Canyon. The first DVD volumes were released on July 22, 2020, while the first Blu-ray volume was released on September 16, 2020.
Characters from the series appear in the crossover film Pretty Cure Miracle Leap: A Strange Day With Everyone! (映画プリキュアミラクルリープ みんなとの不思議な1日, Eiga Purikyua Mirakuru Rīpu: Minna to no Fushigi na ichinichi), which also includes characters from Hugtto! PreCure and Star Twinkle PreCure. The film was originally planned for release on October 31, 2020 (Halloween).
A standalone film titled Healin' Good Pretty Cure the Movie: GoGo! Big Transformation! The Town of Dreams (映画ヒーリングっど♡プリキュア ゆめのまちでキュン！っとGoGo！大変身！！, Eiga Hīrin Guddo Purikyua Yume no Machi de Kyun! tto GoGo! Dai henshin!!) premiered on March 20, 2021. This film is a crossover between Healin' Good Pretty Cure and Yes! PreCure 5 GoGo!, the fifth series in the franchise. It also includes an animated short titled Tropical-Rouge! Pretty Cure the Movie: Petit Dive! Collaboration Dance Party! (映画 トロピカル～ジュ！プリキュア プチ とびこめ！コラボ♥ダンスパーティ！, Eiga Toropikarūju! Purikyua Puchi Tobikome! Korabo♥Dansu Pāti!).
Futago Kamikita wrote and illustrated the manga adaptation of the series, which began being published in March 2020 in Kodansha’s Shōjo magazine Nakayoshi. The first tankobon volume was released on September 11, 2020, and the second volume was released on March 12, 2021.