Unlike the other franchises picked to be Tokyo Olympics spokescharacters, Pretty Cure is represented by many characters!

Though many were surprised that Nintendo characters were left out of the lineup of animated ambassadors for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics–especially considering Mario and Pikachu are considered by many Japanese to be some of their most iconic characters–the final list of spokescharacters ended up being pretty satisfying and stretches across genres thanks to the presence of Dragon Ball‘s Goku, Sailor Moon, Crayon Shin-chan, and Astro Boy. But it seems fans of the magical girl anime Pretty Cure, which has been going on for fifteen years now, are the most excited to see their favorite characters represented.

▼ Handkerchief with all the characters on it (825 yen [US$7.72])

That’s right, characters. Unlike the other franchises from which only one character appears in the lineup, multiple Pretty Cure characters from multiple versions of the show are appearing on Tokyo 2020 merchandise, which has fans over the moon. Cure Miracle and Cure Magical from the original Pretty Cure series appear, as well as Cure Yell from Hugtto! Pretty Cure and Cure Star from the most recent Star Twinkle Pretty Cure.

▼ Mug featuring Cure Miracle and Cure Magic (1,100 yen)

The four different characters appear along with their fellow spokescharacters on different merchandise, from T-shirts and folding fans to lunch boxes, towels, and bags, which are all available on the Tokyo 2020 Official Online Shop. Cure Miracle and Cure Magical appear together, or they could be switched out for Cure Star or Cure Yell. Since the popular series is always being renewed with an ever-changing cast of characters, it’s no surprise that the committee in charge of designing the merchandise opted to use multiple characters from different incarnations of the show, instead of just one.

▼ T-shirt featuring Cure Star (5,280 yen)

That didn’t stop fans from being overjoyed at seeing some of their favorites represented, and feeling proud that Pretty Cure has essentially been “publicly recognized by the government” in doing so.

“It’s so unbelievable to see Pretty Cure alongside the likes of Son Goku and Astro Boy.”
“Popular characters that the world can be proud of. Yup, that’s Pretty Cure!”
“I bet if they sold goods with only Pretty Cure characters on them, they’d sell like crazy. In fact, I’d buy them!”
“This means that Pretty Cure has grown from only being popular in Japan to a worldwide series.”

▼ Drawstring pouch featuring Cure Yell (1,650 yen)

Different products also show the other characters in different poses, as well, so there is a pretty good amount of variety among all of the merchandise. If you’re interested in purchasing some, head over to the online store, which has an English version, and look for the products under “JOC (Japan Olympic Team)” or “JPC (Japan Paralympic Team)” .

Source: Otapol
Images: Tokyo 2020 Official Online Shop
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