#complete book

Q: Please, tell us about the beginning of the production of "Wonderful Precure" (Hereafter refered to as "Wanpuri"). First of all, how did you gather the production staff?

Takahashi: Actually, due to various circumstances, the production of Wanpuri started much later than the previous series "Hirogaru Sky Precure" (hereafter "Hiropuri"). However, the broadcast date had been decided, so we needed to quickly gather staff who knew the basics of Precure production and could also work quickly. It was around that time that we heard that the script for "Otona Precure" had been completed, so we asked Narita to join. Sato had been in charge of directing the movie "All Stars Memories", so we thought that he could create a new Precure that wasn't bound by the assumptions of a TV series, so we consulted him. We had little time to spend on planning discussions for Wanpuri, so it was a prerequisite that they could understand and accept the outline of the story we had prepared. It was an extremely heavy order with a tight time frame, but both Sato and Narita accepted it without hesitation and brought a breath of fresh air to the project. I am very greatful.

[People are speculating these 'various circumstances' might be related to the 2022 ransomware attack on Toei Animation, but we don't know for sure.]

Narita: It was decided dogs and cats would appear as main characters, and the dog would be the protagonist.

Sato: When they approached me, Narita was already in charge of series composition, and it had already been decided that the theme would be animals, and a love story would be included in the story. Character designs had already been ordered, and I recall the main character was a Papillon called Cure Wonderful/Komugi Inukai. The colours of the Pretty Cure characters had also been decided.

Narita: The Series Director decision was made much later than usual, so I kept thinking to myself, "Has the director been decided yet?" (laughs)

Takahashi: There were a lot of different circumstances that came together, and it took a long time to make the decision. Sato also had a lot of things going on. Since the decision came late, we wanted to fulfil as many of the things he said he wanted to do in the main story as possible.

Q: "Wanpuri" is the first Precure series to have an animal as the main character. How did you feel when you heard about this theme?

Narita: At first, I couldn't quite accept that the main character was a dog. How would a dog act as the main character? Considering the setting, I thought Cure Friendy/Iroha Inukai would be more suitable as the main character. However, when I actually wrote the scenario, it surprisingly suited me. As I continued writing, it started to make more sense to me, and from then on I was able to write the scenario smoothly and enjoyably.

Sato: On the other hand, I was able to accept that the main character was an animal. It didn't feel strange at all. However, since the main character would be active in three forms - an animal, a human, and a Precure - I had to think about how to balance them. Also, another theme was "Precure that don't fight", so I thought if I did that, it would be difficult to create a showy action scene. Instead of fighting, there would be a "chase". When I heard that they would be incorporating what is known as "chase action", I began to think about what to do with the climax of each episode.

Narita: The purpose of Precure was to save the animals that had turned into Garugaru, so the fact that Precure didn't fight wasn't a problem for the drama. However, I thought that it would be quite difficult to make the action scenes exciting without them fighting.

Sato: Come to think of it, initially there was an idea of them having to work to free captive animals.

Takahashi: Yes, there was. There was also a bit of discussion of whether the story should have a 'good vs evil/morality' theme.

Narita: It was decided this route wouldn't fit well with the direction and characters of Wanpuri, so it was switched to the current route at a very early stage.

Q: Detailed characters of the four Precure. Who came up with the setting?

Narita: It was me. When I was approached about the job, it was already decided that Precure would be made up of four girls, so I started to create the characters from there. Cure Wonderful was something that was very easy for me, as I originally had a dog. As for Cure Nyammy/Yuki Nekoyashiki, I spoke with people who kept cats and read books about them to reflect the 'tsundere' nature of cats in the character. Friendy/Iroha is a bright girl who wants to be friends with everyone...things went smoothly with her, but Cure Lillian/Mayu Nekoyashiki was a challenge. To be honest, when I first started writing the scenario, I hadn't envisioned Mayu's high-tension behaviour, and I had imagined her to be a much quieter character. But as I was writing the scenario, she became more and more lively (laughs) , and the direction of the story further enhanced that, resulting in the cute and fun Mayu we know today.

Q: Each of the four Precure has their own unique personality, but what was it like animating them, Sato?

Sato: I drew the storyboard for Episode 1, but at that point I hadn't fully grasped the character's personalities. So I started with Friendy/Iroha who is sociable, cheerful and a bit clumsy, and in a sense the easiest to understand. After that, I animated Wonderful/Komugi, who is full of emotion and says "I love you, Iroha!" and she came out looking like a dog very smoothly. (laughs). So it was relatively easy to solidify the image of the movements of the "dog group". For Nyammy/Yuki and Lillian/Mayu, the storyboards expanded the possibilities for the pair. By playing around with their movements and expressions, the characters moved better than I had imagined, and I think they became a really fun pair.

Q: Until the middle of the story, Nyammy stubbornly refuses to say "Wonderful Precure" and says "Nyanderful Precure". Was that Narita's idea?

Narita: That's right. After Nyammy became a Precure, I asked for her to say "Nyanderful" for a while.

Takahashi: Considering Nyammy's personality, this was a reasonable course of action, so I think I immediately gave an OK to the suggestion.

Q: How did you decide on the names of the Precure after they transform?

Takahashi: Since it was a four-person group, we initially discussed naming them after the four seasons. However, various things came up and the idea was scrapped. As we thought the idea from scratch, we first decided on the name "Cure Wonderful", and the name of her partner Precure was decided on as "Cure Friendy", but then we got stuck again. In contrast to how smooth the dog group was, we had a lot of trouble naming the cat group.

Sato: Even as production was progressing, we still hadn't decided on the names for Nyammy and Lillian after they transform. The name of Lillian hadn't even been decided at the time of the casting auditions.

Takahashi: I struggled with naming Lillian, but I also really struggled with naming Nyammy. Wonderful was decided on so easily - dog -> wan -> wonderful - and since she was a cat, I decided on 'nyan', and...then what? I was stuck.

Narita: I was hoping for a name that had the nuance of a cat's meow, like "nyao", but I couldn't think of a definitive name.

Takahashi: So after much deliberation, we decided on the completely coined word "Nyammy".

Q: By the way, does "Wonderful" have any meaning besides the "wan" of a dog barking?

Narita: Yes. In fact, it comes from Iroha's catchphrase. I started writing the scenario for Episode 1 before Cure Wonderful's name was decided, and Iroha's catchphrase was "Wonderful" at that point.

Takahashi: The catchphrase was already in place at the plot stage.

Narita: That's right. That's why she became "Cure Wonderful". Story-wise, it went that "Komugi, who is always with Iroha, remembered her catchphrase and said it when she transformed."

Q: I heard that the Precure cast was decided through auditions. Can you tell us how that was done?

Sato: The first one to be decided was Lillian/Mayu.

Takahashi: The Lillian played by (Reina) Ueda was just like how we imagined it.

Sato: In the audition for Lillian/Mayu, I asked them to act out her shyness and her excitement when she calls the cat Yuki cute, and I was surprised that everything about Ueda's performance, from the tone of her voice to the way she portrayed the difference in her emotions, was exactly as I imagined.

Takahashi: We all unanimously decided on Ueda. I remember that the moment we heard her voice, we all burst into a commotion, saying "It's just like Mayu!"

Sato: The next one to be decided was Friendy/Iroha.

Takahashi: Wonderful/Komugi and Friendy/Iroha were decided around the same time.

Sato: (Atsumi) Tanezaki is known for playing a lot of characters before her audition, and all her acting was really well done. That's why I really wanted her to participate in Wanpuri as a main character.

[This sentence isn't translating well, but I assume Sato is referring to the fact Tanezaki has played a lot of very well-known, well-received and diverse characters, such as Anya in "Spy X Family", Dai in "Dragon Quest: The Adventures of Dai", and Frieren in "Frieren: Beyond Journey's End".]

Takahashi: We had pretty much decided on Maria Naganawa for Wonderful/Komugi, but we were a little worried about the voice of the main character. But Sato said with confidence, "If it's Naganawa, it'll be fine. Komugi is Naganawa-san." So we got the push we needed and decided on Naganawa.

Sato: I'd heard Naganawa's acting in other anime before. She has a wide variety of acting skills, and I knew she had a cute voice and a wide range of acting, so I thought it would be fine to leave the role of the main character, Komugi, to her.

Takahashi: The one that remained undecided until the very end was Nyammy/Yuki.

Sato: It was really undecided. But as I was struggling with the decision, Takahashi, and (Takashi) Washio, the executive producer of the Precure series, suggested to me, "Perhaps Satsumi Matsuda would be good for the role."

Takahashi: Matsuda is a voice actor who excels at playing boy roles, but she had participated in the previous year's Hiropuri as a female character called Berriberri, and I knew she was also great at playing 'older sister' characters. I thought with Matsuda's acting ability, she could surely play an older sister character with a different flavour, so I recommended her to Sato.

Q: In this work, the climax of each episode is purifying the Garugaru and returning them to their original animal state. How did you come up with the purification method?

Takahashi: The idea of hugging Garugaru to purify them was Narita's idea, and that setting was there from the plot stage.

Narita: Yes, I remember going through that pretty smoothly.

Takashi: At first, there was an idea to wrap the Garugaru in a swaddling cloth when purifying it, like how a baby feels safe when hugged.

Sato: Based on that, we came up with the Friend Liberale design, where the Garugaru is wrapped in a ribbon.

Takahashi: Originally, we were aiming to create something that wouldn't harm animals, and the ribbon was the result of our constant search for different ways to express ourselves.

Sato: Things like locking them in a cage or tying them up with rope wasn't allowed.

Takahashi: We lifted the ban a little in the second half, but in the beginning of the story, especially in the first cour, we didn't want to include any such images. We also wanted to make it clear that this is a story about the bond between people and animals.

Narita: There were quite a few other things that weren't allowed.

Takakashi: Yes, there were. There were detailed rules on how to hold a leash, and Daifuku had to be properly leashed before going outside.

Narita: Yes, I created a scenario where the leash should only be taken off in dog runs and parks, not in city areas.

Takahashi: Even when we let Komugi off the leash, we had to make sure there were no large dogs around, and we were particularly strict with these rules in the beginning. In the second half, they were relaxed a bit, because the amount of fantasy elements increased.

Q: With all these limitations, how did you plan on portraying the Gaou group that came with such open anger and hostility?

Sato: Actually, when Torame and Zakuro were introduced, we talked about allowing kick and punch motions in the action.

Takahashi: But we decided not to do that after all. We thought it would be better to be consistent and "contain" them, so we changed course.

Q: How did you go about creating events and a story structure for a year of broadcast?

Narita: I came up with the outline of how to make things more exciting, and that's what was basically adopted.

Takahashi: I had thought about the timing and content of the season, and I had organised what I wanted to do and the points I wanted to portray, so it wasn't too much of a problem, but what was unusual was that it took 30 episodes for Nyammy and Lillian to fully join the team.

Narita: It was quite a long wait. I mean, it took Nyammy that many episodes to understand Wonderful and the others and to decide they could become friends.

Takahashi: It couldn't be helped, considering the character's personality, but it still took quite a long time, so we were all quite nervous.

Narita: And then Nico-sama turned into a human. That wasn't originally the plan.

Takahashi: That's right. The original plan was for Nico to remain in her unicorn form until the very end. But we wanted her to play a part in creating excitement in autumn. Keeping interest during autumn is always a source of worry for Precure, which airs throughout the year. In the Precure series, power-up techniques often appear in autumn, and the producers are always racking their brains over how to generate excitement after that. As a result, we decided to have Nico transform into a human. The story had been going pretty well up until Episode 30, but we wanted to give it an extra boost, so we used everything we could.

Narita: I understand that feeling. When I took on this job, I wanted to include everything I thought was interesting and everything I learnt up until now. But looking back, Nico's transformation and the appearance of the wolves were in the same episode, so I worried it might have been overstuffed. But when I saw the finished product, it was really well-done, so I was glad.

Takahashi: I'm sorry I caused so much trouble for Sato.

Sato: Personally, I thought it wasn't necessary for Nico to become human. (laughs)

Narita: It was unexpected. But the power of the character designs was a great help. When I was shown the design for Nico's human form, I knew I could make it work.

Sato: The key point about Nico is the contrast between her character when she's in human form and when she's in her small unicorn form. In her human form, she's more god-like, so she doesn't move in a flashy way, but in her small unicorn form, she moves in a very flashy way. I could play around a lot with that.

Takahashi: Sato is very good at animating mascot characters. He was able to bring out Nico's cuteness, which was a great help.

Narita: Although it's the same character, I wrote the scenario to have a distinction between Nico in her unicorn form, who is a smiling character who loves to entertain everyone, and Nico in her human form, who is mysterious.

Takahashi: Kana Ueda's acting really helped a lot. Thanks to the clear distinction between Nico's human form and her mascot form, I think we were about to portray Episode 44, about saying goodbye to a pet, from a much more comprehensive perspective.

Q: Mey Mey, the butler who serves Nico. What kind of character was he created as?

Narita: Actually, at first, I was planning to make Mey Mey a more mysterious character. But I decided to make him a character that would liven things up. His character is very distinct, so after a while he started to move naturally without even thinking about it. I messed with him a lot, but I love Mey Mey!

Sato: I think it would have been nice to have more fun with him. He's a great character.

Takakashi: I felt that the directors had a lot of fun directing the episodes in which Mey Mey plays an active role. They did a great job of making it comical. In the beginning of the story, we needed someone to keep the plot moving, so I think they did a great job balancing that with his brilliant tsukkomi.

['Tsukkomi' is a japanese comedy thing, basically translates to 'the straight man'. As in, the one trying to take things seriously and pointing out all the absurdities of the situation. Also yes, google translate kept 'tsukkomi' untranslated so that's why i'm explaining this]

Q: Speaking of Mey Mey, he's known to be a big fan of the character of Satoru Toyama, but what kind of character was Satoru created to be?

Takakashi: Actually, in the planning stages, we were thinking of having a boy Precure, and Satoru was the prototype for that character. However, due to various circumstances, the idea of a boy Precure was dropped, and instead Satoru was designed as a character that would support the Precure. Satoru and Daifuku transform like Precure in the movie, and that's how it came about. Also, the original plan was to have them transform in the TV series, so instead of ending it with the movie, we decided to have them transform in Episode 49.

Sato: Actually, I wasn't told that Satoru and Daifuku would transform in the movie (laughs).

Takahashi: When Sato joined the production team, it was around the time it was decided there would be four girl Precure, so the idea of a boy Precure hadn't been communicated to begin with.

Sato: I thought their transformations would be a special event that would only happen in the movie. I was very surprised when I heard they would be transforming on TV, too.

Narita: I also didn't have an image of Satoru transforming. I thought he would always be in the role of the Precure's advisor or assistant. On the other hand, I thought Daifuku would eventually be able to speak, so I gave him an 'older brother'-like personality from the beginning. Combined with his good voice and cute looks, I was happy that he became popular. I liked his manly personality and wanted to write a TV scenario for him, so I was glad that we were able to have the two of them transform in Episode 49.

Q: Speaking of Satoru, the love story between him and Iroha became a big topic of conversation. Could you tell us how this story came to be included?

Narita: This was my suggestion. Since the characters are middle school students, I thought it would be okay to have some depiction of love. I also thought it could be a way to bring excitement to the story around autumn. I made the suggestion without much thought, but fortunately I got the go-ahead, so I decided to carefully depict the flow of how love comes to fruition, and I made it into three episodes.

Takahashi: This was the first time Precure has depicted love, so we thought very carefully about it, such as where to set the goal for love.

Narita: We decided the goal would be 'holding hands', and little by little we built up the romantic stories between Iroha and Satoru as we worked towards that goal.

Sato: Speaking of portraying the romance between the two characters, Iroha and Satoru have quite different romantic feelings. After Iroha finds out about Satoru's feelings, she becomes increasingly conscious of him, but Satoru has liked Iroha from the beginning, so his way of treating her doesn't change. He's liked Iroha since the first episode, and he's always been conscious of her in his actions. So, when depicting the romance episodes between Iroha and Satoru, I was mindful to make sure that this point wasn't mistaken. In addition, I wanted to make sure that Satoru's attitude towards supporting the Precure remained consistent. Satoru doesn't just want to help Friendy/Iroha, he wants to help all of the Precure. So I tried to make sure he never wavered on that point.

Narita: I also wanted to make sure that Iroha and Satoru's love story wasn't just about the two of them, so I got everyone around them involved. Mayu was at the forefront of this, but Yuki and Komugi were also there to support the couple. What's more, the story is set up so that the classmates are actually aware of it as well. In the original story, it wasn't planned for the classmates to be involved, but the directors for each episode had been developing the characters of the classmates up until now, so I made full use of that and created a story that would bring out the best in them.

Q: How much about the classmates had been decided at first?

Narita: When I joined, the class seating chart and surnames had already been decided. Since the story takes place in Animal Town, everyone has the kanji for an animal in their name. I wanted to reflect that in the scenario as much as possible and have everyone play an active role, but there were some kids who couldn't make it, which is a bit disappointing.

Takakashi: There were some characters that couldn't be portrayed as animals.

Narita: Yes. I was paying attention to Ryuzaki-kun (laughs). I was thinking of an episode where he keeps a seahorse, which is then turned into a Garugaru, but unfortunately, I couldn't include it. Also, I couldn't include Satoru's parents in the main story. Since the episode where Nico-sama transforms was added, I had to focus on that, and I also had to consider the length.

Takahashi: We had a few discussions about Satoru's family.

Narita: I also thought about the occupations of Satoru's parents. There were various ideas, such as influential people in Animal Town, politicians, or bigwigs at IT companies. Also, Satoru had an older brother. This is just my imagination, but his older brother is even more talented than Satoru and is studying abroard.

Takahashi: That's the first time I've heard that! (laughs)

Narita: I also thought that maybe the Toyama family was a clan that was in conflict with the wolves in the past...but it was just a fantasy.

Q: Did you come up with the setting for the Inukai family as well?

Narita: That's right. The Inukai family runs a veterinary clinic, and I wanted the parents to be a veterinarian and a groomer. When I was thinking what professions the father and mother should have, I decided to go against the general image and make the mother the veterinarian and the father the groomer.

Takakashi: I had heard that groomers do heavy physical work, especially with large dogs, so it didn't feel that strange to have the father as a groomer. I remember that character designer Yoko Uchida and costume and prop designer NaSka had a lot of fun designing Iroha's father. I was surprised that he was more muscular than I had imagined, and that he was wearing a really cute apron.

Sato: At first, there were two designs for Iroha's father's apron. I thought the design was great, so I suggested combining the two, and that's how the design came about (laughs). Also, Iroha's father has been cooking meals and taking care of Iroha since the first episode, so viewers have been saying that he might be a full-time househusband.

Narita: I wanted to make Tsuyoshi (Iroha's father) my idea man (lol). A muscular father wearing a cute apron who does all the housework and takes care of his daughter is just the best.

Q: How did you decide which animals would turn into Garugaru?

Narita: Since it had been decided the product would be linked to toys, we received around 40 original designs from the toy side and were able to choose from there. Among them were the tsuchinoko and the Tyrannosaurus, and I thought they would make the story more interesting. I remember thinking "I wonder if I can make a story like this?" Also, since the subject matter was animals, I wanted to weave in some trivia about the animals into the story. I thought it would be great if you could naturally absorb knowledge about animals after watching Precure. The writers for each episode did a lot of research and were able to incorporate that information into the script very well. Also, at the end of each story, I added some trivia notes about the animals that appeared, and other writers saw them and gradually started writing their own. Thanks to that, we were able to share our knowledge and have fun writing the story.

Takakashi: Sato was very particular about the design of Garugaru.

Sato: That's right.

Takahashi: Actually, at the beginning, there was an idea to design Garugaru as a monster. There are two-legged and four-legged animals, but if we were to use that setting in the anime, it would inevitably cost a lot to draw it.

Sato: But I didn't give in on that point. Since the story is themed after animals, I thought it would be better to consistently depict Garugaru as an animal, and since the habits of animals are the hooks of each episode, I thought it would be difficult to come up with a strategy for the chase action if the Garugaru didn't move according to those habits.

Takahashi: Looking back now, I think Sato's decision was the right one. The action was more varied and more convincing, and each episode was well worth watching.

Sato: To be honest, there were a lot of bird-like animals, so it was difficult to differentiate them (laughs).

Takahashi: The owl, duck and bat turned out really cute, so I think it was great.

Sato: Also, in the chase action with the Garugaru, we made it possible to use the power of Kirarin Animals as part of the variation.

Takahashi: During our meetings, we discussed things like "Wouldn't it be awesome if Kirarin Swan could fly using its power 'to grant them the ability to fly'?"

Narita: Actually, the most powerful thing was the Panda's power to put the opponent to sleep.

Sato: I struggled a lot with how to incorporate the power of the Panda into the action.

Narita: The episode where Kirarin Fox's power was used caused quite a stir when Wonderful transformed into a tire (laughs).

Takahashi: (laughs) and Nyammy transformed into a giant cat toy.

Narita: It was a lot of fun, and I would have liked to see the humans transform as well if possible.

Q: Gaou's true identity is Subaru, a human who once shared a heart with the wold Gaou. Was this decided on from the beginning of the project?

Narita: That's right. By having the final boss a human, I wanted to avoid a structure in which Precure and animals are enemies. Also, I thought that the emotion of an animal resenting a human is very human in of itself. At the same time, it didn't feel right for us humans to so easily write about the feelings of animals; it seemed very pushy and unnatural. For that reason, I made Subaru the final boss. But actually, at first, there was the idea that Friendy/Iroha could talk to animals.

Sato: After Iroha transformed into Precure, she would gain the ability to talk to animals.

Narita: Yes. But I quickly abandoned that idea. I felt like the ego of the human side would inevitably come into the dialogue of the animals.

Takahashi: Even if we tried to eliminate human ego as much as possible, since it is we humans who create the stories, there was always the possibility that it would show through the dialogue.

Narita: That's right. So I stopped having animals speak human language directly, and instead had Wonderful/Komugi act as an interpreter from time to time. I think that by creating that setting, Wonderful/Komugi's character became more prominent and made her feel more like the main character.

Q: While the story is generally fun and cute, there was also a serious scene that left an impression on me, where Friendy/Iroha is shocked to learn that humans had driven wolves to extinction. Please tell us why you included such a scene.

Takakashi: In drawing Precure, which has an animal theme, I felt that it was inevitable to consider the history of humans causing the extinction of many animals. However, I didn't want to convey it in a way that would hurt the children who watch the anime.

Narita: I was a little worried because the wolved that appeared in Episode 29 looked a little scary, and I wondered if it was okay for Gaou and the others to continue directing their anger at the Precure. But by this time, the four Precure had become more united and the way they embraced the Garugarus had definitely made me realise that. This gave rise to a sense of persuasiveness, so I trusted them and wrote the climax without worrying.

Sato: On the contrary, I wasn't particularly worried about depicting that part. That's because I had already decided to end the story with Gaou saying "I'm glad Subaru was there." What should have been depicted in the climax wasn't the conflict between the species, but Gaou and Subaru connecting with each other once again, so I thought that would be fine.

Takahashi: But I was quite worried about those scenes at first. A sad story can be painful for the viewers.

Narita: I think I got through that by trusting the viewers. I knew everyone was excited about Wanpuri, so I believed that even if there were some tough moments, they would still watch until the end.

Takahashi: I think that if you watched up until Episode 40, you would know that it would be okay to entrust our feelings to them.

Q: In the final episode, after Komugi and Yuki lose the ability to speak human language, they are able to talk to Iroha and the others again with Nico's power. What kinds of discussions did the staff have about whether or not they would lose the ability to converse with humans?

Takahashi: Initially, I had envisioned the ending being one in which Komugi and Yuki could no longer speak, and I supported that idea. I thought that even if Komugi and Yuki lost the ability to talk to people, they would still be able to connect with each other emotionally.

Narita: However, considering the atmosphere of the work, I thought it would be a bit odd to end the story by suddenly losing the ability to talk to Iroha, Mayu and Satoru, when they had been able to talk happily up until that point. I felt a fun and bright ending would be more suitable for Wanpuri than a lonely ending. So in the end, even though they can't become a Precure or a human, they gain the ability to talk with people and continue to live happily with Iroha and Mayu.

Takahashi: In the story, Daifuku says "Even if we can't speak, best friends are still best friends. But speaking is more wonderful." It ended up being exactly like that.

Q: After the broadcast of all 50 episodes, the "Wonderful Precure Thanksgiving" was held. At the event, character shows, live performances, and reading plays were shown, but the reading play that depicted what happened after the final episode attracted the most attention. I heard Narita wrote the script for this episode, but what was you intention in creating it?

Narita: The reading play was shown at the evening premium performance, so I wanted to show everyone that "Komugi and the others can't become humans anymore, but they're still living happily together." I wanted everyone who had been supporting us for a year to know that Komugi and the others are living happily, and that they're the same even though they don't transform. Also, Mayu played a big role in the boyfriend-girlfriend stories that were sprinkled in and out of the character show and reading play (laughs).

Q: With "Thanksgiving" over, please tell us how you feel about "Wanpuri" now that you have completely let go of it.

Narita: I was so busy during production, but I looked forward to watching the broadcast of Wanpuri every Sunday morning. I knew the story, of course, but I enjoyed the direction and the voice actors' performances. It was a really good year, both writing it and watching it was fun.

Takahashi: I was really busy during production. But I was really happy that everyone, including Sato, Narita, the writers for each episode, the cast, the many animation staff and the sales staff, came together as "Team Wanpuri" to make the series a success, and I really felt like we all made it together.

Sato: There were some hard times in creating the techniques, settings and transformation scenes, but after that it was a lot of fun. The dubbing was done by really good people, so I was able to leave it to them and have a relaxed time.

Takahashi: Everyone has a broad perspective and is very creative, so when I make a suggestion, they accept it warmly. I was also very helped by the fact that they were okay with additional suggestions as long as they were within acceptable range.

Q: I'm sure it's very difficult to choose, but which episode was your favourite or most memorable episode out of the 50?

Narita: My favourite is Episode 1. I cry every time I watch it, but it was a key point in creating the script, so it left a strong impression. Also Episode 29 and Episode 50 are memorable/

Sato: Like Narita-san, the most memorable episode to me was Episode 1, which I did the storyboard for. The story was a bit challenging, with Komugi only being able to say "wanwan", but I heard that some people cried after watching it. I was impressed not only by the script, but also by Naganawa's acting, who was able to convey her feelings to the audience with just "wanwan".

Takahashi: For me, the introduction in Episode 30 is what made the biggest impression on me. In fact, up until this episode, there were no episodes where we could have fun. Even during summer vacation, there was a lot to do, such as having to raise Nico-sama's egg. In the Precure series, it is customary to be able to play a little outside of the main story during the summer vacation episodes, but that was not possible in Wanpuri. However, it's precisely because they carefully built up the story in this way that these 30 episodes have become so popular. I am deeply moved to have received this offer.

Narita: Even when I was writing the script for Wanpuri, I felt like it was chock full of episodes (laughs).

Takahashi: That's true. There were only about 20 episodes between the appearance of Torame and Zakuro and the final episode. Episode 40 was a fun episode in which humans transformed into animals, but even this episode, which at first glance seemed like a playful episode, contained important information, so I thought we couldn't let our guard down.

Narita: There really wasn't a single episode that wasn't related to the core of the story or theme.

Takahashi: In Episode 26, "It's Too Hot!", just when you thought it was about them having fun playing together, they suddenly started talking about how to prevent heatstroke in animals.

Q: Finally, please give a message to the fans who have supported 'Wanpuri'.

Takahashi: Thank you for your support. Even after the 50th episode, Komugi and the others are still the same. They will continue to be wonderful in the same way. If we ever have the chance to meet again, I hope you will come and see us with a smile.

Narita: Thank you all for supporting Wanpuri. I have heard your comments and it has been very encouraging. I've been working hard on the theme of "a wonderful world that everyone loves!" and I'm glad that the viewers have come to love the show too. Thank you so much for watching the past year.

[Narita here is saying Cure Wonderful's introduction speech, "minna daisuki suteki na sekai!"]

Q: NaSka, this is your first time participating in the production of the Precure series as a costume designer. What was your initial impression of the Precure series?

NaSka: I liked and watched Yume no Crayon Oukoku and Ojamajo Doremi, and Pretty Cure was also produced by Toei Animation, so I had the impression it was a fantasy-oriented work. But the original Precure series, Futari wa Pretty Cure, had very sporty costumes, and the arm covers and boot covers that were popular at the time were used in the costumes, which made them really stylish. The sight of the Precure girls in costumes that were more like real clothes in a fantasy world was really cool, and Futari wa Pretty Cure has left a strong impression on me even now.

[Fun fact, Yume no Crayon Oukoku was directed by Junichi Sato (early Sailor Moon, Hugtto) and had character designs by Akira Inagami (Futari wa, Splash Star).]

Q: Uchida-san, you participated in the production of Kirakira Precure A La Mode as a key animator and started working on Precure in earnest with Wonderful Precure. How did you feel when you were chosen to be the character designer?

Uchida: I was really excited. Marine Ino, who was in character of character design for Kirakira Precure A La Mode, is a senior of mine, and through that connection I was able to participate in key animation for the final episode of that series. At that time, even though I was in charge of the drawings, I was watching the work from the perspective of a viewer. However, I was able to participate in Wanpuri as a main staff member, so I was filled with joy at being able to be a part of Precure in earnest.

Q: It seems it's customary for character designers for Precure to be selected through auditions. Was that the same for Wanpuri?

Uchida: Wanpuri was also an audition format. When I auditioned, I was given a rough guide that "in this production, they will protect animals and play chase with them". I was told the story and setting would be completely different from previous years, and that the Precure would not fight. But when I heard that, I thought "they've been fighting for 20 years, so I guess they don't need to do it this time, but still?" I was honestly very surprised (laughs).

Q: What kinds of things were asked at the audition?

Uchida: In addition to the three forms of "a Papillon dog", "a human version of that dog" and "a Precure version", we were given the theme of "a female protagonist" who would later become Iroha Inukai. We were also given the theme of "two characters who would make up the Cat group", but at the time the Cat group was a combination of "a boy and a cat", unlike today. We were also given the image of the Dog group being cute and the Cat group being cool, so we designed them with differences in appearances based on that.

Q: How did you become involved in the production as a costume designer, NaSka?

NaSka: I was invited by Uchida-san, and recommended by my friend, character designer and animator Nishii Terumi, and also by Precure Executive Producer Takashi Washio, with whom I had worked with in the past, so I was asked to do costume design for Wanpuri. Nishii was the character designer for the Haikara-san ga Tooru movie, and Uchida was an assistant character designer, so I got to work with the two of them there. I also worked with Uchida on Rurouni Kenshin, for which she was the character designer.

[They're referring to the recent 2023 Rurouni Kenshin anime, not any of the previous adaptations]

Uchida: When I tell NaSka what I want to do, she always gives back more work than I could have ever hoped for, so I reached out to her and asked her to join the Wanpuri team. Precure is a long series that runs for a year, and there are quite a few costumes that appear in the series. So it was a huge help and I'm very grateful that NaSka was about to design the costumes and even the accessories.

Q: Could you please tell us more about the design process? How did you solidify the designs for the four Precure characters?

Uchida: At first, I heard that Iroha was the main character, so I expanded the image to main character -> energetic girl -> easy-to-move-in clothes...Iroha wore pants and Komugi wore a dress. Looking back at them, Iroha's design is quite exaggerated (laughs). As for the cat group, the gender of Cure Lillian changed from a boy to a girl, but the 'cool' image remained the same, so I designed them to maintain that atmosphere.

NaSka: I was present at the meetings from the very first pre-production stage. The image colour of the main character (Cure Friendy/Iroha Inukai at this point) was purple, so I thought it was unusual and interesting. Moreover, the design that Uchida drew for the audition was already so cute. It was so well-made that I didn't even need to be in it. The design was also really cute, but I ended up helping make the Precure costumes more catchy so that children would want to draw illustrations and buy the toys. I suggested incorporating striped ribbons of different colours as a common motif for the costumes. Also, since each Precure has a different personality, I made sure to make the designs different so that they were easy to understand.

Q: Their hairstyles change significantly before and after the transformation, so could you tell us about the key points of the hair design?

Uchida: Every year when I watch Precure, I think it's amazing that, as long as the Precure don't change their bangs or sideburns, they look like the same person. So for Wanpuri, I decided to stick to the usual bangs and sideburns, but make bold changes to everything else. That way, the four girls won't look the same even when they're silhouetted. That said, if the hairstyles are too complicated, even if they wear Transformation PreTume (a clothing set for children that allow them to transform into Precure), there's a chance that they won't be able to copy the hairstyle, so I incorporated designs that are easy for parents to arrange, such as braids and twintails.

Q: Please tell us about the key point of each Precure's costume design.

NaSka: First, I talked with Uchida about "reducing even one line", and we reduced the number of lines to the bare minimum, except for those that would make the design unworkable if they were lost. This is because drawing action scenes becomes difficult if there are too many lines and decorations. Rather than focusing on a large number of lines, we aimed for a costume that was simple but cute. In addition, we gradually reduced the amount of decorations on the casual clothes before transformation. If the casual clothes were too pretty, the difference between before and after transformation would be diluted. Then, we concentrated the lines in the costume as much as possible on the waist and joints, so there would be no difference depending on who drew them.

Uchida: I asked NaSka to feel free to change the costumes in a good way. I told her it was okay to change my designs. Then NaSka designed the costumes by skillfully incorporating the designed I submitted for the audition. I was grateful for that kind gesture, and I made many happy discoveries, like "so that design turned out like this..."

NaSka: For the casual clothes of Komugi and her friends, I didn't change the silhouette too much from the design drawn by Uchida, but added a few details. Uchida's design have a clear aim, and you can tell from the rough sketches what she wants, such as making the legs slender or simplifying the waist area. Thanks to that, I could come up with ideas without hesitation, such as adding a jacket here because it looks a little bare, or putting a skirt there. Also, when arranging the Precure's casual clothes, we actively incorporated designs that could be purchased commercially as much as possible. We wanted to make it possible for parents to find similar clothes on the market when their children said they wanted to dress like Komugi or Iroha's casual clothes. For example, Iroha's casual clothes are sport casuals with frills. At the time of design, it was popular among children, and we thought it would remain popular for the next few years, and we also thought it would suit Iroha's personality. Iroha doesn't seem to be particularly sensitive to fashion, but we also thought that if something is popular and she thinks it's cute, she'll wear it. So, we didn't think too much about the taste, but we incorporated it flexibly.

Uchida: When I was thinking about each Precure's casual clothes, the personality of each character was also starting to solidify. The dog group was always bright and cheerful from the beginning, but Mayu's gender changed and she became more quiet and withdrawn. So I made Mayu's casual clothes a long skirt. But when I animated it, she looked pretty wild (laughs).

NaSka: I didn't expect her to be that energetic at first (laughs). Also, I didn't think she'd be that active considering how shy she was. Looking back, I think I should have given Mayu clothes that were easier to move in, if she was going to run around that much.

Q: Please tell us about the design of the human forms of Komugi and Yuki. Did they undergo any changes before becoming what they are today?

Uchida: No, neither of them have changed much from the design at the time of the audition. Komugi has a ribbon reminiscent of dog ears, and the whole silhouette is rounded. Yuki's hairstyle is unadorned, and I wanted to give her a natural cat ear look, so she ended up with the style she has now. I gave her silhouette a crisp image to differentiate her from Komugi.

NaSka: The silhouettes of the two characters' casual clothes have remained almost the same as Uchida's audition design. We just added a few details. As for Komugi, I don't think there was any "let's do this because she's the main character" mentality.

Uchida: Was Yuki wearing pants in the audition design?

NaSka: It was a short pants style. However, many little girls like skirts, so I kept the dignity of the original pants style and made it a dress + leggings style. I also wanted a cool cut that wasn't too sweet, so I made the collar and hem triangular. The triangle represents the shape of cat ears. Komugi's silhouette is rounded and has no corners, so I thought about how to make her casual clothes as compact as possible.

Q: How did you come up with the animal designs for Komugi and Yuki?

Uchida: I was told that Komugi is a Papillon and Yuki is a slim, slender Abyssinian-type cat, so I started from there. However, I had a lot of trouble with the degree of deformation. I designed Komugi with short legs and a wide forehead, but later I was told "we want her to walk and move like a real dog, not like a fairy". As a result, I ended up in a situation where "her limbs are too short and it's difficult to move her" (laughs). By the way, I used the fairies that have appeared in previous series and Tsubasa in his Puni Bird form from Hirogaru Sky Precure as references for the degree of deformation, and created a design that makes it immediately obvious that she is an animal.

Q: Are the heart marks on the back of Komugi and Yuki's heads a link to the toys?

Uchida: That's right. The talking Komugi and Yuki toys have a heart mark on the back of their heads that acts as a 'pat switch', so I followed that.

Q: Please tell us about the character's eye design. Why did you choose the combination of slanted eyes for Mayu and droopy eyes for Yuki?

Uchida: The stereotypical image of a cool, cat-like character with slanted eyes and a quiet character with droopy eyes didn't really seem to fit Yuki and Mayu, so I thought I'd do the opposite. I thought it would create a contrast with their personalities.

Q: When Komugi and the others transform into Precure, a highlight appears in the center of their eyes, and the surrounding area also changes to a brighter colour. Please tell us why the design of their eyes change before and after transformation.

Uchida: My drawings aren't that distinctive, so I wanted to try something a little different. I considered putting hearts or stars in the eyes, but it would have been difficult to draw, so I stuck to the colour and made the center of the eyes brighter. But it would have been too loud if they were like that in their regular clothes, so I only did it after they transformed. I begged "only when they transform, please!" and got my way.

[This is funny in contrast to how complex the eyes are in You and Idol Precure. Not that either approach is more correct.]

Q: Uchida-san, apart from the four Precure, which other characters were you in charge of designing?

Uchida: Satoru and Daifuku, Mey Mey, Nico, the Precure's family members, and some of the classmates from Wanyan Middle School. For the classmates, I designed Kanie and Okuma. On Gaoh's side, Zakuro, Torame, and Subaru once he takes off his wolf mask. The rest are the Madame Trio of Otsuru, Okame and Oshika, and Mayu's friend Chiran. I also designed Mayor Washio. I was in charge of supervising the other characters and the guest characters who only appeared in one episode. Gaou with a wolf mask, also known as Gaou Subaru, was originally conceived by NaSka.

NaSka: Gaou Subaru was designed by prop designer Kazunori Haruyama based on my original concept.

Q: When Nico first appeared, she was a small unicorn, but in the middle of the story, she transformed into a human. Was this always planned?

NaSka: No, at first I was told she wouldn't take on a human form. If she were to take a human form, she would need a costume, so I had to save a design idea for her. So I repeatedly asked "She really won't transform, right?" and they always answered "Don't worry, she won't", but after many twists and turns, she ended up taking on a human form (laughs). But I thought something like that might happen, so I saved a costume idea for her. Thanks to that, I was able to work out Nico's costume.

Q: How did you solidify the design for Nico's human form?

Uchida: When I read the script, I thought the unicorn Nico's speech patterns were completely different from those of her human form. I was really surprised and wondered if they were really the same person. When she was a unicorn, she looked like a gal, but when she took on a human form, she looked extremely elegant, so I thought no matter how you look at it, she had changed too much (lol). I made the base design of Nico's human form princess-like. The colour scheme followed that of unicorn Nico.

NaSka: I was originally told that a toy called "Unicorn Nico Accessory Set" was going to be released, but they said it was okay to change the colours for the anime, so I coloured the head dress in four colours and added four ribbons to the waist. I wanted it to be obvious at a glance that the Precure were sharing Nico's power. Producer Maki Takahashi requested that I make it a dress with a train, so I added a train to the dress and added a mermaid-like image.

Q: Was Mey Mey's costume also designed by NaSka?

NaSka: Yes. For Mey Mey's costume, I was told "Just choose a reference photo and it's OK", but if we only used a photo, there was a risk that the interpretation would change depending on who was drawing, so I came up with a draft design. At first, it was just the clothes, but director Masanori Sato asked me to design a wig as well, so I made use of the series director's skills to create a shape. It was a lot of fun coming up with Mey Mey's costume.

Q: How did you come up with the designs for Satoru and Daifuku, the so-called Rabbit Group?

Uchida: As I mentioned earlier, the human character for the cat group at the time of the audition was a boy, and Satoru was designed to take Lilian's place. He was redesigned as a character who supports the Precure. In line with the request to be "intelligent, kind, and wear glasses", I designed him as a boy who is good at studying, and I was told that "there may be an episode where he takes off his glasses for a makeover", so I was conscious of creating a look that embodies "a handsome guy when he takes off his glasses". When the design for Daifuku was ordered, there was a possibility that it would be a hedgehog. At the time, its name was "Marron", and there was even a possibility that it would be a girl. Furthermore, since we didn't know if it would become a human or not, we decided to at least decide on the direction of the facial features for the time being, and after Mayu's slanted eyes and Yuki's droopy eyes, the only thing left was dirty eyes...so the animal Daifuku had dirty eyes.

[Clearly there is some common anime term here that I don't know that isn't translating properly, so I'm sure 'dirty eyes' isn't what is literally meant.]

Q: What kind of image did you have in mind when designing Satoru's casual clothes?

NaSka: I heard that Satoru wasn't good at sports, so I thought it would be best not to go in the sporty direction with sweatshirts or hoodies, and went for a shirt that was buttoned all the way up. I thought Satoru would be a good student and wouldn't come across as annoying. That said, slacks would make him look too much like an older brother, so I went for casual denim, so he looks calm but not like he does much sports. As for the colour of the top, I chose orange because there was an open orange slot.

[As in, none of the other characters had an image colour of orange, so it didn't overlap with anyone.]

Q: In "Wonderful Precure The Movie", Satoru appears in a new form, and Daifuku has acquired human speech and a human form. What kind of image did you have in mind when creating Daifuku in human form?

Uchida: First of all, there was a lot of discussion among the staff about whether Daifuku should be a handsome man or a young boy. In the end, we decided on a boy who was slightly smaller than Satoru. i designed him to be the smallest but most reliable character, but I never imagined that he would be voiced by Yuichi Nakamura, so I was very surprised when I found out.

[Yuichi Nakamura, mainly known for playing cool male characters like Satoru Gojo from Jujutsu Kaisen.]

NaSka: I was surprised too, but Daifuku is the type who says "yare yare da ze", so it fits perfectly. Satoru and Daifuku's costume designs after transformation were made to be cute, so they won't look out of place when they mix with the Precure team. Also, I wanted Daifuku's casual clothes to reflect his personality, so I combined a handsome-looking sukajan jacket with wild boots.

["yare yare da ze" - a rather masculine way of saying, like, 'good grief'. Any JoJo fans probably recognise it as the catchphrase of Jotaro Kujo.]

Q: Are there any other characters that made a particularly strong impression on you?

Uchida: Otsuru and the other members of the Madame Trio appeared in a lot more scenes than originally planned. At first, they were only supposed to appear a little, but in reality, they appeared a lot more and played a more active role than expected.

NaSka: The Madame Trio didn't appear just once, but several times afterwards, so I also designed their costumes.

Uchida: I asked prop designer Kazunori Haruyama to design the animals that appear each week, and the Kirarin Animals were originally designed by a toy company. For the ones that I thought might be cuter if they were a bit more deformed, I made some adjustments, such as making the head bigger.

NaSka: When the project first started, the Kirarin Animals had a variety of decorations attached to them.

Uchida: It was amazing. At the time, I was watching it thinking it would be very difficult to animate.

Q: I hard that the design of Mayor Washio was modelled after Executive Producer Takashi Washio.

Uchida: That's right. But I was worried about how much I should make him look like Washio.

NaSka: Everyone praised us for how much it looked alike.

Uchida: His name contains the kanji for 'eagle', so I tried to create an eagle-like effect in his bangs and put an eagle badge on his chest, but it seems Washio himself had mixed feelings about it (laughs). He was embarrassed. Mayu's friend, Yuma Chiran, has the same calm atmosphere as Mayu, and her hair is short and wavy so her silhouette doesn't overlap with other characters. Furthermore, since she was set to own a chinchilla, her eyes are large and round, and her hair is a grey-beige colour to give her an overall image similar to a chinchilla.

NaSka: Mayu's middle school before she transferred to Wanyan had a different uniform, so I made it as simple as possible. Also, for Yuma's casual clothes, I made the skirt colour a gradient, and the top colour pink, which is the opposite colour to the light green (Lillian's theme colour) to create an atmosphere that would go well with Mayu.

Q: I heard that the frilly apron worn by Iroha's father, Tsuyoshi Inukai, was at the request of Uchida-san.

Uchida: The details of the side characters hadn't been decided yet, and the only information I had about the father at the time was that he was "well-built". So I made him look muscular. I wanted the Precure family to have a slightly rugged impression. The Inukai family's father is muscular and likes cute things, while the mother is pretty and good at her job. I submitted the design and it was immediately accepted, so I asked NaSka to "make a cute, frilly outfit for the father". They made him look really cute, adding ribbons to the pockets and a hat to his pajamas. I think it was good that they didn't say anything negative about that either (laughs).

NaSka: For Iroha's parents' costumes, I kept the design simple and without too much decoration to match the natural interior of the Inukai family. On the other hand, the Nekoyashiki family seemed to be particular about their interiors, so I thought they would be wearing clothes with details. As for Mayu's father, I was only told that he was a "photographer who travels overseas for assignments", and there was no specification of what he should be wearing, so I designed him with a similar image to Mayu. Mayu's mother runs a cosmetic shop called Pretty Holic, so I went with the theme of "adult cute".

Q: What was your image for the design of Diamond Ribbon Style, the Precure's enhanced form?

NaSka: In the first rough draft, the skirt was short, with white frills at the hem. Then, the customer requested that the skirt be longer, so I revised it to a longer length. The gorgeous details are expressed with long ribbons and plenty of frills. There are many frills on the skirt, but they are not arranged in a complicated way, so I think it will be relatively easy for children to draw. I requested the frills be coloured in a gradation. It's popular, and I wanted children to feel that it turned out gorgeous.

Q: NaSka, you design costume with children's drawings in mind, don't you?

NaSka: That's right. Children aged 3 to 5 often get tired of drawing when the costume has a detailed pattern. I remember when I was a child and designed with the idea that I can draw lines of this size.

Q: Gaou Subaru, Subaru, Torame and Zakuro have hairstyles and outfits that are quite different from the other characters, but what kind of instructions did you receive for their designs?

Uchida: Series director Sato explained to us that "Gaou and his friend lived about 150 years ago".

NaSka: The story is about someone from around the Edo period to the Meiji period.

Uchida: Then we discussed how it would be strange to give them a modern look, and Sato also gave us orders saying "I want the costume to have a kimono-like feel" and "I want Subaru's features to be a kind, gentle, handsome look". So while Subaru has well-defined features, we aimed for an atmosphere that wouldn't be out of place for someone from 150 years ago. We gave him messy hair to give his silhouette a spiky look.

NaSka: Subaru's costume is inspired by farm clothes, like those worn by farmers in the past. Farm clothes are everyday kimonos, but I didn't want it to be too plain, so I paid special attention to the details.

Q: Please tell us about the appearances of Torame and Zakuro.

Uchida: The intial explanation was "an older sister and a naughty boy" (laughs). I expanded the image from there and designed Zakuro as a sexy older sister. Torame is a design that can be recognised from a glance as a naughty boy.

NaSka: I heard that the work will be released overseas, so the costumes for the two of them are based on the motif of ninjas, which is relatively familiar for people overseas. Zakuro is a kunoichi and Torame is a ninja. On top of that, I added some modern motifs. For Gaou Subaru, I used a Japanese style outfit and accessories.

Q: Was the design of Subaru's rampaging form created by Uchida-san?

Uchida: That's right. But I asked Haruyama to design the final form where he no longer has a human appearance.

NaSka: I came up with the original idea for the final form, and Haruyama-san finished it for me. The design of the final form is, in a sense, the most villainous, but it's so scary that children might not want to watch it on TV. It would be a problem if I erased it, so I searched for the right balance. To begin with, he is not evil, but rather goes berserk due to extreme sadness, so I was careful not to make him too scary or villainous. By the way, I created the original concept for the Garugaru, who appeared in the first episode, but since I'm rather good at making cute things, it was difficult to make it look scary.

Q: NaSka, you have worked on a variety of designs, but what design has left the biggest impression on you?

NaSka: I struggled with the design of Gaou Subaru. He is a character that appears later in the story, so the setting was hard to come up with. However, since it was decided that both Garugaru and Gaou Subaru wear masks, I decided to give them a common design for the masks. I thought it would be easy to see that their consciousness has been taken over by the masks and they have become tainted by evil. At first, I was thinking of a Western aristocratic mask design like the Phantom of the Opera, but it didn't seem to sit well with director Sato, so I reconsidered and continued to experiment. Also if I made Gaou Subaru's physique macho, it would look like Wolfrun from Smile Precure, which wouldn't go well with the direction of the story...so there was a lot of trial and error. I was really worried, but around that time the image song for Gaou Subaru was finished. It was a solemn Japanese-style song, so I thought it would be better to have a more trailing, regal image, and Sato also liked it, so we ended up with the current design. It was the longest part, and we went through many iterations of the design, so it's very memorable.

Q: Speaking of Precure, the "Transformation Pre-Tume" items that let you dress up as Precure are also very popular. How do you feel about the fact that the costumes you designed are now being used as actual costumes for children?

NaSka: It was such an honor, and when I saw the finished Pre-Tumes, I cried with joy. I love Precure, and every season I would go into department stores and toy shops to see how they incorporated Precure's costume designs into Pre-Tume. It's a commercially-available product, so it's not a perfect reproduction, but I was amazed that such a complex costume could be reproduced to this extent in a mass-produced product. I never thought it would be possible with my own design, and I still haven't been able to open mine because I feel like it would be a waste. I also cried secretly when I saw children wearing Pre-Tume at events such as the Wonderful Precure Thanksgiving Festival.

Uchida: Precure's costumes are also very faithful. Even the smallest parts are beautifully reproduced in 3D. I was so impressed when I saw them up close.

NaSka: Yuki's puffy cheeks are perfect from every angle.

Uchida: When I saw them, I thought that the Precure costumes must have evolved too. It really made me realise how wonderful it is that the content has continued for 20 years.

Q: It must be very difficult to choose, but out of all 50 episodes, which one is your favourite or the one that left the biggest impression on you?

Uchida: For me it was Episode 7, in which Komugi and Iroha make up. After a fight, Komugi is invited over to Satoru's house, and I love the scene where Satoru listens to Komugi while wiping her runny nose. Satoru is so warm and kind, and Daifuku was so funny and cute as he comforted Komugi by saying "cheer up", and it was a lot of fun to watch.

NaSka: It's not a specific episode, but I love how Mayu gradually becomes more serious about love as the show goes on. As the story gets more serious, I thought Mayu's extravagant behaviour would calm down, but I was happy that she stayed that excited until the end. Girls with a quiet personality like Mayu tend to be in an inconspicuous position. However, Mayu's personality became more distinct as the story progressed. I thought it was great to see her develop into a strong character of her own accord. Yuki also acted proactively, even though she said "shikata ga nai", and I think the four of them were a very well-balanced bunch.

["It can't be helped", one of Yuki's catchphrases. She says it in her post-transformation speech every episode.]

Q: Finally, please give a message to the fans who have supported Wanpuri.

Uchida: I'm really grateful that you've been watching the anime for a year. Wanpuri is a series that promotes "Precure that don't fight", and at first I was worried about whether it would be accepted by viewers, especially children. But I was really happy to hear so many people say that it was good. Thank you so much for your support.