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Pretty Cure to Run on Canada's YTV in Early 2009 (Updated)
posted on by Egan Loo
Animation Magazine reports that Canada's YTV television network has signed an agreement with Toei Animation to broadcast Toei's first Pretty Cure anime series in the first quarter of 2009. The story centers on two schoolgirls with dissimilar interests who are bought together by two magical creatures from the Garden of Light. The creatures transform the girls into Cure Black and Cure White — the two halves of the Pretty Cure magical girl team.
The American production company 4Kids Entertainment had licensed the first Pretty Cure series in 2006, but it did not release its version in the United States. Toei has since relicensed the series for digital distribution on IGN's Direct2Drive service in July and later on the Crunchyroll video-sharing website in October.
Since the original Futari wa Pretty Cure television series aired in Japan in 2004-2005, a sixth film and a sixth television series has been announced for 2009. The fifth film, Yes! Precure 5 GoGo! Okashi no Kuni no Happy Birthday, debuted at #2 at the Japanese box office in November. It has since earned the equivalent of over US$7 million in five weeks.
Image © Toei Animation
Update: C21Media.net reports that the main characters Nagisa and Honoka will be named Natalie and Hannah in the English-dubbed version. Pretty Cure has aired on Jetix and the Spanish channels Clan TV and Cuatro around the world, but YTV will host the series' North American television premiere. Thanks, samuelp.
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