A support screening with a staff talk for the movie version of the 22nd installment of the popular anime series "You and Idol Pretty Cure with You and Idol Pretty Cure The Movie: Sorry to Keep You Waiting! A Sparkling Live for You!" was held at Shinjuku Wald 9 (Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo) on October Getsuku. Screenwriter Yoshino Hiroyuki, chief animation director and character designer Itaoka Nishiki, Toei Animation producer Minagawa Hidemi, and ABC Animation producer Nishimura Maino took to the stage to talk about the behind-the-scenes production.
The movie version was released on September 12th and has been a huge hit, grossing over 1.01 billion yen. Itaoka, who has worked on numerous transformation scenes and key animations for the "Pretty Cure" series and has captivated fans with his "superb techniques," spoke in the true spirit of a true "craftsman" about his commitment to production, saying, "Make them look good. That's all. My job is to create the images the director wants to make. My commitment is to portray the characters in an appealing way."
Producer Minagawa said he was particular about the Cure Idol - God Idol style - that appears in the movie, saying, "It's a gorgeous costume, but I wanted the length and fabric to be something that would allow for dancing. I think it's an aspect that's unique to the movie."
In response to a question from a fan asking, "What was written in the 'legendary idol's' notebook?", Producer Minagawa replied, "There's a scene at the end where the Cure Idols speak to Amas, and those lines are written there." He went on to announce, "Apparently the 'legendary idol' has a name, 'Utako'." There's a scene in the movie where the word 'Utako' appears, but it seems few people noticed, causing a stir among the fans gathered at the venue.
The movie also features PreCure characters from "Wonderful PreCure!(Wanpuri)" and "Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure(Hiropuri)," and the scene where PreCure from "Kimipuri" sings the theme songs for "Wanpuri" and "Hiropuri" has become a hot topic.
As Yoshino said, "It's a surprise and it gets the crowd excited," the staff also paid special attention to the scene. Regarding why the singers knew the theme songs for "Wanpuri" and "Hiropuri," and how they were divided into teams, Yoshino and producer Minagawa explained, "There are hints in the story."
The film seems to be packed with attention to detail, including the inclusion of "legendary idols" and live performance scenes, and producer Minagawa expressed confidence, saying, "We've made a film that can be enjoyed no matter how many times you watch it."
The motif of "You and Idol Pretty Cure" is "idols," and the theme is "Because of you, we can shine and become stronger!". The legendary saviors, Idol Precure, sing, dance, and give "fan service" for "you," whether it's the people they love, the people they care about, the people who support them, the people next to them, or the people in front of them, and your presence makes Idol Precure shine brighter and stronger. The show airs every Sunday at 8:30 AM on ABC TV and TV Asahi.
