Star Twinkle PreCure
Star Twinkle PreCure is a Japanese magical girl anime series by Toei Animation. It is the first Pretty Cure series released in the Reiwa period and the sixteenth installment of the franchise, featuring the fourteenth generation of Cures. It is directed by and written by Isao Murayama. The series aired on all ANN stations in Japan from February 3, 2019 to January 26, 2020, succeeding Hugtto! PreCure in its initial time slot. It was then succeeded by Healin' Good PreCure on February 2, 2020. The series' main topic is imagination, with outer space and constellations being the Cures' main motifs.
Story
The Starry Sky World is the home to the twelve Star Princesses who are based on the Zodiac signs and maintain order in the universe. But when the Notraiders attack the Star Palace, the princesses scatter themselves across the universe as the Princess Star Color Pens. Seeking to revive the princesses and avert the universe from being consumed in darkness, the aliens Lala and Prunce travel with the fairy Fuwa to Mihoshi Town on Earth where they meet the imaginative Hikaru Hoshina. Receiving a Star Color Pendant and one of the Star Color Pens, Hikaru transforms into the legendary PreCure, Cure Star. Joined by Lala and two other girls, Elena and Madoka, as well as the shapeshifting cat-like alien, Yuni, Hikaru leads the Star Twinkle PreCure as they seek to revive the Star Princesses and fight against the Notraiders.Characters
The titular characters are a team of magical girls who use the rocket ship that Lala came to Earth in to travel through space. They derive their powers from the Star Color Pendant and Star Color Pens, tasked to collect the twelve Princess Star Color Pens needed for their mission to revive the Star Princesses.;Hikaru Hoshina Cure Star
;Lala Hagoromo Cure Milky
;Elena Amamiya Cure Soleil
;Madoka Kaguya Cure Selene
;Yuni Cure Cosmo
Starry Sky World
;Fuwa;Prunce
;AI
;Abraham
Star Princesses
The Star Princesses are thirteen princesses who protect the balance of the universe, with Ophiuchus originally a member before she turned her back on them when they decided to transfer half of their power to bestow all life in the universe with imagination. The Star Princesses used the rest of their power to create Fuwa and used their remaining strength to drive the Notraiders away, which scatter across the universe as the Princess Star Color Pens sought by the Precure and the Notraiders. Each princess represents one of the 12 Zodiac signs.;Taurus
;Leo
;Libra
;Capricorn
;Scorpio
;Sagittarius
;Virgo
;Gemini
;Aries
;Aquarius
;Cancer
;Pisces
Notraiders
The Notraiders, the main antagonists of the series, who originate from the darkest and forgotten parts of the universe, are an intergalactic army of space raiders seeking universal dominion by obtaining all the Princess Star Color Pens to purge the universe of all light and give its power to their leader. Later, they seek to capture Fuwa as a vessel. Their leading members are based on the yokai from Japanese mythology. The name "Notto" means take over.Leaders
;Darknest / Ophiuchus;Garuouga
Commanders
Garuouga's subordinates who aid in reviving Darknest, each using different method to battle the Pretty Cures to hinder their mission. Garuouga later increase their powers, with Darknest upgrading their abilities further.;Kappard
;Tenjou
;Aiwarn
Grunts
;Notrei;Notrigger
Hoshina family
;Harukichi Hoshina;Terumi Hoshina
;Yoko Hoshina
;Yoichi Hoshina
;Yeti
Lala's family
;Toto;Kaka
;Lolo
Amamiya family
;Carlos;Kaede Amamiya
;Toma Amamiya, Reina Amamiya, Takuto Amamiya, Ikuto Amamiya, Anna Amamiya
Kaguya family
;Fuyuki Kaguya;Mitsuka Kaguya
Yuni's family
;OlyfioOthers
;Drams;Yanyan
;Tatsunori Karube
;Sakurako Himenojo
;Yumika Nasu
;Nodoka Hanadera / Cure Grace
;Latte
Film only characters
;Piton;Yango
;President
;UMA
;Mary Anne
;Gyro III, Hydro, Burn, Dive, Chop
Media
Anime
Star Twinkle PreCure was announced on November 28, 2018, following a trademark filing reported on October 5, 2018. The series is being directed by Hiroaki Miyamoto and written by Isao Murayama, with character design by Akira Takahashi and music by Yuki Hayashi and Asami Tachibana. The series aired in Japan from February 3, 2019 to January 26, 2020, succeeding the previous series Hugtto! PreCure in its initial timeslot. In addition, a PreCure Horoscope by Arisu Yamada is shown at the end of every episode which features three lucky zodiac signs while in the final episode, Cure Star and Cure Grace tells the viewers that everyone is lucky.Music
Opening
Endings
| Song | Artist | Episodes |
| "Papepipu☆Romantic" | Chihaya Yoshitake | 1 - 5, 9 - 20 |
| "Please Tell me...! Twinkle!☆" | Chihaya Yoshitake | 21 - 34, 39 - 49 |
| "WINkle! Pretty Cure Miracle Universe☆" | Rie Kitagawa | 6 - 8, PreCure Miracle Universe |
| "Twinkle Stars" | Cure Star, Cure Milky, Cure Soleil, Cure Selene, Cure Cosmo | 35 - 38 |
| "Twinkle Stars" | Rina Chinen | Star Twinkle PreCure the Movie: These Feelings Within The Song of Stars |
Insert Songs
| Song | Artist | Episodes |
| "Star Color Pendant! Color Charge!" | Cure Star, Cure Milky, Cure Soleil, Cure Selene, Cure Cosmo | All |
| "Sparkle☆彡Star☆Twinkle PreCure" | Cure Star, Cure Milky, Cure Soleil, Cure Selene, Cure Cosmo | 49 |
| "Twinkle Stars" | Cure Star, Cure Milky, Cure Soleil, Cure Selene, Cure Cosmo | Star Twinkle PreCure the Movie: These Feelings Within The Song of Stars |
| "Cosmic☆Mystery☆Girl" | Cure Cosmo | 15, 23, 24 |
| "The Constellation's Power" | Chihaya Yoshitake | Star Twinkle PreCure the Movie: These Feelings Within The Song of Stars |
Films
The characters appear in the theatrical cross-over film PreCure Miracle Universe, released on March 16, 2019, alongside characters from Hugtto! PreCure and Kirakira PreCure a la Mode.An anime film titled was released on October 19, 2019. Yūta Tanaka is directing the film.
Manga
A manga adaptation illustrated by Futago Kamikita began serialization in Kodansha's Nakayoshi shoujo magazine from February 1, 2019.Reception
Gadget Tsūshin listed Hikaru's catchphrase in their 2019 anime buzzwords list.Cosplay marathoner Mitsunobu Saita ran in the 2019 Kobe Marathon as Cure Cosmo.