With the new Healin’ Good Pretty Cure movie finally coming out next month after multiple COVID-related delays, there’s no better time than to roll out the much-needed PreCure nostalgia. The brand new fashion line FANDOM8 has wasted no time. To usher in their debut, FANDOM8 has brought in the artists najuco and Malbeni Akane to design their own Yes! Pretty Cure 5 illustrations to be featured on t-shirts and other goods.
najuco’s illustration features the girls slurping big scoops of ice cream at a cozy little parlor. This picture’s color palette, with its selective choice of chilled blues and pinks, brings to mind innocent childhood memories of downing blueberry and cotton candy-flavored ice cream. ‘I did my best to convey the same fun feelings I had when I used to watch the show, and that same level of cuteness,’ najuco said. ‘If even a little bit of that got through to the children who love watching Pretty Cure now, I’m happy.’
Meanwhile, Akane’s picture decided to take a more meta-narrative approach by taking the Pretty Cure cast to the movies. The gang has a brighter and gaudier color palette here, delightfully centered in a film frame while munching on popcorn and hot dogs, in preparation for their moment to see themselves on screen. ‘For this illustration, I imagined what kinds of happy expressions the six heroines of Yes! Pretty Cure 5 GoGo! would make at a secret screening of a new movie,’ Akane commented. ‘I’ve always loved how uniquely cute each character is, but I never thought I’d have the chance to draw them like this. I’m incredibly honored!’
FANDOM8 is the latest brand from the Tokyo Girls Collection (TCG), centering itself around the concept of fans coming together out of love for fashion. The additional ‘8’ after ‘FANDOM’ is meant to signify the infinity symbol (∞) that sums up the ‘infinite’ amount of possibilities that can arise during fan collaborations. The brand’s website emphasizes the negative impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the fashion industry with the intent of harnessing various fandoms’ passion to counter this harsh blow.
You can expect FANDOM8 to roll out its Pretty Cure merchandise line-up on its official site and Toei Animation’s online store on 25 February.