Kurumi Erika

Kurumi Erika is one of the Cures in the newest season Heartcatch Pretty Cure!, acting like a secondary main character, not unlike Yukishiro Honoka from Futari wa Pretty Cure and Mishou Mai from Futari wa Pretty Cure Splash Star. She lives a fashion shop called "Fairy Drop", and she lives with both her parents, plus her older sister whom she is really jealous of. Her heart flower is the white cyclamen, though it can turn red if Erika experiences extreme jealousy. Her Cure ego is Cure Marine (キュアマリン).

Erika loves fashion and dreams of being a fashion designer, and is able to tell one's feelings or mood out from the color combination on the clothes thanks to the color therapy she is going through. She is very nosy and will not ignore shy people like Hanasaki Tsubomi, and always says exactly what is on her mind. Because of this, she might give out a selfish and mean attitude to calmer people, but other times, a very mature and understanding side of her is shown, especially when it involves Tsubomi.

Although jealous of Momoka and wishing of passing her, Erika's personality is completely different from her calm and mature sister. It is possible that Erika wishes to bypass her sister by not mimicking her, but rather do it on her own.

As revealed, Erika is a very fast learner, capable of transforming without instruction from the fairies, fighting properly, and able to use Pretty Cure's power to its fullest in her first transformation just thanks to watching Cure Moonlight in her dream and remembering her rescue by Cure Blossom. This makes her a contrast to Tsubomi, who is still learning how to use all of Cure Blossom's power.

Failing in Dreaming
Ever since Erika and her older sister Momoka were small, they dreamed of becoming a charistma model, just like their mother who used to be a famous model. However, Momoka always became the more successful of them, and Erika could only watch in admiration and jealousy when her sister got scouted in elementary school. As Momoka became more popular, Erika slowly began giving up on her dream to become a model, and instead focused on designing, though is still jealous and depressed of Momoka's success where she failed.

Meeting Tsubomi
In the present, Erika is giving the new student Hanasaki Tsubomi a hard time on her first day, though tries to give her a new and better look after school when they realize that they are next-door neighbors. However, she herself has a hard time when she realizes that she will be alone in the fashion club when the other members have to quit, and fails to make Tsubomi join. She takes a walk some time after that, where she meets Sasorina, who takes her Heart Seed. This is what causes her Tsubomi to try becoming a part of Pretty Cure. After having her Heart Flower purified, she only remembers the events as a dream, and apologizes to Tsubomi for her energetic personality. They then agree that, if Erika can make the doll that her Heart Flower possessed pretty, Tsubomi will join the fashion club. Happy, she storms off to buy the necessary supplies to fix up the doll.

The night afterward, Erika dreams of Cure Moonlight and her loss before the Tree of Hearts, and admits this to Tsubomi during lunch. She is shocked when the fairies appear and tell her that she is the second Cure, partner of Coffret. Although she wants to try it out, she realizes that she has to worry about the fashion club for the moment and turns them down, though thinks about Pretty Cure and her own Cure name through the rest of the school day. Tsubomi helps her recruit for the fashion club during lunch, but they fail to find any new members. After school that day, they see that the football-loving girl Ueshima Sayaka's Heart Flower has transformed into a Desertrian and is attacking junior high students. Tsubomi transforms into Cure Blossom, while Erika watches from the sidelines. After seeing Cure Blossom fight for the sake of everyone's Heart Flowers, Erika decides to become a Cure, too, and transforms into Cure Marine. Thanks to the dream beforehand, Cure Marine is easily able to purify the Desertrian. After reverting their transformations, Erika and Tsubomi find the owner of the doll from the day before and give it back. They then decide to work hard together to protect everyone's Heart Flowers and recruit new members for the fashion club while they go to find something to eat.

Best Friends
Because of Erika's strength as Cure Marine, she is giving Tsubomi low confidence in being Pretty Cure, though Erika misunderstands why Tsubomi is feeling down, and thinks it is because of her still open personality. However, when they encounter Kumojacky, who they the day before, Cure Marine gives her all to protect Cure Blossom, and together, they come to an understanding and use the dual attack Floral Power Fortissimo. On their way home, the girls agree that their friendship have become stronger, and declare themselves best friends.

One day, Erika wakes up to find her mother helping Momoka prepare for work before school. Slightly admiring her sister, Erika comes with a mocking comment to hide it, but becomes furious when Momoka backfires her comment. Later on school, when Tsubomi shows an admiration for Momoka and asks if they are related, Erika admits their family situation to her. Tsubomi tries to cheer her up by proposing to have their next fashion club meeting outside on the new cafe which Erika agrees on. After school, Erika shows the girls her designs, but they are interrupted when people notice Momoka, who was watching them for a short while. Because they know of their family ties, the fashion club asks Erika to have them watch for Momoka's next photoshots. When she asks her, Erika is forced to let Mooka see through her designs against her will, and although it seems like Momoka likes her designs Erika imagines that she is making fun of her and gets furious at Tsubomi and the rest of the fashion club for having to go through all the embarassement. The next day, Erika watches in horror as Kumojacky steals her sister's Heart Flower the dahlia, and finds herself unable to fight the Desertrian as its source of power comes from everyone treating her special against her will, something Erika also has done. However thanks to Cure Blossom, Cure Marine is able to stand up and finish it off. On the way home, Erika and Momoka admit halfway their feelings for each other and now are able to tease each other on a more familiar term.

Cure Marine
"The flower that flutters by the ocean winds, Cure Marine!" 海風に揺れる一輪の花、キュアマリン！ Umikaze ni yureru ichirin no hana, Kyuamarin! Cure Marine (キュアマリン) is the Cure Erika transforms into. Her powers have not been fully revealed, but translations from commercials indicate that she controls flowers, though her Cure name might mean she has control over water or the sea. Unlike the former Pretty Cure-duos in the franchise, Erika does not need to be together with her partner, Tsubomi, to transform.

Because Erika had dreamt of Cure Moonlight's and Cure Blossom's fights, she already knew how to transform and fight, and had fantasized about her own Cure name before she is entrusted with a Heart Perfume. When using her Marine Tact alone, she can use the attack Blue Forte Wave, and together with Cure Blossom's and her Blossom Tact, can use Floral Power Fortissimo.

Attacks
Aside from her purifying attacks, Cure Marine likes to name many of her physical attacks, even though they only are for front attacks mainly. They are as following:

Marine Shoot (マリンシュート): Cure Marine draws a circle of water drops before her before shooting them at the enemy. This is the first sub-attack that has been done two times.

Marine Impact (マリンインパクト): Cure Marine consentrates all her powers into her palm and strikes at the enemy; light blue light will then shine, and the enemy is knocket away.

Marine Dive (マリンダイブ): Cure Marine jumps high up in the air and then falls down with her heels toward the enemy.

Pretty Cure Double Shoot (プリキュアダブルシュート): Cure Marine and Cure Blossom's first non-purification duo attack. The girls create energy balls of their respective theme colors and shoot them at the enemy.

Pretty Cure Daibakuhatsu (プリキュア大爆発): Cure Marine and Cure Blossom hold hands tightly and, with comical faces, create a giant explosion.

Marine Dynamite (マリンダイナマイト): Cure Marine throws her arms in the air, creating an outburst of blue energy to explode. Considered a solo version of Pretty Cure Daibakuhatsu.

Cure Rainbow Marine
Cure Rainbow Marine (キュアレインボー・マリン) is an upgrade Cure Marine gains along with everyone else's in Pretty Cure All Stars DX 2: Kibou no Hikari - Rainbow Jewel o Mamore!. Together, the group of seventeen girls form the group Cure Rainbow (キュアレインボー). This up-graded outfit has small wing-accessories some places on her clothes, and new fabric covering her shoulders. She also gets a pair of small, golden wings.

Relationships
Hanasaki Tsubomi: Erika grows an interest in Tsubomi from first sight, and instantly introduces her energic personality to the new girl despite being shown several times that Tsubomi is not interested in her.

Coffret: Coffret acts like a little brother to Erika. He is very impressed with how fast she learned to transform and attack, and the two often think alike.

Kurumi Momoka: Her relationship with her older sister Momoka is poor, as Erika thinks her sister is much more beautiful and mature than her, making her extremely jealous. As revealed by her Heart Flower's Desertrian, she detests her because of this. As their personalities are very different, however, it is possible that Erika tries to pass her sister her own way, instead of mimicking her, although this might also just be another way of showing her dislike.

Etymology
Kurumi (来海): 'Kuru (来) translates to come; coming; due; next''. Mi (海) translates to sea; ocean, a reference to her title of Cure Marine and her water-based powers. Roughly, the two together may be translated to the coming sea.

Erika (えりか): A name that has a vast variety of meanings depending on how it is written in kanji, and since Erika's name is written in hiragana instead, it is impossible to find an exact meaning for it. Several meanings refer to flowers and fragrances, which would fit with the themes of Heartcatch Pretty Cure!.

Cure Marine: Despite the theme of Heartcatch Pretty Cure! being flowers, marine is a general term relating to the sea, ocean or to oceanography. Cure Marine's first single attack, Marine Shoot, involves water, and her third includes the word "dive", which is usually associated with jumping into water.

Trivia

 * Erika is so far the only person to have her Heart Flower change color instead of simply wilting.
 * As stated by Kaoruko, having the color changed to a negative meaning is the stage before the Heart Flower starts wilting . This makes Erika's Desertrian the weakest Desertrian.
 * "Kurumi" is the name Milk's human form uses as her given name, though in Erika's case is her family name. Coincidentally, Erika once tells Tsubomi that if she ever calls her "Erika-san" (literally "Ms. Erika"), she has to buy her milk.