Hino Akane

Hino Akane (日野 あかね) or (Kelsey in the English Dub Glitter Force) is one of the five main Cures in the series Smile Pretty Cure!. She attends Nanairogaoka Middle School in Nanairogaoka Class 2-2 along with the other Cures. An unusually passionate girl, she is able to get into any mood easily and loves to make others laugh. Her family runs an okonomiyaki restaurant, and she often helps out there. In school, she is part of the volleyball team. She was born in Osaka and thus speaks in the Kansai dialect.

Her alter ego is Cure Sunny (キュアサニー), or Glitter Sunny in the Glitter Force dub and also Warrior Sunny  in Smile Warrior dub. She is the second member to join the team and she also controls the power of Fire and Flames.

Appearance
Akane has maroon eyes and short hair worn in a tiny ponytail with several strands left loose. Her bangs are mostly brushed to the right with a few clips, while the opposite side is a few inches shorter. With her school uniform, she wears a red tie and orange sweater around her waist. Casually Akane wears a loose orange top with yellow lines, one vertical on the left, one horizontal at the chest, along with red pockets to match the ribbon on the back. This is paired with a red tank-top, denim pants, and dark red flats with a brown sole. For summer she switches to a goldenrod tank-top over an orange ruffled T-shirt, khaki puffed shorts, white stockings, and tan shoes with the toe and foot exposing the sock.

As Cure Sunny, her hair turns orange and is worn in a rounded bun with three, large loose strands of hair, one of which curls, while the rest of her hair is worn loose, decorated with a white tiara that has an orange gem on it, and a single wing. Like March, she wears her earrings on the helix of her ears. Her outfit is pastel orange with burnt orange lining on the torso and pleat skirt, worn over burnt orange shorts. The middle of the chest is a pale cream with the gold Smile Pretty Cure emblem sewn on cream fabric and orange bow. Wing-like sleeves are worn on the shoulder with orange spheres attached, and flowing from the back of her skirt is a ruffled cream piece of fabric. She gains white boots with pastel orange toe and heel, and a burnt orange ribbon inches from the cuff to match her sleeves. On her right hip is her Smile Pact, and around her neck is a burnt orange choker.

In Tiara mode, her white tiara is replaced by a golden crown worn in the center of her head, adorned by a red circle while the angel wing turns into gold. Her white angel wing earrings are replaced by gold ribbons with orange hearts in the center, and she now wears them on her earlobes.

In Princess mode, her hair is let loose with some being pulled back into a bow. Over her normal Cure outfit is a cream ruffled dress with a flowing ribbon tied to the back of the waist. Her choker and shorts are slightly lightened, along with her wrist accessories and boots. On her chest is a pastel orange ribbon with white stripe and the gold Smile Pretty Cure emblem sewn to a frilly cloth. She also regains the crown from Tiara Mode along with a golden halo and wing.

As Ultra Cure Sunny she gains her Princess Mode tiara and accessories. Her hair grows in length and is lighter orange, with her loose strands flowing around her head. The bangs on the right of her head grow to be navel length. Over her dress is a feathery, cream outfit, and she gains a pair of angel wings and a white choker with an orange gem on it. Her boot cuffs change in shape and are now uneven length to match her wrist accessories.

Personality
Being born and raised in Osaka, Akane speaks in the Kansai dialect, and refers to herself as "uchi" instead of the usual "watashi". Her catchphrase is "aka~n", the Kansai equivalent of "dame da" or "This won't do". She is also fond of saying "uchi no deban ya!" or "It's my turn now!". She possesses a tomboyish personality, often reflected in the way she stands or sits. However, she seems to love cute things and has an especially soft spot for gorillas.

Akane is a passionate girl who loves making others laugh. The first impression she gives is that of the class jokester, always full of puns and jokes to make her classmates laugh. As such, she appears to be generally popular and well-liked. Her friends see her as an interesting girl who always manages to make them laugh. She has a habit of speaking her mind, which can get a little out of hand sometimes, such as when she introduced Nao, Reika, and Yayoi to Miyuki as being a "female gang leader", "Miss Popular" and "crybaby" respectively, causing visible discomfort to the three. Yayoi, with her crybaby personality and fascination with superheroes, is often the target of Akane's jokes. However, there does not seem to be any ill-meaning behind the teasing, and the other girls seldom take offense.

Despite all the teasing, Akane is extremely loyal to her friends. She also has a tendency to act before she thinks. For example, when she witnessed Cure Happy being defeated by an Akanbe, she remembered how Miyuki had helped her out, and immediately went to help Happy even though she had no chance of winning against the Akanbe. Her strong wish to help her friend earned her the Smile Pact and allowed her to transform into Cure Sunny.

With regards to being Pretty Cure, Akane was initially against the idea, turning down Miyuki's bold invitation. When she did become a Cure, she seems quite cool about the whole idea, ready to do her best in battle, though not overwhelmingly enthusiastic like Miyuki or Yayoi. Similar to Nao, she does not understand why Miyuki and Yayoi are so hyped up about being "superheroes", and gave Miyuki a cool reception when she insisted on the group coming up with a signature phrase. Ironically, though she loves to make puns, she was initially embarrassed by the ones made in her own Cure introductory speech.

In terms of sports, Akane is excellent at volleyball, easily beating her classmates in a friendly match. She aims to become the ace attacker of the school volleyball team and comes down hard on herself when she is unable to perform well. She is also an independent girl, as she told Miyuki that she does not normally allow others to help her out, but gave Miyuki a chance to help her with volleyball training due to her enthusiasm and willingness. She can also be extremely focused, as she turned down Miyuki's offer to become Pretty Cure (or "kiripura" as she mistakenly calls it) as she wanted to focus on her volleyball training.

Akane's family runs an okonomiyaki restaurant, and it is shown that Akane enjoys cooking.

Meeting Miyuki
When introducing herself to the class, Akane makes a joke about Miyuki's name and introduces the future Pretty Cures' names and their overall personalities. Because of her help when she was nervous, Miyuki makes it a habit to talk to Akane whenever she needs help.

Becoming Cure Sunny
The first time Akane hears about Candy is in episode 1 when Miyuki mentions her. In the next episode, Miyuki further explains to her about the Pretty Cure and Candy and tries to get her to join in. At first, Akane is skeptical, but she warms up to Miyuki when she helps Akane with volleyball practice. Later in the episode, Wolfrun appears and collects negative energy from the people playing on the volleyball field, including Akane. When Cure Happy fails to hit the Akanbe with Happy Shower and is helpless, Akane snaps out of her depressed state and tries to defend Cure Happy, despite not having the power to do so. Her strong will and friendship cause an explosion of feathers and light and Akane finds herself in a mysterious realm. Candy tells her that she proved herself worthy of being the next Pretty Cure, and with Candy's guidance, Akane transforms into Cure Sunny. In the battle, she hits the Akanbe with Sunny Fire, purifying it. Cure Happy/Miyuki is happy that Akane became the 2nd Pretty Cure.

In episode 6, after all the Pretty Cures are assembled, the team asks Candy what they should do next. Candy shocks everyone by saying that she doesn't know, Just then, a book flies in, and like in episode 1, the book crashes in Miyuki's face. Pop, Candy's big brother, comes out and tells the Pretty Cures what their destiny is. He gives the Decor Décor to the girls and shows them the Magical Library. There, he tells them about how the Bad End Kingdom subjugated Märchenland.

In episode 10, Akane finds that her father broke his back. When her family gets to the hospital, the doctor says it will take a week to heal, which is bad because the Mayor is coming to the restaurant soon. Akane volunteers to cook for the mayor and start practicing. She invites the Pretty Cures to her family's restaurant, which was named after her. She also introduces her brother, Hino Genki. When he tastes the okonomiyaki, he says that it's different from their father's and that he heard he has a secret ingredient. Akane is determined to find the ingredient. The girls help her, but no matter how many ingredients she tries, none of them work. She visits the hospital to ask her father for the secret ingredient, but he gets into an argument with her, which causes Akane to leave. When her mom finds her upset, she tells her about the first okonomiyaki the restaurant ever made. It was burnt, but delicious. Akane doesn't understand her mother, however, so she keeps trying to copy her father. Later, at a food fair, where Akane's family (excluding her father) and the Pretty Cures are setting up the stand, Wolfrun arrives, creates a Bad End space, and makes an Akanbe from an okonomiyaki sauce pot. The girls transform and try to attack, but everyone except Cure Sunny is trapped by the Akanbe's hardening sauce. Wolfrun then insults Akane's okonomiyaki that he ate saying she won't make the same as her dad. Angered by this, Cure Happy says that Akane put all her feelings into it, causing Cure Sunny to remember her parents' words and realize the secret ingredient was her feeling. Inspired, Cure Sunny and Cure Beauty combine their powers to wash away the sauce binding everyone. She then does a special fire punch on the Akanbe and purifies it with Sunny Fire. When the Mayor comes, he is impressed with the okonomiyaki she made. Her father finally feels better and comes to the restaurant. He asks Akane what the secret ingredient is, but she refuses to tell him.

In episode 12, all the Pretty Cures get a new tiara mode, With it, they use their first group attack, Rainbow Healing.

In episode 17, Akane and Miyuki enter a manzai competition with Akane's favorite comedian duo, Fujiwara, which consists of two men: Haranishi and Fujimoto. At the contest, the Pretty Cures meet Fujiwara and Akane is excited to meet them. Fujiwara thinks they are great comedians and suggests they enter the show. When they go on, they see their whole families watching and get stage fright. Because of this, the act goes haywire, but the audience laughs because they think it's intentional. When Fujiwara performs, they get enchanted by Majorina, which makes them not funny. Majorina then absorbs everyone's Bad Energy, including that of Fujiwara. After this, she creates a red-nosed Akanbe from a Haranishi sign and a blue-nosed Akanbe from a Fujimoto sign. The girls transform and fight the Akanbe, but the Akanbe trap them by sitting on them. When Majorina says that laughter is useless, Fujiwara wakes up and defends comedy. The duo then does a joke that causes the Akanbe to fall over laughing and free the Pretty Cures. Sunny then unleashes Sunny Fire at the red-nosed Akanbe and all the Pretty Cures use Rainbow Healing on the blue-nosed one. When the fight is over, Fujiwara thanks them. Akane asks Fujiwara to keep their identities secret, and they agree. Later, on TV, Fujiwara imitates Pretty Cure, embarrassing Akane.

In episode 20, Miyuki and Akane are turned invisible by Majorina's magical camera, which Candy uses after finding it lying on the ground, and they have to get through school without anyone finding out. Eventually, Majorina finds her camera at the police station and turns herself invisible. She uses her invisibility to harass people at the park. When the girls step in, Majorina creates an Akanbe from a jack-in-the-box and turns it invisible, as well as turning Miyuki and Akane back to normal. The girls transform, and at first, they struggle against their invisible opponent. However, Cure Beauty uses Beauty Blizzard to make snow fall. The snow on the Akanbe reveals its location, allowing the team to use Rainbow Healing to purify it. After the fight, Candy finds another camera lying around and uses this one, turning Miyuki and Akane invisible once again.

Last Decor
In episode 21, Pop comes back when Miyuki is looking out her window and crashes into her face again. Pop tells the Pretty Cures that they needed one more Decor to revive the Royale Queen. When they tell him about Tanabata festival, a Japanese holiday in which people write wishes on slips of paper called tanzaku that they hang on bamboo trees, Pop tells them about a similar holiday in Märchenland. There, the fairies layout candles and wish on a shooting star, hoping that Pegasus will grant their wishes. The girls begin to hang their tanzaku on the bamboo tree and Miyuki uses the Star Decor as part of the decorations. When they go to the Park to see the stars, an Akanbe attacks, and the Pretty Cures defeat it and get the last Decor. However, the Decor is quickly stolen by Joker, who kidnaps Candy and disappears while his laugh echoes and Pretty Cure calls out Candy's name.

Going to the Bad End Kingdom and Pierrot's Revival
The girls are discouraged about Candy's kidnapping until Miyuki discovers that they still have one Decor they used for the Tanabata decoration. Because of this, they decide to go to Märchenland to the portal to the Bad End Kingdom to rescue Candy and the Decor Décor. When the Cures arrive in Märchenland, they find that all the fairies were hiding in their homes. Then, Joker appears to fight them. Pretty Cure transforms, but Joker defeats the team. This leaves the girls hopeless, allowing Joker to collect from them the last of the Bad Energy needed to revive Pierrot. The Cures don't know whether they can go to the Bad End Kingdom and face Joker again, and Miyuki suggests they separate to think about what is most important to them. When Miyuki and the others do so, they read the tanzaku that Candy wrote about them. This renews their strength, and the girls unite and prepare to venture to the Bad End Kingdom to rescue Candy. When they get to the Bad End Kingdom, Wolfrun, Akaoni, Majorina, and Joker are waiting for them. Cure Sunny battles Wolfrun while the others fight the other commanders and Happy goes to rescue Candy. All the Cures are almost defeated, but when they remember their promise, they reinforce their powers, defeating the Bad End generals.

Cure Happy returns to the others with Candy and the Decor Décor. The Cures unite and put the last Decor in, but the Decor Décor doesn't seem to do anything, even with all the Decors inside. Suddenly, Emperor Pierrot reveals himself. The Cures try using Rainbow Healing, but Pierrot overwhelms the attack with a dark beam. After the Cures are knocked down, the Decor Décor glows and the Royale Queen speaks to them. She grants the girls the Princess Candles, which allow them to transform into Princess Form and use Rainbow Burst for the first time, defeating Pierrot.

Going back to Märchenland
In episode 24, the Cures travel back to Märchenland and meet the Royale Queen in person for the first time. Unfortunately, she is still immobile, so the Decor Décor being filled didn't affect her. When they leave the castle, Miyuki and the girls meet some soldier fairies, who are scared of the girls because they are human. To alleviate this, Pop turns the cures into fairies with strands of his fur. While Pop researches why the Queen wasn't revived, Candy and the others take a tour around Märchenland. When they arrive at a house made of sweets, they start to eat it. However, when trying to get another fairy, Puss in Boots, a donut, Miyuki sneezes, turning the girls back into humans. The fairies are afraid at first, but Miyuki gives Puss the donut he tried to get and soon the fairies realize they are nice and accept them. The fairies also tell them about the treasure of Märchenland, the Miracle Jewel, which can grant any wish. Candy says that Joker was talking about it when she was captured. Suddenly, Wolfrun appears for the Miracle Jewel and absorbs bad energy from the fairies. The Pretty Cures transform and Wolfrun uses a giant red nose for the first time, turning the candy house into the first Super Akanbe. At first, the Super Akanbe is too strong and resistant for the Cures to handle. However, after seeing the fairies in despair, they get up and fight again. Suddenly, the Princess Candles reappear, allowing Pretty Cure to use Rainbow Burst again to defeat the Akanbe. After Wolfrun retreats, the girls hear the Royale Queen's voice and head back to the castle. The Royale Queen, speaking through telepathy, explains that the original Cure Decors, which were supposed to revive her, were instead given to Pegasus so that the girls could attain Princess Form. She also informs them that Pierrot is still alive and that they have to gather more Cure Decors to revive her. Everyone is troubled by the thought of more battle, but Miyuki encourages everyone to work harder and revive the Royale Queen. They then say goodbye to the fairies as they returned to the human world.

In episode 25, Akane calls Miyuki for help with her okonomiyaki restaurant. For the summer, her family has set up an okonomiyaki stand at the beach. However, her father is in the hospital again, and her brother is at camp. Once Miyuki arrives, Akane enters a rivalry with Nao's shaved ice stand, which is getting help from Reika. The rivalry extends to a sports contest, where Akane and Nao try to see which of them is better. Then, Akaoni attacks and summons a Super Akanbe from a cup of shaved ice. The girls transform and fight, but Cure Happy, Cure Peace, and Cure Beauty are trapped inside the Akanbe. Cure Sunny and Cure March put aside their differences for the moment and use a combination of Sunny Fire and March Shoot to free their friends. They then defeat the Super Akanbe with Rainbow Burst. After the fight, Akane and Nao continue their rivalry, and the others decide that since it's a friendly rivalry, there's nothing they can do about it.

In episode 30, the girls travel around the world to visit the places they always wanted to visit. The place Akane chooses is Taiwan, which she wants because of the food there. At the end of this episode, a mysterious clock appears.

The Countdown of the Royal Clock
At the end of episode 31, Joker traps Akane, Yayoi, Nao, and Reika in the Ball of Neglect, a device that creates an illusion of a paradise where everything is perfect and there are no problems. In the next episode, Miyuki and Candy go in to rescue them, but after eating a donut in the fake world, Miyuki falls under its spell and becomes content to never return home. Candy is able to break Miyuki out of this spell, but the two can't talk sense into Akane and the others. When Miyuki tries to destroy the fake world with Happy Shower, Joker stops her and summons an Akanbe. It's only when Cure Happy makes a speech about how happiness is greater when sadness accompanies it that Akane and the others snap out of it and transform. The group escapes the illusion and enters the real world, where Joker uses black paint to turn the Akanbe into a Hyper Akanbe. However, thanks to the Royal Clock and Candy, Cure Sunny and the others gain a new attack: Royal Rainbow Burst.

In episode 36, an English transfer student named Brian Taylor comes to the girls' middle school. He's extremely interested in Japanese culture, so Akane is assigned to show him around. Despite Brian not knowing much Japanese and Akane not knowing much English, the two bond as Brian repeatedly visits Akane's restaurant and volleyball club. Eventually, Akane develops a crush on him. Soon, Brian has to return to England, and Akane is so heartbroken that she refuses to tell him goodbye. At this point, Wolfrun summons an Akanbe, and the girls transform to fight it. During the fight, Wolfrun berates Cure Sunny for falling in love because it's pointless if it ends in heartbreak. Sunny tells Wolfrun that even if her love for Brian has an unhappy ending, the happiness she felt with him isn't invalidated. Then, she sets a wooden sword, summoned by the Sports Decor, on fire and uses it to weaken the Akanbe enough for the team to use Royal Rainbow Burst to defeat it. After the fight, Akane decides to go to the airport to say goodbye to Brian before he leaves. With the help of Reika, Nao, Yayoi, and Miyuki, Akane makes it to the airport as fast as she can. Unfortunately, she doesn't make it in time and despairs. However, Brian is still there. He delayed his flight so that he could say goodbye to Akane. The two confess that they like each other, and Brian promises to return in the future.

In episode 40, Akane is given an assignment for school in which she has to write an essay about her treasure: the object in her life that is the most important to her. However, between all of her interests, Akane doesn't know what her treasure is. Then, one night, Akane's friends give her a good-luck charm they made themselves for her upcoming volleyball match. Akane is delighted and decides that the charm is her treasure. On the day of the match, Wolfrun arrives and announces that he's going to fight Akane one-on-one. Wolfrun turns a volleyball into a Hyper Akanbe, and Akane transforms into Cure Sunny. The Akanbe quickly subjugates her, and Wolfrun gets his hands on her charm. Despite Sunny's protests, he calls it a worthless charm and destroys it. At first, Sunny is devastated, but after realizing that the support her friends gave her will always remain, a new Cure Decor appears, and Sunny gains a glowing ultimate form. In this form, she uses an upgraded version of Sunny Fire for the first time: Sunny Fire Burning. After this, Sunny is exhausted, but the other four Cures arrive, and together they use Royal Rainbow Burst to defeat the Akanbe.

The Final Battle
One afternoon, Candy suddenly turns into the Miracle Jewel. Soon afterward, the Bad End Generals come to get it from Pretty Cure. They unleash a Bad End spell and power themselves up into their Hyper Forms. Akane and her friends transform and Cure Sunny teams up with Cure Peace against Akaoni. However, after learning about how everyone hated them and discriminated against them because they were villains, the team can't bring itself to fight them. Instead, Happy transforms into a larger and more powerful version of herself. In this form, she embraces the Bad End Generals and reverts them to their original forms: fairies from Märchenland. The team forgives them for their actions and Pop welcomes them home.

Then, Joker infuses five colored cards with Bad Energy, turning them into evil clones of Pretty Cure called Bad End Pretty Cure. He sends each Pretty Cure into an alternate universe with their evil counterpart. Cure Sunny and Bad End Sunny end up in a flat, rocky wasteland. At first, Bad End Sunny has the upper hand on her counterpart. However, Cure Sunny manages to defeat her clone with Sunny Fire Burning and escape into the real world.

After Sunny reunites with her teammates, Pierrot revives and creates the Titans of Despair, giant monsters that devastated Märchenland before the Royale Queen defeated him. At that moment, the Miracle Jewel hatches and Royal Candy, a humanoid and more powerful version of Candy, is born. In a strange, alternate realm, Sunny and her friends watch as the Royale Queen gives Candy the throne of Märchenland and the true form of the Miracle Jewel. Then, the Royale Queen dies.

In the real world, Pierrot creates several Akanbe-like monsters. Pretty Cure powers through them at first, but they reform as if nothing happened. Pierrot then pours black paint on Pretty Cure's book, plunging the girls into a literal world of despair. Sunny loses sight of her mission and apathetically sinks into the sea of despair. However, Royal Candy calls to her and her friends and is able to snap them out of it. The girls try to swim up to her, but the black ink the sea is made out of pulls them down. Fortunately, Candy grasps Happy's hand and is able to pull her out of the sea. This pulls the other four out of their despair as well.

Just as this happens, Candy faints and reverts to her normal form. Pierrot tries to kill her, but Pretty Cure interferes just in time and transforms into their Ultra Forms for the first time. This allows them to completely defeat Pierrot's monsters. However, Pierrot isn't done yet, as he absorbs the energy of the Titans of Despair and turns himself into a black hole. Pretty Cure uses a new version of Royal Rainbow Burst called Ultra Rainbow Burst, but it does nothing against Pierrot, who strikes back hard enough to knock the girls out of their transformations and destroy their Smile Pacts.

Pop and Candy reveal that the girls can use the Miracle Jewel to transform once again and defeat Pierrot, but that doing so would sever the connection between Märchenland and Earth, separating Pretty Cure from the fairies forever. This makes Miyuki cry, which gets Akane and the others crying, too. However, the girls eventually realize that saving the world is the most important thing, so Pretty Cure uses the Miracle Jewel to get back into their Ultra Forms and Candy transforms into Royal Candy. The six of them use their final attack, Miracle Rainbow Burst. This turns Cure Happy into a gigantic version of herself. In this form, she embraces Pierrot, defeating him for good.

After the End
On a restored Earth, the girls celebrate their victory. Their happiness doesn't last for long, however, as Candy and Pop start glowing and floating towards Märchenland. Candy bursts into tears, but Akane and her friends happily tell her that they had a lot of fun together and that when Candy leaves, she should do so with a smile. Candy forces herself to smile and says that she'll make a bunch of new friends in Märchenland and love them the same way Pretty Cure has loved her. It's only once Candy and Pop have disappeared that the girls let themselves cry.

A while after this, Akane is living happily. She is still doing well in volleyball and in her restaurant. One day, Candy reunites with Miyuki, and Akane and the others go to them. Candy says that she was able to find a way back to Earth by wishing upon a star. Their story ends with Akane and her friends running up a hill, celebrating the continuation of their friendship.

10 Years Later
In the Smile Pretty Cure novel, an epilogue is added to the story. Following the return of harmony to both Märchenland and Earth, little has changed for Akane. She still works at Okonomiyaki Akane alongside her family and continues to serve her customers with her easy-going personality. She recaps the last four years of her life, times she considers to be worth treasuring: On her way to London, she got stopped at the airport which caused her to miss her flight, and not only did she get lost, but her passport and wallet got stolen. Akane was on the verge of throwing her hands into the air and giving up, but believing this would only cause her dad to laugh at her, Akane psyches herself up to put on a show. Bringing out her griddle onto the streets of London, Akane cooks up some okonomiyaki to garner attention, but the London folks only watched at a distance, confused and unwilling to buy. Perplexed, Akane desperately cooked up special large okonomiyaki based on the Eiffel Tower of Paris, briefly forgetting that she was in London. With the sun already setting and the people losing interest, Akane broke down into tears for real. However, she heard someone asking for okonomiyaki in broken Japanese, and Akane realized that it was none other than Brian Taylor. With a smile, Brian complimented her cooking, and Akane happily thanked him in return.

Throughout the month of summer break, Akane and Brian worked together to capture the hearts of the people of London with her okonomiyaki. When the time came to fly back to Japan, Akane was given a send-off by Brian at the airport, mirroring their farewell a few years back. With a final heartfelt embrace, Akane flies back to Japan to tell her dad all about what happened before proceeding to break his back.

Returning to the present, Akane now lives together with Brian under the same roof, making out as a lovey-dovey couple. For the past four years, Brian has been studying at a Japanese university in order to learn more about the country and its cuisines. Akane, having lived with him for so long, wants to get in bed with him and marry him. She wants a happy family that never stops laughing and plans to confess her love to him. Later that night, Akane breaks into Brian's room upstairs that she had lent to him, but he was seemingly nowhere to be seen. Scanning the room, she finally spots him sleeping in bed, still in his clothes. Today was the final day for his university exams, so he was completely worn out from studying so much. Worried that he might catch a cold, Akane places the bed sheet over him before staring at him and giving him a kiss on the cheek. Satisfied, she begins to leave until she accidentally catches a glimpse of Brian's notebook computer. On it, Akane discovers that her boyfriend is planning to leave her alone again in Japan as he returns to London in order to become a lecturer at a Japanese language school. At the same time, Brian awakes. Despite their time together for four years, Akane realizes that she never understood him as a person, only as a trophy husband. Akane confesses her love to Brian, but it did little to persuade him.

Relationships
Hino Masako - she a carring mother and she loves Akane very much and appreiate what she does for her, even if their relationship is compareable to her burnt Okonomiyaki. She often help her and gives her advice.

Hino Daigo - he a funny father, who loves his daughter Akane, but argues a lot with her when she asks questions about her name or the secret ingredient for Okonomiyaki. They both work together in the shop making Okonomiyaki for customers.

Hino Genki - Akane and Genki rarely fight also he loves to laugh at her and say embarrassing things she do.

Hoshizora Miyuki - Ever since becoming a Cure, Akane held a very close relationship to Miyuki. Akane describes her as being a scatterbrain who can be serious when she wants to. Miyuki often showers her with hugs and encouragement whenever she feels down, and Akane values her as a true friend, risking herself to help Cure Happy, which gained her the Smile Pact to become Pretty Cure. However, she does not understand Miyuki's enthusiasm sometimes. Their relationship is similar to Nozomi and Rin from the series Yes! Pretty Cure 5.

Kise Yayoi - Despite teasing Yayoi lots about various things, the two seem to be good friends. Akane acknowledges Yayoi's talent in drawing and often praises her about it, making her latter blush with embarrassment.

Midorikawa Nao - Akane respects Nao as a fellow sports ace, and teasingly calls her a gangster. The two share similar personalities, causing them to frequently compete. Despite their rivalry, they have a close friendship and are often shown together.

Aoki Reika - Akane seems to respect Reika, expounding her position as a member of the class committee and school council. She also describes Reika as being excellent at studies and calls her "Miss Popular".

Brian Taylor - Akane has a crush on Brian after they spent some time together. She has shown him many things about Japan and she has learned a bit of English from him. Akane became depressed when Brian left Japan, but they maintained a postage friendship for a while. Their relationship further develops in the novel when they end up reuniting.

Misumi Nagisa - Towards the end of the precure all stars movie Pretty Cure All Stars New Stage: Mirai no Tomodachi, all of the Cures are seen interacting with one another. In the, Nagisa can be seen chatting with Akane.

Hyuuga Saki - Another fellow lead Cure that is seen being friends with he, is Saki as Cure Bloom appears to be interacting with Sunny as seen here in the  from the precure all stars movie Pretty Cure All Stars New Stage 2: Kokoro no Tomodachi.

Cure Sunny


"The brilliant sun, hot-blooded power! Cure Sunny!" 太陽サンサン熱血パワー！キュアサニー！ ''Taiyō sansan nekketsu pawā! Kyua Sanī!''

Cure Sunny (キュアサニー) is Akane's Pretty Cure alter ego. Cure Sunny has the power of Fire. Out of the 5 Smile! Cures, Sunny has the most physical strength. She can make earthquakes with her punch, hike giant boulders, and has the power to lift up Akanbe monsters single-handedly and fling them a fair distance away. In Glitter Force, her introduction is "When you mess with me, you're playing with fire! I'm Glitter Sunny!"

Attacks
Sunny Fire - is Cure Sunny's signature attack. To make it work, Cure Sunny has to gain enough energy to perform it, and once the energy is awakened, her Smile Pact creates a fireball. She then spikes it like a volleyball and sends it flying towards the enemy. In Glitter Force, the attack is renamed Sparkle Fire.

Sunny Fire Burning - is the upgraded version of Sunny Fire appearing on episode 40, when she does the same moves, but with more energy and more damage to the target. In Glitter Force, the attack is renamed Sparkle Fire Inferno.

Fire Shoot - is a combined attack performed with Cure March, used only in episode 47. Cure March creates a wind ball, which she throws to Cure Sunny, who combines it with her fireball. Once both are combined, the attack is thrown at the enemy. In Glitter Force, the attack is renamed Sparkle Fireshot.

Rainbow Healing - is the first group attack, which debuts in episode 12. The attack is performed when the Cures gain the Jewel Decors and are in Tiara Mode. The attack consists of them raising their hands and creating a rainbow-colored column of light. With this attack, they are capable of defeating blue-nosed Akanbe. In Glitter Force, the attack is renamed Tiara Mode Torrent.

Rainbow Burst  - is the second group attack, which debuts in episode 23. The attack is done with the Princess Candle, and can only be used when the girls are in Princess Mode. With this attack, they are capable of defeating Super Akanbes.

Royal Rainbow Burst  - is the third group attack, which first appears in episode 32. To perform it, the group needs the Princess Candle and the Royal Clock. Once the girls are in Princess Mode and Candy unlocks the Royal Clock, they are capable of doing the attack, which is used to defeat Hyper Akanbes.

Ultra Rainbow Burst  - is the fourth group attack, which appears only once in episode 48. It is identical to Royal Rainbow Burst except that Sunny and the others are in their ultra forms and the Royal Clock doesn't appear. In Glitter Force, the attack is just called Royal Rainbow Burst.

Miracle Rainbow Burst - is the fifth, final, and most powerful group attack, which appears only once in episode 48. The attack is done in Ultra Form alongside Royal Candy and the Miracle Jewel. This attack is used to defeat Pierrot.

Although unnamed, Cure Sunny has another group attack. The group summons a huge rainbow shield in the movie Pretty Cure All Stars New Stage: Friends of the Future. This is further enhanced by Fu-chan's last bit of power.

Princess Sunny
After receiving the Red Giant Rose Princess Decor and Princess Candle, Akane can transform into Princess Sunny. She transforms by putting the Red Giant Rose Princess Decor in the Princess Candle and yelling out "Pegasus, grant us power!" With the other Smile Cures in their Princess Forms, she can perform Rainbow Burst, and later, Royal Rainbow Burst.

Ultra Form
In episode 47, Cure Sunny unlocks a form even more powerful than her princess form. With this power, she is able to fly and teleport. Along with Candy and the other Pretty Cures, she can perform Ultra Rainbow Burst and Miracle Rainbow Burst.

Etymology
Hino (日野): 日 has multiple meanings, but the one that fits the best is "sun". 野 means "field" or "plain". As a syllabus, "no" also indicates a possessive. Overall, her surname means "sun field" or "of the sun".

Akane (あかね): Akane means "madder red", the name of a shade of intense red. It is used mostly to describe the sun and sunset. In episode 19, it was revealed that her father Daigo gave her this name because he wanted one that was easy to call, and just went with the first name he came up with using あ ("a"), the first character in the Japanese alphabet. Her mother Masako gave her this name because of a beautiful sunset (茜 or "akane") she saw on the day Akane was born and hoped that Akane will possess a heart as beautiful as the sunset.

Her name literally means, "madder red sun field." or "madder red of the sun".

Her English dub name Kelsey means "brave" or "ships victory" and "ship's island".

Songs
Akane's voice actor, Tano Asami, has participated in several image songs for the character she voices. Many of them include duets with Fukuen Misato, who voices Hoshizora Miyuki, Kanemoto Hisako, who voices Kise Yayoi, Inoue Marina, who voices Midorikawa Nao, Nishimura Chinami, who voices Aoki Reika.
 * Only Wonderful!
 * One For All

Duets

 * The Best Smile (Along with Fukuen Misato, Kanemoto Hisaki, Inoue Marina, and Nishimura Chinami)
 * Friends☆Jet Coaster (Along with Fukuen Misato)
 * Let's Laugh, Just Laugh And Laugh♪ (Along with Fukuen Misato, Kanemoto Hisaki, Inoue Marina, Nishimura Chinami, and Ootani Ikue)

Trivia

 * Akane comes from Osaka and speaks in the Kansai dialect.
 * The air date of episode 2, in which Akane becomes Cure Sunny for the first time, also happened to be the birthday of her voice actress, Tano Asami.
 * Like Akane, Tano Asami is also a Kansai native, born in Hyogo Prefecture.
 * Most of the episodes that revolve around her have the word "Nekketsu" (lit: Hot Blooded) in its title.
 * Akane appeared as Cure Sunny to give the 10th anniversary congratulatory message at the beginning of episode 31 of Happiness Charge Pretty Cure!.
 * Okonomiyaki Akane - is the home of Akane it's an okonomiyaki restaurant named after her name by her parents after she was born.
 * Akane shares her name with Fujita Akane of Futari wa Pretty Cure and Futari wa Pretty Cure Max Heart.
 * For the English dub Glitter Force, Akane (Cure Sunny) and Yayoi (Cure Peace) are the only two who keep their original Cure names, as Glitter Sunny and Glitter Peace.

Gallery

 * Main page: Hino Akane/Image Gallery