Misumi Nagisa

Misumi Nagisa (or Natalie Blackstone in the English dub) is one of the main characters in the series Futari wa Pretty Cure. Because of her role as the narrator and the amount of attention she gets in the series, she is considered the main heroine. Her Pretty Cure ego is Cure Black (キュアブラック). Although she was previously almost unaware of her existence, Nagisa eventually became best friends with Yukishiro Honoka because of their shared roles as Pretty Cure, admiring her for her intelligence, kindness and understanding. She has a habit of saying "arienai!" (ありえなーい！！) when she is upset, which can be roughly translated to "unbelievable" or "I don't believe this" and also "Lucky!" whenever things go her way.

Although she is sporty, Nagisa is actually more girly and image conscious. She has a large collection of stuffed animals and is weak in academics, but makes up for it with pure spirit and energy as well as in lacrosse. She also has a large appetite and loves to eat chocolate and Takoyaki (Alex's doughnuts in the english version) and, according to Honoka, foods with the word "yaki" in the name. She likes shopping but tends to squander her money and ends up having none when she needs it most. She also loves playing on the grass and sunny days, and she hates fighting with her friends. Nagisa has a crush on Honoka's childhood friend, Fujimura Shougo, and gets flustered whenever he is around. To her dismay, Nagisa is more popular with the girls than the boys, and is sometimes shown to be jealous toward Honoka, who gets confessions and love letters from boys more than twice a month.

Nagisa has a great sense of justice, but it is hidden inside of her and only comes out when someone is in danger. She hates that innocent people get hurt for things they had nothing to do with.

Futari wa Pretty Cure
Nagisa starts her adventure when she finishes a training session for lacrosse. While she is getting her shoes after school, she and her friends talk about an upcoming meteor shower, which is when Honoka comes and explains that meteors are not dangerous. This is when Nagisa gets to know a little more about her, and gets a little jealous of her, since Honoka is more popular with the boys and is quite smart.

When she comes home, she sees the meteor shower, and hurries to make several wishes. Just then, one of the meteors come shooting toward her, hitting her in the forehead. Eventually, the "meteor" was revealed to be Mepple, a strange creature from the Garden of Light. He stays inside what looks like a cellphone, since he is from another world and doesn't have much energy to stay in his true form in the world he's currently in. In the meteor from which he came from also came a few cards, revealed to be for transformation (for Nagisa), feeding, sleep and aid for Mepple whenever Nagisa slides one of those cards across the strange cellphone object. Although Nagisa finds Mepple scary at first, she agrees when Mepple askes her to go to the amusment park to meet his friend Mipple. Soon, they find her as well as Honoka. There, they get attacked by a creature of the Dark Zone and suddenly transform into the legendary warriors, Pretty Cure. They manage to defeat the creature, but Nagisa is against the whole thing about being Pretty Cure.

As the story progresses, Nagisa comes to accept her role as Cure Black, and becomes good friends with Honoka. Throughout the season, they defeat enemy after enemy, and Nagisa also begins to realize what is important to her, and her view of life and justice changes. It is thanks to this that she manages, together with Honoka, to defeat Pissard and Gekidrago. The battle becomes thougher when the vampire-like creature Poisony appears, as she easily manages to trick the girls. However, they manage to defeat her as well. They never realized, however, that they had killed the older sister of Kiriya, who has been their friend up until now to spy on them. When Kiriya tells this to Honoka, Nagisa is informed the next day, and they are soon forced to fight their former friend. This does not stop Black from trying to bring reason into Kiriya, and stop him from hurting Honoka's feelings in the fight. In the end, Kiriya finally understands and willingly gives White his Prism Stone before he is taken away by Ilkubo. Black tries to stop White, who tries to follow him in order to stop him. The following day, Nagisa worries over her friend, who is crying by herself every night.

After finally defeating the last servant from the Dark Zone, Nagisa and Honoka are overpowered by the Dark King. However, their courage and hope makes them want to fight, and in the end the Queen comes to the rescue, helping them defeat the Dark King. The battle is now over, however, as they soon get a visit from Pollun, the Prince of Light, who is going to stay with Nagisa in order to help the duo fight against the Seed of Darkness, which are creatures that the Dark King managed to make right before he got destroyed. When they awaken, they begin working together in order to revive the Dark King. They eventually kidnap Wisdom, who is able to give the Rainbow Stones to Pollun right before he is taken away, which, in turn allows him to to power up Black and White with the Rainbow Bracelets.

After fighting with Pretty Cure for a long time, the Seeds of Darkness eventually realize that Pretty Cure cannot fight at their strongest without each other, and thus manage to kidnap Cure White and put her in a pit made of darkness. While looking for Cure White, Cure Black realizes that, although she always seems to be the strongest and best, she cannot do anything without Cure White's support and presence. She then calls out Honoka's name, and is met by Juna. He tells her that her partner soon will disappear in the darkness, which makes Cure Black's power go out of control. When she finds the direction toward the core of darkness that surrounds White, she is met by numerous Zakenna. However, her will to rescue Honoka drives her to defeat them all alone, and she eventually manages to save Cure White. Calling Honoka's name, and not Cure White's, she runs over to her and cries, telling her how worried she was.

At the end of the series, when Mepple and Mipple say goodbye to them, Nagisa has become such good friends with them that she cries when they go into their eternal sleep. Although they no longer are Pretty Cure, she and Honoka continue being best friends, and still keeps the Card Commune that Mepple now sleeps in.

Futari wa Pretty Cure Max Heart
At the beginning of their third year of middle school, Nagisa and Honoka start out a little awkward. However, a new Zakenna suddenly comes forth, and they have to run away from it. While they seem to be trapped, light suddenly shines from their cell phones, and Mepple and Mipple appear. They transform into the Card Communes again, though they look different; they are now Heartful Communes, and the cards have become diamond-shaped. Upon transforming, they notice that they look different from the last time, but have to fight before figuring it out properly. During the fight, they realize that they have gotten an amazing power-up in strength, and when they try to do their attack Marble Screw, they add in a "Max" so it becomes even more powerful.

Some time later, they meet a mysterious first year middle school student named Kujou Hikari, who tells about the place Nagisa has drawn in a paper for the class. Eventually, it is revealed that she can transform into Shiny Luminous and that she has her own amazing powers. The Elder and Wisdom later return in order to explain these events to the girls, and to also tell them the sad news: the Queen has disappeared and is now separated in three representatives of her will, heart and life. They soon figure out that Hikari is the representative of the Queen's life, and that is why she seems to be so confused in the Garden of Rainbows.

Throughout the season, the duo go through hard times against the new evils, who are guarding the representative of the Dark King's life, who looks and acts like a little boy. Eventually, the Dark King is resurrected, despite Hikari's efforts to not sacrifice the little innocent boy. Pretty Cure tries to defend the earth while Hikari goes into another dimension in order to try become the Queen again to help the girls. During the fight, however, Valdes actually absorbs the Dark King into himself, and in doing this becomes the new Dark King. Pretty Cure are utterly defeated, but then Cure Black remembers how she once hurt herself pretty badly in a race when she was young, and how her parents told her not to lose courage just because something went wrong. Together with White remembering Honoka's grandmother' words about hope, they stand up and continue fighting.

Using Marble Screw Max Sparkle, they think they have won, but it is in vain when Valdes tells them that he is impossible to destroy, and destroys the whole city. In depression, Pretty Cure stand beside the tree Honoka's grandmother loves, and begin remembering things they have forgotten to do that day; Nagisa has yet to finish her homework, and has not done all the preparations for the graduation yet. In the end, when Cure Black tells Mepple that they must be allowed to talk about it even in a situation like this, Cure White realizes that every heart has the right to live, and live it like they want. With new power, Pretty Cure tries to fight against Valdes once again. Just as they are about to be crushed by the now giant Valdes, the Queen is regenerated and saves them. An illusion of Shiny Luminous tells them that this is their final moment, and they combine all of their powers to use the ultimate attack: Extreme Luminario Max.

After Valdes is being defeated, Pretty Cure realize that they will never see those from the Garden of Light again, and that they will never become Pretty Cure again, either. They then de-transform back to Honoka and Nagisa, and are sent to the graduation ceremony. Although they wonder how they got there, they remember their little mascots, and become depressed. They still feel down at Akane's shop, where they suddenly meet Hikari again, telling them how incredible the graduation was. Mepple and Mipple also show up, and Hikari also has with her the boy who represents the Dark King's life, now named Hikaru. It is revealed that Hikari and the Queen managed to separate, and that Mepple and Mipple are now able to fully live in the Garden of Rainbows. Happy that she and Mepple always will be together, Nagisa cries in joy, though ends the whole series by saying "I can't believe this!" when Mepple mentions that he is still hungry.

Cure Black


"Emissary of light, Cure Black!" 光の使者、キュアブラック！ "Hikari no shisha, Kyuaburakku!" Cure Black (キュアブラック) is Nagisa's alter ego, and she addresses herself as the emissary of light, like Cure White. Being the strongest in the duo, she is usually the one laying the most attacks, though she is not as fast and agile as Cure White. She uses her fists more than Cure White while Cure White uses her legs more when attacking. As a Cure, she becomes much more serious, and reveals more of her views on justice. Together with Cure White, she can perform the Marble Screw and Rainbow Therapy attacks. Later, when the duo is powered up by the Rainbow Bracelets from Pollun, they can do a new attack called Rainbow Storm.

It is also revealed that even though Cure White is not around, Cure Black can use incredible powers by herself, but this depends largely on her emotions and will. The only time this is actually shown is when the Seeds of Darkness kidnap White and tell Black that she (Cure White) will soon die.

Cure Black's outfit is a purple/black midriff top with ruffle trimming and a pink bow, and her black gloves are lined in pink and each feature a heart at the wrist. She wears a black skirt atop black mini-shorts that features ruffle trimming of each layer and she has a heart-shaped belt tied around her waist. Lastly, she wears black legwarmers with a heart at the top of each one and red shoes.

In Futari wa Pretty Cure Max Heart, Cure Black's outfit, along with Cure White's, is slightly upgraded. Her midriff gets covered in black cloth, and her formerly black top becomes red. Her skirt, gloves and leggings have extra pink ruffle trimmings. There is also now a tiny pink heart in the center of the bow. Her earrings and belt buckle are now gold. Pretty Cure's attack is powered-up to Marble Screw Max, and later to Marble Screw Max Sparkle with the Sparkle Bracelets. Together with Shiny Luminous, they can also do the Extreme Luminario attack, which in the final episode is upgraded to Extreme Luminario Max.

Golden Powers
In the first movie of Futari wa Pretty Cure Max Heart, Cure Black, along with Cure White and Shiny Luminous, gains an upgraded version of her outfit thanks to the power of the Diamond Line, accessories of the queen in the Garden of Hope. With these powers, her outfit gets a golden color, and her earrings and other small hearts on her clothes become diamonds. This form is not seen again after the movie, most likely because it needs the power of the accessories to be activated, and it is no longer possible for the girls to visit the Garden of Hope again.

Power of the Phoenix
In Futari wa Pretty Cure Max Heart 2: Yukizora no Tomodachi, when Cure Black and Cure White give all of their strength to protect Hinata from Frozen and Freezen, they do not have enough energy left to fight, and in their last try to keep the two villains away from their friends, they freeze the girls. Hinata, touched that it is possible to care so much for a friend, awakens from her icicle and sends her warmth to Pretty Cure, melting the ice and giving them a new power.

Cure Black's hair gets longer and slightly wilder, and feathers are hanging after her skirt and shoulders. Her bow has also changed to a golden color. She also gets boosted powers, as she easily manages to fight Frozen with closed eyes without getting hit once. It also seems like their minds are much calmer in this form, as neither of the girls do anything rash or fast; they just dodge and wait for the final strike.

In this form, they use an even stronger version of Marble Screw Max Sparkle, demonstrating their great friendship against Frozen and Freezen's. After defeating the ice duo, this upgraded version of Black and White disappears, and has never been seen again. This may be because it was summoned by Hinata, who now is in the Garden of Clouds as a fully realized phoenix. However, in Pretty Cure All Stars DX 2: Kibou no Hikari - Rainbow Jewel o Mamore!, Cure Black's Cure Rainbow form resembles this upgrade.

Cure Rainbow Black
Cure Rainbow Black (キュアレインボー・ブラック) is an upgrade Cure Black gains in Pretty Cure All Stars DX 2: Kibou no Hikari - Rainbow Jewel o Mamore!. Together with the others' upgrades, the group of seventeen girls form the group Cure Rainbow. This upgraded outfit resembles that of Cure Black's upgrade in Futari wa Pretty Cure Max Heart 2: Yukizora no Tomodachi, except not using feathers on her clothes, but rather extra cloth, and now has a pair of small, golden wings.

Relationships
Nagisa is the least popular girl in her class. Although they did not know each other previously, Honoka soon became a good friend of Nagisa after the two of them became Pretty Cure together. At the end of the series, they remained best friends, and Nagisa cannot forgive anyone who hurts Honoka; this is sometimes seen when they are in their Cure forms, as Cure Black gains enormous powers whenever she sees or gets a hint that Cure White is hurt.

She also has a long-time crush on Fujimura Shougo, who coincidentally is Honoka's childhood friend. Through Honoka, Nagisa is able to come closer to Shougo, and easily blushes whenever he is around.

Her relationship with her family is good. Both of her parents care and worry for both her and her brother Ryouta. Nagisa herself always gets irritated at Ryouta, and often uses her Cobra Twist to get him to shut up. Despite this, she loves him and will do anything to protect him from danger.

Etymology
Misumi (美墨): The mi (美) translates to beauty, and the sumi (墨) translates to ink, which may be referring to her alter ego as Cure Black in that ink is most commonly black in color.

Nagisa (なぎさ): A common girl's name in Japanese, and can translate to water's edges; beach; shore, but can have several potential meanings depending on how it is written in kanji. Nagisa's name is written in hiragana rather than kanji, therefore no exact meaning can be given to this name. The meaning mentioned previously is the most common, but whether that is what Nagisa's name is supposed to mean is a mystery, particularly since it has nothing to do with her powers or her personality.

Her name was changed to Natalie Blackstone, also called Nat by her friends, for the English dub.

Natalie means "Christmas Day" from the Latin natale domini. It may also come from the French given name, which is derived from the Latin "Dies Natalis," meaning "Natal Day" or "birthday" in reference to the birth of Christ, and was traditionally given to girls born around Christmas. Nat is the nickname her friends use, and upon becoming friends with Hannah Whitehouse, she lets her call her that instead of her full name. This nickname was created in order to properly edit off the fact that in the original, they began calling each other by their first names rather than by their surnames, which is a special honor in Japanese culture.

Blackstone is a pun about her alter ego as Cure Black.

Cure Black may be "Yin" from the symbol Yin&Yang, in which "Yang" is white, just like Black's partner, Cure White who she is almost exactly opposite from.

Songs
As a main character, Nagisa's voice actor, Honna Yoko, has particated in several image songs for the character she voices. Many of them include duets with Yukana, who voices Nagisa's partner Yukishiro Honoka, and later also Tanaka Rie, who voices Kujou Hikari.


 * Hikari ni Naritai ~like a diamonds~
 * Kokoro wa Shitte Iru.
 * delight Banzai!!
 * Shinjiru Chikara de Yuuki 100 Bai!!
 * DANZEN! Futari wa Pretty Cure ~Naginagi and Honohono version~ (along with the voice actress of Yukishiro Honoka)
 * Pretty Cure Toujou! ~VOCAL RAINBOW STORM~ (along with the voice actress of Yukishiro Honoka)
 * Jet Coaster na M☆M (along with the voice actress of Yukishiro Honoka)
 * Aritake no Egao de (along with the voice actress of Yukishiro Honoka)
 * Happy ending (along with Yukana)
 * Onaji Yumemite ~SET ME FREE~ (along with the voice actress of Yukishiro Honoka)
 * Max Heart de GO GO GO!! (along with the voice actresses of Yukishiro Honoka and Kujou Hikari)
 * Pretty Exercise (along with voice actress of Yukishiro Honoka and Gojou Mayumi)
 * Challenge☆Change (along with voice actress of Yukishiro Honoka and Gojou Mayumi)

Trivia

 * Nagisa's birthday falls on 10 October, making her a Libra. Her blood type is O.
 * Since October 10th has been revealed to be her birthday, she is the first Cure to have her birthday revealed. Succeeded by Yukishiro Honoka, Kujou Hikari, Hyuuga Saki, Mishou Mai, Yumehara Nozomi and Kurumi Erika.
 * Nagisa is the only Cure whose blood type has been revealed.
 * Cure Black is one of the first Cures ever in the Pretty Cure franchise, the other being Cure White and Shiny Luminous.
 * Nagisa is one of the few Cures to have short hair when in her Cure form, along with Cure Rouge, Cure Pine, and possibly Cure Bright (Michiru).
 * Cure Black has the shortest hair out of all the lead Cures.
 * Cure Black is the first Cure to not change her hair color but to have her hair grow.
 * Cure Black is the only Cure so far never to wear any hair ornaments; although Kasugano Urara had no hair ornament in her first season, this was changed in the sequel.
 * Cure Black is the first Cure to have black as her main color, the other being Cure Muse (masked form).
 * Although some sections of her costume are pink, Cure Black is currently the only lead Cure who does not have pink as her main color (apart from Hyuuga Saki when she turns into Cure Bright in Pretty Cure Splash Star).
 * Cure Black is the first Cure to have a midriff in Cure form, followed by Cure Dream (in Yes! Pretty Cure 5), Cure Berry, Cure Sunshine and Cure Melody, as well as Milky Rose even though she is not a true Cure.
 * Cure Black is the first of only three lead cure's to have midriff in Cure form, followed by Cure Dream (in Yes! Pretty Cure 5) and Cure Melody.
 * Cure Black is one of five boyish Cures, the others being Cure Rouge, Cure Melody, Cure Sunny and Cure March.
 * In the Pretty Cure All Stars Suite Flower Card Collection, Nagisa is represented by the pansy, which symbolizes trust and pure love in the Language of Flowers.
 * Nagisa is very similar Hyuuga Saki:
 * Both have short ginger hair
 * Both have a younger sibing
 * Both prefer sports over studying
 * Both enjoy eating and sleeping
 * Both are the leader in their groups
 * Both had two friends who had a somewhat major role in their respective seasons (Takashimizu Rina & Kubota Shiho and Itou Hitomi & Outa Yuuko).
 * Both of their mascots were male (Mepple and Flappy).
 * Cure Black is the only Cure to wear a turtleneck in her Cure form
 * Nagisa's Japanese voice actress has had live acting roles in the tokusatsu series Kamen Rider Black, and it's sequel Kamen Rider Black RX when she was younger.This has led to several Kamen Rider/Pretty Cure jokes, including that Nagisa is the successor to Minami Kotaro, Kamen Rider Black/Black RX's civillian identity.