Hanasaki Tsubomi

Hanasaki Tsubomi is one of the Cures in the newest season Heartcatch Pretty Cure!. Not much is known about her, except she is speculated to have more role as a main character, not unlike Misumi Nagisa from Futari wa Pretty Cure and Hyuuga Saki from Futari wa Pretty Cure Splash Star. She lives in a flower shop called "Hanasaki Flower Shop" with her parents and grandmother. Her catchphrase is "I can't stand this anymore!". Tsubomi's Cure ego is Cure Blossom (キュアブロッサム). Her first friend in Kibougahana is Kurumi Erika, her Pretty Cure partner.

Tsubomi is really shy and introverted girl and admits that she does not handle energic people like Erika very well, but loves flowers very much, and dreams of being a botanist. Because of her relationship and frequently visits with her grandmother, she has picked up her old-fashioned speech pattern.

Tsubomi has stated that she plans to change her personality now that she starts in a new school. Although still insecure, she is starting to speak out her mind and preferenses. Together with the courage of Erika, Tsubomi is slowly but steadily changing to a more confident person.

Lonely Life
Ever since she was small, Tsubomi had to be taken care of by her grandmother Hanasaki Kaoruko while her parents, both with each of their important jobs, went on business and could be gone for weeks. At first, Tsubomi did not mind, and had fun being with Kaoruko, even learning a lot of Japanese litterature and old words. However, as time went, Tsubomi became more and more lonely, though did not tell her parents, as she knew how important their work was.

Pressumed the same year the present storyline begins, she watched a bird give food to her children while they cried to make her come back. Seeing herself in the bird children that screamed for their mother, Tsubomi started to cry. Coincidentally, her mother forgot a notebook, and together with her husband and grandmother find Tsubomi crying. She admitted her loneliness to them, and not wanting to split their family, her parents quit their respective jobs to open a flower shop together, moving to Kibougahana, the city where Kaoruko lives, to be closer to Kaoruko, as well.

New Life
The story starts with Tsubomi waking up from a dream about Cure Moonlight as they arrive in their new town, where they are going to live with Tsubomi's grandmother. The next day, Tsubomi prepares herself for her first day at the new school, hoping to change her shy personality, but despite her prayer to a four-leaf clover, it starts embarrasing partly because of Kurumi Erika. After school, Erika forces her to change hair-style and use another sweater, though Tsubomi constantly tells her to let her be. When she is alone, she has a new dream about Cure Moonlight. After waking up, she takes a walk and encounters the fairies from the Great Tree of Hearts, who tell her to help them hiding so that their enemy will not find them. After watching Sasorina take Erika's Heart Seed instead, and realizing the pain Erika is actually going through, Tsubomi summons the courage she needs and transforms into a Pretty Cure warrior, Cure Blossom.

However, as she is unable to control the power of Pretty Cure, Cure Blossom is easily defeated, though is saved by a myserious man who transports her to her grandmother's gardenhouse, where she has deformed back to Tsubomi. Being revealed that Kaoruko used to be the famous Cure Flower when she was young, and that Erika's Heart Flower soon is lost, Tsubomi decides to once again fight the Desertrian monster to save Erika. Though once again having problems when the powers of the Desertrian seems to increase, she gains almost complete control when witnessing wild flowers being destroyed by the Desertrian's giant happen, and is in the end able to purify the monster and chase Sasorina away. When Erika later wakes up, Tsubomi makes a deal with her; if Erika can make the abandoned doll pretty, she will join the fashion club as well as the gardener club, which makes Erika extremely happy.

Fighting as Cure Blossom
Although accepting her powers and role as Pretty Cure, Tsubomi is still having some troubles using all of Cure Blossom's abilities, but quickly recovers when Erika successfully transform into Cure Marine. However, watching how well Cure Marine is doing, Tsubomi loses confidense in her abilities as Cure Blossom, and begins thinking that she is being a burden for Erika. Because of this, she seeks comfort from Coupe and her grandmother, and eventually is able to cooperate with Cure Marine when they fight against Kumojacky.

Cure Blossom
"The flower that spreads throughout the land, Cure Blossom!" 大地に咲く一輪の花、キュアブロッサム！ "Daichi ni saku ichirin no hana, Kyuaburossamu!" Cure Blossom (キュアブロッサム) is the Cure Tsubomi transforms into. Her powers has not been fully revealed, but translations from comemrcials indicate that she controls flowers. Unlike the former Pretty Cure-duos in the franchise, Tsubomi does not need to be together with her partner, Erika, to transform.

Although she at first is unable to control the enormous strength and power Pretty Cure possesses, Tsubomi later declares that she will learn to control it to help Erika. After witnessing the Desertrian destroying some flowers, Cure Blossom's rage allows her to fully control the powers, and with the guidance of Chypre and Coffret, can use the attack Pink Forte Wave and, together with Cure Marine, Floral Power Fortissimo. Except for these purification attacks, she can use some individual sub attacks on her own for fighting use:

Blossom Oshiri Punch (ブロッサムおしりパンチ): Cure Blossom kicks herself into the air backwards to hit the enemy with her back. She can only use this when influenced with the red Heart Seeds for speed-up.

Blossom Shower (ブロッサムシャワー): Cure Blossom draws a circle of pink flowers before her before shooting them at the enemy.

Blossom Flower Storm (ブロッサムフラワーストーム): Cure Blossom circles around herself, summoning numerous of pink flower petals around her to create a tornado of it.

Pretty Cure Double Shoot (プリキュアダブルシュート): Cure Blossom and Cure Marine'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 (プリキュアだいばくはつ):

Cure Rainbow Blossom
Cure Rainbow Blossom (キュアレインボー･ブロッサム) is an upgrade Cure Blossom 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. 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
Kurumi Erika: At the beginning, Tsubomi cannot stand Erika's energic and forward personality, and often finds herself speechless before her. However, after she gets to know about Erika's problems while fighting her Desertrian, Tsubomi gives Erika another chance. While still feeling awkward, Tsubomi looks up to Erika's for her strong personality and great athlete abilities, to the point that she, as Cure Blossom, feels that she is holding Cure Marine back.

Hanasaki Kaoruko: Tsubomi loves her grandmother very much, and has adapted several of her traits. In the past, Tsubomi used to visit Kaoruko all the time. Kaoruko is also the first person Tsubomi goes to when she is feeling unsure, particulary when it is about Pretty Cure.

Etymology
Hanasaki (花咲):' Hana (花) translates to flower'', in reference to her love of flowers and her flower-based powers as Cure Blossom. Saki (咲) comes from the verb saku (咲く), meaning to bloom. Together, its meaning is roughly blooming flower.

Tsubomi (つぼみ): 'Translates to flower bud'', another reference to her love of flowers and flower-based powers, and also may refer to the fact that Tsubomi is still inexperienced as Pretty Cure.

Cure Blossom: Tsubomi's Cure alias is a name she gave herself, after laying eyes upon a blossoming tree when asked to find a name for her transformation.

Trivia

 * On Tsubomi's regular clothes, the number 7 is written on the back. This might be a reference to the fact that Heartcatch Pretty Cure! is the seventh Pretty Cure season, and it can also be a reference to Mizuki Nana, Tsubomi's voice actor, as "nana" can be translated to "seven" in Japanese.
 * Cure Blossom is the first Cure so far to be shown deciding her name by herself, instead of instinctly knowing it when transforming.