Natsuki Rin

Natsuki Rin (夏木 りん) is one of the main characters in Yes! Pretty Cure 5 and Yes! Pretty Cure 5 GoGo!. She appears as a tomboy and plays enough sports to have every team clamoring for her to join them, but has always time for her family and friends. Her parents run a flower shop which she often helps in. Her alter ego is the Cure of Passion, Cure Rouge (キュアルージュ).

Rin has a very straightforward and down-to-earth personality that sharply contrasts with the cheery and optimistic Yumehara Nozomi, which is shown that she has a big-sisterly attitude toward her best friend. Though many people think of her as tomboyish, she indulges in a few feminine pursuits. Sometimes, when Rin runs into some troubles that really frustrate her, she could become hopping mad, especially with her favorite sports, such as soccer.

Yes! Pretty Cure 5
Rin, the childhood friend of Nozomi often kept watch over her and attempted to help her settle on one club to join. After being told by Nozomi she transformed, Rin initially didn't believe her and continuously brushed her off throughout their day. Eventually she did believe her after witnessing a few chats between Nozomi and Coco - but rejected the offer to become a Pretty Cure due to how busy she normally is.

While Rin reflects on what becoming a Pretty Cure could mean, along with her friendship with Nozomi, she is confronted by Girinma and attempted to get Nozomi to stop being a Pretty Cure out of concern for her safety. When Nozomi refused and transformed into Cure Dream, she witnessed her get hurt. Realizing how much Nozomi means to her, the red butterfly accepts Rin and she transforms into Cure Rouge. Afterwards she agrees to join Pretty Cure.

Personality
Rin is both tomboyish and feminine. Throughout both of the seasons, Rin shows a passion for accessory design and is usually the one in charge for designing what Natts House is selling.

She can be temperamental at times but normally keeps a cool head. She is mature and has an older-sister personality with most, but she is also passionate and hot-blooded, causing her to clash with others like Karen due to their differences.

Deep down, Rin fears the loss of a loved one, most noticeable Nozomi. Beside of that, she also has a fear for unnatural things, and when she was a child could take a long time to recover after being startled by things.

Appearance
Rin has brown eyes and short brown hair flared out to the side by her ears. Her casual attire in GoGo consists of a white top with red sleeves with a floral design on the side of the chest and a grey line going down each arm and the collar. Her straightened skirt is red with orange coloring on each side, separated by a gold line. She also wears pale gold boots with straps and grey stockings.

In the ''Yes! 5'' Movie, she wears a teal top with a red and gold knapsack and dark red sleeves, beneath a tan T-shirt jacket with fluff trim and a brown collar. Worn with it are denim kapri and red sneakers accented with gold.

In the ''Yes! 5 GoGo!'' movie, she wears a light red top with white cuff held with a single matching button and a dull mauve ribbon attached to a floral button, on top of a ruffled top and tan denim shorts. Her shoes are tan and brown boots with black string.

As Cure Rouge in ''Yes! 5'', her hair gains a red hue and resembles a small, flaring flame adorned with a pink butterfly behind her now ear-length bangs. Her eyes turn red and she gains red butterfly earrings. Her attire consists of a cream dress with a red trim and a bow sewn to the back. The ruffled sleeves are white with a pink tint to match the ruffles along the skirt hem, and sewn to the center of the chest is a purple and red butterfly with a green gem in the middle. Comes with matching sleeves and knee-length socks lined in red, along with orange and pale red miniature boots, and dull red shorts. On each glove is a pale red butterfly, and her pinky catch is worn on her left wrist.

In ''Yes! 5 GoGo!'', her bangs have lengthened while her hair flares out further on the lower right and top left. Her butterfly ornament is now a violet rose with three lilac petals. Her dress is a stylized soft red vest lined in red with a popped collar, on top of a pale pink ruffled skirt. The sleeves are pale yellow while sewn to the chest is a large pale yellow and red gem butterfly with the same green stone in the middle that has a tiny flower and the CureMo string hanging from it, attached to her hip. Her gloves, boots, and stockings are similiar to her prior outfit, but have a pink and red colorscheme compared to the reddish-orange of the last. Her shorts are mauve.

Relationships
Yumehara Nozomi - Nozomi and Rin have been close friends since childhood, and thus care about each other more than the others of Pretty Cure. Though Rin refuses to be a part of it in the beginning, she eventually receives the Cure of Passion's power when admitting that the thing she is most afraid of is losing Nozomi.

Minazuki Karen - Rin and Karen did not get along at first, but learned to sort most of their differences out as they worked together. However, as Cure Rouge and Cure Aqua, they do not let their normal selves' feelings toward each other get in the way, and it is usually thanks to that, Rin and Karen make up afterward.

Mucardia - Rin, for a while, has a secret crush on Momoi Kyosuke, the human alias for Mucardia, ever since he gave her a red flower after a tennis match. Because of this, she is very nervous when they meet and walk like they are on a date. However, when it is revealed that he only used her to get close to Pretty Cure, she is devastated and only cheered up by Nozomi's encouragement.

Cure Rouge
"The red flame of passion, Cure Rouge!" 情熱の赤い炎、キュアルージュ！ Jōnetsu no akai honō, Kyua Rūju!

Cure Rouge (キュアルージュ), also known as the Cure of Passion, wears red and orange clothing, and her counterpart is Cure Dream. Her strength erupts fire within her. She transforms saying "Pretty Cure Metamorphose!".

Alone, Cure Rouge can perform Rouge Fire. Later in the story, when she receives her Rouge Tact, she can use Rouge Burning. Together with the other girls, she can do the Five Explosion attack.

In the sequel, when her outfit and powers are upgraded, she can use the attack Fire Strike. Together with the others in Pretty Cure, she can do Rainbow Rose Explosion and, with Milky Rose, Floral Explosion.

Super Cure Rouge
In Yes! Pretty Cure 5: Kagami no Kuni no Miracle Daibouken!, Pretty Cure are nearly defeated by Shadow, but thanks to Migirin and Hidarin, as well as the Miracle Lights, a special power is brought upon Pretty Cure, giving them slightly advanced outfits as well as butterfly wings, colored in their theme colors. Thanks to this, they are able to use a powerful version of Five Explosion to defeat Shadow and free the Pinkies she took. Milk claims they are Super Pretty Cure, though it is unknown if this is just something she calls them, or if it is a name mentioned in the legends.

Cure Rainbow Rouge
Cure Rainbow Rouge (キュアレインボールージュ) is an upgrade Cure Rouge 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 Shining Dream from Yes! Pretty Cure 5 GoGo!: Okashi no Kuni no Happy Birthday!, except with the color red instead of pink and a pair of small golden wings instead of grand white ones.

Transformations
Pretty Cure Metamorphose! - "Pretty Cure metamorphose!" is the official transformation phrase used by Rin to transform into Cure Rouge in ''Yes! Pretty Cure 5 and Yes! Pretty Cure 5 GoGo!''

In ''Yes! Pretty Cure 5'', Rin's Pinky Catch opens and she shouts, "Pretty Cure...". She makes a circular motion with her arm and shouts, "...metamorphose!" Her body then becomes covered in a red glow. Her top and brooch appear first, followed by her arm warmers, skirt and boots. Her hair turns red, her Pinky Catch closes and Cure Rouge recites her introductory speech.

In ''Yes! Pretty Cure 5 GoGo!'', Rin's CureMo opens and she presses the buttons while saying, "Pretty Cure metamorphose!" Then her CureMo's screen glows and red light surrounds her body. Next a red tunnel appears with light showing at the end. Rin appears with her body covered in flames. Her arm warmers appear and in a burst of fire, her entire outfit appears. Cure Rouge flies down, she opens her eyes and recites her introductory speech.

Attacks
Rouge Fire - The red butterfly mark on her arm ignites on fire and produces a mass of fire. She then thrusts her hand at the mass, sending it to the enemy and defeating it.

Rouge Burning - Red light from Cure Rouge's butterfly bow shines, whereas the light follows her right arm. When it has reached her fingertips, the Rouge Tact appears. Using this, she holds up the tact, then pulls it back. The rod portion of the item ignites on fire, and like her first attack, produces a mass of fire. She then thrusts the tact at the mass, sending it to the enemy and destroying it.

Fire Strike - Cure Rouge makes fists with both hands and crosses them in front of her chest, causing the butterfly-shaped emblem to glow with her signature color. A ball of fire appears in front of Cure Rouge, and she kicks the ball at high speed at the enemy. The enemy gets surrounded by a red butterfly upon impact and is usually defeated.

Etymology
Natsuki (夏木): Natsu (夏) translates to "summer", most likely referring to her fire-based powers since summer is the hottest of the four seasons, and ki (木) translates to "tree".

Rin (りん): A name with many possible meanings, as both a name and a word used in everyday language, depending on how it is written in kanji. Rin's name is written in hiragana instead, so it is not possible to find an exact meaning for her name, particularly since none of the potential meanings relate to her powers or her personality. It is possible that her name was simply an arbitrary choice. Although Rin's name is written in hiragana, if it was written in kanji like this: rin (凜), it would mean dignified.

Her name means "summer tree dignified."

Cure Rouge: "Rouge" is the French word for "red", her signature color. French is also a language often used in the Yes! Pretty Cure 5 universe.

Songs
Rin's voice actress Takeuchi Junko, has participated in several image songs for the character she voices. Many of them include duets with Sanpei Yuko, who voices Yumehara Nozomi, Ise Mariya, who voices Kasugano Urara, Nagano Ai, who voices Akimoto Komachi, Maeda Ai, who voices Minazuki Karen, and later, Sendai Eri, who voices Milk/Mimino Kurumi.
 * Reversible
 * Passion

Duets

 * Metamorphose ~Young Girls LOVE&DREAM~ (Along with Sanpei Yuko, Ise Mariya, Nagano Ai, and Maeda Ai)
 * 1.2. Shoot! ~Five Explosion~ (Along with Sanpei Yuko, Ise Mariya, Nagano Ai, and Maeda Ai)
 * Ring・Rin・Link (Along with Sanpei Yuko)
 * Welcome Home (Along with Sanpei Yuko)
 * Tomorrow, A Flower Blooms. Smiles, Bloom. (Along with Sanpei Yuko, Ise Mariya, Nagano Ai, Maeda Ai, and also Sendai Eri)
 * Shine 5 Hearts (Along with Sanpei Yuko, Ise Mariya, Nagano Ai, and Maeda Ai)

Trivia

 * Rin is the first Cure to be afraid of ghosts, followed by Kurokawa Ellen, Midorikawa Nao and Kaido Minami.
 * Rin is the first Cure to have fire powers, the second being Hino Akane and the third being Akagi Towa.
 * Rin shares the same voice actress with Hoshino Kenta from Futari wa Pretty Cure Splash Star.
 * At the end of the two seasons, Rin is the only one who does not have a strong bond with any mascot.
 * Rin is a little bit similar to Nagisa from Futari wa Pretty Cure, in terms of personality. However her relationship with Karen, who resembles Honoka, is slightly awkward. This may be due to their opposite Cure forms; Cure Rouge and Cure Aqua control fire and water respectively, which are frequently depicted as opposites. Also, as Urara points out in the same episode, the two also represent passion and intelligence, another well-established opposite.
 * Rin is the first Cure who plays soccer, followed by Hojo Hibiki and Midorikawa Nao.
 * Cure Rouge is the first Cure to have red as their theme color.
 * In the Pretty Cure All Stars Suite Flower Card Collection, Rin is represented by the hibiscus, which symbolizes style and strength in the Language of Flowers.
 * Rin is the first Cure to have more than one sibling.
 * Rin is the first Cure whose parents own a flower shop, the second being Tsubomi.
 * Cure Rouge is the only Cure with a French name and the first to have a non-English Cure name.
 * Rin is the first Cure to be from royal/famous descent, as shown in episode 27 of Yes! Pretty Cure 5.
 * Rin shares quite a lot of similarities with Hino Akane from Smile Pretty Cure!
 * Rin shared some similarities with Midorikawa Nao from Smile Pretty Cure!:
 * Both play soccer.
 * Both are afraid of ghosts.
 * Both have soccer-related attacks, Fire Strike and March Shoot.
 * In 5 and GoGo! Rin is the only one of the group to have the most noticeable hair color change, going from brown to red.
 * Rin is the third sporty Cure to be in love, the first two being Misumi Nagisa and Hyuuga Saki.
 * She is the first sporty Cure to be in love with an enemy.
 * Rin is the first non lead Cure to be a tomboy.
 * Rin shares the same first name with a supporting character from Happiness Charge Pretty Cure!, Ishigami Rin.
 * Rin appeared as Cure Rouge to give the 10th Anniversary Congratulatory Message at the beginning of episode 17 of Happiness Charge Pretty Cure.
 * Rin is the only Cure of the team whose eye shape changes during the transformation.

Gallery

 * Main Page: Natsuki Rin/Image Gallery