Kurumi Erika

Kurumi Erika is one of the Cures in the newest season Heartcatch Pretty Cure!. Not much is known about her, except that she is 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).

Personality
Erika loves fashion and dreams of being a fashion designer. 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 attitude to calmer people.

Although jealous of her sister 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 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, after she realized the latter was not a dream. This makes her a contrast to Tsubomi, who is still learning how to use all of Cure Blossom's power.

Meeting Tsubomi
Although not much of her back-story is revealed, 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 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 Uejima 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.

Because of Erika's strength as Cure Marine, she is giving Tsubomi low confidence in being Pretty Cure, and has to help her realize that they have to work together to manage what they are doing.

Cure Marine
"A flower swaying in the sea breeze, 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. She is capable of using the attack Blue Forte Wave, as well as her own sub-attack Marine Shoot.This sub-attack shows her power over water,as it consists of water droplets.

Relationships
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.

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 hates 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 hatred.

Namesake
The kanji for Kurumi might mean "the sea comes", which might be a reference to her Cure name as Cure Marine.

Erika is the female version of "Erik", which from Norse roughly means "ever ruler". It might be a reference to her very dominant personality.