Midorikawa Nao

Midorikawa Nao is one of the main Cures in Smile Pretty Cure!. She is a plucky girl with a strong sense of justice, and has no tolerance for wrongdoers. An elder sister-type, she is popular even with the girls. While tough, she also has a feminine side, as she loves cute things. Excellent at sports, she is part of the girls' soccer team. Her alter ego is Cure March (キュアマーチ).

Personality
Nao is said to have a strong sense of justice and does not easily forgive one's wrong actions. She is also known for her exceptional courage.

Becoming Cure March
Nao found Miyuki Hoshizora while returning home from grocery shopping. After Miyuki offered to carry the bags, Nao invited Miyuki to lunch at her house. Miyuki was impressed because Nao can cook. When Nao's brothers start to annoy Miyuki, she runs out of the kitchen with a wooden cooking spoon; yelling at them to stop bullying her.

Later, Miyuki and Nao are watching her siblings play soccer when Akane and Yayoi, who is holding Candy, show up. The Midorikawa children decide to have a soccer challenge against Miyuki, Akane and Yayoi, but suddenly Akaoni appears. Akaoni decides to collect Bad Energy from them. When Cure Happy is caught in the Akanbe, Nao wakes up. She then identifies Miyuki, Akane, and Yayoi. Suddenly the Akanbe flys toward Nao's siblings, intending to hurt them. Nao stops it in time by kicking a soccer ball at it. When she yells that she will not let her family bonds be destroyed; she transforms.

Nao, now Cure March, goes after the Akanbe, but runs into a wall. This makes Akaoni fall because of the impact since she could not slow down. She is still surprised by becoming a Cure.

Nao finishes the Akanbe with her basic attack, March Shoot.

After everything has gone back to normal; her siblings are playing soccer again. She thanks Miyuki and the others and asks Miyuki if she can join their team as well as asking to them to call her Nao.

Relationships
Hino Akane - The two seem to share a close friendship; possibly due to their similar personalities and are often seen together.

Cure March


"Courage rinrin, a clear-cut match! Cure March!" "勇気リンリン直球勝負！キュアマーチ！" "Yuuki rinrin chokkyu shoubu! Kyua Māchi!" Cure March (キュアマーチ) is Nao's Pretty Cure alter ego. Cure March has the power of Wind, which grants her the ability to run at super speed. She is the fastest in terms of speed out of the 5 Smile! Cures, and can run up and along vertical walls.

Her basic attack is March Shoot.

Appearance
Out of the 5 girls, Nao is the tallest in terms of height. She has dark green hair worn in a ponytail at the top of her head with a yellow bow and bangs parted down the middle. Her eyes are a dark shade of green. Her casual outfit consists of a 3/4 long-sleeved yellow-green button-down shirt with multiple decorative badges, olive khaki shorts, orange socks and black boots with red laces. She wears her school uniform with a green tie and a pale green sleeveless pullover.

As Cure March, Nao's hair becomes bright green and much longer. The side of her bangs curl in towards her face, and her back hair is worn in a very long ponytail held with a gold barrette with an angel wing attached. Part of her hair is also worn in high twintails held up with smaller yellow barrettes. She wears her tiara on her forehead, and her earrings on the helix of her ears. Her outfit is mainly light green, with dark green lining and white highlights. Her sleeves are single-layered, and the bow at her chest is small with a large frilly piece behind it. The back of her top extends out in a single pastel green frilly piece. Her arm protectors are elbow length with light green folds on top and dark green ribbons at both the wrists and elbows. Her boots are short, with light green legwawrmers, tipped with green as well as her heels, and small dark green bows.

Etymology
Midorikawa (緑川) - 緑 means "green", while 川 means "river".

Nao (なお) - Nao has the meaning of "straight," as in "straight forward."

Cure March - Cure March's name could refer to the fact that the month of March marks the beginning of Spring in the northern hemisphere in meteorology. This relationship to Spring could explain her name and theme colour. There is also a general assumption that March is the windiest month of the year therefore establishing a link between her name and power over wind.

Trivia

 * In her introductory speech, Cure March says "rinrin", which has multiple meanings. Rinrin can mean "severe" or "intense", which corresponds with Nao's personality. It can also mean "piercing and cold", which may be a reference to March's power over wind.
 * Cure March is only the second full-fledged green Cure, the first being Cure Mint from Yes! Pretty Cure 5.
 * While she is a Cure that excels in sports, she is not the leader.
 * Cure March is the first Cure to sport a ponytail and twintails simultaneously.
 * Nao is the third Cure to play soccer, following Natsuki Rin from Yes! Pretty Cure 5 and Hojo Hibiki from Suite Pretty Cure♪.
 * She is the only Cure from her team to have a tiara over her forehead instead of a crown on her head. This, plus her green hair, earned her several comparisions to Trip from Power Rangers Time Force (to the point that she was constantly called "the first Xybrian Cure in history"), despite the fact that their personalities are nothing alike.
 * Cure March is the second Cure to control wind after Cure Windy from Futari wa Pretty Cure Splash Star.
 * She has the same surname and hairstyle as Midorikawa Ryuuji, another soccer player, from Inazuma Eleven.
 * Cure March is the second Cure to have a tiara over her forehead, the first being Cure Muse from "Suite Pretty Cure♪ ".
 * She is somewhat like Sailor Jupiter from Sailor Moon.
 * Cure March has the most siblings overall Cures.
 * It's revealed in Cure March's Yay! Yay! Yay! that she can fly/hover. In Cure March's debut episode, she is revealed to be the fastest of the 5 Cures.
 * Cure March is the first Cure that was shocked about the transformation twice.
 * Nao is the only Smile Pretty Cure to have recieved her powers while in casual clothes. The others all recieved their powers while in school clothes (Miyuki, Yayoi and Reika in the normal uniforms and Akane in the volleyball uniform).