Ichinose Minori

Ichinose Minori (一之瀬みのり)^? is one of the five main Cures in Tropical-Rouge! Pretty Cure. She is a second-year student at Aozora Middle School.

Minori's alter ego is Cure Papaya (キュアパパイア, Cure Papaya)^?, and her charm point is her eyes.

Bio

Appearance

Minori has short dark yellow hair in a fluffy bob and big cerulean blue eyes, paired with glasses. She normally wears a ruffled light blue top with a pastel yellow dress with white and gold lining, ribbon shoulder straps, and white socks with orange loafers. She also wears the yellow Heart Kuru Ring on her left middle finger.

During winter, she wears a cyan blouse and a yellow and green tartan shorts beneath a yellow coat with a lighter yellow section at the middle, yellow shoes, green socks, and an orange beret.

In the movie, she wears a dark yellow blouse with buttons on top and a pattern of flowers and brown boots.

As Cure Papaya, Minori's hair grows out and turns orange, with some pulled into a ponytail hanging from a layered bun styled on the right held by large red, yellow, and green beads with a yellow butterfly on the corner, and her eyes gain yellow heart-shaped flecks with her eyelashes turn dark turquoise. She gains a yellow V-shaped choker and red earrings with green and yellow fruit slices hanging from them. She wears a yellow and white top with wing-like sleeves and a yellow collar with white and orange stripes. In the middle is a light blue shell with a light orange and white bow. The balloon skirt is pale yellow with darker scallops, a light green belt with pink ruffles below it that opens in the front, a Tropical Pact on her left hip accented by a light green ribbon, and an orange band with a lighter colored stripe and two bows at the bottom. She also wears light yellow fingerless gloves with heart-shaped cutouts in the back and orange bands around her wrists, along with flat orange boots with a light blue line toward the bottom and loose yellow leg warmers with green bands on top.

In her Excellen-Tropical Style, her hair is lighter, and lengthens and worn down, with the top part of her bun flaring out and the butterfly on the hair decoration turning sky blue. Her eyelashes are light green. Her collar and the ribbon on her chest turn white with an orange stripe while her wing-like sleeves flare out more and turn yellow. The white part of her top turns light green and her balloon skirt turns yellow with white and orange stripes at the bottom and a light green scallops at the bottom. On top is a scalloped white skirt that opens in the front with a pale yellow inside and pink pearls around the waist. Her choker is white and yellow with a yellow gem hanging from it. Her gloves turn into frilly white wristbands with yellow bands around the wrists and she is now barefoot with yellow bands around her legs with flaps of pale yellow fabric hanging from them.

In her Snow Crystal Tropical Style, her outfit contains elements of Cure Sunshine's Super Silhouette form. Her hair grows longer and she gains a small gold tiara with a yellow heart in the middle. Her dress becomes lighter in color and she gains puffy sleeves similar to Cure Sunshine's. On top of her skirt is another shorter skirt that resembles flower petals while the pink ruffles on the sides of the skirt grow longer and encircle most of her waist. On her chest is a yellow bow with two orange ribbons hanging from it. Her gloves grow to opera-length with a slit on the top while dull yellow bows and cross-ribbons appear on her leg warmers. On her back are a pair of rainbow heart-shaped wings.

Personality

Minori is an intelligent 2nd year middle school student who loves to read. She's an honor student with the best grades in her class. She has a poker face, so she struggles to show any emotions. However, she has a strong sense of self. She has loved the fairytale The Little Mermaid since she was a child, and she knows a lot of stories about mermaids.

Originally, she does not believe in herself after her story got rejected and criticized, but gradually learns to have more faith in herself. Minori is also reluctant when people insist on reading her own written works, though she eventually becomes more open-minded about her friends' praise for them. She has also learned that sometimes it is important to try something new by herself and not just rely on book knowledge.

As Cure Papaya, she is more energetic compared to her usual self. She also displays more emotions and confidence.

Relationships

Natsuumi Manatsu: When Manatsu originally got to know her through her story, Minori was quite bashful around her and wasn't sure if she should accept Manatsu's friendship. However, she later accepts Manatsu as her friend after becoming Cure Papaya.
Laura: When first encountering Laura, Minori was shocked when she found out Laura was a real mermaid. But after Laura spoke to her, Minori begins to like her more and is glad she is real.
Kururun: She is Kururun's closest friend, as she is the only person who can understand their gestures.

Etymology

Ichinose (一之瀬, Ichinose)^? is a common last name in Japan, Ichi means with number one, Nose (瀬, Nose)^? meaning "rapids" ^[1].

Minori (みのり, Minori)^? is a noun in Japanese that means "harvest" when written as 実り ^[2].

Cure Papaya is a tropical fruit with yellow and green skin, sweet orange or red flesh, and round black seeds ^[3].

History

Meeting Laura And Becoming Cure Papaya

One day, Minori comes across Manatsu and Sango in the library. She lends Manatsu the book about The Little Mermaid, but tells them she believes that mermaids only exist in fairy tales and leaves. The next day, she meets them again in the library and finds out that they read her story, and gets upset even though Manatsu enjoys it, as she recalls how her story got criticized. Back home however, she does not forget how Manatsu praised her story.

The following day at the mermaid exhibition, Minori apologizes to Manatsu and Sango, only to get shocked when she meets Laura, who is a real mermaid. When Manatsu asks her to become a Cure, Minori receives her pact, but does not believe she can take up such a position. However, when Summer and Coral are in a pinch due to Numeri's Yaraneeda, Laura tells Minori to believe in herself, and Minori gets the courage to become Cure Papaya for the first time.^TRPC04

Switching Bodies With Laura

The Tropical Club is preparing to cheer for the softball club's competition with the cheerleading club, and Minori is responsible for preparing the banner. However, she accidentally gets sucked into the Mermaid Aqua Pot and Laura tries to help her, resulting in their bodies getting swapped. Minori ends up experiencing life as a mermaid in Laura's body, but they are unable to switch back, so Laura ends up staying at Minori's home for the night.

The next day, when a croissant Zenzen Yaraneeda is on the loose, Minori is initially unable to transform due to being in Laura's body. But as Minori is determined to help her friends, her ring reacts and switches their bodies back. She later tells her friends that being a mermaid isn't bad, but she still prefers being herself. However, she appears to have become bolder after this experience. ^TRPC15

Opening Up And Sharing Her Past

Sometime prior to the school's Cultural Festival, Minori is searching some books about makeups from the library, but Laura is aware that one of the school magazines has Minori's name included inside. At first, Minori chooses to stay behind the scenes when the Tropical Club is preparing for their makeup activity, but soon volunteers to help when Manatsu and Laura have to help with the crepe stall and that the rest of the Tropical Club are getting occupied by the visitors. After fighting against Chongire's Yareeneda and with the Cultural Festival over, Minori finally reveals the reason why she quit the Literary Club and has stopped writing, as although her other classmates and schoolmates appreciated her work, the club senior criticized her story as poor, leading to her losing faith in her writing and can't write a single thing ever since. However, she sincerely thanks her friends as they finally let her reignite the confidence within her heart. ^TRPC28

Writing A New Story

During the preparation for the graduation festival, the Tropical Club comes up with the idea of a stage play, but Minori is reluctant to use her own story as the script. She even states that it is too flawed to be adapted, but her friends think otherwise and believe it is more about her still bothered by her senior's harsh feedback. Still, Minori decides to try rewriting the story per Laura's suggestion, but soon hits a roadblock as she doesn't know how to incorporate her own experiences into it.

Soon enough, her eager friends decide to help her by going on a quest together to find the "legendary papaya", and they are then introduced to a papaya plantation by a shop owner. However, it turns out she has never eaten an actual papaya before, much to her friends' surprise. As she runs away in embarrassment after admitting so, she trips over and suddenly realizes the reason she couldn't write the story well is being too reliant on knowledge, and she wants to jump into a hole for being this narrow-minded. But she then realizes that it is always okay to try something new after some encouragement from her friends. After tasting a papaya for the first time, she starts to have ideas for the legendary papaya in her story as she remembers how her friends genuinely care about her, and the experiences she has shared with them are nurturing her like how the sunlight nurtures the papayas.

With this epiphany, Papaya is able to devise a strategy to defeat Elda's Chou Zettai Yaraneeda with her friends. After the fight with Elda, she regains the confidence and inspiration to rewrite and adapt her story into something new, as she thanks her friends for creating beautiful memories with her which makes her realize she should be writing what is important to her right now.^TRPC40

Epilogue

After Laura reveals that she is going to leave, Minori is upset, but comes to accept Laura's decision. After the play and Laura revealing her mermaid identity, Minori and the others say farewell to Laura. Due to the effects of the memory erasing machine, she loses her memories that are related to Laura. However, she regains them after the Mermaid Aqua Pot overloads the machine.

It is later revealed that Minori finally has the courage to start writing her own stories again. She is also seen reuniting with Laura again. ^TRPC46

Cure Papaya

Sparkling Fruits! Cure Papaya!
ひらめく果実 (フルーツ)！キュアパパイア！
Hirameku Furūtsu! Kyua Papaia!

Cure Papaya (キュアパパイア, Cure Papaya)^? is Minori's Pretty Cure alias. In order to transform, she needs her Tropical Pact and Heart Kuru Ring. While in this form, she can shoot lasers from her eyes using the papaya slices on her earrings to protect her eyes.

Transformation

The transformation starts with Minori's Tropical Pact appearing. She then holds the pact while removing her Heart Kuru Ring, inserting it into the lock and turning it. The pact opens up, revealing her reflection. Then Minori takes off her glasses before taking the brush and shouting "Let's make up! Bling!", touching the center of the pact with it, causing it to glow. She then shouts "Cheeks"! as she presses the brush against her cheeks, giving them a rosy glow. Then she taps the center again and shouts "Lips!" as she applies lipstick. She taps the middle of the pact again and shouts "Hair"! as it grows and turns orange with multicolored beads around the bun. She taps the middle yet again and shouts "Eyes!", swiping the brush across her closed eyes as her eyelashes turn turquoise and yellow heart-shaped flecks appear in her eyes. She taps the middle one more time and shouts "Dress!" as she draws a green fruit slice with the brush, which splits into six slices. Each of the slices strike her body, making parts of her outfit appear. First are her shoes, followed by her gloves, then her skirt, dress bodice, choker, and earrings. A pouch for her Tropical Pact appears on the left, dropping in. With the transformation complete, Papaya lands on her butt before rolling on the floor for a little while. After she pops out, she says her introduction while doing a couple spins before announcing her name and striking her final pose.

Attacks

Panpaka Papaya Shot (ぱんぱかパパイアショット, Panpaka Papaya Shot)^?: Cure Papaya's solo attack that she can perform with her Heart Rouge Rod.
Mix Tropical (ミックストロピカル, Mix Tropical)^?: A group attack that Cure Papaya performs with Summer, Coral and Flamingo. To perform it, she and her teammates need their Heart Rouge Rods and the Heart Quartet Ring.
Land Beat Dynamic (ランドビートダイナミック, Land Beat Dynamic)^?: A group attack that Cure Papaya performs with Summer, Coral, Flamingo and La Mer. To perform it, she and her teammates must be in their Excellen-Tropical Style, and they need the Tropical Heart Dresser and the Land Kuru Ring.
Marine Beat Dynamic (マリンビートダイナミック, Marine Beat Dynamic)^?: A group attack that Cure Papaya performs with Summer, Coral, Flamingo and La Mer. To perform it, she and her teammates must be in their Excellen-Tropical Style, and they need the Tropical Heart Dresser and the Marine Kuru Ring.
Super Tropical Paradise (スーパートロピカルパラダイス, Super Tropical Paradise)^?: A group attack that Cure Papaya performs with Summer, Coral, Flamingo, La Mer, and Oasis. To perform it, she and her teammates need the Tropical Heart Dresser, Land Kuru Ring, Marine Kuru Ring, and their transformation Heart Kuru Rings.
Heart Shining Orchestra (ハートシャイニングオーケストラ, Heart Shining Orchestra)^?: A group attack that Cure Papaya performs with Summer, Coral, Flamingo and La Mer in the movie. To perform it, she and her teammates must be in their Snow Crystal Tropical Style, and they need the Tropical Heart Dresser and the Snow Heart Kuru Ring.

Songs

Minori's voice actor, Ishikawa Yui has participated in several image songs for the character she voices. Many of them include songs with Fairouz Ai, who voices Natsuumi Manatsu, Hanamori Yumiri, who voices Suzumura Sango, Seto Asami who voices Takizawa Asuka, and Hidaka Rina, who voices Laura.

My Story

Group Songs

Viva! Spark! Tropical-Rouge! Pretty Cure Tropical Club Ver. (Along with Fairouz Ai, Hanamori Yumiri, Seto Asami, and Hidaka Rina)
Let's Tropical To Our Heart's Content! (Along with Fairouz Ai, Hanamori Yumiri, Seto Asami, and Hidaka Rina)
Shantia ~Land of Happiness~ (Along with Fairouz Ai, Hanamori Yumiri, Seto Asami, and Hidaka Rina)
Shantia ~Land of Happiness~ Ending Ver. (Along with Fairouz Ai, Hanamori Yumiri, Seto Asami, Hidaka Rina, Nana Mizuki, Mizusawa Fumie, Kuwashima Houko, and Hisakawa Aya)
Song of Friendship ~Let's Sing Together♪ I Love My Friends~ (Along with Fairouz Ai, Hanamori Yumiri, Seto Asami, and Hidaka Rina)

Trivia

Minori's birthday is on November 21^st, making her Zodiac sign Scorpio.
Minori's favorite thing to do is read.
Minori shares her name with Hyuuga Minori from Futari wa Pretty Cure Splash Star.
- Minori also shares her Cure name with Papaya from Yes! Pretty Cure 5, its sequel, and Kibou no Chikara ~Otona Pretty Cure '23~.
Minori’s voice actress previously played Hydro in Star☆Twinkle Pretty Cure: Hoshi no Uta ni Omoi wo Komete.
Minori's favorite foods are croquettes and broccoli.
- Her mother mentioned that Minori used to eat too many croquettes as a child because she loved eating them so much. ^TRPC15
She has never tasted a papaya despite her alter ego's name, until the events of episode 40.
In the Animage January 2022 issue, it was revealed that Minori's surname "Ichinose" was chosen due to it sounding girly.
- More importantly, when the staff were selecting the Japanese pronunciation of Papaya between パパイヤ or パパイア, they chose the latter option as the former sounded like "Papa iya!" which means "I hate my father!" in Japanese.
  - This issue also revealed that her signature eye beam attack was not created until after the production of the Tropical-Rouge! short movie.
    - The staff had initially considered keeping her glasses even when she transformed into Papaya, before eventually abandoning the idea.