Midorikawa Nao (緑川なお)? (or April in the English Dub Glitter Force) is one of the five main Cures in Smile Pretty Cure!. She's a second-year student at Nanairogaoka Middle School and is in Class 2-2.
Her alter ego is Cure March (キュアマーチ)? (or Glitter Spring in the Glitter Force dub). She controls the power of wind and breeze.
Bio[]
Appearance[]
Nao has slanted dark green eyes and short matching-colored hair pulled up in a ponytail held by a yellow rabbit-ear bow. Her bangs have a gap in the middle and she has thin short forelocks. Casually, she wears an olive quarter-length sleeved top with light lime cuffs and a thick mark on the left elbow with various badges on the chest: a black rectangular one with a yellow star on top, a red matching-shaped one below, both being on the right, and a white shield-shaped one with a red cross on top at the left. She also wears dark olive shorts, slightly baggy orange socks, and a pair of black boots with red laces.
At school, she accessorizes with a sleeveless pale green sweater except for the summer. The tie is green.
In the summer, she wears a pale green short-sleeved ruffly-trimmed blouse that has a ribbon formed on the bottom left corner with a lighter undershirt, a denim skirt, and brown loafers with darker bows on top and soles and short, dull olive socks.
In the movie, she gets a Japanese fairytale outfit consisting of a white kimono top with a light forest green upper half and darker trimming, yellow stars on the shoulders, a brown straw skirt with a lime sash forming a bow in the middle, black shorts, black leg warmers with thin white ribbons on the top and bottom formed on bands, and brown sandals with dark green straps.
As Cure March, her eyes and hair brighten, and her hair becomes very thick, enough to be worn mostly in a knee-length ponytail and a shoulder-length curled pair of pigtails that frame her face like her now curly forelocks. She wears a gold crown-like piece with a single white wing on the right, matching her earrings located on the helix of her ear. Her choker points downwards and is dark green. On her forehead is a scalloped white headdress with a green orb on top. Her short, light green dress has a top featuring dark green triangular scalloped trimming at the bottom with dots on top and lining around her pale green front and on top, accented by her pleated-bordered skirt that has a pale ruffly olive coattail hanging on the back to match the ruffles sticking above and below her small green bow that has a gold medallion on top featuring the Smile! insignia. The sleeves are short, white, and feathery with two dark green spheres. Her shorts are emerald. On the right is her white carry bag with light yellow scalloped lining on the flap with a pastel pink bow with a white stripe on top with a light yellow button in the middle. Her ankle-length boots are white with pastel green toes and layered, short pale green leg warmers, and dark green ribbons at the sides, accenting her medium-length white wristbands that point downwards at the palm with light green cuffs on top and the same ribbons from the boots.
In her Tiara Mode, her tiara becomes a gold intricate, swirly crown with five pieces of jewelry on top, each pieces being round with the colors of her teammates, the middle jewel being a green diamond that accents the one on top of the tiara, and she gains gold ribbon-shaped earrings on the earlobe, both adorned by a green heart in the middle and a gold heart dangling at the bottom. Her feather on her head also glows light yellow.
As Princess March, her thicker hair is worn the same way but has more pronounced curls. Her crown ornament is slightly taller. She keeps the tiara and earrings from Tiara Mode. However, her wing pieces is more light gold and floats, followed by a light yellow halo. Her outfit lightens in color. Worn over it is a ruffled pale mint dress with a split knee-length skirt, flowy short sleeves, a ruffly neckline, a large ribbon at the back, and her bow becomes a rainbow-gradiented ribbon with white stripes. Her brooch is bordered by a white ruffle. The cuffs on her wristbands also scallop and spike out, while the bows on her boots slightly grow out.
As Ultra Cure March, her hair grows out to be several times longer and her gold crown changes in design, gaining two green diamond gems to accent her new white choker. Her dress colors lighten, and a feathery pale mint piece covers the chest and hangs down the back, reminiscent of a long tail, her brooch resting on a pair of mint wings. Her feathered wrist pieces gain a green gem and ring, while her boots gain a wing-like cuff, with one at knee-length, the other reaching mid-lower leg. She obtains white wings.
As Ultra Cure March, her hair grows more longer, the ponytail waving more at the bottom at ankle-length and her pigtails thickening significantly to reach the abdomen. She has a scalloped gold crown with two light mint diamonds in the middle and the feather on her head turns light gold and lengthens. She keeps her original outfit, but it's more lighter, and over her outfit is pale lime feathery fabric covering the chest and hanging down the back like a cape, as well as the feathery layers lengthening on her puffy translucent sleeves that have pale lime bands. The neckline is scalloped and white. Small green wings are attached beneath the brooch. Her choker turns white with a small light mint diamond in the middle, and her wrist-pieces become feathered and pale lime at the cuff with a dark green wristband, and two light mint diamonds, the first being on her wristband and the second as a ring on her middle finger. Her boots gain a fluffy wing-like cuff, one ending at the knee while the other reaches the mid-lower leg and the cuff facing downwards. The toes turn light lime. She obtains white wings, and light yellow rings around her head and legs.
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 powerful courage, but despite her bravery, she has a big fear of insects and ghosts. At times she can become competitive when playing sports, and sometimes she may act forcefully around others, but she has a good heart and she is very popular for her kindness and talent.
Nao values her family very highly, as evidenced in her interactions with her parents and siblings. Her worst fear would be to lose them. She often takes care of her siblings when her parents cannot and she enjoys playing with them.
Relationships[]
- Hino Akane: The two share similar personalities, causing them to frequently compete. Despite their rivalry, they have a close friendship and are often shown together.
- Hoshizora Miyuki: Miyuki admires Nao for her bravery and skill at sports, as well as her ability to look after so many siblings when her parents are not around. As such, Miyuki had a strong wish to get Nao to become Pretty Cure, and was overjoyed when she transformed into Cure March, and joined the team.
- Midorikawa Siblings: Nao cares a lot about her six younger siblings. She loves them very much and she will do anything for them.
- Aoki Reika: These two are childhood friends and often seen together. They are on good terms with each other and help each other. They sit next to each other in class. Whenever Nao is scared, she has a tendency to cling to Reika.
Etymology[]
Midorikawa (緑川)?: 緑 means "green", while 川 means "river".
Nao (なお)?: Nao has the meaning of "straight" (直), as in "straightforward". In episode 19, it was revealed that her father Genji gave her this name because he wishes to bring her up to be a straightforward person.
Cure March 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 color. 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. It could also do with the fact that marching is related to courage, which is what her personality shows.
Her English dub name April is the fourth month of the calendar year, and usually considered the second month of the season of spring, to match her identity as Cure March/Glitter Spring.
History[]
Childhood[]
Reika befriended Nao when they were little, and she had been there around the time Nao became an older sister and remembers this memory fondly.
Meeting Miyuki[]
Nao meets Miyuki for the first time in episode 1 when Akane introduces them. Later in episode 4, Nao plays soccer and Miyuki watches her game. Miyuki wants to meet Nao because she thinks Nao is the fourth Pretty Cure, and she gets her chance the next day when she finds her coming from the market.
Becoming Cure March[]
As thanks for Miyuki offering to carry her items, Nao invites her over for dinner and she is very impressed to see that Nao is a good 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 Siblings decide to have a soccer challenge against Miyuki, Akane, and Yayoi, but as they start the challenge, Akaoni appears. He decides to collect Bad Energy from them. When Cure Happy is caught in the Akanbe, Nao awakens and recognizes the girls in Cure forms as the Akanbe prepares to hurt her siblings. Nao stops it in time by kicking a soccer ball at it, and for her courage and dedication to protect her family bonds, she becomes Cure March. She goes after the Akanbe, but instead 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, but she finishes off 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 them to call her Nao.
Finally, they succeeded in bringing together the team of Pretty Cure and get to meet Pop, Candy's older brother. He fills them in on what it means to be a Pretty Cure and hands over the Decor Décor before showing them the Magical Library. He tells the story about the Bad End Kingdom.SmPC06
In one moment, they get shrunk by Majorina's inventions. They went through many obstacles trying to find a way to get to Candy who had the mallet that turned them tiny. During their journey, Nao faced some bugs that terrified her. The bugs weren't the only thing she feared, she also reveals that she was scared of heights, along with Akane. When they finally land on the grass, they found themselves surrounded by bugs scaring Nao to her limit, but after being saved by a group of pill bugs she passes out. She had become shy around her friends as they now knew her fear. Reika tries to help Nao with her fear and introduced the world of bugs and insects to her in a different light that Nao begins to understand. When Majorina attacked and sucked the Bad Energy from the insects, she saw the sufferings of them and decides to fight to save them. At the end of the episode, Nao believes that her phobia of insects has passed; but after a ladybug flies past her, she runs away screaming.SmPC11
Later, the girls were ready for a trip to Kyoto and Osaka. Candy wanted to go, but when she made a mess, she ran away until she captured by Wolfrun. The Blue Nose Akanbe was too powerful for the Cures until Candy unleashed the Miracle Decors and the Pretty Cures gain their Tiara mode to use their group attack, "Rainbow Healing".SmPC12
Once, she had made a cute cover bag for on-the-go tissue paper for her mother on Mother's Day. Eventually, the sporting event at school begins and Nao volunteers herself and the girls to participate in the baton relay race, training the others until the day of the event. Suddenly, Akaoni appeared sucking everyone's Bad Energy, and they did battle with the Akanbe by playing tug-of-war. Peace remained unsure of herself until March shouted out that by working together, they would win, encouraging her to keep trying. Afterwards, the race began, and Yayoi managed to perform very well, but when Nao's turn approached, she slipped after having made it to the lead, and they lose the race. She mourns their loss and the others embrace her as they begin to cry as well.SmPC15
In another event, Pop came back to tell the Pretty Cures that they have one more Decor to revive the Royale Queen. The girls began to hang their tanzaku on the bamboo tree and Miyuki decided to use the Star Decor piece as part of the decorations. When they went to the park to see the shooting stars, an Akanbe attacked and the Pretty Cures managed to defeat it and get the last Decor, but it was quickly stolen by Joker as he kidnapped Candy and disappeared, leaving the Pretty Cures depressed.SmPC23
Going to the Bad End Kingdom and Pierrot's revival[]
The Pretty Cures were sad about Candy's kidnapping. Miyuki discovered that they still have one Decor they used for the tanabata decoration and decided to go to Märchenland to go to Bad End Kingdom to rescue Candy and the Decor Decor. When the Cures traveled to Märchenland, there was no one around and Joker appeared to fight them. The girls transformed, but were defeated by him and had their Bad Energy absorbed, leaving them hopeless. They don't know what to do and Miyuki suggests they separate to think about what is most important to them. When Miyuki and the gang were by themselves and each thinks about it, they read the tanzaku that Candy had written about them. With their resolved strength, the girls united and prepared to venture to the Bad End Kingdom and promised to rescue Candy and everyone will return home safely. When they went to Bad End Kingdom, the commanders, Wolfrun, Akaoni, Majorina and Joker were waiting for them. As the Cures were fighting the 4 commanders, Happy rescues Candy. March faces Majorina but becomes shocked when Majorina transformed younger. Because of her transformation, she was a difficult opponent and used her magic and strength to hurt her. March was defeated but her will told her not to give up because she promised to go home with Candy and her friends. She uses her feelings to become stronger and uses March Shoot. She missed Majorina as there were clones of her, but making it a fair match for March, she made many balls of energy to kick at all the clones and Majorina to defeat her.
As the Cures united and put the last Decor in the Decor Decor they recovered, but they find it doesn't seem to do anything with all the Decors inside, Emperor Pierrot reveals himself. Just as the Cures are overwhelmed by Pierrot's power, the Decor Decór glows and the Cures are contacted by the Queen of Märchenland, who grants them the power of the Princess Candles, allowing them to evolve into their new Princess Forms and defeat Pierrot.
Going back to Märchenland[]
The Cures travel to Märchenland to meet the Royale Queen, but because she's been put to sleep they leave to try to get answers from the fairy inhabitants. But because of them being afraid of the girls, Pop transforms them into fairies. As Pop does research Nao and the others take a tour around Märchenland. They saw characters from stories and doing the scenes from the stories like Red Riding Hood and Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves. While watching, Miyuki tripped and fell on a hill, but rescued by Puss in Boots and played with the inhabitants. When they arrived at a house made of candies, they went to eat it. Puss wanted to get a candy and Miyuki tried to help him until she sneezed causing everyone to revert their human forms.
The fairies were afraid at first, but Miyuki gave Puss the candy he tried to get and soon the fairies realize they are nice and accepted them. They heard about the Miracle Jewels from the fairies that they would grant any wish. Suddenly, Wolfrun appeared for the Miracle Jewels and absorbed the Bad Energy from the fairies. The Pretty Cures transformed and Wolfrun used the Super Akanbe and it was too powerful for the Cures and almost defeated, but heard the fairies despair and stood up again. Suddenly the Princess Candles reappeared again and they transformed to Princess Form. They defeated the Akanbe using Rainbow Burst and it released two Cure Decor pieces. After Wolfurun retreated, the girls heard Royale Queen's voice and headed back to the castle. Royale Queen was speaking through telepathy and explained that the original Cure Decor pieces which were supposed to revive her were instead given to Pegasus so that the girls could attain Princess Form. She also informed them that Pierrot is still alive and they had to gather more Cure Decor pieces to revive her. Everyone was troubled with the thought of more battle, but Miyuki encouraged everyone to work harder and revive Royale Queen. They then said goodbye to the fairies as the girls and Candy returned to the human world.
Back on EarthSmPC25, Nao was selling shaved ice at the beach and next door was Akane's okonomiyaki shop. They become competitive while trying to help their respective shops, and eventually summer is coming to an end. At schoolSmPC28, Nao has become uneasy because of the scary book she was reading. Miyuki was not good with scary stories and Akane suggested they go around the school explore some rumors of strange sightings in their school.SmPC29 The girls also focus on finishing summer homework, visit the amusement park, and become sucked into a strange game world. Cure March challenges Akaoni to a game of baseball. She successfully hit the ball, but the scoreboard Akanbe blew the ball to Akaoni's direction to catch it. March uses March shoot to redirect the ball away from Akaoni, flew over the Scoreboard making it a Homerun and win the game.
In the next episode, all of them state that they didn't get to go overseas during the summer. Nao says she wanted to run through the vast plains of Mongolia, and because of everyone else having locations they wish to visit they take advantage of the Magical Library to stop by each location, their last stop being the Amazon River. While on the boat ride, Akaoni attacked and summoned Piranha Akanbe and ate Candy. It was too hard for them to swim, but Candy used the Dolphin Decor and turned them all to mermaids. They manage to defeat the Akanbe and collected the last 2 Decors. Back at the Magic Library, when putting the Decors into the Decor Decor, what appeared was a mysterious clock.
Cure March[]
Cure March
勇気リンリン直球勝負！キュアマーチ！
Yūki rinrin chokkyū shōbu! Kyua Māchi!
Cure March (キュアマーチ)? is Nao's Pretty Cure alter ego. She holds the power of Wind, which grants her the ability to run at super high speed. Her speed shows when she is attacking, making gust around her punches. She is the fastest out of the 5 Smile! Cures, having the most enhanced speed and can run on walls. In Glitter Force, her introduction is "A force as strong as life itself! I'm Glitter Spring!"
Princess March[]
Princess March
After receiving the Green Big Clover Princess Decor and Princess Candle, Nao can transform into her princess form named "Princess March!". She transforms by putting the Green Big Clove Princess Decor in the Princess Candle and yelling out "Pegasus, Grant Us The Power!" With the other Smile Cures in their Princess Forms, they can perform the group attack called Rainbow Burst.
Transformation Sequence[]
The Smile Pact is first opened, and Nao sets her ribbon Cure Decor piece into the recess. This causes her individual green light to light up first, followed by the seven lights inside the Smile Pact in sequence. A background voice asks, "Ready?", and in response, Nao shouts out the transformation phrase "Pretty Cure! Smile Charge!". The Smile Pact produces a powder puff, which Nao taps on the Smile Pact to collect up magic powder. Nao uses her puff to draw a triangle of magic powder, which then explodes into a wind that forms her arm warmers, shoes, dress and the Smile Pretty Cure brooch. Her hair lengthens as its color shifts from dark green to light green. Lastly, she pats the powder puff onto her cheeks to give them a rosy glow. After transforming, Cure March flies down from the sky, lands on her feet and recites her introductory speech.
Attacks[]
Cure March performs March Shoot.
March Shoot - Cure March first charges up her Smile Pact with fighting spirit, making it glow and granting her power. When enough fighting spirit has been collected, the Smile Pact explodes with wind energy that lifts Cure March off the ground and into the air. March then compresses the wind into a ball and kicks it at the enemy, soccer-style. She can also summon more than hundreds of spheres of wind and kicks them all in outstanding speed. For Glitter Force, the attack is renamed Sparkle Shot.
March Shoot Impact - An upgraded version of March Shoot. March spins around in a gust of wind then kicks her enemy with full power. The effect sends the enemy high into the sky. This effect also applies to convert ominous winds into her own and reflects it back. For Glitter Force, the attack it renamed Sparkle Shot Maximum Impact.
Fire Shoot - Her combination attack with Cure Sunny's Sunny Fire attack. In Glitter Force, the attack is renamed Sparkle Fire Shot.
Rainbow Healing -is the group attack, which appears on episode 12, and once the Cures gain the Miracle Jewel Decor, and all are on Tiara Mode, they are capable of defeating the Blue Nosed Akanbe. In Glitter Force, it was renamed Tiara Mode Torrent.
Rainbow Burst - is the second group attack, which appears on episode 23, the attack could be done with the Princess Candle, and also when they are on Princess Mode, and they are capable on defeating the enemy. Royal Rainbow Burst - is the third group attack, which appears on episode 32, where they need the Princess Candle and the Royal Clock, and when they are on Princess mode, they are capable of doing the attack.
Ultra Rainbow Burst- is the fourth group attack, which appears only once in episode 48. It is identical to Royal Rainbow Burst except that Sunny and the others are in their ultra forms and the Royal Clock doesn't appear. In Glitter Force, the attack is just called Royal Rainbow Burst.
Miracle Rainbow Burst - is the fifth, final, and most powerful group attack, which appears only once in episode 48. The attack is done in Ultra Form alongside Royal Candy and the Miracle Jewel. This attack is used to defeat Pierrot.
Along with the other four Smile! Cures, Cure March can summon a huge rainbow shield or barrier in the movie "Mirai no Tomodachi". This is further enhanced by Fu-chan's last bit of power.
Songs[]
Nao's voice actor, Inoue Marina, has participated in several image songs for the character she voices. Many of them include duets with Fukuen Misato, who voices Hoshizora Miyuki, Tano Asami, who voices Hino Akane, Kanemoto Hisako, who voices Kise Yayoi, and Nishimura Chinami, who voices Aoki Reika.
Group Songs[]
- The Best Smile (Along with Fukuen Misato, Tano Asami, Kanemoto Hisako, and Nishimura Chinami)
- Rainbow Colored Every Day (Along with Kanemoto Hisako, and Nishimura Chinami)
- Let's Laugh, Just Laugh And Laugh♪ (Along with Fukuen Misato, Tano Asami, Kanemoto Hisako, Nishimura Chinami, and Ootani Ikue)
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.
- Nao shares her name with Tabata Nao from Futari wa Pretty Cure Max Heart and Chiyu's mother from Healin' Good♥Pretty Cure.
- Nao appeared as Cure March to give the 10th anniversary congratulatory message at the beginning of episode 11 in Happiness Charge Pretty Cure!.
- Nao is afraid of insects.SmPC11
Gallery[]
- Main Page: Midorikawa Nao/Image Gallery
References[]
| V • ESmile Pretty Cure! characters | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cures | Hoshizora Miyuki/Cure Happy • Hino Akane/Cure Sunny • Kise Yayoi/Cure Peace • Midorikawa Nao/Cure March • Aoki Reika/Cure Beauty | |
| Mascots | Candy • Pop | |
| Villains | Pierrot • Joker • Wolfrun • Akaoni • Majorina • Bad End Pretty Cure • Akanbe | |
| Others | Royale Queen • Hoshizora Hiroshi • Hoshizora Ikuyo • Hoshizora Tae • Hino Daigo • Hino Masako • Hino Genki • Kise Yuuichi • Kise Chiharu • Midorikawa Genji • Midorikawa Tomoko • Midorikawa Siblings • Aoki Soutarou • Aoki Shizuko • Aoki Junnosuke • Sasaki Namie • Nanairogaoka Class 2-2 • Toyoshima Hidekazu • Council President Irie • Terada Runa • Fujiwara • Brian Taylor • Officer Matsubara | |
| Movie only | Demon King • Nico • Momotaro • Cinderella • One-Inch Boy • Sun Wukong • Urashima Taro • Cow King • Blue Demon • Green Demon | |