Catch Phrase: "I can't stand it anymore!"/"My bag of tolerance has just snapped!"*
Both are right - "bag of tolerance" is the true translation and matches Tsubomi's use of old phrases, but "I can't stand it anymore!" rolls off the tongue a lot better.
Badass Adorable: She doesn't even think twice before punching men twice her size in the face. Her fight with Kumojacky in episode 46 practically solidifies her as this.
Catch Phrase: "Even if my heart is larger than the sea, this is over my limit!"
The androgynousStudent Council President who acts masculine in order to continue the martial traditions of her family in place of her feeble older brother. Despite this, she adores cute things and wishes she could show her feminine side more freely.
Action Girl / Little Miss Badass: She's quite the accomplished martial artist and even fought back against Cobraja and Kumojacky respectively in two episodes. Then she received her powers.
Cuteness Proximity: Normally quite reserved, but get her anywhere near dolls or cute clothing, and it's a different story, to the point where "How cute!" might as well be her othercatchphrase.
Girliness Upgrade: As the series goes on, she becomes more open about her love of cute things, dolls up for the school fashion show and eventually grows her hair out a bit and starts wearing the female uniform. Still, she remains as athletic and interested in martial arts as ever.
Girls Love Stuffed Animals: Episode 15 reveals that she has a pretty good-sized collection of them, which she keeps hidden away.
Heir to the Dojo: Her sick brother wasn't expected to make it before his surgery in episode 23, so she was made into this. In order to become a worthy successor, she felt compelled to act like a boy and disguise her adoration for cute things. Poor girl.
Power Makes Your Hair Grow: While this happens to almost all Cures, she takes it to the biggest extent, going from a very short bob haircut to waist-length Girlish Pigtails when transformed.
Unsettling Gender Reveal: Tsubomi is pretty upset when she learns that Itsuki is actually a girl during episode 7. Cobraja, on the other hand, is flat-out shocked.
The former Cure Moonlight, who was defeated and Brought Down to Normal by Dark Pretty Cure before the events of the series. Though quiet, mature and intellectual, she harbours a deep sadness within her heart, unable to forgive herself for her past failures. She eventually regains her resolve to fight and becomes Cure Moonlight once more.
Dark Magical Girl: While firmly being on the side of Good, she has some shades of this. She must deal with her loneliness and a great deal of bitterness in her life. If she's Fate, Tsubomi is Nanoha. (No irony intended.)
Disappeared Dad: Her father has been missing ever since he began looking for the Heart Tree.
Loners Are Freaks: Her main character flaw, in the "I'll take on all the responsibility so no-one else has to" sense. It indirectly leads to Cologne's death, after she overestimates her power against a two-on-one disadvantage and rejects his advice to find team-mates to even the odds.
Meaningful Name: Her surname literally means "moon shadow" and her first name is also the Japanese name for the lily flower, which is also her Heart Flower.
Chypre and Coffret are two fairies that act as partners to Tsubomi and Erika, respectively. They safeguard and summon the Heart Seeds that the Pretty Cure use to transform, and (uh) "create" new Heart Seeds after a Desertarian is defeated.
Tsubomi's grandmother. In her youth, she was chosen by the Heart Tree to become Cure Flower, who single-handedly defeated the first invasion of the Desert Apostles. Having long retired her powers, she acts as a mentor to the current generation of Pretty Cure.
A baby fairy who is born from the Heart Tree after enough Heart Seeds have been collected. He becomes the partner to Itsuki and enables her transformation into Cure Sunshine. Being a newborn, Potpourri is the most childish and self-centred of the fairies.
Barrier Warrior: Has the ability to independently create powerful barriers, an ability unique amongst the fairies.
The fairy partner of Cure Moonlight. He is shown to be the most mature and level-headed of the fairies. When Yuri ignored his advice and fought Dark Pretty Cure and Sabbaku by herself, he was forced to sacrifice himself to save her life. He later returns as a Spirit Advisor after the Heart Tree regains enough strength, but can only manifest long enough to set Yuri's heart at ease.
A senior fairy, and former partner to Cure Flower. Though silent, he is greatly respected by Chypre & Coffret as their role model. One of the powers of his advanced age is the ability to shapeshift. He often takes the form of Kaoruko's deceased husband, a blue-haired Bishōnen.
The masked leader of the Desert Apostles' invasion of Earth. He oversees operations from the Desert Palace, using his mastery of technology to create weapons such as Dark Pretty Cure and (later) the Dark Bracelets.
An Evil Knockoff created by Professor Sabbaku specifically to defeat Cure Moonlight. Even after doing so, she remains dangerously obsessed with Yuri Tsukikage. She is a powerful enemy to the Pretty Cure, and slavishly dedicated to Sabbaku.
Replacement Goldfish: Sabaaku unconsciously patterned her off of Yuri/Moonlight, giving her a desire to destroy her counterpart and cement her position as the Professor's real daughter.
Giant Space Flea from Nowhere: He is not mentioned until the latter half of the series and doesn't even show up properly until the last few episodes. He's basically just there to act as a Final Boss to the heroes, especially since the main antagonists up to that point, Sabbaku and Dark Pretty Cure, are destined for Alas, Poor Villain endings.
Slasher Smile: There are only a few fleeting glimpses of it, and it's only worn occasionally when he fights, but when he wears it, he wears it well.
The Three Generals
A trio that leads the ground invasion of the Desert Apostles. Their main duty is to wilt the Heart Flowers of humans, which would hasten the death of the Heart Tree. To do this, they can extract wilting Heart Flowers from humans and transform them into berserking monsters known as Desertrians, catalysing the wilting process. They are actually three Heart Flowers which were extracted from their human hosts by Professor Sabbaku and experimented upon. After they are defeated, the Heart Flowers return to their comatose human bodies, reviving their true human selves.
The red General. A boisterous Blood Knight obsessed with achieving martial perfection. Unlike the other two Generals, he regularly fights on the front lines alongside his summoned Desertrians.
The blue General. A smarmy narcissist infatuated with his own beauty. He despises anything he considers "ugly", including Heart Flowers, which is why he transforms them into Desertrians.
Heel Face Door Slam: She seemed to be tilting towards a change of heart after getting hit by Gold Forte Burst. It was promptly reverted after she received her Dark Bracelet. She is fully purified in episode 40 and returns to her human host, functionally completing a Heel Face Turn.
