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One of many OC fics for the Pretty Cure franchise that have sprung up around Livejournal, this one is written by ryanasaurus0077 and features a "rock music" theme.

Can be read at its LiveJournal page here.


Pretty Cure Heavy Metal provides examples of:

  • Added Alliterative Appeal: The English translation of the Japanese title of episode 7.
  • Adopt the Dog: Gacy, having accepted defeat at the hands of Sakura/Cure Nirvana, who offers her hand in friendship, attacks her own robot, who was just seconds away from killing Shugo/Cure Hendrix against her orders (she lives by the rule Thou Shalt Not Kill), and reprograms it to perform surgery on Shugo on the spot.
  • Ain't No Rule: Even Isuten Junior High and Isuten High acknowledge that the dress code merely states that girls can wear anything they like under their uniforms for the sake of warming their legs during the winter semester; several girls attending both schools — and Shugo in particular (although she always wears pants as part of her hybrid uniform at Isuten High in season 2 anyway) — take advantage of this school-sanctioned loophole and wear any type of pants under their uniforms that they can find.
  • Alternate Universe: The Bill 156 saga takes a very nasty turn from reality in one second season episode. Then the vigilantes, along with Pretty Cure, rid the city of the rest of the Tokyo Government Remnant, the remaining few that had helped pass the anti-Lolicon amendment that had been criticized by the otaku nation as too damn broad. Afterward, in an ending reminiscient of that of The Birth of a Nation (1915), the city is rebuilt, a pro-anime government is set up, and all anti-anime people remaining in the city are automatically disenfranchised.
  • Anachronism Stew: Sakura's homework assignment from her first day back at school, which she types in episodes 24 and 25 and presents to the class at the end of the latter episode. The stew itself is lampshaded numerous times throughout the paper and is enough to feed the entire army of extras in Richard Attenborough's Gandhi.
  • An Isuzu Wizard Did It: Alternate Trope Namer, featured in the English translation of the long title of episode 6; also the vandals' vehicular weapon of choice in said episode when vandalizing Isuten Junior High.
    • Lampshaded by Cure Hendrix in episode 15.
  • Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Right before Kuroimetaru calls her out for being downright reckless with her gun, Shugo says, "Not only are you a menace to society, but you've also blown up a bus full of nuns, and you always play with matches where you shouldn't!"
    • Shugo seems to love this trope: in episode 29, during the bus ride to Shogun Studios, she says, "Terrorists are just plain evil. They blew up the World Trade Center, put anthrax spores in mail, and censored episode 201 of South Park. And that last thing they did... is unforgivable."
      • Shugo also mentions in episode 20 that among the things you can't say on television are the Seven Dirty Words, the G-D word, and Muhammad.
  • Artistic License – Gun Safety: It's easy to tell when Shugo pulls a Face–Heel Turn anywhere in the story if you take this trope into consideration: she'll point her gun at friend and foe (if one is present) alike, and her finger will always be on the trigger. Friendly fire is optional.
  • Ascended Extra: Kaori Furuya has a more major role in a few episodes of World Tour in Japan-centric scenes, and she's shown practicing with the Oriyama Ballet Company. Especially in recent times, she feels comfortable spending company time wearing a loose-fitting sweater that exposes her shoulders and tight-fitting slacks. The ballet master himself seizes the opportunity to transition her into more masculine roles in the company's productions, to the point where he has her take up bodybuilding to build up the necessary strength to carry everyone else she's cast alongside in productions, especially Mitsuuru, who joins the company following the premiere of the local Live-Action Adaptation of Princess Tutu on Public TV For Isuten.
  • A-Team Firing: Cure Hendrix misses her shots in only two episodes: episode 26, where she deliberately misses Ramirez five times before reciting Dirty Harry's "Do you feel lucky, punk?" speech word-for-word and blowing her brains out with the last shot, and episode 51, where the Principle Of Evil Marksmanship is mercilessly inverted on her as she misses all her shots no matter where she aims and then gets shot in the lung by the enemy.
  • At the Opera Tonight: The girls go to a ballet adaptation of Ouran High School Host Club in episode 47, and Shugo decides to go Bifauxnen again and wear a tuxedo for the occasion.
  • Attractive Bent-Gender: Mitsuuru Takahashi. He's so convincing playing girls onstage Even the Guys Want Him. As seen in World Tour, during scenes set in Japan where he practices with the Oriyama Ballet Company, he also out-pretties all the other females in the company when he's wearing a pink strapless leotard (held up by two thick strands of ribbon in the back tied tightly together by his sister, who in one episode is shown to help him get changed) and tutu. Kaori herself is in awe at the sight.
  • Ballroom Blitz: Episode 48, when the girls (in normal mode) face off against Kuroimetaru (who had shown up as a sleeper) after King Elvis unwittingly drinks a glass of wine laced with a cyanide pill (a reference to Elvis Presley's supposed death). Shugo, being the fighter in the tuxedo, is able to move more freely than the other girls (and her boyfriend). Coincidentally, the BGM happens to be the Trope Namer itself.
  • The Band Minus the Face: Velvet Beretta, founded by three former Pistols N Flowers members.
  • Batman Gambit: Heroic examples occur spontaneously, the crowning moment being Shugo exploiting the Principle Of Evil Marksmanship by taunting a Mook into shooting at her and her friends before shooting the unlucky Mook. "Is it me, or do all you bad guys always set your guns to Miss?"
  • Beach Episode: Episode 19.
  • Behind the Black: In episode 14, Shugo appears under Sakura's skirt from out of nowhere, leading a stunned Sakura to quote Abby from NCIS and say "And don't look up my skirt!" after telling her to call her friends over.
    • And then the same thing happens again in episode 31. Is Shugo an Accidental Pervert or something?
  • Berserk Button: Be prepared for an all-out war between yourself and one of the Cures if you program a robot to kill her and try to place the blame on the Minion with an F in Evil.
    • Also, Lori's reaction to herself and Shugo nearly being shot by crew members on the set of the Jim Nameke movie The Young Witness is to land a Precision H-Strike on those responsible.
    • Oh, and in World Tour, it's shown that Shugo does not like being called a hermaphrodite or insulted in any other way based on her Isuten High hybrid uniform. She was ready to take down a tomboy attending the school on both counts.
  • Bifauxnen: Shugo, at least in drama club productions. While she does crossdress outside of school, she makes no secret of her gender (partly due to her long, dirty blonde hair). By World Tour, though, she'd cut her hair. While this isn't brought up at first, when pressed she just states she wanted to crank her boyishness up to eleven when in fact she had planned on mimicking the actress she shares her looks with in doing so.
  • Big Applesauce: At some point in Pretty Cure Heavy Metal World Tour, the Lovely and Wild Angels will perform for hundreds, maybe thousands, of New Yorkers. New York City, after all, was among the stops in the Use Your Illusion Tour of Guns N' Roses, and therefore the Use Your Allusion Tour of Pistols N Flowers.
  • Bland-Name Product: If you're a fan of heavy metal, you'll probably guess that Pistols N Flowers is based on Guns N' Roses, Gdansk is Danzig, Dragonslayer is Slayer, Metal Racer is Metallica, Gigadeth is Megadeth, Rock Temple Pirates is Stone Temple Pilots, Velvet Beretta is Velvet Revolver, Drunken Youth is Wasted Youth, etc.
  • Bloodier and Gorier: Episode 51 is going to be the bloodiest Pretty Cure episode, fanfic or anime, ever: Burton has her throat slit and then gets stabbed repeatedly, Stradlin gets curb-stomped literally while face-up, Roadie gets strangled, and then the Principle Of Evil Marksmanship gets inverted on Hendrix, who usually is a good shoot, as she misses every single shot and then gets shot in the lung. She's lucky, though; the other three Cures die instantly, while she still has time to give Nirvana some pep talk before finally passing on one minute before the episode ends with Nirvana undergoing her Darkest Hour.
  • Bond One-Liner: Shugo delivers one each time she shoots her enemy. A particularly notable example is "Only the A-Team was so precise with their shooting."
    • In episode 50, after shooting Kuroimetaru in the mouth, she says, "Something he ate disagreed with him."
    • After shooting Ramirez in episode 26, she says, "She felt lucky, but she just wasn't that lucky."
    • After the bald guy dispatches a Mook with a star-shaped disc to the forehead in episode 25, he tells another Hell's Angels member, "It just wasn't in the stars for him."
  • Bond Villain Stupidity: Cure Hendrix comments on Ramirez's revelation that all the quicksand pits at Honeyasume Beach have been marked in episode 19.
  • Brick Joke: In episode 47, we see a picture of a 1st grade boy wearing a pink leotard in Mitsuuru's room. Later in the episode it's revealed that Mitsuuru studied ballet in grade school and that the picture is of him.
  • Bullet Time: Employed several times, most notably in episode 27, when Cure Hendrix scissor-kicks Gacy's robot during their first encounter.
  • Burn the Witch!: Ramirez's fate.
  • Character Focus: Shugo seems to be the author's personal favorite and gets a lot of plotlines devoted to her, about even with the leader, Sakura. Whether this is a good or bad thing depends on how much you like Shugo.
  • Cherry Blossom Girl: Sakura Cobain.
  • Cosplay: A "cosplay ball" is held in a later episode. Here's the costumes worn by the attendees:
  • Covers Always Lie: Cures Stradlin and Burton bring this up in episode 23 as the Cures enter Mansonia to rescue Shugo.
  • Creator Thumbprint: Satanists as the villain squad? Check. Heavy profanity (albeit this time with most harsher words being censored)? Check. Cure that doesn't wear a skirt? Check. Three-Dimensional Episode? Check. Minors watching R-rated movies? Check. Pop culture references (including music and movies)? Check. Characters wearing leather jackets? Check.
  • Crossdresser: Kato in episode 44 (his cosplay is the Joker as a nurse from The Dark Knight), and Kaori Furuya in episode 47 (she's the female principal in the ballet adaptation of Ouran High School Host Club, who just happens to be Haruhi Fujioka).
  • Custom Uniform: In season 2, the girls, who are on a world tour, wear only the top half of the Isuten High uniform (as they had been chosen for the school but were unable to physically attend)—which consisted of a black leather jacket combined with a sailor top—when attending their classes via webcam.
    • Shugo herself is an example once she becomes an Isuten High student in World Tour; she now wears a hybrid uniform that consists of the sailor top worn by girls, the black pants worn by boys, and the black leather jacket worn by both sexes.
  • Darker and Edgier: While this may be the darkest Pretty Cure series ever, fanfic or anime, the author isn't planning on having three of his five Cures Killed Off for Real during the final fight even after it was offered as a suggestion as to how to make the series darker than it already is.
  • Darkest Hour: The bloody ending of episode 51, as well as the first half of episode 52.
  • Deadly Prank: During the Sydney concert in season 2, the Lovely and Wild Angels are the latest victims of a Real Life egg-throwing epidemic as Shugo and Sakura both take a few hits from the infamous "death from above" (or, eggs dropped onto a victim's head).
  • Death is Cheap: After the final battle in episode 52, all the Cures that died in combat come back to life... and find themselves teleported back to their homes in Isuten, safe and sound.
  • Despair Event Horizon: Shugo nearly crosses it as she writes "Pale Moonlight" in episode 23. Normally, the Satanic imagery would definitely push one over the Moral Event Horizon, but the author was generous enough to have Cure Nirvana be the one to save her from a Face–Heel Turn.
  • Disney Death: Played with in episode 3 after Cure Hendrix gets shot; as she gets back up, she bravely removes the bullet with her bare hands. Played straight later on by Gacy, who sacrifices herself to protect her former enemies in episode 40 (we even get to see her being laid to rest at the end of the episode) and then comes back as a normal human near the end of the series.
  • Dragged into Drag: Mitsuuru's parents believed that getting new clothes for a second child was impractical, so he was stuck wearing his sister's old clothes. This extended into his junior high years, although when he entered Isuten Junior High he was allowed to wear the boys' uniform for once.
  • The Dragon: Kuroimetaru, who Lady Marilyn is most patient with due to the fact that after he bumped off Gacy in episode 40, he's the only Mansonian who stands between her and the Cures.
  • Drama Club: Shugo and Mitsuuru are regular members.
  • Drink-Based Characterization: In the Nightrain Express speakeasy scene in episode 40, Akane (who is dealing with a bout of depression after her robot completely broke down) orders a glass of Night Train Express, Sakura orders a glass of Bud Light, and Shugo's order? "Three measures of Gordon's, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it's ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel. Got it?"
  • Driven to Suicide: Shugo attempts suicide in episode 23 after writing a dark song, but her attempt is interrupted by Ramirez, and she changes her mind about suicide after her friends pull her away from a Face–Heel Turn.
  • Due to the Dead: The Japanese funerals in episode 14, as well as the Western-style graveside service for Akane/Gacy at Shibou Graveyard in Oriyama in episode 40.
  • Eaglelander: Alex Hollis. Flavor 2 (because he dreams of the Hollywood glitz and glamour) is subverted partly because he's really a Nice Guy, especially to his teammates, and partly because he is genuinely patriotic like those Flavor 1 Eaglelanders.
  • Early-Bird Cameo: Shigeru Korematsu, introduced (but not named) at the end of episode 10 before making a proper appearence in episode 11.
  • Every Car Is a Pinto: In episode 45, Shugo chases Kuroimetaru around Isuten by car until he jumps over the car (causing Shugo to stop it), lands behind it, and kicks it, causing the car to explode (but not before Shugo gets out, so she's safe from the conflagration). Bonus points for the car actually being a Ford Pinto.
  • Evil Laugh: Of all people, Shugo gets one after blowing smoke in Kuroimetaru's face in episode 45 the chase episode); however, she's less evil than she is a Well-Intentioned Extremist in the course of that episode.
  • Evil Overlord List: Rule #7 (When I've captured my adversary and he says, "Look, before you kill me, will you at least tell me what this is all about?" I'll say, "No." and shoot him. No, on second thought I'll shoot him then say "No.") is unsuccessfully performed by Kuroimetaru: after Shugo asks him to tell her Mansonia's ultimate plan before killing her at the start of episode 45, he shoots her before saying, "No." Shugo recovers from the shot, though. Took a Level in Badass, you might say.
  • Expy: Pistols N Flowers is based on Guns N' Roses, with a Velvet Revolver knockoff called Velvet Beretta forming toward the end of the first quarter. Also, Public TV For Isuten is based on WSJK, now known as WETP, and WKOP, which are collectively known as Public TV For East Tennessee, in case you didn't get the pun. Likewise, Takashi Edwards is meant to resemble WSJK's Hoth Edwards.
    • And don't think you didn't think of Eas when you see Cure Hendrix's costume. However, Cure Hendrix's version has blue accents, and her sleeveless top doesn't have anything protruding from the backside.
      • Speaking of which, Word of God says (and Mitsuuru confirms) that Shugo herself looks like she could be Emma Watson's long-lost sister.
      • And the girl who jumps and nearly kills her during an incident she describes in graphic detail in episode 4 and the cat that passes by Shibou Graveyard in episode 40 may or may not be Ashley McFly.
  • Face–Heel Turn: Almost; Cure Nirvana manages to use rakansen on the brainwashing machine before Lady Marilyn can finish turning Shugo evil, resulting in a Face-Heel Door Slam on her own part. Although...
    • Face-Heel Revolving Door: Shugo/Cure Hendrix has momentary lapses of judgment concerning her itchy trigger finger, which is sometimes too itchy for her to handle. For example, in episode 31, she pulls a gun on Sakura for no reason at all. Episode 41 has her shooting at Mitsuuru for joining in on her fight. Episode 45 has her go postal on Kuroimetaru and mow down anyone in her path, including her own allies. And let's not get started on how many times she shot at her own allies (including Mitsuuru) in episodes 49 and 50 alone.
    • In terms of college football allegiance, the Cures as a whole pull this on Tennessee due to NCAA sanctions over recruiting violations by "kriffing Lane Kiffin", with Sakura aligning herself with Georgia, Rizuka with Florida (complete with her Cure outfit changing to orange and blue), Shugo with Kentucky, Isuzu with Vanderbilt, Taiko with Florida, and Akane with Alabama. This results in at least one schism within Pretty Cure per game, as the Cures are all aligned with different football teams that could be rivals to each other.
  • Fanservice: Nothing revealing is seen, but in one episode of World Tour, Mitsuuru, in a private changing room with his sister Yuki, changes out of his school uniform and into his ballet attire (a pink strapless leotard and tutu). The intimacy alone is grounds for Incest Yay Shipping.
  • The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You: After an unnamed character (possibly the author himself) says Candle Jack in episode 13, Zero assaults the reader before he can finish his sentence and escapes into the reader's room, with the Cures following close behi— Sorry I took so long to react.
  • Gender Bender: Episode 33 has Alex Hollis, who transforms into a girl as Cure Romance.
  • Gender Flip: An episode of World Tour has Shugo mention working on a modernization of Treasure Island and leaving it behind for the Isuten Junior High drama club to perform after she moved on to high school. Among the changes was, most noticeably, the changing of Jim Hawkins's gender to female, leading to the inevitable rename to Jane Hawkins—a change Shugo made just for Mitsuuru, who thanks her in an email.
  • Girls with Guns: Shugo/Cure Hendrix, obviously.
  • Godwin's Law of Time Travel: The second 3D movie featuring the Lovely and Wild Angels has them going back in time to find out how someone had a run-in with this law and caused Nazi Germany to win World War II.
  • A Good Name for a Rock Band: Pistols N Flowers.
  • Gory Discretion Shot: In episode 25, we see Isuzu walk offscreen with her bowie knife after Rizuka kills Lady Marilyn, then a few seconds later, Sakura inexplicably vomits, followed by Rizuka saying, "I'll say this for her: she had a lot of guts." This line lets you know that Isuzu drew Lady Marilyn. Of course, this happens in Sakura's paper.
  • Gratuitous Spanish: Shugo. Half the time, though, she uses it to sneak foul language into the fanfics.
  • Gretzky Has the Ball: The girls' play-by-play on a random baseball game in a filler episode of World Tour. Shugo even holds up a banner featuring a Chargin' Chuck throwing a baeball at another Chargin' Chuck whenever one of the girls (herself included) gets their sports mixed up.
  • Guns Do Not Work That Way: Several things are wrong with Shugo's gun (all of which are played straight unless otherwise noted).
    • Bang, Bang, BANG: Averted; when Shugo uses the gun she took from Zero after he got killed, the gun sounds in battle are realistic.
    • Bottomless Magazines: Mostly played straight with Shugo (with one aversion invoked when she tells Ramirez, "I know what you're thinking, punk: did she fire six shots or only five?"); mostly averted with the enemy (only Zero, the gun's previous owner, didn't have to reload after every six shots).
    • Gangsta Style: Cure Hendrix holds her gun that way when she's getting ready to shoot Kuroimetaru in the mouth. "Something he ate disagreed with him", indeed.
    • I Just Shot Marvin in the Face: During the Kuroimetaru arc, particularly in episode 45, Shugo/Cure Hendrix plays with her .44 Magnum rather recklessly, including accidentally shooting Cure Nirvana in the gut (though she survives, as she's Made of Iron), shooting her own foot, and lighting a gas station on fire—all for the sake of killing Kuroimetaru. Lampshaded by Kuroimetaru himself after the gas station incident:
    Kuroimetaru: You're lucky you don't have a criminal record by now, the way you handle your pistol.
    Shugo: You know why I'm reckless with my gun nowadays? It's so I can kill you wherever you're hiding!
    Kuroimetaru: But you haven't been lucky so far, as you never exactly missed... but you always miss me.
    Shugo: ¡MALDITO PENDEJO! [fires at Kuroimetaru, hitting his hand] You son of a bitch...
    Kuroimetaru: I suppose I'd have to catch the bullet, wouldn't I? [runs off]
    • Law of Inverse Recoil - Shugo almost never feels it when she shoots.
    • Only a Flesh Wound - Shugo shoots Ramirez several times in their encounters, yet her Achilles' Heel is her head, which Shugo shoots to kill her in episode 26.
    • Pretty Little Headshots: Ramirez's entry and exit wounds in episode 26 are described as being the exact same size.
    • You Always Hear the Bullet: The enemy always hears the shot Shugo fires and makes absolutely no attempt to dodge. One time this happens, Shugo delivers this priceless Bond One-Liner: "He had enough time to get out of my line of fire, but he just wasn't quick enough."
  • Heel–Faith Turn: Akane/Gacy not only turns good, she becomes a born-again Christian in a later episode... only to die at the hands of the most dangerous Mansonian Reverend. She comes back at the end of season 1, though.
  • Heel Realization: Lori chews out a stuntman for nearly killing her and Shugo during the big stunt. Her (mild) Precision F-Strike is what leads the stuntman with the gun to say "My God, What Have I Done?".
  • Hell-Bent for Leather: Isuten Junior High's uniforms for both genders include leather jackets, and the uniforms for Isuten High in season 2 combine the leather jackets of the junior high division with a Sailor Fuku. Of course, since the Cures (and Akane) are attending classes from wherever in the world they happened to be, they could wear whatever they wanted south of the belt, so basically they got off easy compared to those students physically attending the school.
  • Heroic BSoD: Shugo in episode 23 when she realizes her mother wants her to write something controversial, maybe even Satanic, for once.
  • I Know You Know I Know: More like "I know you don't know I don't know", but you get the idea.
  • Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy: Sometimes, when Shugo/Cure Hendrix comes up against an enemy with a gun, the enemy will fire at the Cures, missing each time. After the final shot each time, Shugo/Cure Hendrix will smirk, chuckle, and fire her own gun, hitting the enemy no matter where she aims. Also, both she and her comrades can walk in a straight line and not get hit by enemy gunfire even if it's aimed directly at them.
    • Lampshaded in episode 14, as Shugo, after hitting her foe, delivers a Bond One-Liner: "Where did he train, the Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy?"
  • Incurable Cough of Death: Cure Hendrix has this as she dies in episode 51, complete with blood coming out of her mouth. However, as with the other three Cures that had been bumped off around the same time, Death is Cheap.
  • Insistent Terminology: One of the few times the terminology is completely different from the mistake: in episode 33, Cure Hendrix lands a couple of roundhouse kicks on the enemy. Later, she gives her schedule as a kid as guitar lessons on Mondays, karate lessons on Wednesdays, and tae kwan do lessons on Fridays. Cure Romance (who was into ballet ever since childhood and had never seen a roundhouse kick before) says he thought those kicks were pirouettes, and Hendrix tells him they were roundhouse kicks in response.
  • Japanese Christian: Akane, starting in episode 40. Her newfound faith in God allows her to be resurrected toward the end of season 1. She's kind of uncomfortable with the song "Pale Moonlight" (due to its Satanic themes) on the self-titled debut album of the Lovely and Wild Angels, but the Cures assure her that no keyboards were involved in recording.
  • Kill It with Fire: Zero gets torched by Cure Stradlin (who didn't even know she could shoot fire from her finger), and Ramirez gets burned alive after being shot by Cure Hendrix.
  • Leotard of Power: Alex as Cure Romance. Also Isuzu wears a yellow exercise leotard over red leggings during Lovely and Wild Angels concerts.
  • Made of Iron: All the Cures show signs of this in Cure form, but the crowning moment comes from Cure Hendrix, who gets shot in episode 3 and appears to collapse, yet as soon as she gets up, she removes the bullet with her bare hands.
  • Magical Girl
  • Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: Shugo and Mitsuuru not only have blue and pink as their respective theme colors, they also crossdress a lot.
  • Meaningful Name: Sakura's last name is Cobain, and thus she becomes Cure Nirvana.
  • Meganekko: Shugo, starting in episode 37. Justified in that Word of God says she had been reading manga late at night for a while, so her eyesight went downhill from there. Strangely, she remains the same Bifauxnen she'd always been. Like Hanae before her, she loses the glasses when she becomes Cure Hendrix. Unlike Hanae, the only other time she takes them off is when she's brushing up on her martial arts or when she's pissed off (as seen in episode 45 when she completely loses it on Kuroimetaru and goes on a one-woman vendetta against him). To cover her glasses during her band's live shows from that point on, she wears sunglasses.
    • It should be noted that Shugo is at first afraid to show herself now that she's started to wear glasses. However, when Sakura catches her ditching classes, she goes "Get a Hold of Yourself, Girl!" complete with the slap, and tells her that wearing glasses isn't a bad thing at all.
  • Minidress of Power: Most of the Cures, including Alex as Cure Romance.
  • Minion with an F in Evil: Gacy. One factor in her F is the Cures finding out she and Akane Nakamura are the same person the first time she fights them. Naturally, she agrees to a truce that will be in effect during school hours... and oftentimes these truces will extend far beyond school hours.
  • Modesty Shorts: Worn by any Cure that doesn't wear a Magic Skirt (except Cure Hendrix, whose battle attire does not include a skirt at all). Also an option for Isuten Junior High's girls during the winter months (a good portion of the tomboy population, as well as Shugo, is always seen with said option during that period, and Shugo herself chooses to wear blue jeans during that period).
  • The Movie: Three of them, in fact—all in 3D.
  • Mythology Gag: Futari wa Hearty Pure, obviously.
  • No Fourth Wall: Constant references to previous and upcoming episodes are abound throughout the series. This happens so much in the early episodes (as well as when Zero broke into the real world) that if there ever was a fourth wall, it'll have been demolished by the end of the series.
  • No, Mister Bond, I Expect You To Dine: Gacy to the Cures in episode 28. It's the only thing she ever got right about being evil.
  • No OSHA Compliance: The final fight against Kuroimetaru in the two-parter "Shocker" takes place in a huge underground futuristic power plant where the combatants are in danger of many things, e.g. getting electrocuted (including a scene midway through the 49th episode where Kuroimetaru throws Cure Nirvana into an electric chair, which zaps her immediately—fortunately, she recovers from the shock) or falling into any number of Bottomless Pits (Cure Hendrix almost falls into a couple but is saved each time).
  • Non-Uniform Uniform: Even in spring, summer, and fall, Shugo always wears short knit socks and Spiky tennis shoes whenever she wears her Isuten Junior High uniform. After all, it's not specified in the dress code which shoes to wear.
  • Not Using the "Z" Word: Sakura really hates using the word "zombie", particularly in episode 14, where she tells people numerous times, "We don't say the Z word!" or something to that effect.
  • N-Word Privileges: Played straight with the sole black member of Hell's Angels, who likes to abuse the N word, in episodes 24 and 25, and then parodied when Shugo fakes a broad Australian accent as an excuse to say the N word once in episode 24—casually. All instances of the N word will be censored by asterisks both on Sakura's paper and when the episodes are actually posted, as the author doesn't want others to get the wrong idea.
  • On The Next Episode Of Catchphrase: "We're coming live and loaded!"
  • Out-Gambitted: In episode 16, after an Akumana is expelled from its host, it tells Cure Hendrix, "Look Behind You!" When Hendrix looks behind her, it shoots at point blank range, missing each time. Hendrix then shoots the Akumana and delivers this Bond One-Liner: "Look Behind You was your plan? You, sir, are no David Xanatos!"
  • Pardon My Klingon: Towards the end of the first season, Shugo sometimes uses the word "kriffing". The first time this happens is when she's being beaten to a pulp by Gacy's robot ("What the—kriffing—frak—is going on?"). Later, against Kuroimetaru, Shugo says, "If you kriffing come nearer to me, I'll blow your kriffing brains out!"
  • Parking In The Red Zone: The red zone is reserved for anyone who dares possess W. Benny Bara of Pistols N Flowers or bump off a former minion—especially if said former minion had hours earlier become a born-again Christian.
    • Kuroimetaru parks in the red zone earlier than that: in episode 45, it's revealed that the fact that Shugo was nearly killed by Gacy's robot six episodes earlier was not an accident, but an unsuccessful attempt by him to put the Cures' blood on Gacy's hands.
  • Perky Goth: Rizuka Kuno.
  • Playboy Bunny: Sakura in episodes 24 and 25.
  • Precision F-Strike: Expect one of the Seven Dirty Words to show up at least once an episode if Kato Warando appears. Also, Taiko lets out a very loud "FUCK!" that disturbs the peaceful setting of Isuten Junior High at the start of episode 6. When Sakura and the girls reach her, she timidly explains that the unthinkable had happened: Isuten Junior High had been vandalized.
    • Shugo's reaction to her mother asking her if anyone could have the strength to write about subject matter they don't like in episode 23 is to let out a very tense "Abso-fucking-lutely!" Natsuru's reaction is priceless: "Did she say the F word?"
    • And then we have this exchange (a shoutout to End of Evangelion) between Cures Hendrix and Nirvana as Hendrix is dying from her wounds (and that F word will be the only uncensored F word in the series, and that's to maximize the impact):
    Cure Hendrix: If I were you, I'd kick Lady Marilyn's ass and not worry about my comrades. [coughs up blood]
    Cure Nirvana: But... you're not me! You don't know what it's like to have your own comrades killed in one fell swoop!
    Cure Hendrix: So fucking what if I'm not you!? That doesn't give you the right to moan about your situation! Now go, and do me proud!
    [Cure Hendrix dies]
    • Of course, it being set in the PCPP universe, PCHM is going to be pretty mature, though Taiko's F bomb will be the first in any Pretty Cure fanseries.
    • Also, Ramirez tends to land a Precision Bitch Strike every now and then, and when Cure Nirvana realizes that Shugo's assimilation is nearly complete in episode 23 (as she and her comrades arrive to save her), she says, "Oh, shit!"
    • Then there's Sakura's response in episode 36 to Shugo's comment about the Truly Immovable Rod being interrupted by a CLANG!! "WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT!?"
  • Profane Last Words: As Cure Hendrix dies after being shot in the chest by one of Lady Marilyn's Mooks, she gives these parting words to Cure Nirvana (while also referencing The End of Evangelion in her parting words):
    Cure Hendrix: So fucking what if I'm not you!? That doesn't give you the right to moan about your situation! Now go, and do me proud!
  • Punny Name: Sakura's heavy metal band, the Lovely and Wild Angels.
  • Quicksand Sucks: Both figuratively and literally. Sakura correctly guesses that Ramirez had possessed certain areas of the sand at Honeyasume Beach and turned those areas into "collapsing dry sand pits" just like Indiana Jones described them. Fortunately nobody is killed, though it turns out to be a major annoyance for much of the episode as Cures and security guards alike end up having to pull innocent bystanders out of the quicksand.
  • Real Life Writes the Plot: Shugo's new hairdo starting with the final scene in episode 52 is due to Emma Watson's recent haircut. This was done so she could remain an Expy of the actress.
  • Real Men Wear Pink: Alex Hollis, again. No surprise, given the fact that his Cure form is a girl and his theme colors are blue and pink. He also studies ballet on Wednesdays, and his Cure form incorporates the moves into her fighting style.
    • Mitsuuru is a straighter example, being biologically male 100% of the time.
  • Real Women Don't Wear Dresses: The only time you'll see Shugo even wearing a skirt is if she's at Isuten Junior High—and even then she tends to be in her costume (always for a male role) when she's preparing for the Drama Club's next production.
  • Redemption Equals Death: Gacy. Like with other former Pretty Cure villains, though, Redemption Earns Life.
  • Rock Me, Asmodeus!: Episode 23, where Shugo writes an extremely dark (and possibly Satanic) song uncharacteristic of the Lovely and Wild Angels at her mother's urging. Gdansk and Dragonslayer are pretty bad offenders too, but nobody in those bands is Satanic.
  • Scars are Forever: Shugo has an X-shaped scar on her arm from an altercation with a girl who may or may not be Ashley McFly in a flashback scene. She was even left for dead and only survived because someone had seen her lying around in the forest that connects Oriyama and Isuten and had her rushed to the hospital. It's implied that her scar isn't present when she's Cure Hendrix.
  • School Play: Several. One play performed earlier was The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya: A Comedy In Seven Acts, in which Mitsuuru played Haruhi and Shugo played Kyon. Mitsuuru himself recalls his favorite moment as doing the Bunny Girl scene. (Mitsuuru and Shugo would later reprise their respective roles in the Pretty Cure Anime Theatre production, acting alongside Pretty Cure OC Ichiji Kyuseishuu as Nagato, Hanae Mitsukawa as Asahina, and Yasu Fukuda as Koizumi.)
  • School Uniforms are the New Black: Taiko wears her school uniform during Lovely and Wild Angels concerts just like Angus Young wears his during AC/DC concerts.
  • Sedgwick Speech: "It can't be! She can shoot fire from her ha--" Yes, Zero does get cut off at that point as Cure Stradlin burns him to death in episode 13.
  • Shout-Out: If the author experiences something or sees something, chances are it'll happen in this series too.
    • For example, Cure Nirvana's main martial art is rakansen (which involves throwing coins to disable your opponents), which is the weapon of choice for Heiji Zenigata.
    • And the Very Special Episode has a character that's a Shout-Out to Natsuru Seno.
    • Also, the agents of Mansonia are known as Reverends, after the moment where Anton LaVey ordained Marilyn Manson a Reverend in the Church of Satan in Real Life. The Big Bad herself is named after Manson.
    • There are also plenty of Dirty Harry references, including Cure Hendrix reciting the full "Do I feel lucky, punk?" speech before shooting Ramirez in episode 26, a couple of characters (Lady Marilyn to Kuroimetaru in episode 40 after he kills Gacy and Shugo to Kato during lunch in episode 41 concerning the Velvet Beretta album Iran Contra) saying "A man's got to know his limitations" (a line from Magnum Force), and Sakura and Shugo saying "Go ahead, make my day" (a line from Sudden Impact) in response to several threatening actions by the enemy.
    • The final fight with Ramirez has some elements of Dirty Harry (including the "Do I feel lucky, punk?" speech) mixed with some elements of The Mad Magician (including the villain burning to death).
    • How the hell are there no mentions here of PBS and Haruhi Suzumiya yet?
    • Don't forget episodes 6 and 30, which feature slime falling on those who say "I don't know" and water falling on those who say "Water".
    • There's a scene at the end of episode 14 where Cure Nirvana shunts a dead body into a burning oven. The angle is supposed to be the same as where William Bludworth did the same to Evan Lewis during the funeral home scene in Final Destination 2.
  • Show Within A Fanfic: Like the PCPP girls, the PCHM girls are fans of Futari wa Hearty Pure, which is currently in its second season.
  • Sixth Ranger: During later fights, Mitsuuru sometimes joins in and uses She-Fu effectively despite being biologically male. Later, at the end of the last episode, Akane becomes the keyboardist for the Lovely and Wild Angels.
  • The Skynet: Gacy's robot in episode 39 goes haywire and tries to kill Cure Hendrix, horrifying its creator and pushing her to a Heel–Face Turn. However, she manages to reprogram it to heal Shugo, who was literally seconds away from death during the savage beating. It's revealed in episode 45 that, before the final fight between Pretty Cure and Gacy, Kuroimetaru had programmed it to kill the Cures. Shugo is not amused to learn the news.
  • Soundtrack Dissonance / Sorry, I Left the BGM On: Invoked by Cure Nirvana right before the battle that kills all four of her comrades: "All we need to make this scene effective is some music by Satchmo!" Referring, of course, to "What a Wonderful World".
  • Stay in the Kitchen: Inverted; Shugo shoots at and then criticizes Mitsuuru for participating in the episode 41 fight despite not having any powers himself. However, she doesn't criticize him again when he joins in the fights in later episodes.
  • Stocking Filler: Sakura wears white tights under her uniform during the winter semester.
  • Stripperiffic: Alone amongst her comrades, Cure Hendrix wears hot pants in lieu of a skirt.
  • Suddenly Always Knew That: During a winter episode, Sakura performs a solo figure skating routine and Shugo and Mitsuuru perform a transgender pairs skating routine, much to the amazement of the other characters.
  • Take That!: Shugo's remark that one thing you can't say on television is "Muhammad".
  • This Cannot Be!: Spoken by Cure Hendrix in episode 14 when the zombie ("We don't say the Z word!") drops dead but the Akumana is still alive, right before shooting at her and missing. Of course, Hendrix quickly puts it down with a single shot.
  • Thoroughly Mistaken Identity: Lori Nekoshippo notes the similarities between Shugo Kino (who appears wearing Jim Nameke's costume) and the actor playing Jim Nameke, and so Shugo winds up being rushed into training as a stuntperson for the actor during the first (and most of the second) half of the field trip episode. When her time comes, Shugo nails the stunt perfectly despite the rush, and her teacher (and the rest of the class) applauds her for the effort.
  • Three-Dimensional Episode : Episode 33.
  • The Tokyo Fireball: Invoked in episode 20; made a reality in one second season episode out of spite over Tokyo's recent Face–Heel Turn concerning anime and manga, as the city becomes a hellhole and a shell of its former self at the hands of pro-anime vigilantes, and all because of "some horribufuckus law that restricts anime and manga but not real photography". After hearing the vigilantes' case, the Cures side with them to take down what is now known as the Tokyo Government Remnant, as well as perform their scheduled concert for the survivors of the city's destruction. Shugo in particular is pleased to side with Well Intentioned Extremists, and Akane only participates because "God told me to save the Big City from the clutches of the oppressors of otaku."
  • Twirl of Love: Shugo does this to Mitsuuru in the season 2 finale.
  • Unfortunate Names: Dick Sandwich. Justified in that he's an Expy of American Recordings executive Rick Rubin, right down to the name (FYI, Rubin is homonymous with Reuben, which is a type of sandwich).
    • Also Jo Futanari, the new drummer for Pistols N Flowers as of episode 10. (His real name is Jotaro Fuwa, and his stage name's kanji reads different than the Japanese word for hermaphrodite. The author reiterated that point after the author of Pretty Cure Perfume Preppy called him out for selecting that name.)
  • The Vamp: Ramirez.
  • Vanity Plate: The first half of season 1 starts with a parody of one of three 1990 idents from Public TV For East Tennessee (usually this one), while the second half of season 1 (and all of season 2) starts with a parody of the 1996 ident from the same PBS station.
  • Very Special Episode: Episode 33.
  • Vomit Indiscretion Shot: We see Sakura vomit at the sight of gore EVERY SINGLE TIME, no matter whether or not we see the gore.
  • Well-Intentioned Extremist: Shugo, when she's at her worst. The pro-anime vigilantes in season 2 are also this, albeit heroic examples of this trope.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: Shugo bitches her comrades out for nearly arriving too late to save her from turning evil.
    • When Gacy attacks her own robot for trying to kill Shugo in episode 39 it basically serves the same purpose.
    • Episodes 41, 49, and 50 have the good guys quoting from Star Fox 64 every time Shugo/Cure Hendrix shoots an ally. e.g.: "Hey, Einstein, I'm on your side!", "Hey, what's the big idea?", "Shugo, that's one of ours!", "Enemy down... wait, that was one of ours", etc.
  • Where the Hell Is Springfield?: Averted; the setting is Isuten, one of the Tri-Cities along with Oriyama and Tsukimiya.
  • Wholesome Crossdresser: Mitsuuru Takahashi. Though unlike Jun he actually wears his school's boys' uniform, he crossdresses outside the school occasionally and has even played female roles in the drama club's productions.
    • Shugo is a similar example, to the point of being hired as the stunt double for the actor playing Jim Nameke in a key action scene for The Young Witness, the first feature film to star former Pretty Cure Perfume Preppy villain Lapinyuu (a.k.a. Lori Nekoshippo), who notes the similarities between the two people (as Shugo had come on the field trip wearing Jim Nameke's costume and ponytail).
  • Who Writes This Crap?!: Several times. The first instance is episode 13, where the first thing Zero, having been gone for several episodes (in fact, since the debut of Cure Roadie), says is "Who writes this crap? I mean, I know the writer made Lady Marilyn more impatient with me and yet had her give me enough time to put together a foolproof plan to annihilate the Cures after Golden Week ends, but still!"
    • Episode 33 has a pretty funny one: after Alex Hollis transforms into Cure Romance in front of the girls, Sakura asks, "Who wrote in the Cure Rulebook that you have to be a girl to be a Cure? I've heard reports of male Cures popping up in some regions around the world that don't transform into girls when they become Cures."
  • You Are Too Late: Subverted; Lady Marilyn says it as soon as the Cures arrive to save Shugo from undergoing a Face–Heel Turn, but Cure Nirvana, saying, "Not yet, we ain't!", disables the brainwashing device and frees Shugo.
  • You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Lady Marilyn fires Gacy at the end of episode 39, but the real reason why she was killed (though not for good) in episode 40 is because Kuroimetaru acted on his own. Lady Marilyn then warns him that she'd kill him for that offense if he wasn't so vital to the security of Mansonia.
  • Zettai Ryouiki: Grade A on Alex as Cure Romance. Also, Cure Hendrix manages to pull off Grade B (this may not be known to many, but you can wear hot pants and zettai ryouiki at the same time).
    • Despite being a boy, Mitsuuru mysteriously pulls off Grade A when he's involved in a fight scene.


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