"We have to find her soon, the one who will turn the snow white."
Shin Shirayuki-hime Densetsu Puriitia — "Prétear: The New Legend of Snow-White", often shortened to just Prétear — is a shojo story with a premise that can be described as "Magical Girl WarriorSnow White And The Seven Bishonen". Exactly what it sounds like — nothing too original, but nevertheless quite entertaining, if you are into this particular genre. Originally a four-volume manga created by Jun'ichi Sato (best known as the director of the Sailor Moon and Princess Tutu anime series) and Kaori Naruse, it was adapted into a thirteen-episodeanime series, with some noticeable changes in the plot and character designs; both the manga and the anime were licensed by ADV; the anime is now licensed by Funimation.The story revolves around sixteen-year-old Himeno Awayuki, who finds herself in a situation quite a bit like in "Cinderella": several years after her mother's death, her father Kaoru married the rich widow Natsue who has two daughters, neither of whom seem to like Himeno. Unable to fit into this new environment, the girl gets more and more depressed, even starting to think that it would be better if she disappeared from the world... that is, until she stumbles upon seven dwarfs Pretty Magical Boys who call themselves the Léafe Knights. They are searching for a girl who can accept their Elemental Powers and become a Magical Girl Warrior named "Prétear". You can guess what happens next...Not to be confused with Precure. Main characters:
Anguished Declaration of Love: Takako to Hayate, plus the anime has Sasame to Takako and Takako to Sasame's dead body...and you could possibly count Himeno's confession for Mawata to Sasame ("She was totally in love with you!") Pretear really likes this trope.
Catch Phrase: Himeno's "I won't lose!"/"I don't want to lose!"
Chekhov's Gunman: Mikage starts out as a minor character... She is Takako in disguise.
Combined Energy Attack: In both versions, Himeno takes the Léafe from all Knights during the final battle, with different results.
Costume Porn: Himeno has eight different Prétear forms, and all of the knights have elaborate robes they wear in battle. Remember, the show's tagline in the US was "wearable bishounen!"
Crash into Hello: Himeno and Hayate in the first episode; Mayune sometimes meets the Knights in this manner.
Cross-Popping Veins: Mainly Himeno, though other character occasionally get these as well.
Curtains Match the Window: Half of the main characters, for example, Himeno (red hair, red eyes) and Mawata (blueish-green hair and eyes).
Dark Magical Girl: In the anime - Fenrir, aka Takako, aka Mikage; also, to some extent, Mawata while under her influence. In the manga - anyone possessed by Takako, especially her main host, Natsue.
The Dark Side: "Prétear and Princess of Disaster are essentially the same being" — which may become troublesome since, as the manga points out, "there is no person without darkness in their heart".
Death by Childbirth: Himeno's mother, in the manga. She doesn't know about that until Natsue spells it out for her.
Demonic Possession: Manga only. Takako possesses Natsue and uses her to turn other people into her puppets.
Despair Event Horizon: Sasame reaches this point in the anime when he realizes that no matter what he does, Takako won't turn back from evil.
Disappeared Dad: Natsue's deceased first husband, also Mayune and Mawata's father. Mawata still misses him terribly, and that's one of the sources of her loneliness
Does This Remind You of Anything??: The Prétear's power is to merge with a Leafe Knight, gaining the power of his element, described at one point as being something like the Knight "entering her body." It's not made as much of in the manga, but the anime plays it up shamelessly in the Transformation Sequence and Himeno, clearly aware of the symbolism, gets quite flustered over it at first.
Personality Powers: The older Knights. The brash and snarky Hayate got Wind, a good listener Sasame - Sound, energetic hot-headed Goh - Fire, intellectual Kei - Light.
Weapon of Choice: Interestingly, it's Himeno who gets to use these. Hayate, the leader, provides her with a sword, Sasame - with "Sound Arrow", Goh - with an axe... Kei's weapon in the manga was a staff, which also fits.
Emotion Eater: The Taiji of Fenrir in the anime is powered by despair.
The End of the World as We Know It: Standard Big Bad's goal — in this case, via draining the world's Life Energy. Successfully prevented, though the anime version nicely illustrates it with the destruction of Léafenia.
Evolving Credits: Episodes 10-11 replaced one scene in the opening.
Expy: The anime versions of Himeno, Hayate, Sasame and Takako appear to have expies in Ahiru/Duck, Fakir, Mytho and Rue from Princess Tutu (another anime directed by Junichi Sato), although since Tutu was first thought up by Ikuko Itoh and Sato during their work on Sailor Moon, it might be the other way around.
You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Hayate's hair is dark blue (incidentally, he has normal black hair in the manga), Mawata's is blueish-green, and Mayune's is pink.
I Know You Are In There Somewhere Fight: This is how Himeno released Mawata from the Taiji. And almost immediately afterwards, she used a similar technique on Takako.
Also in the manga, Mawata and Himeno tag-team to give one to Natsue. They also succeed.
Image Song: The four older Knights have these, found on the soundtrack CDs; those for Hayate and Sasame were used in the series.
Limited Wardrobe: Somewhat understandable with the Knights, but why do the members of the rich Awayuki family only have 2-3 costumes per person, school uniforms for the girls included?
Man Child: Karou is so feckless that Himeno somethimes has to act as a parent to him. He means well, but he clearly expects all the women in his life—his daughter included—to take care of him. He takes a level in grown-up by the last episode.
Negative Continuity: In the manga, it is originally established that Natsue is simply divorced and her first husband is alive; later in the series, it is said that he died before she married Himeno's father. He is dead from the begining in the anime, though.
Nightmare Dreams: Himeno at the start of episode 5. It was Fenrir/Takako's attempt to communicate with her.
Not So Different: Fenrir points this out in episode 8, saying that Himeno is going to be abandoned by the Knights after the fight is over, and then she will become an evil being like her. Given that Fenrir used to be the Prétear and was in love with Hayate, this makes perfect sense...
On The Next Episode Of Catch Phrase: "I'll win in the next episode, too!" (dub)/"I won't be beaten in the next episode, either!" (sub), both spoken by Himeno.
One Head Taller: Himeno is quite shorter that the older Knights, even though they are supposed to look about the same age.
Otaku: In the anime, Yayoi Takato is a big fan of romance novels, to the point when almost anything said by other characters prompts her to give a long speech that sounds like a passage from a poorly written romance novel - and often doesn't make much sense.
Out-of-Clothes Experience: Mawata, briefly, when Himeno tries to rescue her from the Taiji of Fenrir.
Overclocking Attack: In the last episode, Himeno defeats the Big Bad's evil tree by feeding it so much of her own Léafe that it disintegrates.
Phantom Zone: The field created by Shin in the anime version to protect the worlds during fights.
Pimped-Out Dress: The Pretear outfits, which may or may not be what the knights become when they merge.
Rage Against the Mentor: Himeno eventually forces the Knights to reveal the backstory no one bothered to explain to her from the start. It doesn't end well...
Rapunzel Hair: The Princess of Disaster (but not Takako), as well as Mayune, and Hayate in the manga.
Recruit Teenagers with Attitude: Justified with the Knights, who have pretty much been trained from birth, but played pretty straight with Himeno and Takako. The show actually deals with the consequences of putting the fate of the world on the shoulders of a teenage girl.
Redemption Equals Death: Sasame—although he's a rare example of a victim of this trope being brought back to life.
Red-Headed Hero: Although Himeno's hair borders between red and pink.
Reflective Eyes: Himeno and Mawata, each on at least one occasion.
Scary Shiny Glasses: Sasame has a few face-fault moments in the anime where his glasses are whited-out, which isn't really this trope...but there's another scene in which he stands on a roof, wind blowing dramatically through his clothes and glasses shining right before his Face Heel Turn that's definitely this trope.
Tanaka also has several extremely shiny moments, often highlighted by a gleam of light reflecting off of his (desperately not) bald head.
Sealed Evil in a Can: Takako was sealed away sixteen years before, and broke the seal at the start of the first episode. (In the manga, she didn't break free, which still didn't stop her from possessing people.)
Shonen Hair: Goh and Mannen. (Particularly Mannen.)
Shoo Out the Clowns: At the beginning of the two-part finale, Yayoi and Tanaka are dragged away from the city in a crowd of fleeing townspeople. Neither is seen again until the ending.
Spell My Name with an S: Translators don't seem to agree whether it's "Leafe", "Liefe", "Leife", or something else. For the record, the cover of the second soundtrack CD renders the term as "Léafe".
Stepford Smiler: Mawata and Sasame. Mawata is outwardly polite, quiet and mature, but feels hollow and unloved ever since her father died. Sasame's case is even better: is flirty, cheerful and helpful, to the point that none of the Knights or Himeno see his eventual breakdown coming despite numerous hints that he was struggling.
Stock Footage: Some transformations and attacks (not always, though), Shin setting up the barrier, the Knights fighting inside the Phantom Zone.
Where the Hell Is Springfield??: Awayuki Town is shown in the anime to be a city built on a small island connected to the main part of Japan by a bridge—that's about all we know.
Wicked Stepmother: Quite predictable, but also subverted, especially in the anime version. There, Natsue is more strict than evil, not to mention she does care for Kaoru and Himeno. And in the manga, which plays it more straight... not only Natsue neglects Himeno and her girls, but she's also possessed by the Big Bad.
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