Manga / Prétear

Himeno and her Unwanted Harem.

"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 Shōjo story with a premise that can be described as "Magical Girl Warrior Snow White And The Seven Pretty Boys". 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-episode anime 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 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, Himeno 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 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" who will save the world from Fenrir, the Princess of Disaster.

Interestingly Pretear seems to be Junichi Sato's prototype run for his work on Princess Tutu. Both have plucky red-haired magical girl heroines (Himeno, Ahiru/Duck) Both involve an initially hostile and jerky dark-haired guy who become a love interest (Hayate, Fakir) Both have a white-haired male ally turns evil for the love of a dark princess (Sasame and Fenrir, Mytho/Siegfried and Rue/ Krahe.) Both involve Fairy tale and Magical Girl elements.

Not to be confused with the Pretty Cure franchise.

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Tropes:

• Adaptational Context Change: Though Hayate is a catalyst in both the manga and anime, the reason Takako becomes the Princess of Disaster is different between the two. In the manga Takako confessed her love to Hayate and he pretended to reciprocate her feelings as to not hurt her, but she ultimately became the Princess of Disaster when she realized that Hayate didn’t actually love her. Whereas in the anime Takako confessed her love to Hayate but he immediately rejected her, and she became the Princess of Disaster because of this rejection.
• Adaptation Dye-Job: Sasame is blond in the manga, and has white hair in the anime.
• 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.
• Animal Espionage: Takako uses her butterflies to spy on the heroes at times.
• Attack Its Weak Point: The Mayouchuu already attached to something can only be killed by destroying their "core".
• Barrier Maiden: Mawata in the anime is used to power the Tree of Despair.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Sasame is probably the sweetest of the older knights, but when he's pushed too far...oh boy.
• Big Bad: Natsue possessed by the Princess of Disaster in the manga, Takako/Fenrir in the anime.
• Big "NO!": In the manga, Himeno lets out one when she realizes that she's accidentally killed Shin.
• Biting the Handkerchief: Mayune on at least one occasion in each version. Yayoi also does this in one episode.
• Brought Down to Normal: In the anime, Himeno loses her powers for an episode.
• The Butler Did It: Anime only. Mikage the maid is Takako in disguise.
• Calling Your Attacks: "Calling Your Weapons". It doesn't seem to be mandatory, though.
• Catchphrase: 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. Averted in the anime. Himeno was already 5 years old when her mother died.
• 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.
• Disappears into Light: Leafe Knights die in this manner.
• Disproportionate Retribution: Uh... unrequited love is terrible, Takako, but trying to destroy the world because of that? And making the guy suffer a lot before doing this?
• 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.
• Elemental Powers: see the character list. Also see below...
  • Elemental Baggage: only really exists in the anime; in the manga, overusing elements drains the Knights' Leafe.
  • An Ice Person: Mannen, and Himeno when she is merged with him.
  • Blow You Away & Razor Wind: Hayate, and Himeno when she is merged with him.
  • Green Thumb: Shin, and Himeno when she is or is not merged with him.
  • Magic Music: Sasame in the manga—and Himeno when she is merged with him.
  • Playing with Fire: Goh, and... well, you get the picture...
  • 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.
• 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.
• Evil Costume Switch: Sasame in the anime version.
• 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.
• Face–Heel Turn: Sasame in the anime version.
• Fairy Tale Motifs: The plot is essentially Cinderella and The Seven Dwarves. Rapunzel gets a mention in the manga, too.
• Fallen Hero: The Big Bad, Takako, used to be the Prétear.
• Fanservice: The transformation scenes, definitely. Mayune's shower scenes probably count, as well.
• Fashionable Asymmetry: Kei's Knight of Light outfit in the anime (in the manga, it is far less weird).
• Fiery Redhead: Himeno, nicknamed "Tulip Head" by Hayate for her hairstyle
• First Blood: Used in episode 2, when Himeno notices that Hayate is injured.
• First Guy Wins: In the manga.
• Flashback: Quite a lot, including those to the Backstory.
• Flight: Prétear and all Knights, seemingly just because it's cool.
• Gender-Blender Name: Hayate, Kei, Kaoru.
• Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: Kei to Sasame in the manga.
• Glowing Eyes of Doom: Himeno gets these when she is angry. Fenrir also has glowing golden eyes until she takes on her true form.
• Gray Rain of Depression: Sasame is shown wandering around in the rain after his confession to Takako.
• Happily Married: Kaoru and Natsue, in the anime version.
• Heel–Face Turn: Himeno's kindness and Sasame's death out of love for her enable Takako to regain her humanity and return to normal.
• Hero Secret Service: The Léafe Knights for the Prétear.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Himeno at the end of the anime, and that's after Hayate died protecting her and Sasame dies out of love for Takako. Thanks to True Love's Kiss, they all get better.
• Heroic Self-Deprecation: Himeno.
• Hidden Eyes: Mainly Hayate, though Himeno is sometimes seen with these as well.
• How Do I Shot Web?: Himeno's first fight as the Wind Prétear.
• An Ice Suit: The ice dress. Would be a Happy Holidays Dress, and is cut like a Sexy Santa Dress, but it wasn't explicitly worn during the holidays.
• I Just Want to Be Normal: Himeno certainly doesn't, as long as she is needed; if anything, it's in regards to her new lifestyle, not superpowers.
• "I Know You Are in There Somewhere" Fight:
  • This is how Himeno releases Mawata from the Taiji. Almost immediately afterwards, she uses a similar technique on Takako.
  • 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.
• Impossibly Cool Clothes: Himeno's Magical Girl outfits sometimes get a bit too "magical".
• I'm Taking Her Home with Me!: Shin gets chased by around 20 cooing girls while searching for the Prétear.
• Invisible to Normals: Throughout most of the anime, part of the time via Phantom Zone. Doesn't really happen in the manga.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Sasame in the manga.
• Kid-Appeal Character: The young Léafe Knights, especially Mannen.
• Kiss of Death: A symbolic one — Takako kisses Mawata before extracting her soul.
• Late for School: Himeno at the start of the series, forced to take a shortcut that leads into... somewhere. Or, in the anime, somebody.
• Leitmotif: Transformation theme, battle themes, character themes...
• Life Energy: "Léafe".
• 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?
• Literal Surveillance Bug: Takako's butterflies.
• Living with the Villain: In the anime, Takako poses as Mikage the maid.
• Lonely Rich Kid: Mawata, to some extent, despite apparently being popular at school.
• Long-Haired Pretty Boy: Hayate, Kei in the anime.
• Love Hurts: Just about every member of the show's love triangles are victims of this trope in one way or another.
• Love Makes You Evil: Takako, Sasame in the anime, Mawata for familiar love and her crush on Sasame.
• Love Martyr: Sasame, when he's being more heroic.
• Love Redeems: Takako in the last episode, as well as Sasame.
• Love Triangle:
  • Manga: Mawata -> Sasame -> Himeno <-> Hayate
  • Anime: Mawata -> Sasame <-> Takako
  • Backstory: Sasame -> Takako -> Hayate
• Luminescent Blush: Himeno. Hayate is quite prone to this as well, especially in the manga.
• Mad Love: Sasame in his darker moments.
• Magical Girl Warrior: Himeno as the Prétear.
• Magical Land: Léafenia.
• Manchild: Kaoru is so feckless that Himeno sometimes 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.
• Meaningful Name:
  • Also a Prophetic Name in Himeno's case - the "Hime" in "Himeno" means "princess", and the "yuki" in "Awayuki" means "snow".
  • "Hayate" can be read as "the sound of the wind".
  • "Kei" is written with the character for "firefly" - an insect that creates light.
• Messianic Archetype: The Legendary White Pretear.
• Mini Dress Of Power: Most of the Pretear outfits.
• Mirror Character: 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...
• Missing Mom: Himeno's real mother is dead, hence the stepmother, although she isn't a wicked queen.
• Mood Dissonance / Soundtrack Dissonance: ...was it so hard not to have Sasame's not-quite-heroic sacrifice followed by the cute ending sequence?

• 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.

• Ojou: Mawata and Mayune, in different ways.
• "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.
• One-Woman Wail: "Nikushimi no Hate", the leitmotif for Fenrir.
• 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.
• Plucky Comic Relief: Tanaka; Yayoi, to some extent.
• Plucky Girl : Himeno. "I...WON'T...LOSE!!
• Pretty in Mink: The Ice outfit is trimmed with white fur.
• Power Gives You Wings: Pretear's final form, White Pretear, has huge translucent butterfly wings.
• The Promise: Hayate makes one before the final battle in the anime.
• Psycho Supporter: Sasame, in the anime version.
• Quivering Eyes
• Radio Voice
• 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...
• Recruit Teenagers with Attitude: Justified with the Knights, who have pretty much been trained from birth (and may only look like teenagers, given that aside from the three youngest they all looked pretty much the same sixteen years ago as they do in the present), 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.
• Reflective Eyes: Himeno and Mawata, each on at least one occasion.
• Refusal of the Call: Himeno initially doesn't even believe the Knights.
• Reincarnation: The three younger Knights. Apparently.
• Requisite Royal Regalia: Himeno's Magical Girl costumes include tiaras; the one she wears as the White Prétear actually resembles a crown.
• The Reveal: The end of Episode 9 (Mikage is the Big Bad).
• Rich Bitch: Mayune, until Mawata is rescued by Himeno.
• Running Gag: Several, and they all show up together at the end of the last episode.
  • Yayoi's crazy speeches about love, inspired by romance novels.
  • Mayune's attempts to seduce the Knights who wander around the house.
  • Natsue's "Tanaka. [Did something wrong.] Salary cut for N months."
  • Tanaka losing his "precious" hair due to stress.
• Save the Villain: What the anime boils down to, which leads to...
  • Everybody Lives
• 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.)
• Shadow Archetype: The Princess of Disaster to Himeno.
• Shōjo
• 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.
• Show Within a Show: "Sasame's Words-Gate", a radio program.
• Sickeningly Sweethearts: Kaoru and Natsue's cooing over each other can't help but be mortally embarassing to their teenage children.
• Single-Target Sexuality: Sasame is Takako-sexual to the point of obsession.
• Sour Outside, Sad Inside: Hayate, due to feeling responsible for Takako's descent into evil.
• 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".
• Spiritual Predecessor: Of Princess Tutu.
• 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.
• The Sweat Drop
• "Take That!" Kiss: Fenrir gives Mawata one just before she rips her heart out.
• Tall, Dark, and Snarky: Hayate.
• Team Pet: Tipi, a kind of bird from Léafenia.
• The Teaser: Opens every episode.
• Teleportation: Like Flight, a common ability of all Léafe Knights.
• 10-Minute Retirement: Himeno, Mannen in the manga.
• That Man Is Dead: Shows up in the anime when Sasame betrays the Knights.
• There Are No Therapists: Poor, poor Mawata...
• Title-Only Opening: The last two episodes.
• Transformation Sequence: Invoked by Himeno simply touching a Knight's hand, rather than By the Power of Grayskull!.
  • Fusion Dance, of the "Power Booster" type, is the result of said action.
• Transformation Trinket: The Léafe Knights themselves.
• Trapped the Wrong Target: Mayune sets a trap that pours honey from a statue, hoping for revenge against Himeno for spraying water on her earlier. She gets Mr. Tanaka instead, who surprisingly finds it a good thing since he was hunting for (demon larvae) insects at the time.
• True Love's Kiss: The end of the anime. What did you expect from a series explicitly called "The New Legend of Snow-White"?
• Tsundere: Hayate and Himeno for each other. Hayate is Harsh type, whereas Himeno is Sweet type.
• 12-Episode Anime: A variant with 13 episodes.
• Twisting the Words: Himeno is occasionally a victim of this.
• Unlucky Childhood Friend: Tanaka, to Natsue. Implied with Himeno and Hayate in the manga, but they do end up together.
• Unwanted Harem: Four bishies and three bishies-in-training...
• Villainous Breakdown: Fenrir
• Wham Episode: Episode 10. Sasame's Face–Heel Turn.
• "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue: Several months after the finale.
• 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.
• White Hair, Black Heart: Sasame, although in the anime version only, as he was blond in the manga. Seems that this was changed on purpose.... Mannen's hair is purplish-white, but he is only a kid anyway.
• Wicked Stepmother: Subverted in the anime where Natsue is more strict than evil and does care for Kaoru and Himeno. The manga plays it more straight, as Natsue neglects Himeno and her girls, and is also possessed by the Big Bad.
• Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: The Princess of Disaster had her heart broken by the man she loved, failed in her quest to protect the Leafe as a result, and was corrupted by Fenrir and turned evil, devoting her life to destroying what she once sought to protect.

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