Maria Hikawa is Iona's older sister. She was first mentioned in episode 18 but is missing but seen in episode 21. Her alter ego was Cure Tender.
She was voiced by Sanae Kobayashi who also voiced Alexis Rhodes in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, Allen Walker in D.Gray Man, Kaede in Elfen Lied, Tempest Shadow in My Little Pony Friendship is Magic, Ennis Prochainezo in Baccano!, Reiko Natsume in Natsume's Book of Friends, Hitomi Kashiwa in Welcome to the N.H.K. and Madlax in Madlax.
Personality[]
She is a kind and friendly girl. She is also brave and always wants to protect everyone. She gives people encouragement and she is admired by many of them. Glasan said that she is the number one Pretty Cure and she has a strong heart.
Appearance[]
As a civilian, she has dark gray hair that looks nearly similar to Iona's in length and purplish gray eyes. She also wears a light purple dress and sandals.
As Cure Tender, she has indigo hair in a loose ponytail and also has a hairpiece with a golden heart similar to Cure Fortune's. Her uniform is similar to the other Cures, with a black vest with white cloth lining it and a purple collar. Her sleeves are loose and her warmers are almost reaching her sleeves. She wears a light purple pencil skirt and white boots with gold designs. The bows on her chest and back look like butterfly wings.
While under the influence of Queen Mirage, her outfit gets slight modifications. Most of the white parts of her outfit are now black, and the heart on her hair accessory has turned into a circle. Her front bow is now darker and she has elaborate butterfly-like wings on her back. Her hair retains the same style, but her eyes are red and her personality is darker.
History[]
A long time ago, she protected Miyo from a Saiark attack, which had inspired her to create the show Pretty Cure Weekly.
One night, she battled against Phantom, with young Iona watching them. When he attacked Iona, Tender stepped in to take the hit and protect her. Before she was sealed in a mirror, she gave Iona her PreChanMirror. Phantom did not know that Iona was Tender's sister until he picked up her PreChanMirror after defeating her. He added that Tender's kindness led to her downfall.
It is revealed that Queen Mirage brainwashed Cure Tender. She appears before the Cures by freeing Oresky, who is about to be purified by Happiness Big Bang. Once she steps out of the ensuing cloud of smoke, all of the Cures, especially Cure Fortune, are very shocked. She battles against the Cures, easily beating them and overcoming their Innocent Forms. All the while, Cure Fortune keeps trying to get to her, but fails most of the time, as Tender is too deep under Mirage's influence. Every time her control over Tender would slip, Mirage would strengthen it. Just as Tender is about to kill her sister, she stops as she sees a vision of Iona in place of Fortune, which breaks Mirage's control on Tender temporarily. Mirage then brainwashes Tender once more, much to Fortune's devastation. However, Fortune's feeling for Tender awakens the Shining Make Dresser, and allows the Cures to use Innocent Purification to free Tender from Mirage's control completely.
Maria tells Blue and the girls that she is going to America to help the other Pretty Cure and to also see her parents. At first, Iona doesn't want her to go, wanting her to stay and join the Happiness Charge Pretty Cure!, but Maria has already decided. Soon after, Iona understands Maria's choice, and Maria leaves the next day. Before she does so, she tells Iona that the Cures are strong enough to handle everything without her and that they can overcome anything if they stick together. Iona promises Maria to protect the peace of Pikarigaoka.
Maria as Cure Tender fights against a Saiark while protecting North America from its attacks.
Cure Tender returns to defend the Happiness Charge! Cures against one of Red's Saiarks. The Cures nearly lose to a brainwashed Seiji, and they, especially Megumi, are afraid that they might not save him and defeat Red, but Tender, along with the other International Cures, encourages them to keep fighting. During the fight, Tender performs a combination attack with Fortune. As the Cures fly off to Red's planet, she wishes them good luck and is confident that they can save the world.
Tender later watches with a smile after knowing that the Cures have saved Earth from Red.
Trivia[]
- She shares her first name with Maria Hojo.
- She is the second relative of a main Cure in a series to be a Pretty Cure, preceded by Hanasaki Kaoruko.
- Her Cure uniform shares some similarities to Fortune's.
- Cure Tender does not have a LovePreBrace, yet Fortune, who inherited her powers, does.
- Her hairstyle in her Cure form looks similar to Cure White.
- In episode 22, Iona took her device after being defeated by Phantom as seen in the flashback.
- Tender is define as gentleness and concern or sympathy. In Episode 22, Phantom reveals Cure Tender's downfall was of her kindness trying to protect Iona from his attack.
Gallery[]
