Dual Aurora Wave!

Nagisa Misumi and Honoka Yukishiro have the honor of being the very first girls in the franchise, and their first transformation sequence shows the viewers right from the beginning why Precure is going to be different from all the previous magic girls. They use cell phones and cards to transform, but, more importantly, they have to be together to do so, as their transformation requires them holding hands.

While the sequence itself is not very complicated, as they’re surrounded by a rainbow, their bodies turn silver and a wave goes from Nagisa, turning her clothes into Cure Black’s uniform, then to Honoka for the contrasting Cure White’s uniform. It still remains unforgettable because it was the first to require teamwork from the get-go. It’s a simple sequence, but it fulfills its purpose of showing that the Precures aren’t like the magical girls of old.

Precure Metamorphosis!

Urara Kasugano, Cure Lemonade, is the youngest of the Pretty Cure 5 group. Becoming part of the group got her to become more friendly and less shy. As Cure Lemonade, she was the third Cure to be found and she uses her watch like the others to make a circle and transform, surrounded by butterflies that start creating her dress, boots, gloves, and accessories.

Once again, the sequence itself is very simple, as she barely moves after doing the circular motion that makes her clothes light up and change into her uniform, but what makes her transformation stand out is the way in which her hair becomes longer by curling into itself to make two very impossible ponytails for her.

Pretty Cure! Princess Engage!

The Cure Princess’ transformation begins as they put a small cork on a perfume bottle and their clothes turn into a shiny towel. Kaido Minami, Cure Mermaid, then proceeds to twirl as she sprays the perfume around her, then on her hands, feet, and chest. A cascade of water comes from the perfume bottle and the points she used, creating her dress; and when she puts on the crown, her hair grows almost like a mermaid tail.

Blue Cures are usually more elegant, and Cure Mermaid is no exception. It’s a far more complicated sequence than the previous ones in the list, as, by this point, Kaido doesn’t stay still as the Dress Up Key and the Princess Perfume combination create her dress. Her transformation is very quick and flashy, but the most beautiful part is how she moves around making her dress really shine.

Change, Pretty Cure! Beat Up!

Miki Aono lifts her linkrun and starts yelling her transformation phrase, which starts the process, as she twirls and starts ice-skating in space as her dress appears and her hair grows longer and changes color. She jumps up to finish the transformation and lands as her ponytail twists into shape. It is one of the most dynamic solo transformations and represents Cure Berry’s elegance and the fact that Miki really wants to become a model.

By the time Fresh Precure! came around, the transformations were becoming more action-driven and dynamic, although in this particular case, the dress appears quite quickly and in one single movement rather than being made by different actions as usual. Still, it’s one of the transformations that really help showcase the girls’ personality and dreams.

Let’s Play! Pretty Cure Modulation!

Despite her differences, Hibiki Hojo and Kanade Minamino are ready to help the Fairy Tones who shoot up in the sky, shining as they shout their note to start the transformation. It starts with lots of ribbons, pink for Melody and white for Rhythm, which starts turning into their dresses and then proceeds to braid and change their hair color. As they almost touch hands, the ribbons become their gloves and boots, in a perfectly synchronized dance that ends with Melody dancing and Rhythm playing an invisible harp.

With Suite Precure! the franchise comes back to the team transformation sequences, as Melody and Rhythm can’t transform on their own, even if they don’t need to be actually touching to start the sequence. They just need to be near and agree that they’re needed. This is even more interesting in-story as at the beginning of the series, Hibiki and Kanade are not on speaking terms, which can be a bit complicated when their power comes from their friendship. Still, it’s a gorgeous sequence that also has the record of the longest individual transformation sequence of the whole franchise.

Change, Pretty Cure! Beat Up!

Just like Cure Berry’s, this transformation begins when Setsuna lifts her linkrun up in the air and yells the transformation phrase. Her hair fluffs up, and then she falls into a watery background, where she gets her red suit, after looking like a shining mermaid for a second thanks to how the shinning energy flows around her legs. Then she emerges from the waves, to declare herself Cure Passion.

But what makes this transformation really special is not only the fact that it’s beautifully animated and that Setsuna’s swim through the magic water is gorgeous, but what it means in story: Setsuna is actually Eas, the first villain that the Cures had to fight in Fresh Precure, and her transformation, right after being resurrected by the power of friendship, signals that she has a new chance to do the right thing this time.

Pretty Cure! Open my heart!

Yuri Tsukikage used to be Cure Moonlight before the series began, but when her partner Cologne sacrificed himself to save her, her Pretty Cure Seed broke and her Heart flower wilted so she could never transform again. Or at least, that’s what everyone thought until she met her successors and begged the Tree of Life to let her fight with them again when they needed her the most. And her transformation sequence is amazing.

She touches the Heart Pot, and with the power of the tree of life, her Cure Seed becomes complete so she can use the Heart Pot to create her suit as she twirls in a sea of purple roses, to finish with her hair becoming longer, lighter, and sharper. While not as acrobatic as some other transformations, the constant reminder of what she lost before makes this sequence memorable every single time.

Heart Kiratto!

With the Mirai Crystal in place inside the PreHeart, Hana opens the device into a Heart and yells the transformation phrase, which surrounds her in a pink glow. Then, she touches the heart as a pink ribbon surrounds her and she appears in her cheerleader suit. This time, she just touches it to make her hair change color and her crown and ribbons appear, and finally gives a cheer and jumps up and down to present herself.

This is one of the most recent transformations and goes back to the simpler ones that don’t require much movement from the girls during the suit’s creation, but that doesn’t mean it’s not beautiful to look at. While the suit appears quite quickly, it gets a lot of extra details and really works with the whole cheerleader theme of the series. But what sells the whole transformation and makes it one of the best is how just as she’s done, and before she gets ready to fight her enemies, Cure Yell literally cheers herself as she jumps and twirls her wrist’ pompons before landing in her fighting pose.

Miracle, Magical, Jewelry!

Riko and Mirai take each other’s hands as their bodies are covered with a pink glow in dress form. At that time, Mofurun, Mirai’s toy teddy bear, grabs their diamond Linkle Stones and two rays of light come out of them, surrounding the trio as the girls also take Mofurun’s hands. The glow covers their hair, and thus grows and changes in color: Mirai’s turns completely blonde, while Riko’s becomes a lighter shade of purple. They twirl in the air, and the light becomes their uniform and hats, then their gloves and, finally, their accessories.

Maho Girls Precure! sees a return to the double transformation, as the girls need each other and Mofurun to be able to transform. It also has a very unique twist, as when they gather different jewels, the transformation, their dresses, and even the backgrounds change. But it’s the first one, the Diamond form, that gets a place on our list.

Pretty Cure! Open my heart!

Tsubomi and Erika don’t need to hold hands or be together to transform, but they choose to do so most times. They open their Heart Perfumes in tandem and then twirl around as Chypre and Coffert pull out their Heart Seeds for them to place them in the Heart Perfumes and proceed to spray their dresses and gloves; at one point, even spraying the other to create their bows.

What makes this particular transformation so special is that they appear to be dancing with each other and are happy to do so. It’s the only series in the franchise where the girls seem joyful as they dance with each other, and the magic creates their uniform. They clap, they take each other hands, and they seem to be really enjoying their new roles. Cure Sunshine later on also seems very happy as she transforms, but as she never melds with the other two in a real group transformation, we had to leave her out.