Hello everyone, it’s time for another interview! This time we get to hear from Scriptwriter Isao Murayama on his latest series, Star Detective Precure. Murayama has had the Series Composition role on many anime produced by Toei Animation most notably with the Precure series with Maho Girls Precure and Star Twinkle Precure but got his debut on 2014’s Majin Bone.
He’s also a scriptwriter for the Doraemon series and is handling the script for the upcoming film Doraemon the Movie: New Nobita’s Undersea Fortress.
Translation by “nui”, Editing by me. This article was originally published in Animedia magazine in May 2026 Page 68-69.
The “Time Slip” That Made a “Detective Story” Possible
Interviewer: Please tell us your thoughts when you first learned the motif of the work was going to be “detectives.”
Murayama-san: When I first received the project proposal from Producer Souya Aramaki, I honestly told him, “A detective story might be pretty hard.” We live in an era where smartphones, security cameras, and AI apps are everywhere, even for general users. Because of that, I figured driving a narrative forward with “detectives” would be highly difficult. But then they told me the protagonist time-slips back to 1999! I thought, Okay, we might actually be able to pull this off.
Actually, during Mahotsukai Precure!, which I was also the series composer for, there was an idea floating around to incorporate time-slipping into the story. It ended up getting scrapped because we felt it would be too hard for the younger kids to understand. We eventually made it happen in the novelization and in Mahotsukai Precure! ~MIRAIDAYS~, but TanPuri is the first time it’s been adopted in the main TV series, so personally, it feels like a dream come true.
By the way, the initial planning for TanPuri was actually much more niche. We were targeting a slightly older demographic, and the scenario featured much more difficult puzzle-solving. The staff on the floor was super hyped about it, but eventually, the conversation shifted to, “Isn’t this a bit too niche?” We decided to dial back the difficulty of the mysteries for the actual show. However, I felt that making the mysteries too easy would ruin the project’s core intent, so we absolutely stuck to a structure where the Precure logically solve a mystery in every single episode.
Creating Mysteries with “Appropriate Difficulty” is Really Hard
Interviewer: How do you go about creating the mysteries woven into each episode?
Murayama-san: I’m the one who creates the mysteries for the incident segments. Striking that “appropriate difficulty”, a mystery that kids might just be able to solve on their own, but isn’t entirely boring for adults, is actually incredibly hard. Since I’m the series composer, I take that on myself. When I write the order sheets for our writers detailing what I want to see in each episode, I include the specific incident and mystery, the theme, the narrative, and which parts of the overarching main mystery will be revealed. It ends up looking pretty close to a full plot.
Writing those order sheets is probably the hardest part of the job. I’m constantly agonizing over them (laughs). TanPuri also requires a lot of research into 1999 culture and trends, so the individual writers have a tough job too. I’m full of respect and gratitude for the incredibly high-quality scripts they manage to turn in despite all that.
Interviewer: When having Anna Akechi and Mikuru Kobayashi act as a detective duo to solve the incidents caused by the Phantom Thieves, what are you most conscious of?
Murayama-san: Rather than focusing just on Anna and Mikuru, the staff had endless discussions about what a detective should fundamentally be. In a lot of detective shows, you have a setup where the Protagonist = the person in trouble, the Spotlight = the suspect, and the Detective = an eccentric weirdo. But Precure are meant to be idols for kids, so we can’t just make them weirdos.
Instead, we positioned Anna and Mikuru as characters with clear goals and willpower: “I want to help people in trouble” and “I want to be a brilliant detective who cleanly solves cases.” We make absolutely sure to incorporate that drive into every episode.
“Solving Incidents Without Relying on Mysterious Powers”
Interviewer: Speaking of detective show visual tropes, displaying the guest characters’ names on-screen with telops feels very much like a classic “detective show.”
Murayama-san: That was actually one of the specific things we wanted to try out in TanPuri (laughs). Also, if we’re going to establish this as a proper detective story, we have to ensure that the flow from the incident occurring to the final deduction is driven by the characters’ own actions, without relying on mysterious powers. Even the Phantom Thieves just use smoke bombs to vanish, it’s strictly a smokescreen, not teleportation. On the Precure side, they find definitive evidence through their own means, not by relying on handy tools or Precure magic.
Interviewer: If both sides just relied on mysterious powers, the detective premise would completely fall apart.
Murayama-san: Exactly (laughs). Locked-room tricks wouldn’t work at all! The Phantom Thieves enjoy the act of stealing as if it were a stage show, so instead of just running away immediately, they make sure to properly face off against the Precure. We structured it so their boss, Usonoir, is watching it all unfold.
Interviewer: Speaking of bosses, it’s pretty common in the Precure series to hide early villains in silhouettes, but Usonoir showed his face very early on in TanPuri.
Murayama-san: We revealed the boss’s identity early so we wouldn’t cause unnecessary stress for the kids watching. Having something precious stolen is a genuinely scary concept for a child. Also, because Cure Arcana Shadow is on the thieves’ side, the Phantom Thieves get a lot of screen time. To help alleviate any anxiety, we decided to bring Usonoir out right from the beginning.
“They Could Transform Because Two Girls from Different Eras Met”
Interviewer: Were there any character settings or story developments that you personally proposed?
Murayama-san: I was the one who pushed for Anna and Mikuru’s “duo transformation.” The original plan was for Anna to transform in episode 1, and Mikuru to transform in episode 2 or 3. But I felt that doing a simultaneous duo transformation in episode 1 was the absolute best way to go. Episode 1 already has so much to establish, so cramming it into the runtime was brutal, but “two girls from different eras meeting, holding hands, and transforming together” is just so incredibly hype, isn’t it? (laughs).
It really emphasized the feeling that they were only able to transform because these two girls from different times crossed paths. It must have been a lot of hard work for the animation team, but I’m so glad I pushed for that episode 1 duo transformation.
Interviewer: How do you perceive and portray the characters of Anna and Mikuru?
Murayama-san: Anna is the type to immediately jump into action, while Mikuru tends to overthink things and hesitates to make a move. The standard trope for a “Pink” Precure is that they might be average at school but excel in intuition and charisma… but we totally bypassed that trope for TanPuri. Cure Answer (Anna)’s color is purple, after all. She is a brilliant detective with a sharp mind. But on top of that, she’s a deeply compassionate and kind character who simply can’t ignore someone in need. We made sure to highlight those aspects when crafting the story.
Ruruka Stands Out Because She is on the Enemy Side
Interviewer: Let’s talk about the highly mysterious Cure Arcana Shadow / Moria Ruruka. Could you tell us why her transformation was set for episode 11, “Cure Arcana Shadow Appears”?
Murayama-san: Right from the planning stages, we intended to wrap up the first major story arc around episode 11 or 12, so the timing of her appearance fit perfectly. Also, for kids, Precure are ultimate heroes of justice, so having a Precure on the enemy side carried a real risk of causing confusion or making her disliked. We were pretty anxious about whether she would be accepted, so we packed her with traits that kids would love, like her obsession with ice cream, and her specific mannerisms and tone of voice.
Then, character designer Akane Yano-san made her a hundred times cuter on top of that. As a result, she stood out so much I almost wondered if we overdid it!
Interviewer: Ruruka’s lack of words really enhances her mysterious vibe, too.
Murayama-san: She’s a classic silent character. Whatever Cure Arcana Shadow wants to say is usually spoken on her behalf by her fairy partner, Mashutan. Even during the Phantom Thieves’ catchphrase, “Lie Lie Sir!”, Ruruka is the only one not actually saying it, she’s just mouthing the words. When thinking about Ruruka’s character, I just figured she wouldn’t say it out loud, so we went with that.
Interviewer: Ruruka is also the only one who doesn’t attach “sama” (Lord/Master) to Usonoir’s name. Is that part of her personality as well?
Murayama-san: I think it’s definitely part of her personality. By the way, the reason Mashutan adds “sama” to Usonoir is simply because she’s a very social butterfly who knows how to navigate the world.
Interviewer: What do you prioritize when portraying the fairy partners like Pochitan and Mashutan?
Murayama-san: First and foremost, keeping them “cute.” We want the presence of the fairies to soften any fear the Phantom Thieves might cause. Additionally, Pochitan is a key character who holds the power to return Anna to her original time, so we always keep that in mind when writing her.
“They’re So Un-scary It’s a Problem!? The Phantom Thieves”
Interviewer: It seems there was a deliberate policy not to make the Phantom Thieves too scary, and true to plan, almost no one besides boss Usonoir is particularly frightening.
Murayama-san: Right. As the story progressed, they devolved into increasingly lovable characters. It got to the point where the staff was throwing around opinions like, “What do we do? They aren’t scary at all!” (laughs). Gouemon became a character with a strong moral backbone, fitting since his motif is the righteous thief Goemon Ishikawa. Ageseine is based on a gyaru, and Nijee became incredibly popular thanks to a combination of beautiful visuals, fun dialogue, and wonderful voice acting.
However, the act of stealing itself is still a bad thing. We make a conscious effort to properly depict the sadness of the people who have had their precious things stolen, and to show that the thieves are doing something terrible.
Interviewer: Finally, could you tell us what to look forward to from episode 15 onwards?
Murayama-san: Now that they’ve solved the Phantom Thieves’ cases, the CUREtto Detective Agency will start gaining public recognition. They’ll start receiving slightly different types of requests, and the scope of their activities will expand. The background and true goals of Cure Arcana Shadow will also gradually come to light.
The story of Star Detective Precure! is constructed with many layers so that anyone can enjoy it. Preschoolers can enjoy the lovely Precure and cute fairies; elementary schoolers can have fun solving the mysteries. For parents and older viewers, we hope you enjoy the nostalgic 1999 setting while trying to deduce the grand overarching mystery of the entire narrative. We’ve properly scattered foreshadowing for that major mystery all over the place, so please try to find the clues. A lot of new mysteries are going to kick off in episode 15, so I hope you’ll tune in every week without missing a single one!
Margin Notes
Despite being a member of Thieves Guild PHANTOM, Moria Ruruka, who had yet to take any direct action, suddenly closes in on Anna and the others in Episode 11, “Cure Arcana Shadow Appears!” Just when it seems like she is going to steal the Makoto Jewel, she leaves it be and instead defeats the Hanninda that was obstructing her goal. Furthermore, in Episode 13, “Star Detectives vs Phantom Thieves,” she even showed signs of protecting the two girls from Usonoir. Ruruka’s secret is supposedly written in a letter that Jett-senpai requested from the CUREtto Detective Agency in London, but…is she truly an enemy? Keep your eyes on the objectives and future moves of the still-mysterious Cure Arcana Shadow / Ruruka!
