Hello everyone, there was a load of cool interviews this month in anime magazines. First we had the interview with Isao Murayama and now we’ve got Series Director Kouji Kawasaki telling us more about the Unpredictability of Star Detective Precure!.
Kawasaki is a director and storyboarder at Toei Animation having been involved in their productions since 2014’s Majin Bone making his directorial debut on Ep.41 of the series. He’s since worked on Dragon Ball Super, World Trigger and that show that only one person watched.
We now make way for the interview now so I’ll be quiet now. Please enjoy the rest of the interview!
Translation by “nui”, Editing by me. This article was originally published in Animage magazine in May 2026.
Deliberately Delaying Ruruka’s First Transformation
Interviewer: Ruruka Moria finally transformed in episode 11. Her past is slowly starting to be revealed.
Kawasaki-san: After two months of broadcasting, I think the viewers have somewhat grasped the worldview of Star Detective Precure!. Just when they start thinking, “Is the story going to continue in this exact format?”, Ruruka transforms as the third member, and Usonoir’s objective is revealed. I wanted to raise the expectations for the second cours that way.
Until now, Usonoir mostly just sat there while the others repeatedly skirmished with the Precure, but I don’t think we really depicted who they actually are. Ruruka barely had any lines up until episode 10 either, but now it turns out she was also a Star Detective, and on top of that, she’s incredibly strong when she transforms. We consciously made episode 11 that first major turning point.
Interviewer: What felt like an aggressive story structure was the fact that Anna and Mikuru had absolutely no idea Ruruka even existed up until this point.
Kawasaki-san: That ties into Ruruka’s secret, so we intentionally made their first meeting happen in episode 11. Thanks to that, up until then, she was just a mysterious girl who was always eating ice cream (laughs). The moment they meet in episode 11, she transforms, and Anna and Mikuru are shocked. We dragged it out this long specifically to show that exact reaction.
Interviewer: Did Nao Toyama-san, who plays Ruruka, participate in the dubbing sessions every time up to episode 10?
Kawasaki-san: Yes, she would say her one or two lines every week and then just observe the rest of the session. She even came to observe enthusiastically during episodes where Ruruka had no screen time.
Ruruka is a rather difficult character; first of all, she doesn’t speak much, and when she does, she mutters. That requires a considerable amount of acting skill, so we definitely wanted to ask someone highly capable. Also, her emotional fluctuations will become quite prominent later on, so finding someone who could handle that acting shift was the deciding factor in casting. She isn’t coldly robotic; there’s a certain warmth to her, and she can speak kindly to Mashutan. I really want people to pay close attention to the way Ruruka speaks moving forward.
Interviewer: In episode 13, the phrase “Month of July” came out of Usonoir’s mouth.
Kawasaki-san: When you say “The Month of July, 1999,” it refers to the “King of Terror” from the Great Prophecies of Nostradamus, right? The story will rapidly progress toward that, with various mysteries unfolding and being resolved. And then, what happens after the “Month of July” arrives? I want people to look forward to that. By the way, Usonoir considers the prophecy book, the “Book of Future Freedom”, to be the absolute truth, and wants to proceed exactly as it’s written, almost like a theatrical script. That’s the motivation driving his actions.
Interviewer: When the topic of July 1999 came up, it didn’t seem to click for Anna.
Kawasaki-san: She’s a kid born in January 2013, so she doesn’t really know about the King of Terror. In an Isekai reincarnation story, they might solve cases using modern knowledge, but if you think about a realistic 14-year-old, she’s probably still overwhelmed just dealing with school and her immediate surroundings. However, Anna does know about things that are everyday occurrences in 2027, like smartphones.
Interviewer: Speaking of Anna, she often uses the word “Hanamaru” (flower circle / perfect mark). Is this a vocabulary choice that transcends generations?
Kawasaki-san: Actually, the show’s catchphrase, “CUREtto Resolved!” (Curett Kaiketsu!), was originally “Completely Resolved!” (Marutto Kaiketsu!) in the earliest drafts. It’s a remnant of that.
Interviewer: Like a “completely solved” kind of vibe!
Kawasaki-san: Exactly, we were thinking of something like “wrapping it up nicely” (maruku osameru), but we wanted to make it a bit cuter, so we went with “Hanamaru Kaiketsu!” Then we added a Precure-like word to it and finalized it as “CUREtto Kaiketsu!” However, the word “Hanamaru” is also catchy, and we talked about how “all kids are happy when they get a hanamaru,” so it was adopted as Anna’s catchphrase. That’s how she started saying things like “Hanamaru Kawaii!”.
Interviewer: At the end of episode 6, she reported to Jett-senpai saying, “Hanamaru Kaiketsu!” Is that the original, correct usage?
Kawasaki-san: Yes, exactly (laughs). In the final episode of KimiPre, they also struck a pose and said “Hanamaru Kaiketsu!”, and that was where the original idea came from.
Interviewer: In the previous issue, we heard that you intentionally gave Mikuru some ditzy/clumsy traits as her characterization. She’s a bit different from the standard “smart honors student” we’re used to seeing in Precure.
Kawasaki-san: We aimed for an imperfect character right from the script stage, but I feel like Hondo-san’s character building added an extra layer to that ditzy feel. During the audition phase, she played her with a slightly more rigid image, but as the main series recording progressed, she would say, “I think if it’s this girl, she would feel this way,” and gradually blended in some cuteness.
Interviewer: Speaking of that, how about Hikari Senga-san, who plays Anna?
Kawasaki-san: Senga-san’s voice is very pure, isn’t it? Rather than a “quintessential protagonist voice,” it felt more like a “straightforward voice that never tells a lie.”
Interviewer: “Never telling a lie” is also an important characteristic of Anna’s, right?
Kawasaki-san: After actually talking with her, I thought that Senga-san herself is very straightforward and faces her roles with utmost sincerity, just like Anna Akechi. I was sure that she would be able to lead the entire cast as the troupe leader for a year. And in fact, she really brightens up the recording studio.
Seems Like They’re Hiding Mysteries? The 4 “Onee-san” Figures
Interviewer: Having slightly older sister figures as sub-characters: Eliza Kurusu, Rei Kaneda, Kurea Howa, and Shiruku Ieiri, is also a unique feature of this work.
Kawasaki-san: All four of them are highly distinct characters. Eliza, who’s been around since episode 2, is a mystery novelist who also possesses detective knowledge. Her surname “Kurusu” is a play on Agatha Christie.
Kaneda Rei is a play on Kosuke Kindaichi. She’s the granddaughter of the school’s chairwoman and the student council president, your typical strict type, but she holds an important position supporting Anna and Mikuru’s school life.
Interviewer: In episode 14, involving Pochitan, she showed a side to her that isn’t just strict.
Kawasaki-san: That’s right. Because Rei has her own policies. Furthermore, in Episode 14, she became the only one out of the four to learn about Pochitan’s existence. As of right now, she might be the closest person to the Precure’s secret.
Kurea from Patisserie ChuChu gets her name from Hercule Poirot. She’s a patissier, and we figured that for a detective show, there has to be a classic hangout spot where everyone gathers. Jett-senpai also has a sweet tooth, so we established it as his go-to shop. Since she’s in the service industry, she interacts with lots of people and is a great listener.
Interviewer: The fourth one, Shiruku Ieiri, is a high school actor, right?
Kawasaki-san: Since she’s an actor, she plays various roles, so we built her character around the concept of disguises. Her signature catchphrase is “No jumping to conclusions!”. The origin of her name is, of course, Sherlock Holmes. Holmes is great at disguises, after all. Look forward to seeing how these girls will get involved in the future. Looking at them like this, it seems like they’re all going to transform, doesn’t it? (laughs)
Interviewer: Yes, there’s quite a battle of deductions flying around among the fans too (laughs). Aside from them, Minoru & Suzumi, who have been popping up here and there since Episode 2, are delightful.
Kawasaki-san: Those two are the buffer for when the story starts getting too serious. That goofy couple vibe is great, isn’t it? (laughs). Their character traits were cemented by Yutaka Tsuchida-san’s direction in episode 2. Thanks to that, the other staff members are having a lot of fun playing around with those two (laughs). I quite like them myself, so I even have them eating parfaits in the OP (laughs).
Interviewer: In Episode 13, under Usonoir’s influence, these two ended up fighting.
Kawasaki-san: I figured that with a lovey-dovey couple like them, they would fall perfectly into the “emotions reversing” gimmick of Episode 13.
Interviewer: What I’m really curious about is Cure Eclair, who hasn’t appeared in the main story yet.
Kawasaki-san: “When is Cure Eclair going to appear in the main story?” And also, “Will Ruruka become an ally?” “What is Ruruka burdened with?” and to begin with, “Will Anna be able to return to 2027?”… There’s a lot, isn’t there? (laughs)
Interviewer: So far, it doesn’t look like Ruruka has any intention of leaving the Phantoms either.
Kawasaki-san: Right. I think even the adult fans are having a hard time predicting what happens next. However, moving forward, maybe we’ll betray those expectations in a good way…?
Interviewer: Speaking of mysteries, it seems Jett-senpai didn’t know that the Makoto Jewels are actually shattered fragments of a bigger jewel.
Kawasaki-san: That’s right. Even around the detective agency, there are questions like, “What does Jett-senpai know, and what doesn’t he know?” “How much of the situation does the London headquarters actually grasp? Why aren’t they disclosing information?” Keep those kinds of things in mind while you watch.
Interviewer: It’s structured so that whenever one of the series’ overarching mysteries is revealed, a new mystery emerges from it.
Kawasaki-san: That ties directly into the core theme we’ve set for the work: “See, feel, and think for yourself to find the true answer.” I bet the people who have been watching the series for years are probably feeling a bit bewildered right about now. That sheer unpredictability is what makes it Star Detective Precure!. Please continue to enjoy the show!
