When you have such an extensive franchise as Pretty Cure, you're bound to reference a previous series at some point.
Series with their own page:
Futari wa Pretty Cure Splash★Star
- One episode had Saki fail an English test and show off the test paper; one of the questions references Honoka from Futari wa Pretty Cure.
- Another episode of Splash Star had Saki almost use Nagisa's catchphrase, leaving other characters confused for a moment.
Yes! Pretty Cure 5
- In one episode, the phrase "Nagisa is in high school now." is used on an English test.
Fresh Pretty Cure!
- In Episode 12, little Love is forced to put on a wig of Cure Rouge. Other wigs seen include Cure White and Cure Dream.
- Even the title is a Mythology Gag: back in Yes! Pretty Cure 5, Nozomi had guessed the next Pretty Cure would be Cure Fresh.
- In Episode 44, the girls are in a dance competition and advance to the next round along with the teams "Aurora Wave", "Spiritual", and "Metamorphose". All three are references to the transformation phrases of the previous three continuities.
Heart Catch Pretty Cure
- In episode 21, Potpourri tries to get Sayaka to become a Precure by saying there has been a football-playing one before (Natsuki Rin from Yes! Pretty Cure 5).
Suite Pretty Cure ♪
- In the beginning of episode 5, Cure Melody and Cure Rhythm smacking their faces together in a very similar way how Nagisa and Honoka did in episode 24.
- In episode 30, the quizmaster Negatone asks Cure Rhythm and Cure Beat what "shiro" and "ao" means in English. Of course, it's because of their costume colors, but it's also a reference to Cure White's name; in Blue's case, it's an inverted example since he appears four seasons later after Suite.
Smile Pretty Cure!
- The first episode has many of these:
- Cure Happy's pose in the group's final pose is identical to Cure Blossom's group pose with Marine and Sunshine.
- Miyuki's transformation into Cure Happy takes inspiration from transformations from all previous installments
◊ excluding Futari wa Pretty Cure Splash★Star. Yayoi's transformation involves spreading sparkles by using the powder-puff as a tambourine. - Candy crashes into Miyuki the same way Chypre crashes into Tsubomi and Mepple crashes into Nagisa when they first meet.
- Akane interupts Miyuki during her self-introduction similar to how Erika interupts Tsubomi during her's. Akane is seated in nearly the same location as Erika in her classroom as well.
- #22: Exclusive to the Glitter Force dub, Kelsey (Akane) reacts to seeing Rascal by shouting "That joker again!"; Joker being Rascal's original name in Japanese.
- #26: One of the candy sculptures is Coffret from HeartCatch Pretty Cure!.
- #30: Yayoi talks about one of her favorite superheroes: Taioh Man (Sun Man), who Souta posed as during a "film shoot" in Kanon Town.
- #33: The title of the movie the girls become actresses in? Youkai All-Stars DX. Furthermore, the whole episode is a Mythology Gag to other Pretty Cure episodes with an edo-movie theme, including a Casting Gag with Wataru Takagi (Uraganos and Bunbee). Also, Akane wears a Jorogumo costume which makes her looking very similar to Arachnea.
- #47: Cure Sunny and Cure March combine their main attacks to create the "Fire Shoot." Or in other words, they recreated that of Cure Rouge!
- #48: The final battle between Pierrot and the Precure plays out in a way that might remind one of All Star Precures vs. Black Hole and Miyuki turning into a giant version of herself looks like Mugen Silhouette.
Go! Princess Pretty Cure
- Marble Doughnuts, a food truck that appears in Yumegahama, appears to combine Marble Screw and Kaoru's donut foodtruck. A scene similar to one seen in Futari wa Pretty Cure even follows, where Minami marvels at the taste of her first donut, similar to how Honoka tried takoyaki for the first time.
- It's not mentioned in-universe, but Flora and Mermaid pull off a Double Pretty Cure Kick against the Zetsuborg in Episode 9.
- In Episode 11, Cure Twinkle suggests that they need to defeat Dyspear for "a happy ending", which is coincidentally what Cure Happy fought for. Furthermore, Cure Happy's post-transformation speech mentions the phrase "Kira Kira," which translates to "twinkling." Twinkle's real name just so happens to be Kirara.
- Most of the names of the Dress-Up Keys are a reference to previous seasons in some way:
- Flora's Rose Key references the rose theme of Yes! Pretty Cure 5 GO!GO!, or it could be referencing that season's resident Sixth Ranger, Milky Rose. Furthermore, the special attack from said key (Rose Tourbillon) and later the Lily Key (Lys Tourbillon) mirrors Milky Rose's pose when she uses her special attack.
- The name of Flora's fourth key, Sakura, means "cherry blossom", which is a flower that most fans have associated with Cure Blossom.
- Mermaid's Ice Key references the primary element used by Cures Beauty and Diamond.
- The name of Twinkle's Luna Key translates to "moon"...as in Cure Moonlight. Likewise, Flora's Lily Key refers to the same person: Lily in Japanese is 'Yuri', and Cure Moonlight's identity is Yuri Tsukikage.
- Twinkle's Shooting Star Key references Cure Dream's attack from Yes! Pretty Cure 5 GO!GO!, "Pretty Cure Shooting Star".
- Scarlett's Sun Key most likely references Cure Sunny of Smile Pretty Cure!.
- The Phoenix returns in a finishing move for the first time since Pretty Cure Royal Rainbow Burst.
- Taking away the Cures' transformation items to prevent them from getting in the way of the villains' plans? Has Lock been watching a lot of All Stars lately?
- It looks like Dysdark has been getting several ideas from All Stars because in Episode 47, Dyspear puts Haruka through a Lotus-Eater Machine not unlike the one used in New Stage 3. Haruka, much like Cure Dream before her, gets out on her own, reasoning that while she would be content living with her dream accomplished, she'll accomplish her dream with her own strength.
- Kirara is offered a job to model in Paris. While this is definitely a first for her, it isn't a first for the series; the Heartcatch Cures did just that in their respective movie.
- If anyone is interested in knowing what happened with Ranko, she has managed to fulfill her dream of becoming an idol, according to character word of mouth from KiraKira★Pretty Cure à la Mode.
Maho Girls Pre Cure
- The cat statue in the town the girls visit in Episode 3 is said to protect the "Passion Flame", which references Cure Rouge's title, "the red flame of passion".
- The Sapphire Style manages to reference three blue Cures at the same time. The jewel's title, "Aoki Chisei/Blue Wisdom/Intelligence", refers to both Cure Aqua (whose title is "the blue spring of intelligence") and Cure Beauty (whose last name is Aoki). The outfit for the Sapphire transformation resembles Cure Mermaid's, and, coincidentally, the episode where the jewel is found takes place in a mermaid village.
- Two life-sized mascots that bear a striking resemblance to Mepple and Mipple appear briefly on television with the idol who Riko recognizes in Episode 38.
KiraKira★Pretty Cure à la Mode
- This isn't the first time a patissier has become a Cure. That honor goes to Kanade Minamino/Cure Rhythm.
- Cure Whip rounds off the yearly ritual of the pink Cure transforming for the first time, then jumping impossibly high in the air.
- Another Precure tradition appears when Ichika first meets Pekorin, questioning whether Peko is a dog or a cat.
- The way Ichika meets Pekorin is similar to how Nagisa meets Mepple. Just replace room with kitchen.
- In a tiny bit of a Continuity Nod, Ranko Ichijo, a Victim of the Week back in Go! Princess Pretty Cure, is mentioned to have finally become an idol.
- Once again, the main Precure falls in love with a Bifauxnen Precure thinking they're a boy at first. Bonus points for Akira meaning "Daybreak", which could be a reference to Cure Sunshine.
- The Sweets Pact is the third Transformation Trinket in the franchise to be a Pact, and it's clearly modeled off of the Smile Pact.
- The villain disguising as a transfer student at the Cures' school? That was done before in Go! Princess Pretty Cure.
- The last blue-haired Cure was also the daughter of a wealthy business family, but she took it a lot better than Aoi.
- After Ichika defeats Julio in episode 22, he is revealed to be a fairy named Pikario, making him the second fairy to be purified after Phantom.
- Pekorin, in her human form, has hair (which is most noticeable in her Cure form) that resembles another heroine from a magical girl show by Toei that aired in the same timeslot as Pretty Cure: Poppu from Ojamajo Doremi.
Star★Twinkle Pretty Cure
- Fuwa meets Hikaru the way mascots in this franchise often meet the lead Cures — by literally dropping on her head.
- At the end of the first ED, the Cures draw stars in the air that are reminiscent of the ones the Kirakira Cures did in their second ED.
- Also, one of the villains corrupts the Star Color Pen that is on the Leo Star Princess, who is a blue, lion-themed character. Elisio brainwashing Cure Gelato, anyone?
- Flare's words "I'm fired up!" in the ending is reminiscent of Cure Gelato.
- #33: The Twinkle Book gives the pegasus-shaped Fuwa a parfait.
- #38 has similar elements to Kirakira #26, down to the ending with heartwarming music.
- Madoka's catchphrase is "goukigenyo".
- Just like Nagisa, Hikaru does not hesitate to question the fact that she did an In the Name of the Moon speech the first time after she transforms.
- The Cold Open shot of Madoka aiming her arrow looks a lot like Reika in the Smile Pretty Cure! OP.
- Sakurako says "desu wa" after saying "janjan" together with Fleetfoot, similar to the way Kirarin says "kira" after saying "itadakimasu" with Ichika, Himari, and Aoi. In addition, Sakurako's physical appearance and personality are similar to that of Reika Tamaki, another character who acted as a rival to one of the protagonists in a Toei Magical Girl series that aired in the same timeslot as Pretty Cure.
Healin' Good♡Pretty Cure
- One of the OST tracks is titled "Kagayaku inochi", which is part of Shiny Luminous' In the Name of the Moon speech.
Tropical-Rouge! Pretty Cure
- In Episode 3, one of the shops Manatsu and her friends visit is the "DokiDoki Happiness Fancy Shop."
- Episode 14 has the girls visiting a daycare. Not only was this the premise of the 14th episode of HuGtto! Pretty Cure, but both also contain a scene in which a character reads Momotaro to the children in the daycare.
- In episode 16, Laura's mouth is taped after the villians think she is talking too much. This is reminiscent of the 18th episode of HuGtto! Pretty Cure, where Emiru gets her mouth taped after almost revealing that Hana, Saaya and Homare are Pretty Cures.
- In episode 20, the team threatens to fall apart due to some delicious food disappearing without knowing who the culprit is with one of the Cures acting as a detective just like in episode 9 of Yes! Precure 5 GoGo. Likewise the culprit is the fairy mascot introduced in that season.
- In Episode 28, Minori's Dark and Troubled Past where the story she wrote was heavily criticized by a more experienced writer is similar to what Komachi went through in Episode 16 of Yes! 5 where the novel that she wrote was initially panned by Nuts when she presented it to him.
- The 33rd episode of the season has a parody of the second eyecatch with the villains instead of the Cures and Kururun. Episode 33 of Smile Pretty Cure! also featured a villain eyecatch, with an Akanbe scaring the girls. But unlike that eyecatch (which was recurring), this one was a one-off.
- In the final arc, Chonge-re and Butler become Yaranedas. This brings to mind Gelos and Bicine turning into Oshimaidas in the final arc of HuGtto! Pretty Cure.
- While rehearsing for the play in episode 45, Manatsu and Laura chant the same tongue twister Urara did in episode 20 of Yes! 5, though Laura substitutes one of the lines with "Kururun" which Manatsu points out.
