Hanasaki Tsubomi

Hanasaki Tsubomi (花咲 つぼみ Hanasaki Tsubomi?) is the leader of the Cures in Heartcatch Pretty Cure!. She lives in a flower shop called Hanasaki Flower Shop with her parents and grandmother. Her catchphrase is "I have reached my limit!" (私、堪忍袋の緒が切れました！ Watashi, kanninbukuro no o ga kiremashita!?).

Her alter ego is Cure Blossom (キュアブロッサム Kyua Burossamu?).

Appearance
Tsubomi is a thin framed girl with big scarlet eyes and hair nearly thigh in length with bangs parted off-center framing her face, and she has a small curl at each ear. At the beginning of the series, she wore large glasses and kept her hair in a low ponytail. After Erika'smakeover, Tsubomi began wearing her hair in low twin-tails and is shown only wearing her glasses when studying or in class. She adorns her pigtails with yellow flower scrunchies.

Her casual attire consists of a pale pink top with fuchsia collar and sleeves with a 7 on the back, light blue three-quarter skinny jeans and pink flats. After meeting Erika she began to wear a pale pink dress Erika designed, with fuchsia fabric sticking out of he bottom and making up the sleeves and collar. A pink ribbon design is on the left corner of the chest. Paired with this are hot pink slip-ons with a small heel and dull blue leggings.

For the movie, she is shown wearing a pale pink puffy dress with a heart necklace, grey fabric on the top and a trim of pastel pink ruffles on the bottom. Over this was a denim jacket, grey tights, and pale beige cowboy boots.

As Cure Blossom, Tsubomi's hair grows in length and becomes bright pink to match her eyes, and is worn in a large curly ponytail secured by a hot pink ribbon that has a flower on it. She wears pale pink flower earrings and a hot pink choker. She wears A short white dress with a pink tutu made of several petals and a white flower shaped peplum sewn to a hot pink band on the waist. A pale pink flower is sewn to each corner. The sides of the torso are pink and on her chest is a hot pink ribbon with a turquoise gem heart on a silver base. Her sleeves are shaped like closed with hot pink ribbon on each shoulder and lacing the back. She also gains hot pink wrist pieces with a flower on it and two layered fabric, one of white, one pale pink, along with knee-length white boots accented in hot pink with a pale pink toe, gems on the foot and cuff, and a pale pink flower on the side of the ankle.

Personality
Contrasting most lead Cures, Tsubomi is a really timid introvert. She is shy and quiet, and hesitates to speak openly unless approached. This causes her to often worry and fret over small things, and she struggles to handle more energetic people like Erika very well. She desires to change this part of herself and while she remains insecure, she starts to speak her mind more often and with Erika's friendship, she slowly begins to grow into the confident person she dreamed of becoming, learning that her negative qualities were still a part of who she was.

Tsubomi is a kind girl as well, and would never say anything to hurt anyone or make them feel as though she depended on them if it could make them unhappy. She loves flowers and dreams of becoming a botanist to spread flowers and make people happy.

Due to her relationship and frequent visits with her grandmother, she has picked up her old-fashioned speech pattern.

Lonely Life
Ever since she was small, Tsubomi has had to be taken care of by her grandmother, Hanasaki Kaoruko while her parents, both with each of their important jobs, went on business trips and could be gone for weeks at a time. At first, Tsubomi did not mind, and had fun being with Kaoruko, even learning a lot of Japanese literature and old phrases.HPC07 However, as time went by, Tsubomi became more and more lonely, though she did not tell her parents, as she knew how important their work was.

Presumed to have happened the same year the present story line begins, she watched a bird give food to her children while they cried to make her come back. Seeing herself in a similar situation as the little birds, Tsubomi started to cry. Coincidentally, her mother forgot a notebook, and together with her husband and Tsubomi's grandmother, they find Tsubomi crying. She admitted her loneliness to them, and not wanting to split her family apart, her parents quit their respective jobs to open a flower shop together, moving to Kibougahana, the city where Kaoruko lives, to be closer to Kaoruko as well.HPC09

New Life
The story starts with Tsubomi waking up from a dream about Cure Moonlight as they arrive in their new town, where they are going to live with Tsubomi's grandmother. The next day, Tsubomi prepares herself for her first day at the new school, hoping to change her shy personality, but despite her prayer to a four-leaf clover, it starts becoming embarrassing, partly because of Kurumi Erika, who kept teasing her. After school, Erika forces her to change her hair-style and wear a different sweater, though Tsubomi constantly tells her to let her be. When she is alone, she has a new dream about Cure Moonlight. After waking up, she takes a walk and encounters the fairies from the Great Tree of Hearts, who tell her to help them hide so that their enemy will not find them. After watching Sasorina take Erika's Heart Seeds instead, and realizing the pain Erika is actually going through, Tsubomi summons the courage she needs and transforms into Cure Blossom.HPC01

However, as she is unable to control the power of being a Pretty Cure, Blossom is easily defeated. She is then saved by a mysterious man who transports her to her grandmother's botanical garden, where she reverts back to Tsubomi. It is revealed that Kaoruko used to be the famous Cure Flower when she was young, and that Erika's Heart Flower will soon be lost if not retrieved sooner. Tsubomi decides to once again fight the Desertrian to save Erika. Although she had problems with fighting and the powers of the Desertrian seem to increase, she gains almost complete control when witnessing wild flowers being destroyed by the Desertrian's giant hammer, and is in the end able to purify the monster and chase Sasorina away. When Erika later wakes up, Tsubomi makes a deal with her; if Erika can make the abandoned doll pretty, she will join the fashion club as well as the gardening club, which makes Erika extremely happy.HPC02

Fighting as Cure Blossom
Although accepting her powers and role as Pretty Cure, Tsubomi is still having some trouble using all of Blossom's abilities, but quickly recovers when Erika successfully transforms into Cure Marine.HPC03 However, as Blossom watches how well Marine is doing, she loses confidence in her abilities as Blossom, and begins thinking that she is being a burden to Erika. Because of this, she seeks comfort from Coupe and her grandmother, and eventually is able to cooperate with Marine when they fight against Kumojaki.HPC04

Trial of the Super Silhouette
Blossom, along with Marine and Sunshine, goes to the Pretty Cure Palace to take the ultimate test: obtaining their final transformation known as Super Silhouette. Blossom has to face her past self, who quickly gets the upper hand of her. Taken off guard, Blossom is shaken and bewildered over what is happening. Her past self tells her she can never change, that she is incapable of change. This causes Blossom to be filled with fear. Frightful of what she is hearing, Blossom runs only to realize she has changed and that she still needs a small part of her to be her shy inverted self because that is who she is. Blossom passes the test and the Pretty Cure Palace creates a statue of Blossom in recognition. She then joins her friends in battle against the Desert Devil and they access their new Super Silhouette powers.

Return of Dune
During Christmas, Dune returns to the earth and is after the power Cure Flower sealed away after their battle. In a valiant effort to protect her grandmother, Tsubomi fought Dune and was the last of the four Cures to fall to his powers. Dune takes Kaoruko to his fortress with Tsubomi blacking out just as he leaves. She awakens in the botanical garden which has been protected by Coupe, who was hiding the girls while they recover. When the girls go outside, they are met with the shock of seeing their world as a desert. Tsubomi runs home followed by Erika only to reach their homes to see that they have also fallen to the power of the Desert Devils. Losing all faith, she hugs Chypre asking what she can do now. The four girls reunite and all are feeling defeated, until Erika's sister Momoka rushes out of nowhere relieved to see her sister is alive. The girls then notice others arriving, all of who had been saved by the Cures which included Itsuki's brother, Satsuki. After being reminded of how much faith her friends have in Pretty Cure, Tsubomi declares that they will not give up. A Desert Devil arrives and the girls tell everyone to get into the botanical gardens. They transform and defeat the Desert Devil using Heartcatch Orchestra. Coupe points to the sky, indicating to the girls he knows where Kaoruko is, and puts Marine on his back to let them know he is going with them. Just as the girls are about to leave to rescue Kaoruko, their friends come out of the botanical garden to wish them luck.

The Final Battle
The Cures and their mascots arrive at Dune's fortress and begin fighting the Snackeys. Blossom manages to fight her way to her grandmother and with the help of Coupe, she releases her from Dune's shackles. Before she leaves to rejoin Moonlight, her grandmother begs her not to allow Sabaku and Moonlight to fight. She joins Moonlight, ready to fight Dark Cure with her, but is asked by Moonlight not to interfere as she has to be the one to beat Dark Cure. As the two fight, Sabaku starts to shoot dark energy at Moonlight so Blossom flies towards him in an attempt to stop him, only to be shot down by him. After telling him how much she changed, and that she will protect her world and everyone's hearts, she goes for the attack again. As she dives over him Chypre detaches from Blossom and lands on his face, giving Blossom the chance to take a shot against him. When Sabaku sees Moonlight ready to make the final move against Dark Cure, he lunges in the path of the attack taking the hit, which causes his mask to break. Blossom witnesses an extremely shocked Moonlight after Sabaku is revealed to be her father, and as Dark Cure is ready to make a finishing blow against her, Blossom stands in the path of the attack and deflects it with her hands. Tired from protecting Moonlight, she rests while Moonlight and Dark Cure have their final battle. She witnesses Dark Cure being defeated and Moonlight running to her father wrapping her arms around him. She also hears how Sabaku pit blood sisters against each other as he created Dark Cure out of a piece of Yuri, making Dark Cure Yuri's younger sister, and sees Dark Cure fade in her father's arms.

Dune arrives and begins to battle Sabaku. Moonlight joins the fight protecting her father from a barrage of energy shots from Dune. Blossom joins the fight only for Dune to create a dark energy bomb which explodes breaking the Cures' transformations and leaving all three on the ground. As Dune prepares to use the same move, Sabaku runs to the dark energy and uses himself to shield his daughter and Tsubomi from the explosion. Yuri runs to her father as the energy explodes leaving only tatters of her father's clothes. Enraged by Dune's actions, Yuri prepares to engage him in battle but Tsubomi grabs her arm begging her not to fight with anger and hatred. Yuri tells Tsubomi she despises Dune for destroying Cologne and her father. Tsubomi reminds Yuri that the Yuri she looks up to would never fight out of anger and would not be willing to do what she is about to do. She then gives Yuri the remains of her Pretty Cure Seed that Dark Cure possessed, helping Yuri to remember that Pretty Cures fight with love. The two transform and begin to battle Dune, just managing to keep the battle equal between them until Dune shoots dark energy at them which explodes on impact. As the dust settled, Marine and Sunshine are revealed to have saved them from the attack and Blossom is glad to see them safe. They join Moonlight and Blossom in fighting Dune. The Cures use their Forte Wave attacks against Dune, followed by Marine and Sunshine combining to use Floral Power Fortissimo and Moonlight and Blossom combining to do the same. All four hit Dune at the same time and then they call forth the Heartcatch Mirage and use Heartcatch Orchestra to defeat Dune.

However, Dune was able to overcome the group attack, breaking free from it. Dune becomes filled with seething rage and unleashes his true final form, growing to the extent that his size went beyond the earth's. The Cures, along with Kaoruko and Coupe, evacuate in a small barrier that carries them away from the crumbling fortress. Dune punches the earth, causing the land to shake tremendously, as the remaining survivors near the botanical garden struggle to stay upright. The Cures resolve to confront Dune, this time, with their love, seeing Dune boiling with wrath and hatred. They fly up to him, swiftly avoiding Dune's thrusts and punches before being overwhelmed by his lasers. The dust and smoke dissipate, but the Cures are actually unaffected by the attack. Blossom begins to express the groups' sympathy for Dune and pauses, before Moonlight and the rest stood up for her. The Cures and the three fairies combine their powers, and an egg-like barrier surrounds them, growing layer by layer, until it matches the size of Dune. The egg hatches to reveal a gigantic Cure, who introduces herself as Infinity Silhouette, a combination of the Pretty Cure's and fairies' powers. Dune tries to attack Infinity Silhouette, but is interrupted by a huge invisible barrier, making her invulnerable to any of Dune's attacks. Infinity Silhouette then performs Straight Punch, filling Dune's heart with the love that they had delivered from their hearts, before Dune fades away with a smile on his face.

Crossover Appearance
Cross Maximum

Hanasaki Tsubomi/Cure Blossom appears as one of the characters from Pretty Cure side along with some Heartcatch Pretty Cure Cures.

Cross Maximum 2: Exceed Sky

Hanasaki Tsubomi/Cure Blossom re-appears as one of the characters from Pretty Cure side along with some Heartcatch Pretty Cure Cures.

Project X Zone 3: A wakening of the Trailblazer

Hanasaki Tsubomi/Cure Blossom appears as Pair Unit teaming up with Kurumi Erika/Cure Marine.