Maho Girls Precure!! ~Mirai Days~ (also known as Witchy Precure!! ~Mirai Days~) is the second case of the Precure franchise creating a direct sequel anime that features its heroines many years after their original stories. While it might be a bit unfair to compare this series and Precure Full Bloom, their diverging approaches to portraying their respective characters as adults is noteworthy for how they connect to the concept of “youth” and all it entails.

Ever since the end of their original story, heroines Asahina Mirai and Izayoi Liko have each been living in the non-magical and magical worlds respectively. Mirai is a college student now, but she also continues to secretly use her witch powers to help people as the mysterious “Maho Girl.” Liko has become a teacher at her old school, training a new generation of magic users. When a new enemy threatens both worlds, the two reunite to become Cure Miracle and Cure Magical once more.

To me, the biggest difference between Full Bloom and Mirai Days can be summed up in the transformations. While the Yes! Pretty Cure 5 and Pretty Cure Splash Star girls revert back to their middle school selves when transforming, Miracle and Magical remain adults. In the former, the power of Precure is locked to the youth of the past, but in the latter, that power continues forward.

One aspect that might have influenced these diverging approaches is the fact that they are targeting different age demographics. Yes! 5 and Splash Star are around 10 years older than Maho Girls, and that means one sequel is targeting women around 30, as opposed to those closer to 20. Thematically, the first group are adults worn down by society and the clash between the dreamy ideals of your youth and the harshness of the “adult world.” In contrast, Mirai and Liko have to fight those who want to remain in an ideal past where they felt happiest.

Even then, I liked the way Maho Girls did it even more. I want to see how adults might look in magical outfits, and how they would carry their life experiences in their actions. Why can’t we see women in their mid to late 20s (and beyond) undergoing full, proper magical transformations that acknowledge their maturity?