Toei Animation announced the 2027 release of Dual Shadow ~Precure Villain Heroines~,
an original spin-off featuring villain characters as protagonists. The series will debut with a tagline After all, we’re not ‘Precure’
and a teaser PV, a shift from traditional Precure narratives.
Toei Animation officially unveiled “Dual Shadow ~Precure Villain Heroines~” on October 27, 2026, confirming its 2027 premiere. A 20-second teaser PV launched on the official Precure YouTube channel. It shows a lone flower swaying under a spotlight with a pair of eyes visible in the darkness.
The official X account for the Precure series announced the 2027 premiere on Tuesday, Japan time, as reported by Anime News Network. The teaser PV opens on a field of flowers before an on-screen line reads, in Japanese, Well, we are not Precure, after all.
The series is an original work with original characters and an original story, unlike earlier Precure spin-offs, according to the official announcement.
Villains Turn Heroes in Franchise Tradition
The Precure franchise has long explored villains becoming heroes. This trend began with Higashi Setsuna, aka Eas, from Fresh Precure! (2009), who transitioned to Cure Passion. The 23rd main series, Star Detective Precure!, which premiered in February 2026, continues to air. Its feature film opened in Japan on September 18, earning 446 million yen (US$2.82 million) in its first three days.
The film, Eiga Meitantei Precure! Fushigi na Niwa to Futari no Himitsu (Star Detective Precure! The Movie: The Mysterious Garden and the Secret of 2 People) ranked at #3 in its opening weekend. It sold 358,000 tickets, according to sources. Crunchyroll streams Star Detective Precure! in North America, Central America, South America, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and CIS, as reported by Anime News Network. The franchise, which began in 2004 with Pretty Cure (Futari wa Pretty Cure), expands its narrative scope with this new spin-off.
20th-Anniversary Projects with Unconfirmed Details
Toei Animation is promoting two 20th-anniversary projects for the Precure franchise. The Power of Hope: Precure Full Bloom television anime debuted in October 2023 as a sequel to Yes! Precure 5 featuring the cast as adults. Mahō Tsukai Precure!!: MIRAI DAYS debuted in January 2025 as a sequel to Witchy Pretty Cure!. Details about the cast, voice actors, and exact broadcast schedule for Dual Shadow remain unannounced, according to Playeatsleep.
The staff, cast, studio, broadcaster, and exact premiere date for Dual Shadow have not been announced. The series will mark the first time the franchise explicitly highlights villain heroines, a shift from its traditional focus on hero protagonists. This aligns with the tagline’s emphasis on redefining the Precure identity. The official website and Precure’s official X account remain the primary sources for updates.
Franchise Legacy in Teaser Visuals
The official Dual Shadow website revealed its first visual, though no character designs or plot details have been disclosed. The series will build on the franchise’s tradition of villain-to-hero transformations, as seen in Higashi Setsuna’s arc. The 2027 premiere follows the 23rd main series, Star Detective Precure!, which debuted on February 1, and is ongoing. The film adaptation of that series opened in Japan on September 18, and ranked at #3 in its opening weekend.
More on Dual Shadow
꧁——————————————꧂ 「Dual Shadow ～Precure Villain Heroines～」 Broadcasting in Japan in 2027📺☽ ——————— ♔ ——————— ☾A new spin-off work in the "Precure" series is born‼What? We're not "Precure" pic.twitter.com/VdvVDeo3SR