At the 'Anime and Manga--Looking Forward' panel at the ICv2 Graphic Novel Conference at the New York Comic-Con Al Kahn, CEO of 4Kids Entertainment, Inc. announced that his company had licensed the Pretty Cure anime series.  Kahn indicated that the magical girl anime series, which debuted in Japan in 2004, would air on the 4Kids block next fall.  4Kids has pioneered the presentation of Saturday morning cartoon series aimed at girls with its airings of Tokyo Mew Mew and Magical Do-Re-Mi.

The 49-episode Pretty Cure anime series has been very popular in Japan where it has spawned a 47-episode sequel (Pretty Cure Max Heart) as well as a spin-off and a movie sequel.  The series follows the adventures of two very different girls -- Nagisa is into sports, while Honoko is a bookworm.  Caught in a shower of shooting stars, the girls are visited by two refugees from the Garden of Light and endowed with special powers that enable them to become Cure Black and Cure White. 

The Pretty Cure series is aimed at an older audience than Magical Do-Re-Mi and has a chance to become the first magical girl anime series since Sailor Moon to achieve popularity here in the States.