ISPC03

'''A Round Of Applause! The Stage Belongs To Cure Operetta!' (拍手のラウンド！ステージは、キュアオペレッタに属し！ Hakushu no raundo! Sutēji wa, Kyua Operetta ni zokushi!) is the third episode of Idol Star Pretty Cure♪ and the 636th episode of the Pretty Cure'' franchise overall.

Major Events

 * Amaterasu Kiyomi transforms into Cure Operetta for the first time.
 * Cure Operetta performs Operetta Suite for the first time.
 * Circe makes her first appearance.
 * Utau and Hitomi transform together for the first time.
 * The power of the Star Cards is revealed.

Synopsis
The episode begins with Lilith playing her violin, and Antaeus is bowing behind her. Lilith stops playing, and turns to face Antaeus. She asks why Antaeus hasn't captured a Top Designer yet, and Antaeus explains that two Pretty Cures from the legend had appeared. Lilith states that although she is young, she is much more powerful than Antaeus, and also says that she is not a merciful sorceress. Antaeus asks to go out and fight the Pretty Cures again, but Lilith explains that she had already sent Circe, and she then asks Antaeus to leave. Antaeus disappears, and Lilith continues playing.

Meanwhile, Utau and Hitomi are dancing to a song, and Utau thanks Hitomi for allowing the former to practice with the latter. Hitomi smiles and says that she didn't mind at all, and Cadence says that two Pretty Cures practicing a dance together will strengthen their bonds. However, Utau makes a slight mistake, and Kiyomi then walks in, laughing, and Cadence quickly hides in Utau's bag. Kiyomi explains that singers and actresses don't need to dance much for their performances, but Hitomi explains that idols must keep fit, and dancing is a great way to do so. Kiyomi smiles, and asks if Utau and Hitomi would like some help with their dance. Utau politely refuses, saying that she needs to go to a filming for a commercial. Hitomi and Kiyomi are surprised, and Utau picks up her bag, and runs off, waving. Hitomi then picks up her bag, and explained that she needed to go practice her lines for the next episode of Pearl Detective, and walks off. When she is all alone in the lesson studio, Kiyomi tells herself that idols have a lot of work to do, so she can't complain about being lonely. Kiyomi then digs through her bag, and is surprised to find three glittering cards inside. She pulls out the cards, and sees that the cards have pieces of clothing on them, and at the top and bottom of the cards, there were "Idol Star Pretty Cure♪" and "Cure Operetta - Basic". Kiyomi shrugs, and places the cards back into bag, convincing herself that the cards were probably nothing.

Later, Utau begins to prepare for the commercial, and looks into her bag, but is shocked to find that she left her outfit back in her dorm. Cadence explains to a panicking Utau that she could always use the Star Cards. Utau pulls out her Harmonic Kiss Dress, and Cadence explains to Utau how to use them. Inserting them into her Idol Bracelet, Utau changes into her Harmonic Kiss Dress, and a happy Utau says her catchphrase. A staff member then walks into the room (with Cadence hiding in Utau's bag), and is surprised at Utau's new dress. Utau explains that she thought that this dress would look nicer than the one before, and the staff member, surprised, agrees.

Meanwhile, Kotone is walking in the corridors, and meets Asami. Asami is surprised, and begins stammering about how nice it was to meet "Murasaki-senpai". Kotone smiles, and says that Asami doesn't have to be so nervous, because they are both models. Asami agrees, and Kotone then wishes Asami a nice day, then walks off. As Kotone is walking, she passes the lesson studio, and sees Kiyomi dancing alone. Kotone smiles and continues to watch, and Kiyomi spins and jumps, but lands wrongly, and she falls to the ground. Kotone runs into the lesson studio to Kiyomi, and finds that Kiyomi had hurt her ankle. Kotone is upset as she bandages Kiyomi's ankle, explaining that Kiyomi is only a first-year dancer, and is not yet an experienced dancer. Kiyomi grows sad, and apologises for being overconfident in her dancing skills. Kotone finishes bandaging, and tells Kiyomi to refrain from physical activity for at least a week. Kiyomi is shocked, and protested that idols must never rest, but Kotone explains that in order for an idol to shine her brightest, she must rest. Kotone then leaves, and Kiyomi grabs her bag, but not before looking at the glittering cards from earlier, and sighs. Kiyomi too then leaves the lesson studio.

In the meantime, a young woman appears on school grounds, and she sees a group of students. One of the students then walks over to the woman, and asks who the woman was. The woman introduces herself as Circe, and then summons a bell, and jingles it around, creating horrible music. The student falls to her knees, covering her ears. She then falls unconscious, and turns into a Namida! The other students run away screaming as the Namida begins to rampage, and Hitomi runs outside. She sees the Namida, but a car then parks, and Utau runs out of it towards Hitomi. The two girls then transform, and begin fighting the Namida. As the girls are fighting, Kiyomi watches them from her dorm, and she pulls out the glittering cards from her bag. Kiyomi runs outside, but as soon as she got outside, she trips, hurting her ankle even more. A shocked Cure Harmony tried to get Kiyomi to run away, but Kiyomi refused. She stands up and holds the glittering cards in her hands, leaving everyone shocked. Cadence then flies towards Kiyomi, and says that since Kiyomi found the basic cards of Cure Operetta, she was to become a Pretty Cure. Kiyomi said that she didn't care what she had to become, as long as her friends were safe. Suddenly, there was a glow in front of Kiyomi's chest, and the glow changed into an Idol Bracelet. Kiyomi grabbed the Idol Bracelet, and then transformed into the legendary warrior, Cure Operetta!

Cure Harmony and Cure Serenade are shocked, but Circe orders the Namida to attack Cure Operetta. Cure Operetta then begins to fight the Namida, and eventually managed to overwhelm it. Cure Operetta is told by Cadence to unleash the power of Pretty Cure, and so Cure Operetta turned the rainbow dial on her Idol Bracelet, which then causes the scene to be turned into a concert. Cure Operetta then performed "Operetta Suite" to purify the Namida. Cure Operetta catches the unconscious student, and Circe, angry, disappears. There was a glow in front of the student's chest, which materialized into Star Cards. Cadence explained that these Star Cards were from the brand Happy Magic, and it was the Rainbow Sparkle Dress. Cure Harmony then hugged Cure Operetta, saying that everything would be easier now that Kiyomi was a Pretty Cure. A shocked Cure Operetta realised that Cure Harmony was Aihara Utau, and asked if Cure Serenade was Umino Hitomi. The two Cures agreed, leaving Cure Operetta even more shocked. Cadence then asked if Cure Operetta would join the team, and Cure Operetta agreed, although saying that she couldn't believe it. Cure Operetta also stated that transforming into a Pretty Cure healed her from her injury, and she was so happy that she is now able to dance again, and the three Cures and mascot laughed.

That night, Utau is writing in her diary, and said that there were three Pretty Cures down, and one left to awaken. She also explained that she has a lot to learn as both a Pretty Cure and a singer, but with Hitomi and Kiyomi at her side, she will be able to do anything. She also said that the commercial was a big hit, and now people are lining up to buy the product that the commercial was based on. Utau said that her popularity is slowly but steadily building up, and finishes the entry by stating that she couldn't wait for Aihara Utau the idol's first official concert.

Pretty Cures

 * Aihara Utau / Cure Harmony
 * Umino Hitomi / Cure Serenade
 * Amaterasu Kiyomi / Cure Operetta

Mascots

 * Cadence

Villains

 * Circe
 * Lilith
 * Antaeus
 * Namida

Secondary Characters

 * Murasaki Kotone
 * Mizuno Asami

Trivia

 * Cure Operetta makes a reference to | Misumi Nagisa's catchphrase.