Tokyo Mew Mew
For the Earth's future, I'll be of Service! Nya~
How I got into it
Back in the early morning one day in 2005, while checking the usual channels back then that hosted cartoons I decided to check out the Fox channel which had a bunch of 4kids shows running. I just so happen to catch the very first episode of a new anime they were premiering right then and there and it was called Mew Mew Power.
And my god the first episode. Which was a spliced together episode showing off all the girls. I think it was like episode 10 of the original anime? But it hooked me. I sat glued to the TV until it ended, even staying through the ending theme, which wasn't really a theme song at all haha. I woke up super early every Saturday to try and catch each episode as it aired. Since I watched in Canada I got up to at least episode 26, the States only got 23. Sadly no more episodes aired and I eventually had to try and find the Japanese version, Tokyo Mew Mew.
Honestly Mew Mew Power still has a special place in my heart, it's part of the reason why I don't mind super localized magical girl anime, like Glitter Force hahaha.
Kikki Benjamin was my favourite when I watched it was a young lass, and she's still influenced my favourite characters from other franchies haha.
Below is some songs from the original anime and the remake, not including any dub openings. You can also click the links in their respective area to watch the opening and ending video on Youtube.
Openings and Endings
Audio player by Adilene.
Tokyo Mew Mew
The anime version that aired during the years 2002-2003 at 52 episodes, so a full 4 cour series. Here's a basic blurb taken from the fan Wiki.
"Tokyo Mew Mew is the name of the anime adaptation of the Tokyo Mew Mew manga, which the episodes are based on. The series was directed by Noriyuki Abe and produced by Studio Pierrot. The story focuses on the five girls infused with D.N.A of endangered animals that give them special powers. These powers allow the girls to transform into super-heroines and they fight to protect the Earth from a group of aliens who wish to "reclaim" it." -TMM Wiki
Opening Song: My Sweetheart
Ending Song: Koi wa a la Mode
Extra Information:
The anime being 52 episodes has a lot of anime original stories since the original manga is not that long. A lot of the other girls besides the main girl, Ichigo, was given some more fleshed out information from their own respective episodes. There are also a lot of anime original characters that help flesh out some of the girls stories. Heck Minto's anime orignal older brother was actually kept for the new anime adaptation.
Similar to how a lot of new characters were introduced, certain stories and a certain character were cut from the adaptation. A character that was cut that wasn't even a big or super important character, the only story element they were used for was easily changed in the anime. This cut character was Bu-ling's pet monkey, An-nin (Almond).
Tokyo Mew Mew New
A second adaptation based a bit more on the source material, but still retaining some stuff from the 2002 anime, while also gaining some new stuff.
"Somewhat similar to the 2002 anime adaption, it is a reboot that follows the same general plot of five girls, each infused with the D. N. A of an endangered animal, becoming super-powered heroines and using their newly-found powers to defeat aliens." - TMM Wiki
Opening Songs: Cat!! shite SuperGirls, Megamorphose ♡
Ending Songs: Tokimeki☆Ichigo Ichie, Can-do Dreamer
Other Information:
A second adaptation of the original manga, made in commemoration for the 65th anniversary for the original magazine publisher, Nakayoshi. Had two seasons. Season 1 was from July 2022-September 2022, season 2 was from April 2023-June 20 2023. Both seasons had 12 episodes for a total of 24 episodes.
This anime is both a closer adaptation to the original manga but also has totally new things that never existed from it and takes from the 2002 anime version. A big difference is the fact Ichigo is not the first Mew Mew, Minto this time has joined before the start of the anime. She plays a role in making sure Ichigo and the other girls are all in area to become a Mew Mew. She also is a lot calmer and retains her anime-original brother Seiji
Another change is the fact that all the girls, besides Zakuro, to have been aged up. Since it's a bit dubious to have 9-13 year olds working at a cafe, so this time around Ichigo, Retasu and Minto are all in highschool while Bu-ling was aged up to be in middle school and this time has her own school uniform.
With the changes of ages the girls all have new updated designs and some of their colours have changed. Also the technology and year it takes place change to be set to a more modern, 2020-ish, to be more relatable to younger audiences.
The Manga and Sequel
Tokyo Mew Mew
Written by Reiko Yoshida and illustrated by Mia Ikumi. Originally it ran in Nakayoshi magazine from 2000-2003.
Tokyo Pop was the original English publisher who originally brought the manga to English speaking fans. From 2003-2004 all 7 volumes of the manga were released. These releases are known for having a lot of errors and not the best quality. And also heavily having unusual slang and questionable translation quality. Although a nice thing about earlier copies had glitter text for the title, later releases until it stopped being printed stopped adding the sparkle text.
Luckily English fans had another chance with a re-release of the original Manga getting licensed by Kodansha USA once Tokyo Pop's license expired. This time the manga was released in an Omnibus format that combined manga volumes into a singular volume. While the original manga had 7 volumes, this new format only had 3 volumes. These volume released from 2011-2012.
Tokyo Mew Mew a la Mode
The direct sequel to Tokyo Mew Mew, this time solely written and created by Mia Ikumi, published once more in Nakayoshi magazine from 2003-2004.
Tokyo Pop once again originally licensed the sequel series and released the only two volumes between 2005-2006. Kodansha USA also ended up releasing a combined Omnibus of the two volumes in one singular volume once Tokyo Pop licesne expired. This singular volume was released near the end of 2013.
The sequel series is known for a bit of controversy from some fans since this series doesn't star the original protagonist from the original series, Momomiya Ichigo, instead this time starring Shirayuki Berry who had two red-data animals instead of the singular one the original girls had. It also had all of the original girls, besides Ichigo who wasn't at all around at the beginning, transfer schools to Berry's school. Although Ichigo does show back up in the sequel and she takes up a support leadership position right beside Berry.
Mew Mews
Momomiya Ichigo | 桃宮 いちご
| Manga | Anime | New | MMP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Momomiya Ichigo | Zoey Hanson | ||
| Age | 12-13 | 15-16 | 16 | |
| Mew Name | Mew Strawberry | Mew Zoey | ||
| Profile | The protagonist who is a kind and chearful girl, she tends to wear her heart on her sleeve, despite that she is also a tad hotheaded and can butt heads with others depending on the situation. She is in love with Aoyama Masaya, her classmate who is part of the kendo club at her school. | |||
Aizawa Minto | 藍沢 みんと
| Manga | Anime | New | MMP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Aizawa Mint | Aizawa Minto | Corina Bucksworth | |
| Age | 12-13 | 15-16 | 16 | |
| Mew Name | Mew Mint | Mew Corina | ||
| Profile | A rich girl who has a bit of a stubborn bossy side, her more tender and kind side hidden until she opens up. She adores and idolizes fellow Mew Mew, Zakuro, whom she was a fan of before she joined. She loves ballet and her pet dog. In both anime versions, not manga, her anime original brother and her have a bit of a rocky relationship but she deeply cares and misses how close they once were. | |||
Midorikawa Retasu | 碧川 れたす
| Manga | Anime | New | MMP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Midorikawa Lettuce | Midorikawa Retasu | Bridget Verdant | |
| Age | 13-14 | 15-16 | 15 | |
| Mew Name | Mew Lettuce | Mew Bridget | ||
| Profile | A shy and timid girl whom has a habit of alwas speaking polite, even towards family. Before befriending and joining the Mew Mews she was bullied by girls from her school. After joining over the course of the story she becomes more confident, although she always retains her kindness. She tries to see the good in the Aliens. | |||
Huang Bu-ling | 黄 歩鈴
| Manga | Anime | New | MMP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Fong Pudding | Fon Purin | Huang Bu-ling | Kikki Benjamin |
| Age | 11-12 | 14 | ||
| Mew Name | Mew Pudding | Mew Kikki | ||
| Profile | An extremely cheerful and hyper girl, she loves doings tricks and acrobatics, especially for some extra money. She has a more mature side that shows up when she is at home taking care of her family. She is the most open to befriending the Aliens as she has a sort of mutual crush with Taruto. | |||
Fujiwara Zakuro | 藤原ざくろ
| Manga | Anime | New | MMP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Fujiwara Zacro | Fujiwara Zakuro | Renée Roberts | |
| Age | 14-15 | 15-16 | 17 | |
| Mew Name | Mew Zacro | Mew Zakuro | Mew Renée | |
| Profile | A quiet and distant mature girl who prefers to be independant, she initially refuses to join the other Mew Mews rejecting them harshly. Despite this she becomes an older sister and cares deeply for the girls once she joins. She seems to have a troubled past, only hinted at in the manga and somewhat expanded on within the first anime series. | |||
Shirayuki Berry | 白雪 ベリー
| Manga | |
|---|---|
| Name | Shirayuki Berry |
| Age | 12 |
| Mew Name | Mew Berry |
| Profile | A happy cheerful girl. She is a bit awkward and hesitant to be the new leader, but eventually gains her confidants. Her feelings for her childhood friend Tasuku change from platonic feelings to romantic, the two eventually becoming a happy couple. She admires Ichigo and looks at Ichigo and Masaya's relationship as a goal for her own feelings for Tasuku. |
Akai Ringo | 赤井 りんご
| Game | |
|---|---|
| Name | Akai Ringo |
| Age | 11-12 |
| Mew Name | Mew Ringo |
| Profile | An initially shy girl who's only friend is her pet penguin, Yuki. She lives on a nature reserve with her older brother Mashio who bears a striking resemblance towards Aoyama Masaya. She becomes more outgoing and shows her kinder side once she befriends Ichigo and the other Mew Mews. |
Allies
Name | 名前
| Manga | Anime | New | MMP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | ||||
| Age | ||||
| Species | ||||
| Profile | ||||
Antagonists
Name | 名前
| Manga | Anime | New | MMP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | ||||
| Species | ||||
| Profile | ||||