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Tokyo Mew Mew (東京ミュウミュウ, Tōkyō Myū Myū?), is a magical girl manga and anime series, created by writer Reiko Yoshida and illustrator Mia Ikumi. It aired in Japan on TV Aichi and TV Tokyo.[1]
Originally published as a manga series, Tokyo Mew Mew was later adapted into a 52-episodes anime with the same title. The manga version included several side stories, and a sequel titled Tokyo Mew Mew A la Mode. None of these spin-offs were given an anime counterpart.The anime was licensed in North America by 4Kids Entertainment as Mew Mew Power
The main character is Ichigo Momomiya, who is with her date Masaya Aoyama, at a Red Data Animal museum. An earthquake suddenly appears and Ichigo goes into a dream-like sequence. Later she is introduced to Ryou Shirogane and Keiichiro Akasaka, who say her DNA is "infused" with the DNA of a Red Data Animal (endangered species), gaining special abilities and a different appearance. She been chosen to protect Earth from a group of aliens who wish to 'reclaim it': Kish, Tart, Pie, and their leader Deep Blue, who have the power to control jellyfish-like parasites called Chimera Anima which infect animals, turning their hosts into monsters. She is not alone, as they tell there are others just like her. When she finds them, they quickly become friends, and calling themselves Tokyo Mew Mew.[2][3]
She fights using the alias Mew Ichigo, and gradully learns the enemies purpose being on Earth, and what could happen if they were to succeed.
At the same time, these five girls must also work as waitresses at the Cafe Mew Mew, which is secretly the headquarters of Tokyo Mew Mew, owned by Ryou Shirogane and Keiichiro Akasaka, so they can always be there whenever new information comes.
[edit] Anime difference from manga
The anime is very different from the manga. The basic plot of the anime is the same, but there are many new characters, Chimera Animas and attacks for the Mew Mews.
In the manga, Ichigo received much more attention , as if she was the only Mew against the Aliens. The other major characters were treated as if they were minor characters. In the anime, the other main characters have much more background; the Mew Mews are given more personality traits, and Ryou's history is more explained. Keiichiro is probably the character who received the most development; in the manga, he is seen very briefly, and his only history was helping Ryou with the Mew Project. Whole episodes are devoted to the characters.
Ichigo and Pudding's family were the only ones shown in the manga, but very briefly. In the anime version, Mint's family is shown, Lettuce's family is shown briefly, Pudding's family situation is more explained and her siblings are shown more often, and Zakuro's family is mentioned once and her childhood is briefly mentioned.
Relationships between characters are also deepened. Ichigo was the only one in the manga to have a love life. A few of the other Mew Mews have an episode devoted to love lives. For example, in the manga, it is shown briefly the Ryou may like Lettuce. But in the anime, it is given more detail, with an episode devoted to her love life. The relationship between Mint and Zakuro is also deepened; in the manga, Zakuro rarely said anything to Mint, giving the impression of her ignoring Mint. In the anime, she appears to acknowledge Mint more, with their relationship like that of siblings.
Events are in different places in the anime (ex: in the manga, Zakuro first faces a Chimera Anima in the dance studio. In the anime, she first sees one in a church). Events are changed. In the manga, the girls all meet up before their DNA is injected, in the first chapter. In the anime, they don't know each other until Ichigo finds out that they are a Mew Mew.
Mew Mews
- Ichigo Momomiya
- The first member of the "Mew Project" and the main character of the series, called Zoey Hanson in the English adaptation. Ichigo is a 12 year-old girl who becomes infused with the DNA of an Iriomote Wildcat, allowing her to transform into Mew Ichigo. Ichigo's personality is much like that of a main character of a shoujo manga series, being enthusiastic, outgoing and sometimes a bit of a ditz. At first, she doesn't want anything to do with the Mew Project. However, she soon realizes the importance of her task and truly accepts her role as Mew Ichigo.
Voiced by: Saki Nakajima
- Mint Aizawa
- The second member of the Mews, called Corina Bucksworth in the English adaptation. 12 year-old Mint is infused with the DNA of a Blue Lorikeet.[4][5][6][7] A snobbish girl from a wealthy family, Mint may seem stubborn and mean at first, but she is a good friend and is a valuable Mew. Most of the time Mint may not seem like it, but she is very sensitive and her feelings can be easily hurt. She also admires Zakuro very much, almost to the point of being obsessed.
Voiced by: Yumi Kakazu
- Lettuce Midorikawa
- The third member of the Mews, called Bridget Verdant in the English adaptation. 13 year-old Lettuce is infused with the DNA of a Finless Porpoise, allowing her to transform into Mew Lettuce, having power over water. Although she comes from a supportive family, Lettuce is very timid and shy. Only after she joins the Mews does she gain a bit more confidence and pride in herself. She is also very clumsy, tending to break many plates while working at Cafe Mew Mew. However, she is very hard-working and always tries to help out her friends whenever possible.
Voiced by: Kumi Sakuma
- Pudding Fong
- The fourth and youngest of the Mews, called Kikki Benjamin in the English adaptation. 11 year-old Pudding is infused with the DNA of a Golden Lion Tamarin, allowing her to transform into Mew Pudding, having power over possibly earth. Pudding has a very unusual family: her mother died when she was young, and her father is on a pilgrimage to practice martial arts. Therefore, she must care for her four brothers and one sister, cooking meals and keeping house. Pudding always retains her childish nature, in spite of her huge responsibility. In the manga, she has a pet monkey named An-Nin, who she is often seen playing with.
Voiced by: Hisayo Mochizuki
- Zakuro Fujiwara
- The fifth and oldest of the Mews, called Renée Roberts in the English adaptation. 14-year-old Zakuro is a mysterious model. She is infused with the DNA of a Gray Wolf allowing her to transform into Mew Zakuro. At first, Zakuro refuses to join the Mews, but she later decides to make an exception for them. She doesn't talk much, is serious, and is anti-social to the customers at Cafe Mew Mew, though is kind at sometimes.
Voiced by: Junko Noda
Friends
- Masaya Aoyama
- Ichigo's crush who later is her boyfriend, called Mark in the English adaptation. Masaya is popular with the girls, with a crowd of them always coming to the gym to watch him do kendo. He is also concerned about the Earth's environment. He acts in a generous manner to make it through in life and to hide the fact that he is cynical toward most people.
Voiced by: Megumi Ogata
- Ryou Shirogane
- The very-rich owner of Café Mew Mew, called Elliot Grant in the English adaptation. Ryou is a genius and is the first person to be injected with animal DNA, as he injected himself to ensure the safety of the Mew Project.
Voiced by: Kouichi Toochika
- Keiichiro Akasaka
- The gentleman of the males, known to be feminine and kind, called Wesley J. Coolridge III in the English adaptation. An old friend of Ryou's late parents, Keiichiro assumed the role of Ryou's guardian after the couple's deaths. He also helps to manage Café Mew Mew, and is Ryou's partner in the Mew Project.
Voiced by: Hikaru Midorikawa
Antagonists
- Kish
- Named after the unfamiliar food item Quiche, called Dren in the English adaptation. He is one of the aliens attempting to reclaim the earth. He seems to harbor strong feelings for Ichigo, as their first encounter was Kish stealing a kiss from her.
Voiced by: Daisuke Sakaguchi
- Tart
- A young, hyper alien who came to help Kish defeat the Mews, and to reclaim Earth,' called Tarb in the English adaptation. He doesn't see the Mew Mews as a challenge, but particularlly doesn't like Ichigo. However, he has a soft spot for Pudding. He is rather rude and acts similar to a toddler.
Voiced by: Asai Kiyomi
- Pie
- Serious, analytical, and very dedicated in his pursuit of the Mews, called Sardon in the English adaptation to reclaim his Alien's planet. He controls germ-like Chimera Animas, and has a fan that allows him to use wind and thunder attacks.
Voiced by: Nobutoshi Kanna
- Chimera Anima
- Monsters created when small jellyfish-like parasites possess an animal, a plant, or a human spirit stolen from people by the aliens that turns them into monsters, called Predacytes in the English adaptation. They are under the control of whoever creates them
Tokyo Mew Mew appears to be influenced from Tokyo Black Cat Girl; they both have a female heroine who can tranform with animal influenced moves, antagonists who appear monsterous, and the main character having a love life. The basic plot of Tokyo black cat girl was expanded; there is now a group of animal-influenced heroines for an example. The connection between them is strengthened by that after Ikumi finished Tokyo Black Girl in February 2000, her next big project was Tokyo Mew Mew [8]. The character Masha also stengthens this; Masha is in both and has similar abilites.
[edit] Characters' names origin
- The main characters in Tokyo Mew Mew are named after foods.[9][10]
The Mew Mews are named after fruits – or other foods – that are similar to their signature colors: Ichigo's pink is similar to the red of a strawberry, Mint's blue is like that used on some mint-flavored candies, Lettuce's green is similar to some types of lettuce, Pudding's yellow is similar to the color of some types of flan or pudding, Zakuro's color is a red-violet similar to the red of a pomegranate, and Ringo's red is the same as a red apple's color.
[edit] References to foods in characters' names
- All the main characters in Tokyo Mew Mew have the kanji for colors in their last names, with the exception of Ichigo and Zakuro.[11]
Ichigo's kanji (桃, momo?) means "peach", and Zakuro's kanji (藤, fuji?), means "wisteria". In Japanese, "pink" is called "peach color". "Peach color" (桃色, momo-iro?) [12] does not refer to the color of the peach fruit — a peach's color is called "skin color" (肌色, hada-iro?)[12]. Although "Purple" has its own kanji (紫, murasaki?),[12] "light purple" is written wisteria color (藤色, fuji-iro?). The kanji of the other characters' colors are also similar to traits of the characters, such as their signature color (for the Mew Mews), hair color or eye color.
- Mint, Lettuce, Zakuro, Keiichiro, and Masaya also have the kanji of geographic features in their last names.
Masaya's, Keiichiro's, and Ryou's last names are also the names of districts in Tokyo: Aoyama, Akasaka, and Shirokane (Kanji is the same, pronunciation is different).[10]
[edit] References to colors and geographical features in characters' names
| Name |
Kanji |
Color |
Kanji |
Geographic feature |
| Ichigo Momomiya |
桃 momo |
pink |
| Mint Aizawa |
藍 ai |
indigo |
沢 zawa |
swamp |
| Lettuce Midorikawa |
碧 midori |
green |
川 kawa |
river |
| Zakuro Fujiwara |
藤 fuji |
light purple |
原 wara |
meadow, field, prairie, tundra |
| Pudding Fong |
黄 huáng |
yellow |
| Keiichiro Akasaka |
赤 aka |
red |
坂 saka |
hill |
| Masaya Aoyama |
青 ao |
blue |
山 yama |
mountain |
| Ryou Shirogane |
白 shiro |
white |
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[edit] Adaptations
-
The Tokyo Mew Mew series began as a manga written by Reiko Yoshida and drawn by Mia Ikumi. The concept was possibly from Ikumi's earlier story, Tokyo Black Cat Girl, expanding it into a team of five girls rather than just one person.
Spanning 29 issues, the manga was serialized in the Kodansha's shōjo magazine Nakayoshi from September 2000 to February 2003. The story is succeeded by Tokyo Mew Mew à la Mode, a two-volume sequel to Tokyo Mew Mew, originally serialized in Nakayoshi from April 2003 to February 2004, spanning ten issues. Reiko did not help create the sequel.[Reiko]
The series was published in tankobon (graphic novel) form, which consists of seven volumes, by Kodansha.
The anime series was produced by Studio Pierrot with assistance from Ikumi and aired on TV Aichi (broadcasts in Nagoya) and TV Tokyo (broadcasts in Tokyo) in Japan. It started airing one day after the forth volume of the Japanese manga was released, and ending on March 29, 2003. It consists of 52 episodes of approximately half hour each.[1]
Later in the series, the animation/artwork changed mainly around episodes 40 to 52 – where most the characters start to look more detailed and more bishojo/bishonen. For example, the Mew Mews' eyes changed, and their hair color when in Mew form is more bright. The animation style experienced other minor changes during the series, but this is the most noticeable.
Ichigo: episode 7 and episode 49
Zakuro: episode 10, and episode 51
Music for the series was written and composed by Takayuki Negishi, with the cooperation of TV Aichi. The music was produced by Shin Yoshimura, NEC Interchannel.[13] Two music albums based on the series were released, as well as some four CD singles.
Tokyo Mew Mew was directed by Noriyuki Abe, and character design was headed by Mari Kitayama.
[edit] Theme Songs
- Opening song
- "My Sweet Heart" by Rika Komatsu [1]
- Ending song
- "Koi wa À la Mode"[1] by Tokyo Mew Mew: Saki Nakajima (Ichigo), Yumi Kakazu (Mint), Kumi Sakuma (Lettuce), Hisayo Mochizuki (Pudding), and Junko Noda (Zakuro)
[edit] English adaptations
[edit] Mew Mew Power
-
- See also: Editing of anime in American distribution
In February 2004, 4Kids announced that they licensed Tokyo Mew Mew, but changed the name to Hollywood Mew Mew. In August 2004, they officially announced the title was Mew Mew Power. A sneak preview was shown on August 14.[14][15] 4kids only has the rights of the first 26 episodes.
Mew Mew Power features major alterations: The characters are renamed, episodes and clips are moved around, backgrounds are visibly altered, and scenes are cut — ranging from a few seconds to more than a minute each.[16][17] The 4Kids' English adaptation replaced the original background music and songs with a completely new score — the original Japanese songs and transformation music were replaced by several new English songs.[18]
[edit] Theme Song
- Opening song
- Team Up! by Bree Sharp
[edit] English manga translation
The English version of the Tokyo Mew Mew manga was released in United States by Tokyopop. Unlike the anime adaptation, it keeps all of the characters' original names (There are different ways to romanize the characters' names: refer to the characters' articles for more information). There are mistranslations present,[14][19] but it does not affect the plot of the story. The manga is published in its original right-to-left form. It was also published in English in Singapore by Chuang Yi.[20]
[edit] Reception
In Japan, The Japanese merchandise program consisted of over 20 licensees creating over 200 different products [21]. Tokyo Mew Mew also was featured in a theatre seen often at malls and parks called Kigurumi, which usually promote television shows that are popular.[22] On July 25 2001, there was a live version of Tokyo Mew Mew called "Mew Five", who were at Tokyo Mew Mew events, as a part of the promotion of Tokyo Mew Mew. The Mew five consisted of five girls, ages ranging from like that of elementary and junior high students:
- Youki Yoshida 吉田有希 (Mew Ichigo)
- Satomi Akesaka 明坂聡美 (Mew Mint)
- Yurie Matsuda 松井友里絵 (Mew Lettuce)
- Ayaka Izumi 泉綾香 (Mew Pudding)
- Ako Sakuraii 桜井真子 (Mew Zakuro)
- Matoko Mita 三田真央 (Mew Zakuro) (in September of 2002 the actress for Zakuro changed)
In the commentary at the end volume two, the staff of Tokyo Mew Mew actually created Ichigo's battle outfit for Youki Yoshida to wear.[23]
The Mew Five received a lot of attention. The Mew Five released a CD in July 27, 2001, with the song Mamoritaikara (because I want to protect).
Tokyo Mew Mew has been translated into many languages, with the first dubbed version being .
In America, Tokyo Mew Mew is not well known, as Mew Mew Power is very different from the original anime
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