At first glance Tokyo Mew Mew basically looks and feels like a rip-off of Sailor Moon with maids and catgirls, and for the first 15-20 episodes that’s pretty much what it is. But a funny thing happened on my way through this series; it got surprisingly good and wonderfully addictive. It should also be noted that my three year old daughter thinks this is the best thing in the history of television. While I certainly wouldn’t say that’s the case, watching her sing and dance to the opening "My Sweetheart" is almost too adorably cute for me to bear.
The plot is ... standard Mahou Shoujo fair. Our heroine Ichigo finds herself in the possession of unwanted, embarrassing, and often uncontrollable magical powers. These powers involve her growing cat ears and a tail and having many feline abilities and characteristics. She s a group called Tokyo Mew Mew to fight against mysterious aliens who are trying to kill off the human race. Other Mew Mews steadily the group until it reaches five. From here the true motivations of the villains become more defined and the episodes start to play out very much like most magical girl series do with a monster of the week which the girls must use their combined abilities to defeat. As I mentioned earlier, it all feels just a bit too familiar and predictable in the beginning portions of the series.
That all begins to change though as Tokyo Mew Mew starts to carve out its own identity. Even the battles themselves become a bit more sophisticated and unlike many similar shows like Sailor Moon, it doesn’t always feel like I am watching the same battles recycled over and over in every episode. While I wouldn’t say the magical action and special effects are amazing or even all that good, by the end they were far more impressive and interesting than most series of this type.
What was really surprising to me was just how satisfying the romance elements of the plot played out. Ichigo is pretty singularly focused for the most part on her main crush Aoyama, who eventually becomes her steady boyfriend. Though this doesn’t prevent her from occasionally having conflicting feelings about other boys which given her age is not all that surprising or unexpected. It was also nice to see that other characters were given their own relationships though some were better than others. (One in particular was frustratingly annoying) Ultimately the ending both for the main plot and the romance is extremely satisfying and well done.
Ichigo emerges as a very good lead. She shares many of the characteristics common with magical girls; ditzy, not overly bright, not very brave, a bit whiny, but extremely loyal to her friends and courageous when it really counts. She grows up a lot over the course of the story and her burgeoning romance with Aoyama and her own doubts about her own feelings and his feelings for her are compelling viewing. Though at times her personality can be a bit annoying (a lot like Usagi from Sailor Moon) but it’s impossible to dislike her. Saying you hate Ichigo is kind of like saying you hate kittens.
Aoyama is very much a background character for the first half of the series. As the story progresses though his role with the Mew Mews and in the plot becomes more and more important. Though I felt at times the story put some unnecessary and fairly ridiculous cockblocks in the way of his relationship with Ichigo it never reaches the levels of frustration I often feel with the romances in series like this.
The remaining Mew Mew's were all a pretty good mix. They all received enough screen time to develop their characters adequately but not too much that they took away from what was really important. My favorite of the group was Zakuro who was a bit like an older sister or even a mother to the rest of much younger Mew Mew team. Lettuce fulfilled to moe role on the team and I personally liked her a lot too. Though of all the characters I really would have liked to see a bit more back story on her. Pudding is the resident loli and while I was initially mostly annoyed by her she managed to grow on me as the series progressed. The only one of the girls that I can’t say I really liked was Mint. She has her moments but most of the time she just comes across as a spoiled selfish bitch. The only male and founders of the team, Shirogane and Akasaka are interesting and likeable. They are initially fleshed out pretty well but seem to become less involved with the story as it reaches its conclusion.
The villains also deserve some mention. They actually have some depth to them unlike a lot of similar series. Their actions and motives are quite evil but even so they don’t seem like evil people. Though many of the things they do are pretty unforgiveable I think the depth of character they display and the fact that they are not all black and white is what made this series so compelling to watch.
Even though some aspects of the artwork and animation are a bit dated when compared to what we are used to today, I still found Tokyo Mew Mew to be very good visually. The character designs were cute and not too perverse or unrealistic. Since this is Mahou Shoujo that means transformation scenes! Thankfully these aren’t shown to us in their entirety for the whole series. While some of the animation footage (we pretty much always seem to see Ichigo's complete transformation and battle animation) gets a bit repetitive this is primarily in the first half of the show. When things start getting interesting towards the end and the cast is bigger the show does not waste half of its runtime showing scenes we’ve already seen 40 times before already.
Where I really fell in love with this series is the music. I mentioned how much my daughter loves this show, and that is almost totally due to the cute and entirely addictive OP and EN songs. It’s been a little more than 2 months at the time of this writing since I finished Mew Mew, but I would say not one day has ed since that I have not heard "My Sweetheart" playing in the house. It’s adorable, clever, and always brings a smile to my face. The same goes for the EN song, particularly when coupled with the chibi goodness in the closing animation. The voice cast gives a very strong and delightful performance. I should warn you though, do not bother with the English dub. It is a horrible 4Kids fuck job and an insult to the senses. Thank goodness those no talent hacks are going out of business. Good riddance.
Those of you who enjoy magical girl series should watch this series without fail. Additionally any of you with kids under the age of 10 or younger siblings should also take the opportunity to watch this with them. Tokyo Mew Mew is a rare show that is just adult and serious enough to appeal to older viewers but still youthful enough to charm the little ones. You shouldn’t miss it!
Alternative Titles 4c5t24Japanese: 東京ミュウミュウ
More titlesInformation 5x6d5mType: TV
Episodes: 52
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Apr 6, 2002 to Mar 29, 2003
Premiered: Spring 2002
Broadcast: Saturdays at 08:00 (JST)
Producers: We've Inc.
Licensors: 4Kids Entertainment
Studios: Pierrot
Source: Manga
Genres: Sci-Fi
Theme: Mahou Shoujo
Demographic: Shoujo
Duration: 24 min. per ep.
Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older
Statistics 2b6l32Ranked: #39752
2 based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.
Popularity: #1580
: 162,908
Favorites: 1,729
Available At 59286rResources j6f5e |
Reviews 2g2y3t
Filtered Results: 49 / 49
Sort
Your Feelings
Categories
Sep 28, 2009
At first glance Tokyo Mew Mew basically looks and feels like a rip-off of Sailor Moon with maids and catgirls, and for the first 15-20 episodes that’s pretty much what it is. But a funny thing happened on my way through this series; it got surprisingly good and wonderfully addictive. It should also be noted that my three year old daughter thinks this is the best thing in the history of television. While I certainly wouldn’t say that’s the case, watching her sing and dance to the opening "My Sweetheart" is almost too adorably cute for me to bear.
The plot is ...
Jul 16, 2008
Tokyo Mew Mew tells the story of Ichigo Momomiya, a clumsy but kind girl who loves protecting the environment and who has a huge cruch on Aoyama-kun, the coolest and hottest guy in school. However, on thier first date together, Ichigo is hit with a mysterious beam of light which changes and mixes her DNA with that of a rare wild cat. Now by she is half school girl, half super hero with some embarassing feline tendancies. It's up to her to find her super hero team mates, save the world from interdimensional aliens AND keep her new boyfriend from discovering her secret!
When I first ...
Nov 19, 2007
Tokyo Mew Mew is a really awsome anime to watch.........everything about it*in my opinion* is SO awsome!i mean its story, art, sound, characters, and everything else is awsome ^^.
Story:the story is about a girl who, when on a date with her crush, is zaped by a light and her DNA is merged with the DNA of a Iriomote Wildcat. Ichigo*that girl* and 4 others, Mint, Lettuce, Pudding, and Zakuro, must save the world from being takin over by the aleins, Kisshu, Taruto, and Pia. So that is pretty much the plot to it all. Art/Animation:Again its very good. How they drew everything was awsome. The animation ...
Mar 6, 2008
((This is for the subbed or raw Japanese version, not the dubbed version.))
Tokyo Mew Mew was, basically, my first anime. It was, overall, actually a pretty good place to begin. Right then, story wise it's interesting but more in a new-spin on an old idea way; the concept of adding the environmental and animal focus to the magical girl idea was neat and I liked that some of the animals were less typical. The basic collect-the-pieces-and-destroy-the-monster plot is nice enough and pretty entertaining, and comes across as less repetitive as some could. There are some decent twists and turns, and I like one early on where ...
Oct 25, 2009
I thought this show was promising at first, probably because I thought it would maintain the same level of appeal that Sailor Moon had. Tokyo Mew Mew basically exhibits all the characteristics of a typical Shojo story, which alone would not have turned me away completely from the show. What kept me from finishing the show was that I couldn't care about the main characters, and the one's I did like were not developed enough.
Story 7: Like I said, the story is decent. It has a few twists here and there, but nothing too surprising. I actually found some of the filler episodes entertaining ...
Oct 17, 2019
This review may be very biased, be warned.
I first watched tokyo mew mew in the summer of 2009. Back then I watched the dubbed version of this anime, and loved it. Looking back I would have to politely disagree with my past self, as the dub was horrible. However, I have come to appreciate the sub, as it is pretty good in comparison. Now on to the review. Story: 4. The story isn't as drastic or detailed as madoka magica or sailor moon or any other popular magical girl anime. It suffers from a lot of Ichigo's stupidity and overall lack of common sense, ...
Jul 15, 2016
Although this is my favorite anime, I will try to ignore that fact as I review this.
So, here goes: Story: 10 I think the story is great because of the villains. Mainly, Deep Blue (Diipu Buruu). He was wonderfully kept in the dark for most of the series to avoid spoilers, but when he was revealed he was almost like an X-Men villain (like Apocalypse). The overall plan of the aliens was to destroy the humans on Earth so they could take it for themselves, and, unless you watched the English dub, they had their own morals on the matter. Apparently, they were trying to 'reclaim' the ...
Dec 24, 2019
As a self-proclaimed fan of the magical girl genre, many of my pals have recommended Tokyo Mew Mew to me over the years. They would frequently note their fond memories of watching the show as kids, and talk about the characters as the main selling point.
Speaking as someone who watched this show without that nostalgic lens, I have to say it was, overall, a waste of time. I would argue that one’s enjoyment of this show depends on two factors: 1. Nostalgia 2. Tolerance for repetition If you do not have either of these things, I would recommend skipping this show. Below, I’ll explain a bit more about ...
Dec 17, 2017
People should not throw Tokyo Mew Mew away at face value. Truly the show is much more complex than it seems at first, and it is honestly one of my most favorite animes. You'd never expect such themes of betrayal, true love, and determination to be in a seemingly small kids show. Please give it a watch and be more accepting!
The reason why I like the show so much is because of how surprisingly dark and addicting the series gets. With 5 girls running around in frilly costumes to save the day, the dark themes and heart breaking scenes are a shocker but are ...
Jun 25, 2009
Tokyo Mew Mew was referred by a friend of mind, and she warned me that it was a pretty girly anime...well she was definitely right about that, although it was the lackluster love story, and the horrendous battles that did me in. Story: The story is pretty noble but also pretty cheesy. I like the fact that these girls want to save the world and all.. and the fact that the bad guys use endangered species is pretty troublesome. there is also a pretty good love story, but it gets old rather quickly... icigo has a super hero alternate persona i will call strawberry, and 1st ...
Jul 21, 2017
This is actually one of the first anime I ever watched and was the anime that got me started watching anime, so I may be a bit biased here, I apologize. I've seen this anime a grand total of five times pretty much all the way through. I skipped a few filler episodes, though. So I guess you could say this is my favorite animes of all time, I used to know the opening by heart because I thought I wasn't aloud to skip it. I was a weird kid. I should also say that I've read the manga several times as well and this ...
Oct 4, 2018
What can I say for this amazing magical girl anime?
Where should I start? The story is being developed on Earth where the peace is distracted by monster attacks and the enviroment is at stake! Two men are trying to bring peace back to the universe, Keichiro and Shirogane are planning to restore the planet but they are no match for these monstrous and evil creations! Their only hope is to find the rest mew mew girls, bring them together and fight the evil to the core. Ichigo is a student bored of studying and living a normal life until she notices that she ...
Jul 18, 2010
First off, I would like to say, I enjoyed it. It had great songs, good plot twists, and just has a good feel. There are some down sides to this anime though. Even though I didn’t find it annoying too much, I can see someone getting annoyed with the transformations of the girls. Also, the episodes tend to get very tedious at some points.
The opening and ending got me wanting more in the anime and had me watch more of it. The sad part is, though, that they only have one opening and ending for 52 episodes! At the end, I still did enjoy them, ...
Dec 23, 2016
I loved Tokyo Mew Mew since I was probably 10 way before I even knew what anime was. I discovered this show by watching the edited dub version that fans seem to loath known as Mew Mew Power. I don't care what haters say. I really enjoyed the dubbed version more than the subbed and I always hope that one day I'll wake up on a Saturday morning to find that one of my favorite childhood memories will return. This anime is the very reason why Magical girl anime have become my favorite genre.
Story The story is about ...
Jan 16, 2013
Let me just say something. It’s hard to find anime legally. It’s even harder to find English dubbed anime legally. And, wouldn’t you know it, I’m one of those people that likes to make it a point to obtain my anime in both of those fashions. Sure, call me a weenie, call me an uncultured couth, but at least I have a guiltless conscience. Of course, there is one English dubbing company which I truly hate and despise. It is truly a force for evil in this universe, and while with other dubbing companies I make sure to buy their stuff (even though I’m saving ...
Apr 12, 2016
So, before I begin I imagine my opinion and review or this might be controversial so be warned.
Firstly, this anime will always have a special in my heart because it was the first ever anime I watched daily as a child (granted, I was not aware of the word 'anime' at the time). I personally believe it to be the better Sailor Moon if I'm honest. It is just an incredibly cute magical girl anime with so many otps and original ideas that it is easy to watch as well as fun to watch. I have also come to find that the characters have ...
Mar 13, 2016
I loved this anime. It's really beautiful. The emotions, the story line, the character development, it's just all amazingly done. I find it common for anime and manga to feel rushed sometimes, but they really took time in developing the story at a realistic pace. I loved every character, even the bad guys. It's incredible how they manipulate you to feel a certain way about each character and how that changes through out the story. It was sad, funny, heart braking and inspiring. Loved every second of it. I wish I could forget it all just to watch it again for the first time.
Jul 6, 2015
**I use TMM to represent Tokyo Mew Mew in this review**
I honestly don't understand why I loved Tokyo Mew Mew so much. When I was looking for a new series to start, I was craving for something like Sailor Moon. And boy let me tell you, TMM actually felt like it hit the spot. At first glance I thought TMM was going to be stupid. Lmao I guess you shouldn't judge an anime by its' cover. TMM's story was good! The art and sound (I thought) was good! TMM's Characters went beyond my expectations. From what I can recall, Ichigo wasn't that one "dumb" main ...
Jan 6, 2012
Some people dislike this anime because they say it's a rip off of Sailor Moon. I will it that it kind of is (with the addition of animals), but it's really not too bad of a show if you give it a chance.
Story - Ditzy teenage girl Ichigo Momomiya (I will most certainly not call her by her dub name, good lord) is the main character of this anime. She and a few other girls collaborate and make a team to stop aliens from taking over the earth. While protecting the earth, she tries to get a boy named Aoyama to fall in love with ...
Feb 12, 2012
I started watching TMM because I ed watching it when I was a child. At first, it seemed pretty average, magical girl, cute girls, romance, save the World...etc Cliché right? I continued watching it, and noticed one problem. The girls were all cliché types. It was so frustrating!
Character: 5/10 Ichigo - Typical hyperactive-ish girl who falls in love and is the heroine. Extremely cliché. Mint - Typical rich and snobby girl. The only good thing is that she changes into someone nice towards the end and obsessed over someone. Zakuro - Too 'cold'. Its hard to explain, but there is just too much of a barrier. She is ... |