As mentioned before I have a soft spot for the original Tokyo Mew Mew anime. It had a charm that grabbed in my high school years before I lost a lot of interest in het romance shows. I first saw the 4Kids dub Mew Mew Power which despite being unfinished had its silly charm. Point being there was a certain duo that got my attention even in the dub. It was nice to see my intuitions were right watching the JP original. The rest of the Mews are wonderful too. Cut to 2022 and a reboot was announced following a similar style as Sailor Moon Crystal where “they cut the fat” and focused on plot relevant and the stronger character development episodes. I originally planned on doing a more detailed G-View based on how the show ended but viewers can guess why I went with a Quickie instead. Let’s briefly take a look at Tokyo Mew Mew New.
The main story remained the same only including slight plot changes to match the time it aired. The original was in 2002/03 while the reboot was in 2022/23 so some changes were made, specifically to keep up with the state of the environment and wildlife now compared to then. For readers who do not know TMM always had an environmental theme centered around protecting it and the animals, especially endangered species. Those worried the message is heavy handed like 80’s and 90’s PSAs need not fret as it is tied well to the narrative and does not feel forced. Makes sense for the heroes and villains to have the stances they do. Besides that the twists and turns are the same as is the climax. I think there were some changes to the epilogue. DEFINITELY some changes to certain characters, for better or worse on a certain antagonist’s side.
Anyway my overall thoughts on the Remake? I enjoyed it. Brought back fond memories of the original and most of the changes were quite nice. My favorite being the Mew Mew’s redesigns. I LOVE THEM! My favorite being Mint’s because she looks so much cooler to me. Nothing against the original. The simplicity of Classic Mew Mint has its appeal but New Mew Mint wowed me the moment I saw her.
Brief thoughts on the Mews:
Ichigo: Still fun. Her expressions are better than ever.
Bu Ling/Purin: Still the genki and life of the party.
Zakuro: Still the sexy cool babe rock star celebrity. No beach episode so sadly we were denied New Zakuro in her black bikini. Oh well. Something of a theme for me with the New Mews. Maybe it’s because I didn’t rewatch the original and base my thoughts on vague memories but I felt New Zakuro was livelier than Classic Zakuro. She was less lone wolf and more of a team player. I dunno. It felt like that.
The same goes for Mint: Her story and character arc are the same but I felt more energy from her. I enjoyed her character more. She used to be my 4th favorite but in this one she jumped up to #2. I enjoyed her character that much this time around.
Lettuce is still love. Lettuce is still life: Again it may be my vague memory of the original but despite her story arc and big moments being similar it felt like she had more importance this time around. She was already my #1 and most beautiful member back then but she somehow became even cooler and more beautiful in the reboot. If I met a woman like Lettuce in real life I would do all I could to earn her love.
Time for what everyone came for. The main focus is still on Ichigo’s het weird het harem. I admit I enjoyed her romance with main bro Aoyama-kun. His rivals were the same though one I am pretty sure was worse in New, possibly by design. I admit I found his worsening interesting. Does not mean I like him. HECK NO. I just found his…antics more…eye catching. Basically he got a more interested reaction from me unlike Elan 5 if that makes sense to Gundam Witch fans.
Anyway Mint X Zakuro. Long story short I felt despite them not getting as much time to develop their relationship when they did it was excellent. I dare say it was handled better than the original. Let me put it this way. Mint’s love did not feel one-sided to me. As much as I wanted to see “THAT SCENE” recreated after much thought it and seeing what we got instead I was glad they did not go with that scene because, as I said, it felt one-sided. Here Zakuro DEFINITELY feels the same way. Too bad we did not get more…Oh well. I appreciate what we did get in this enhanced retelling of theirs.
I recommend Tokyo Mew Mew New to fans who enjoy the main story and are interested in the changes. It does not make the original look inferior at all. It is still there for OG fans to relish. I enjoyed many of the changes and enhancements in New but still like the original and recommend it too to viewers into extra shoujo magical girl shows.
Longer than intended but whatever.
The Yuri Empire 