Tokyo Mew Mew: Difference between revisions

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Recruited by the masterminds behind the Mew Project, Ichigo ends up working at the cafe as a waitress by day and alien-hunting catgirl by night, with the promise that she will return to normal when the threat has passed. What's more, there are four other subjects of the Mew Project to find, and a sinister extraterrestrial plot to thwart.
 
There is also a manga-only sequel written by the head illustrator after the head writer left. ''Tokyo Mew Mew a la mode'' renders Ichigo utterly useless (no, really) so that a [[CreatorsCreator's Pet|shiny new character]] named Berry Shirayuki/Mew Berry (Tokyopop name: Berry) can take her place. Many fans [[Fanon Discontinuity|like to pretend it doesn't exist]].
 
The manga was licensed by [[Tokyo Pop]] and the anime by 4Kids Entertainment (where it's known as ''Mew Mew Power''). Only the first half of the series has been released in the United States so far, and because of Fox's [[Screwed By the Network|odd airing schedule]], you're usually likely to only see the first twelve episodes. More recently, it was given the [[Gag Dub]] treatment in ''[[Tokyo Mew Mew in A Nutshell (Web Video)|Tokyo Mew Mew in A Nutshell]]''. In addition, Kodansha USA has re-licensed the the original manga in omnibus form, coming this fall.
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* The attack word "riboun" is ''not'' a cognate of the English word ribbon; it means reborn.
* Whatever is written as "myuu" may be either "mew" (as in, a cat sound), "mu" (as in, the Greek letter used by geneticists) or both. "Tokyo Mew Mew" and "Mu Project" have been vindicated by on-screen text (though Tokyopop called the latter the Mew Project) but nobody's quite sure whether the [[MacGuffin]] in the second half of the series is Mew Aqua or Mu Aqua.
{{tropelist}}
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=== This program provides examples of: ===
 
* [[Accidental Athlete]]: Episode 5
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* [[Anime Theme Song]]
* [[Animorphism]]
* [[Anti -Villain]]: The alien antagonists are upset about humans polluting and want to reclaim their homeland, Earth. Unfortunately, their plans involve killing people to do so. {{spoiler|Deep Blue just wants the planet for himself, though.}}
* [[Arranged Marriage]]: Bu-ling, in one episode, to Long Yuebin, one of her father's students.
* [[Art Shift]]: Later episodes make the characters aged 14 and up look more noticeably older, and colours get deeper and shinier.
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* [[Dancing Theme]]: The [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2B4HQ8pqOsU ending theme]. [[Ear Worm|Catchy, too.]]
* [[Dark Magical Girl]]: Retasu at first, Zakuro (Renee) in ''MMP''.
* [[Dark -Skinned Blond]]: Ryou and Bu-ling are both somewhat darker than much of the rest of the cast, and they both have yellow hair.
* [[Dating Catwoman]]: Bu-ling and Taruto.
* [[A Day in The Limelight]]
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* [[Disappeared Dad]]: Bu-ling's father is training in the mountains.
* [[Disney Death]]: {{spoiler|Taruto, Kisshu, Pai, Aoyama and Ichigo. Deep Blue is [[Killed Off for Real]], though.}}
* [[Do They Know ItsIt's Christmas Time?]]: Anime only
* [[Dreaming of a White Christmas]]: Episode 38.
* [[Dub Induced Plot Hole]]: The honourific switch, left out of both English translations.
* [[Dude, She's Like, in A Coma]]
* [[Dude, Where's My Reward?]]: In episode five, Ichigo loses a gymnastics competition but saves everyone there.
* [[Ending Theme]]: With dancing cats!
* [[Executive Meddling]]: The series was originally going to be a horror, with a short-haired catgirl in pink being the only thing in common with its current incarnation. Execs at Nakayoshi pressured the artist to do magical girls instead.
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* [[Filler]]
* [[Final Speech]]
* [[Finger -Twitching Revival]] {{spoiler|Aoyama, after coming back to life}}.
* [[First Kiss]]: Ichigo sulks about having hers stolen by her stalker for a whole episode.
* [[First -Name Basis]]: Beginning in episode 13, but only on Aoyama's part. Ichigo fantasizes about him insisting that he call her "Masaya," but keeps calling him "Aoyama-kun" to the end of the series. In a filler episode, Lettuce knows that the boy she's interested in is in a relationship because he's on a [[First -Name Basis]] with the librarian.
* [[Five -Man Band]]
** [[The Hero]]- Ichigo
** [[The Lancer]]- Mint
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* [[Gaias Vengeance]]: The reason that the Mew Mews were born.
* [[Genetic Engineering Is the New Nuke]]
* [[Get a Hold of Yourself, Man!]]: Mew Mint to Mew Ichigo in episode 50
* [[Go Through Me]]
* [[Gotterdammerung]]
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* [[Little Bit Beastly]]: All the girls. It remains the most prominent example of kemonomimi in anime that's out today.
* [[Love Dodecahedron]]: Ichigo is involved in one.
* [[Love -Obstructing Parents]]: Ichigo's father disapproves of Aoyama at first and challenges him to a kendo match. Ichigo intervenes, and convinces him to accept Aoyama.
** [[Let Her Grow Up Dear]]: Sakura.
** [[Overprotective Dad]]: Shintarou.
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* [[Magic From Technology]]: Genetic engineering!
* [[Magical Girl Warrior]]
* [[Man -Eating Plant]]: The chimera anima that swallows Masha in a filler episode.
* [[Market -Based Title]]
** Korea: ''Berry Berry Mew Mew''
** Italy: ''Mew Mew Amiche Vincenti''
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* [[Meaningful Name]]: All the main characters' surnames have their theme colours in them. So why is the "ai" in "Aizawa Minto" "dark blue", while "blue" is the "ao" in "Aoyama Masaya"? Well, there's a reason for that, too.
* [[Meido]]: Minto has her own personal maid squadron, although none of them are fetishy.
* [[Mid -Season Upgrade]]
* [[Mission Control]]: Ryou and Keiichirou.
* [[Missing Mom]]: Bu-ling's mom is dead. Before the series starts, this escalates to [[Parental Abandonment]].
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** In fact, this is why many fans don't ever bring it up. *[[Face Palm]]*
* [[New Eden]]: Mew Aqua is some powerful stuff.
* [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero]]: Mew Pudding encases a Mew Aqua droplet in a Puringring Inferno, which accelerates its destabilization and makes it harder for the other Mew Mews to get it under control.
* [[NoblewomansNoblewoman's Laugh]]: Kanna, Minto's "rival" in a filler episode.
* [[No Guy Wants an Amazon]]: In the beginning, Ichigo constantly frets that being a catgirl superheroine will scare her boyfriend off. He doesn't mind, actually.
* [[Non -Indicative Name]]: That's the trouble with weird puns for weapons and attacks... What's a Reborn Lettuce Rush got to do with shooting water at your enemies?
* [[Not So Harmless]]: Kisshu, Taruto and Pai start out unleashing chimera anima on the heroes and running away when they fail, but their schemes become more effective over time and present a real threat to the lives of the Mew Mews and other civilians. They never completely succeed, but the heroes have to work harder to stop them each time.
* [[Odd Friendship]]: Everyone, really.
* [[Once an Episode]]
* [[Parental Abandonment]]: For all we've seen Ichigo's parents as "overprotective", they seem to come out of the equation when she has to save the city. At least she still has them, though, unlike Bu-ling, Zakuro, Ryou...
* [[Part -Time Hero]]
* [[Pillar of Light]]
* [[Pink Girl, Blue Boy]]: Just guess.
* [[Planet of Steves]]: The "Three Beckys" in the dub.
* [[Playing With Syringes]]: Rare heroic example.
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** "Dance another Day" is not "Remember When."
* [[Refusal of the Call]]: Ichigo, Zakuro.
* [[Romantic Two -Girl Friendship]]: Minto, though she's bi, and Zakuro. Mostly anime-only, though. In the manga, Minto's affection towards Zakuro was nowhere near what it was made into for the animated series, though that might be because they get more screentime.
* [[Rules of Orphan Economics]]: Bu-ling is a type 3.
* [[Sailor Earth]]: These are popular in fanfic, what with the number of endangered animals and [[Edible Theme Naming|food-based names]] one could use.
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* [[Say My Name]]
* [[Science Marches On]]: According to the IUCN Red List, gray wolves are listed as "least concern". A couple of subspecies are endangered, but that's it. Finless Porpoises aren't considered endangered anymore, but are still vulnerable.
* [[Screw the Rules, I Have Money]]: Minto, Ryou.
* [[Screwed By the Network]]: English dub.
* [[Secret Keeper]]
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* [[Shout Out]]: a ''[[Sailor Moon]]'' stage show appears in one episode.
* [[Something We Forgot]]: Episode 24, the one with the jewelry show, Bu-ling takes on one of the aliens to buy the rest of the team time. Fast forward, the fight is won, the jewelry show finishes and everyone is happy right? But wait, where's Bu-ling? Oh, she's still fighting with the alien [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] By the the aliens 'they seem to be having fun, lets leave them alone'
* [[So What Do We Do Now?]]: {{spoiler|Get married}}, apparently, at least in the manga.
* [[Spell My Name With an "S"]]: Tokyopop isn't helping.
* [[Stock Footage]]
* [[Superhero]]
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* [[Theme Tune Cameo]]
* [[Third Person Person]]: Bu-ling, Ringo.
* [[This Is Unforgivable!]]: Stock phrase of the Mew Mews to the aliens, often immediately before or after transforming.
** Ichigo also uses this as a [[Badass Boast]] against a monster attacking Tokyo in her dreams in an early episode.
* [[Those Two Guys]]: Miwa and Moe.
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* [[Totally Radical]]: The English translated manga.
* [[Transformation Is a Free Action]]: Subverted in Episode 45, when Quiche knocks Ichigo’s pendant out of her hand before she can finish transforming.
* [[True LovesLove's Kiss]]
* [[Two -Timer Date]]: With the other party being a monster of the week...
* [[Unspoken Plan Guarantee]]: Averted in Episode 41; the Mew Mews besides Mew Lettuce completely describe their plan to deal with the fish Chimera Anima, and the plan works.
* [[Unusual Ears]]
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* [[Villains Out Shopping]]: Kisshu, Pai and Taruto eat parfaits near a fan while complaining about humans causing global warming.
* [[Vitriolic Best Buds]]: Ichigo and Minto often bicker, but are willing to help each other when necessary.
* [[Wake Up, Go to School, Save The World]]
* [[Wasn't That Fun]]
{{quote| '''Bu-ling:''' "Let's do that again!"<br />
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* [[We Named the Monkey Jack]]: Ichigo naming Masha.
* [[What Could Have Been]] Creepy shoujo horror, anyone?
* [[What Is This Thing You Call Love?]]:
{{quote| '''Taruto''': What is this [[The Power of Love|power of love]]? I don’t get it.<br />
'''Pai''': That’s... too embarrassing to explain. }}

Revision as of 13:22, 8 January 2014

 Let me serve the future of the earth, nya!

An iconic series that brought the five-girl team of Magical Girls into the 2000s, Tokyo Mew Mew started as a Nakayoshi artist's desire to do a series about a Catgirl, and ended up as a sweet tale of choosing the right guy, protecting the environment, and throwing some sparkly Stock Footage around to solve the world's problems.

Ichigo Momomiya's only care in the world is getting kendo idol Masaya Aoyama to notice her. Since he's interested in enviromental protection, she invites him on a date to an exhibition about "Red Data Animals", a list of endangered species.

Little does she know that she is one of five Tokyo schoolgirls "chosen" by the Earth, possessed of a unique DNA pattern allowing her to host the genes of the Irimote Mountain Cat, one of the Red Data Animals. As part of the secret "Mew Project", she is shot by an injection gun from a mysterious cat statue atop a cute cafe.

Now the DNA of the wildcat is running through her, and she's picked up some very odd abilities, such as excessive sleepiness and landing perfectly on her feet. Not only that, but she can use a Transformation Trinket to transform into a magical catgirl and defeat the parasitic aliens that are transforming normal animals into monstrous Chimera Anima.

Recruited by the masterminds behind the Mew Project, Ichigo ends up working at the cafe as a waitress by day and alien-hunting catgirl by night, with the promise that she will return to normal when the threat has passed. What's more, there are four other subjects of the Mew Project to find, and a sinister extraterrestrial plot to thwart.

There is also a manga-only sequel written by the head illustrator after the head writer left. Tokyo Mew Mew a la mode renders Ichigo utterly useless (no, really) so that a shiny new character named Berry Shirayuki/Mew Berry (Tokyopop name: Berry) can take her place. Many fans like to pretend it doesn't exist.

The manga was licensed by Tokyo Pop and the anime by 4Kids Entertainment (where it's known as Mew Mew Power). Only the first half of the series has been released in the United States so far, and because of Fox's odd airing schedule, you're usually likely to only see the first twelve episodes. More recently, it was given the Gag Dub treatment in Tokyo Mew Mew in A Nutshell. In addition, Kodansha USA has re-licensed the the original manga in omnibus form, coming this fall.

4Kids recently lost the rights to the first half of the show, and has been unsuccessful in attempting to purchase the rights to the second half. It was popularly assumed, but not proven, that a relicensing like One Piece had would hang on the success of the English release of Mamotte! Lollipop.

This series now has a character sheet.

Ikumi Mia loves puns, and Tokyopop's translators are not purists. These factors together create a lot of confusion as to what things are called. Regarding names in the original version:

  • The Japanese characters have Japanese names, sometimes based on English loanwords. ex. Minto instead of Mint.
  • The Chinese character Bu-ling has a Chinese name based on a Japanese version (purin) of an English loanword (pudding).
  • The alien characters have English food names. Tokyo Pop mistranslated Gateau du Roi and Quiche as Gato du Rowa and Kish; they are not supposed to be a Spanish cat and some dude from The Bible.
  • The Mew names for those characters named for English words have the actual English word. ex. Mew Mint instead of Mew Minto.
  • The attack word "riboun" is not a cognate of the English word ribbon; it means reborn.
  • Whatever is written as "myuu" may be either "mew" (as in, a cat sound), "mu" (as in, the Greek letter used by geneticists) or both. "Tokyo Mew Mew" and "Mu Project" have been vindicated by on-screen text (though Tokyopop called the latter the Mew Project) but nobody's quite sure whether the MacGuffin in the second half of the series is Mew Aqua or Mu Aqua.
Tropes used in Tokyo Mew Mew include:

  Ichigo: (referring to the plant Chimera's love for eating) The only attack this thing has learned is a snack attack!

 Bu-ling: "Let's do that again!"

Ichigo: "One ride per customer!"

 Taruto: What is this power of love? I don’t get it.

Pai: That’s... too embarrassing to explain.

Retrieved from "https://allthetropes.org/wiki/Tokyo_Mew_Mew?oldid=483898"