A classic revitalized, though that's nothing compared to the AniManga scene of the constant sequel effect, and it's honestly quite average at best. Ask any die-hard fan of Reiko Yoshida and Mia Ikumi's Tokyo Mew Mew, and they would say that it's one of those shows that were once in the pipeline slew of the gaining classic Mahou Shoujo a.k.a Magical Girl genre of the early 2000s, right at the time of the immense success of Sailor Moon that has made its way into the West that has taken into effect for years. Of course, with the advent of Madoka Magica that completely turned and screwedthe genre upside down, it's of no surprise that the genre has continued to evolve, even to this day with more tried-and-true tropes flooding its market just like all other genres nowadays. But what if there is a way to relive how the anime scene was like back then, and this remake which serves as the series' 20th anniversary is defintely part of that celebration...which was lukewarm at best given its popularity.
But if the recent complete adaptation of the subpar reboot that is Hiroyuki Takei's Shaman King has taught us one thing, is that even if the source material doesn't sell like hotcakes nowadays, it uses nostalgic memorabilia to re-define the revingorating success it once had, though that ultimately amounted to the loss in overall quality just for the sake of "putting things right" of how the source material should be adapted. And yes, bar for the course that Tokyo Mew Mew New's rendition is going, it doesn't actually cover the entire manga, but rather, adds its own whimsical spin thanks to Yumeta Company's in-house director Takahiro Natori and series composer Yuka Yamada, which the latter has a knack for shows similar to it from shows like Koisuru Asteroid to the more recent Slow Loop. And in the sacrifice of having to adapt the entire manga (which would've taken another 12 episodes to do so, that thankfully has Season 2 coming next Spring), ultimately, this I felt was the better approach in trying to weigh between counterbalances of having a decent reboot than one that feels rushed. And even then, pales in comparison to Studio Pierrot's original 2002 rendition of covering the entire manga plus fillers in 52 episodes.
The Mew Mews of Ichigo Momomiya (bearing the Iriomote cat DNA), Mint Aizawa (bearing the Blue Lorikeet DNA), Lettuce Midorikawa (bearing the finless porpoise DNA), Bu-Ling Huang (bearing the golden lion tamarin DNA) and Zakuro Fujiwara (bearing the gray wolf DNA), they are the stereotypical "Girl Power" team to save the world from the aliens whom had their home destroyed to smithereens, and Earth is their next place of interest to do the same evildoer stuff. Like you know, each and every Mahou Shoujo tried-and-true formula that predates Madoka Magica. This is pretty stereotypical for the time, and for the most part, the remake serves its purpose well by adapting only the first 3 out of the 7 volumes closely and sprinkling whatever the production staff wants to add into it, making it into a modern remake of an old property, plus new songs to boot in its decency. But this is the same reason where the remake also lost a lot of its luster by being a low-tier production of today's anime industry standards, that not only gives little to no respect to the original, but instead is made in such a way that provides a source of income invested into the project. It's just sad that old legends, whether popular or not, their status have been mostly being castaways of a time where anime was fun (and it still is to this day), but it's how the anime industry had grown up to become an exploitative industry of work that all works are regarded the same way, and to me, this is not how things should've been, but it is what it is.
The general advice, as is any hardcore fan of said source material, would be for you to read the manga that's enclosed in 32 chapters in 7 volumes, something that's more feasible than watching the 52-episode anime (which can take too long). Good thing there's a Season 2 to continue for the fans who love this new iteration. Even if this is or isn't speaking out of nostalgic bias, as someone who really hasn't seen much of the oldies (but have enough knowledge about it), I guess the banter's true that "the original is (undoubtedly) better". I would just like to wish that the remake got the attention and respect that it truly deserves, but it just ended up falling flat on its face.
ThTheAsterNaut
September 20, 2022
Recommended
Tokyo Mew Mew New is a remake of the 2002 show Tokyo Mew Mew centered around magical girls infused with endangered animal DNA to fend off aliens intending to take over Earth by infusing Earth creatures with parasites, causing them to mutate. Despite the strange premise, the show and characters happen to be rather simple. Ichigo is boy-crazy, Mint is high-class, Bu-Ling (Pudding) is happy-go-lucky, and Zakuro is the strong, reserved type. And of course, since it's a shoujo anime mainly marketed towards girls, there's multiple pretty boys who chase after Ichigo. Despite all that, I actually had fun with the show. The characters bythe end are slightly less one-note, but still need more development and I actually want to watch more now that the show is over.
Music: 9/10
Art: 7/10
Characters: 6/10
Story: 6/10
Total: 7/10
If you like magical girls or just want to see Bu-Ling do cute stuff, I would certainly say to give it a try.
Recommended
One thing that needs to be made clear to everyone before watching this: This is a re-adaptation of the manga from the year 2000, NOT a remake of the 2002 anime. This version seeks to tell the story of the manga in a new way, and is not trying to imitate the 2002 anime adaptation. With that out of the way let's go! Tokyo Mew Mew New follows the story of five girls who gets infused with DNA of red listed animals, and gains superpowers in order to save the world from the threat of alien extinction. The main character, Ichigo, is also struggling to balanceher life as a superhero with her romantic high-school life as she's in love with a boy whom she doesn't like lying to about her secret identity. Having been infused with DNA from an endangered animal is also ironic fun seeing as the boy she's in love with is extremely passionate about endangered animals. The girls do their best to fight evil while working simultaneously at a cafe and trying to conceal their true identities to the world.
Characters:
All of the characters in this show are somewhat stereotypes that were common for this kind of show back when it was written. Ichigo is your standard protagonist who's determined, loyal to her friends and head over heels for a boy she barely knows. However, they take the time to give her moments of personal growth and a personal arc, mostly tied into her love-interest. Speaking of the love-interest; I never cared much for him in the manga, but here he's fine! Him and Ichigo have a couple of nice scenes together where they just talk, making them feel more natural as a couple and giving them time to just be teenagers in love. Then you have Minto who's the stuck-up rich girl who has a hard time complimenting people, Retasu the clumsy shy girl, Pudding the cute and hyper-active athletic type, and Zakuro the cool and quiet type. It's nothing spectacular, but for a show that was written in the early 2000's they're all fine, and the girls do get moments to bond and get to know each other, making their friendship feel very natural after a couple episodes.
Story:
The story itself is very simple, and I doubt anyone will have any issue following it. It's very classic 90's - 2000's shoujo with colourful but somewhat silly situations interwoven with fight scenes and romance. I grew up with this manga and is thus a bit nostalgic for it, however, there are some common tropes in the story that can be distracting. They never take the time to fully explain most of the plotelements and there are gaping holes in the story at every turn. However, the story was written with pretty young girls in mind and is very cute and fun, so if that's all you're really looking for then there are few actual complaints.
The pacing on the other hand is all over the place, and this is something that I believe can really turn some people away from this adaptation. The first 4 episodes are incredibly rushed, with episodes 4 - 8 slowing down and taking time to develop the characters, and then the pacing drinks an energy drink again for episode 9 - 11, to then have a pretty good final episode. For those that have read the manga this won't be an issue, but for everyone else you should really brace yourselves for some ups and downs.
Presentation:
The overall art style is very cute and suits the show for what it is. The music as well suits the style that the show is going for very well. The opening and ending are even performed by an idol unit comprised of the five main voice actors, who were auditioned specifically for this show. The voice acting does suffer a bit because of this. The main five are all rookies at voice acting, and there are places where it really shows. It's good to prepare for the voice acting to not be up to the standard that most anime fans are used to if you're wanting to enjoy this show. I do want to give the girls credit though, as by the final episode they've all improved significantly, and I barely noticed their previous insecurities anymore.
The animation goes up and down depending on the episode as with all shows created by smaller studios. There are some fight scenes that really stand out, and the transformations and attacks for the most part look gorgeous. There are some derpy looking cells at times however, and the framing is a bit stale at times. This really isn't a show that sets out to be revolutionary in that department though, and you can tell that they focused their efforts where it was most needed.
All in all this is by no means a perfect adaptation. It has flaws at every turn but they in no way sink the show. A lot of heart was put into this from the designs and direction to the VAs and composers.
This being an adaptation that seeks to follow the story and pacing of the manga does make it feel very rushed (as the story in the manga was extremely fast paced) so those who take issue with that should probably give this a skip. Especially those who grew up with the 2002 adaptation should probably skip this as they do most things completely differently.
If you're just looking for a cute, lighthearted, somewhat silly show with a lot of passion put into it despite a smaller budget, and you enjoy mahou shoujo, then this is a good way to spend your time. With season 2 having been announced for April 2023 I really hope more people join us on the hype train!
