Tokyo Mew Mew New ♡ 2nd Season

Wow. This has been such a journey. Taking a manga that was very of its time and updating it for new audiences is never easy and you're never going to be able to get everything right or make everyone happy. You can however do what feels right and focus on what needed updating the most to end up with something different and fun for a ~new~ generation! Where to begin? I will begin with what I loved the most; the characters. The original Tokyo Mew Mew manga was a 7-volume story about a girl fighting off aliens with her 4 friends who have all been infused with DNA from various red listed animals. Tokyo Mew Mew New is an anime about 5 girls all with different struggles who learn new things about themselves together with their friends while they have to protect the earth from what they initially think is a hostile invasion by aliens. The biggest update this adaptation gave us was the 5 main characters. This season gave all of the main girls character focused episodes with TMMN original material for all of them. These original stories strengthen the bonds between the girls as well as develop completely new personalities for some of them. I won't go into spoilers but for anyone who felt like certain characters deserved more spotlight and more fleshed out characters than "She's rich and spoiled", "She's cool", "She's shy" or "She's a goofy kid" this is definitely an adaptation for you. The one who sees the least amount of rewriting is Ichigo, but as she was the only character with a more proper arc in the manga this makes a lot of sense. The overarching story, that of a race of aliens who inhabited the earth before humans trying to take it back by polluting it to a point where humanity dies out gets more focus this season. For the first time we get insight into the lives of this people and new material is added to make us understand them, and by extension the villains even more. For me this was needed as this adaptation takes the aliens and their struggle in a bit of a different direction from the source material. While they are still villains and their goals are still the same all of them have moments of doubt in what they're doing, and you greatly sympathise with them once you see more of what's happened to them. Again, a lot of this is original for this adaptation and I'm so thankful for these additions. Another thing that I feel is worth bringing up is the music and ost. While the first season didn't have many stand out tracks for the original score they stepped it up this season. The ost is more dramatic and stands out more, they also manage to make some of them memorable and enjoyable enough that you recognise them when they pop up every other episode. One of my favourite aspects to this season was also the character insert songs given to every character. While season 1 gave us 2 character songs for Zakuro this season gave every girl her own insert song sung by the VAs and written from the characters' perspectives. These were a nice surprise and are great for giving the audience more of a feel for the characters. There is only really one aspect of New that I personally feel the need to criticize, and that is the animation. This show was very obviously not given a very high animation budget and it shows in critical moments of the show. Some dramatic moments get very cookie cutter angles and lighting while more quiet moments get very little animation at all. This is a great shame because the voice actors are giving it their all in every scene which just pulls even more attention to the low animation quality when the emotion in the acting isn't matched by the emotion in the drawings. To give credit where credit is due there are a couple of scenes that are obviously given more attention. There are a couple of fight scenes where you would never be able to guess that the budget was low, and while there isn't a lot of movement for other scenes the stills are mostly beautifully drawn. Tokyo Mew Mew New is far from perfect and there is no way for everyone to love it. However, if you go into it with an open mind and try to see how much passion was put into it I do believe that everyone can find at least something they enjoy about it. Tokyo Mew Mew was the first manga I ever read read but growing up I've realised that there are a lot of flaws and even problematic aspects of it that I can't really excuse. Tokyo Mew Mew New fixed almost all of my problems and made a fresh story with a great amount of heart for new fans to enjoy, just as Ikumi wanted. I recommend this for anyone who wants some sparkle and wholesome characters on their lists, and don't recommend it to people who grew up watching the 2002 version. Tokyo Mew Mew New will make sure that this story lives on and I hope that we get more of it.

The continuation of the prequel last Summer that despite some recommending the 20th anniversary remake of the anime, my feelings are unchanged over how Season 1 was to some lackluster showing overall, though I will give it a notch since this serves as the latter half to the reboot that turned out fine. Since even less people are watching the sequel (which as mentioned, is just a continuation of the overall Tokyo Mew Mew storyline), I'll just make this review short: it wraps up the manga adaptation indefinitely, though I could tell you that I cared EVEN less for the sequel since the initial Season 1 appeal was just as uninspiring for such a monumental series, broken down by people who found a way to add their craft into an otherwise classic, but cheesy, Mahou Shoujo story. The music is there, and to me, the OP is a downgrade while the ED is an upgrade. Overall, you could do better watching something else, but if you really care THAT much for Tokyo Mew Mew in the first place, go back to Season 1 for the binge watch.

Having watched only a few episodes of the 2002 anime, I'm glad I went into this one without any bias. I think it deserves to be treated as its own thing, which is why I'm leaving this review of the show for other newcomers. The first season is good but the second one is where the plot really picks up. I liked how the mystery surrounding the aliens gradually unravelled and how the conflict escalated in both seasons. Both finales were really climactic and satisfying. The animation is mostly good, although the monster designs could have been more creative. The soundtrack by Yasuharu Takanashi really elevates the epic moments but it sadly doesn't fit the transformations too well. One of this show's greatest strengths are the characters. The mew mews are all likeable, having their own quirks and unique abilities. Ichigo is a well-written protagonist with more sides to her than just her romantic side. She got good character development and so did her friends. As for the aliens, they also have distinct personalities and feel like a real threat. The only potentially controversial character is Kisshu. Some say that his abusive behavior was romanticized, but I thought it was portrayed quite realistically. I suppose you have to judge for yourself. The character I was disappointed with is Ichigo's love interest, Aoyama. He does play an important role in the story, but his chemistry with Ichigo was really bland. Another big issue I have with this show is the pacing, which is very fast in the first season. It feels like we're missing a lot of interactions between the mew mews and between Ichigo and Aoyama, so their relationships don't progress naturally. In conclusion, Tokyo Mew Mew New isn't perfect, but I had a lot of fun watching it. Nowadays every mahou shoujo anime has some kind of twist, so it's great to see a return to form. It's funny without being childish and serious without being too dark. Most importantly, it made me love the characters, which is why I want to check out the 2002 anime as well.

Man, I really should be more excited for Tokyo Mew Mew New than I turned out to be. The first half of it definitely wasn't bad, but it was still a far cry from being as good as the 2002 anime. Granted, the manga isn't exactly a masterpiece by any stretch, and I've explained as such in my own review for it, but I still enjoyed it for what it was. TMM New, to its credit, did try to differentiate itself from both the old anime and the manga with the changes that it made, some of which continued in this second half. But now that I've completed this half of TMM New, I don't think it succeeded in carving out its own identity. Since this part takes place immediately after the first half of TMM New, I'm not gonna bore you with another summary of the series, as you can look to my review for the first half. I've mentioned that TMM New's animation, while a valiant attempt to give the series a new coat of paint, wasn't as dynamic and sharp as the 2002 anime was, but it still did its job. Unfortunately, I think the animation really started to fall apart in this second part. There were no small amount of off model shots, stiff action scenes, and still shots bogging it down, making almost every scene feel sluggish and slow when it shouldn't be that way. The fight scenes are especially affected by this, as a lot of them consist of cost-cutting static shots that are meant to give the implication of movement while showing as little movement as humanly possible. I'm not going to say the 2002 anime's animation was a visual feast for the eyes or anything, as that had its own issues, especially when it first aired on TV, but the action scenes there at least had more dynamic movement and the fights actually felt palpable, and the producers at least tried to make do with what they had. Part 2's animation even loses the refinement that even the first half had, and I can count on both hands the scenes I saw where the girls' faces just looked really off, or one of their body parts, such as their eyes, looked smaller or bigger than the other. Part 2 also carries over some flaws that Part 1 had, particularly not doing enough to flesh out the rest of the characters aside from Ichigo. It tries, it really tries, but the things they add to characters such as Mint and Lettuce don't really do enough to make them feel more three-dimensional or interesting. With the smaller episode count on both ends, this was inevitable, so I can't really fault the producers for trying to make do with what they had at least. But even some of the changes they did make seemed really odd. In one episode, Mint runs away from home and stays at Ichigo's place for a while, and has absolutely no clue what a middle-class house looks like, nor does she understand the concept of families sharing one bathroom. For as much as the series tried to make Mint smarter and more intelligent than she was in other adaptations, it feels jarring to see her act really dumb for what is ostensibly no reason and her behavior there goes against a lot of her established characterization. Say what you will about the 2002 anime, at least in that one, Mint's personality and behavior was consistent, and she wasn't suddenly retconned into not knowing certain really basic things! Bascially, all the characters, heroes and villains, don't change much and despite attempts to flesh them out, still come off as pretty bland and milque toast. I won't mention the soundtrack a second time, as it's pretty much the same as Part 1, still pretty good but nothing groundbreaking. To TMM New's credit, there are some things Part 2 did that I did genuinely like. Remember Mint's brother Seiji in the 2002 anime? There, he was just a filler character and only appeared in one episode, but TMM New decided to not only have him appear more, but even have him be more active in the story's main conflict. I'm honestly surprised they decided to use him that way, and I'm glad they actually bothered to give him something resembling a character arc and plot relevance. Secondly, one thing I wish both the manga and 2002 anime had done was elaborate more on the aliens' lore. To my surprise, TMM New actually does just that, not only actually showing other aliens besides Kish, Pie, and Tart, but expanding on why they had to leave Earth and having one of the characters learn more about them. It even shows what happens to them after Ichigo and friends save the Earth from disaster, which I don't think the manga or 2002 anime ever did, which is nice. I also appreciate that TMM New actually bothered to show a bit of Zakuro's background by giving her a friend who shoots all of her videos. They still don't do anything like show what her family life is like, or if she even has one, but it's way more than the 2002 anime ever bothered to do with Zakuro. Plus, while the Mew Mews voice actors aside from Ichigo and Lettuce are still kind of green, Mint's actress really seems to have settled into her role, and her voice doesn't sound as awkward as it did in Part 1. However, if I'm going to be honest here, I'm gonna say I still prefer the 2002 anime over both the manga and Tokyo Mew Mew New. For all the things TMM New tried to do, it's unable to break out of the source material's shadow, or even the shadow of the 2002 anime. It's a fine adaptation for what it is, but not every change it made benefited it, and in the end, it doesn't go beyond just average. But hey, Tokyo Mew Mew coming back into the limelight at all is still a miracle in and of itself, and is a fitting tribute to the late Mia Ikumi's memory. It's not going to bring the house down, but it's still a nice kids show to introduce your little sister, daughter, or niece to anime with, if you want a shorter alternative to the 2002 anime.

Hey! I’m back with another review. Today is my birthday! Let’s get into it, ya? First, I want to say how much I’ve enjoyed this season compared to the first. This season was darker, more mature and just overall entertaining. The plot follows the original anime (not sure about the manga, I haven't read it yet) but it had a happier ending. (I won’t spoil it for you!) Story: like I said, the story was just better than the first season. The story was way more serious, it kept you on the edge of your seat and by the end you were rooting for all of the characters to win. Characters: everyone seemed to mature and come out of their shell more. Ichigo stopped being such a big cry baby, Lettuce gained more confidence, Bu-Ling showed how responsible she was with her siblings, Mint showed her older brother that she wasn’t a child anymore and Zakuro became more friendly. The aliens had good character development as well; my heart really went out to them. I still believe Shirogane has a thing for Ichigo. We get a background story on Shirogane and Akasaka. Music: the soundtrack was better too! The opening theme got on my nerves at first, but by episode 6 I was dancing along to it. The end theme is cute. For the last episode we hear “My sweetheart” from the original anime and I just loved that, it was so nostalgic. I’m definitely going back to add some songs to my playlist. Artwork: the art looked amazing and it kept the original designs of the classic anime. I still don’t care too much for the super suits, but I wasn’t too bothered about them this season. I was obsessed with the story; it was SO good. Overall: this season was great and I highly recommend it. A third season hasn’t been announced, and I’m not sure if there will be one. The story seemed to wrap up in the last episode. Unless the writers come up with a new enemy, in my opinion, I don’t see a third season coming out. Thanks for reading my review! Please leave a comment and reaction to let me know what you think. My next review will be Trigun Stempede. Until next time, take care!

TMM New REALLY is a whole new roller coaster ride. Yes, this is a continuation of my review of the first season and I can say that the second season really made me warm and fuzzy. I'll try to be less detailed so I hope I don't spoil anything. Plot-wise, the initial plot is pretty much still the same and they managed to deliver it in a new and exciting way. Though it's a bummer that they left out certain plots and elements, I love how they bring out several details that were not properly delivered in the original series. The character improvement for each character also is one of the things that I really like about this reboot. I love how Zakuro feels much more "alive" and expressive in the reboot series, still showing some coolness but also being mature and a much older sister-like figure for the gang. Lettuce's character development is also one of the best things from this reboot series, I love how they show her improvement and gaining confidence slowly. Best of all, I love how they also tell us the background of why the aliens attacked Earth along with the aftermath of their attacks. That is one of the things that is missing from the original series and one of the things I always want to see. Overall, yes it is VERY much different from the original series. But I do enjoy it very much because instead of just copying and pasting everything from the original series, they recreate the story in a new and exciting way while filling us in with some missing plots and elements that were not shown in the original series. True, those new plots and elements might not be "canon" from the manga. But still, I think it's a great way to show us more sides of each character. Honestly, I thought I'll hate this reboot so much but I ended up loving it. I would rewatch this again someday in the future for sure. Even with all those differences, this reboot series still gives me that nostalgic feeling. Last but not least: Chikyuu no Mirai ni, Gohoshi Suru~ Nyan!

I had a lot of fun watching this season and previous season. This season ramped up the drama and brought everything to its conclusion. I really liked watched the girls continue to grow. I also liked the twist. In many ways Tokyo Mew Mew felt not only like a means to get a pro-environment message out but also as a kind of response to Sailor Moon. There are a lot of shared components but done slightly differently. This made me like it a lot but at times made some things more obvious. I liked the ending though at times it felt a little clunky. Overall, I had a good time. If you liked the first season of Tokyo Mew Mew New, you like magical girls, and you like twists, then this will be a good choice of anime

Here we have another anime getting a remake for its anniversary. With a fairly lengthy anime adaptation for this series already existing, the question is whether this new adaptation is worth it. This review and score reflect both seasons as a whole. Characters suffer quite a bit in this new series. Mint is practically a different character now and Zakuro is way too talkative for a few examples. I'm not a fan of the changes and even without comparing to the original series, most of the characters are just okay. Aoyama as the main love interest did tend to be criticized for being boring back in the 2000’s series. I never found that to be the case. Megumi Ogata voiced him and it’s true that probably added a lot to his character back then. In New I really do feel like he’s a boring love interest, in due part to his new actor. The new voice cast is fine overall, but replacing someone of Ogata’s caliber is a real shame. There’s quite a few anime original episodes and new scenes. I didn’t find most of these that interesting and I only really started to enjoy the newly added content towards the end of season 2. I actually preferred how the final conflict played out this time around, as we got more time with the big bad which expanded upon ideas brought up in the original show that never had any pay off. Plus seeing what the cast is up to after the main conflict was over was really nice to see. Music is a mixed bag. On its own the music is great - really grand and epic sounding. Problem is it lacks identity. This is the same composer as the Sailor Moon Crystal OST and that’s all I could think of whenever these grandiose tracks started playing. The original anime really nailed its OST. Each of the Mew Mew’s had their own transformation music that reflected their personalities, now it’s all the same and blends together for me. Again, the music is great on its own, it’s just not a great fit for this series. I noticed there’s quite a few scenes where the characters start singing an insert song. The cast sings the opening and ending too. It’s cute, but I suppose the cynical side of me was starting to think this anime was made purely to promote their new idol group, thus we got quite a few songs out of nowhere sometimes. It’s not like there’s a new insert song every episode, but I did feel most were a bit intrusive when they happened and felt out of place. Tokyo Mew Mew New is a totally fine anime. Despite my complaints, It isn’t offensively bad, nor does it butcher the original material. It just doesn’t have much going for it to recommend it to anyone other than hardcore fans such as myself who want to see more of these characters. Everything from the character outfits to the characters themselves are downgraded. I only got excited during the odd new scene I liked or whenever Quiche was on-screen. Give the 2000’s series a try instead and only watch this one if you’re dying for more content...Or if you’re a depraved Quiche fan such as myself and need to see more of him to survive.