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 balance her 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!
