Didnt Have Time To Draw Anything New That Would Fit With The Day 1 Prompt, But I Still Wanted To Show

Didn’t have time to draw anything new that would fit with the day 1 prompt, but I still wanted to show my favorite ship some love with a few of my old fan arts! The masquerade one I did in 2019, the Mew Ichigo and Ryou in black is from 2016 (the background was added in 2018), and it was a redraw of one I did back in 2010. Feel free to share my original post, but please don’t repost as your own.

Tokyo Mew Mew wallpapers

You have been chosen to become a brave hero who will defend the Earth!

It’s finally here! Tokyo Mew Mew New! Ok, it’s been out for a week now, but I needed some time for my brain to digest all that happened in the first episode 😅 (and to rewatch the episode 3 times just because). My initial feelings? I loved it! Tokyo Mew Mew is like a drug to me, I could watch it all day every day and never get sick of it, and this adaptation was no exception. I loved the callbacks to the old anime in the OP and ending, I loved the comical facial expressions, I loved the passion the voice actors gave, I loved the music (kind of gave me Sailor Moon Crystal vibes), I loved the animation, and (of course) I loved every second that included my boy Ryou! ☺️ Now I didn’t just love it for the nostalgia (although I did have legit tears of happiness in my eyes the whole time because it just reminded me of happier days), I also liked a lot of the changes they made as well.

First of all, I really like that they made Ichigo a high school student. This being Japan’s school system, that means she’s at least 15; something about Ichigo being 12/13 in the original just really bothered me, and I found it odd that so many fans were upset that 4kids upped their ages (of all things to be mad about 😆), and now we see that even the creator was ok with the ages going up (because all the changes were made or approved by Ikumi). It just makes more sense for Ichigo to be in high school and have the relationship she has with Aoyama; it gets way too intense for a 12/13 year old.

Speaking of Ichigo and Aoyama’s relationship, I love how they’ve changed it! In the manga, and even the old anime, Ichigo seemed to be just another fan girl who just got lucky with catching Aoyama’s attention; she was kind of shallow in the beginning and didn’t seem to care too much about Aoyama’s actual interests, she just wanted him to smile at her. This newer Ichigo is way better; she’s not caught up in Aoyama’s popularity (she didn’t even know who he was), when he does catch her attention, she’s genuinely interested in getting to know him as a person and not just a pretty face, and then on their date, she admits she knows very little about animals and conservation, but she’s willing to learn more, and has a meaningful debate with Aoyama about the subject. This is a great start for them that creates a good foundation for their relationship.

In a strange way, it also kind of puts the “other love interest” on an even playing ground. Ichigo has only really known Aoyama for a week or so longer than Ryou Shirogane, so the development of their relationship is pretty much on the same level. It leaves the story wide open to expand that even further, and maybe we’ll see some wavering on Ichigo’s part? (Of course, I know they’re not going to change the canon couple, but that doesn’t mean we won’t get to see Ryou’s feelings more clearly and feel all the feels when he’s rejected 😭). There’s little doubt in my mind that they won’t leave out the triangle; they have Ichigo and Ryou (almost) kissing in the ending for crying out loud. Hopefully they’ll do my boy justice!

So far they’re off to a good start in that regard. Some of the bigger changes I liked in this new version was the changes they made to Ryou and Minto. While I love Ryou whole heartedly, he does some questionable things in the manga that make you want to cringe or just slap him. One of those questionable behaviors is his blasé take on stalking Ichigo; in this new rendition, Minto has taken over that trait (granted, it is probably at Ryou’s request, but at least he is no longer the one staring at her from (behind) a tree). Minto being a Mew Mew first I also really like. In the Manga she is very passionate about being a superhero (a trait they kind of let go of, unfortunately, in the old anime), so her being the first just makes that part of her all the more prominent; and it showcases her and Ryou’s snarky friendship (which I’m sensing is going to be one of my new favorite things about this adaptation), that was just kind of in the background in the manga, and easily missed if you weren’t paying close attention (and it was pretty much cut out of the old anime).

All in all, I liked a lot of the changes they made, but were there changes I didn’t like? Sure, there’s a few. I’m not a fan of Moe’s new design (nitpicky, I know, I just miss her old look). I’m also a little bummed we didn’t get to see Ichigo and the other girls defend Retasu from her bullies, but I guess there’s probably a reason they left that out. Finally, while I do find it hilarious that Keiichiro came to pick up Ichigo in a pink semi truck, I miss the red car (it just made him look so much cooler!).

So Tokyo Mew Mew New is finally out! I’m working on my thoughts on the first episode, and will maybe post it tomorrow, but first I had a random thought about tomorrow’s new episode. It’s been said that it will focus on Mew Lettuce’s introduction, so naturally, I turned my attention to that particular chapter in the manga, and was reminding that a certain hilarious scene also takes place in said chapter:

Now, I don’t see why they would cut this scene, they included it in the old anime, granted, it was in a filler, two episodes after we meet Retasu, but they included it none the less. Or was it less? There’s something else that happens in this scene in the manga that the older anime left out:

Ichigo makes Ryou a snack, and look at his smile! ☺️ It’s such a cute bonding moment between the two of them, and I hope it gets included in this new adaptation (and if it’s in episode two, even better!).

I’m hoping they make the love triangle a little more prominent this time around; I know there’s no way she’s going to end up with Ryou (they’re not going to change the canon couple), but I still want to feel all the feels of rooting for Ryou! 😭

Tokyo Mew Mew café wallpapers