Nov 21, 2025
I spent several months of my preadolescence watching Tokyo Mew Mew, every time it aired on TV. And just like many other people, I have a nostalgic feeling every time I think about it (the fond memories of jumping on the couch during the English opening).
There's something magical about being a kid and not judging these shows for their plots or logic involved. On the other hand, just like many other youngsters, I cared more about the romantic tension between the characters, especially Ichigo and Masaya. It's funny that once you turn into an adult, this is the thing you care the least about.
...
So, with all this said, I started watching Tokyo Mew Mew for the nostalgia of it and one thing I can tell you: some things are better left alone.
The story starts with Ichigo Momomiya, a girl who soon finds out she can transform into a humanoid wild cat, in order to save the world, especially animals becoming extinct. Why she needs to be a wild cat, goes over my head, but I guess it has more to do with the aesthetic than anything else. As a series marked for young girls (I would say, young teenagers), the simplicity of the plot is quite self-explanatory. It's a cute anime about magical girls - it's not more than this.
The formula for most episodes is exactly the same: Enemy appears - the girls transform to fight it - enemy is defeated - and the cycle continues... All this in less than 5 minutes, usually. The rest of the episode has to do with the girls own melodramatic life (Ichigo's love interest or their part-time job).
Now, talking about their part time job... The girls are 13! Every day, after school, they need to work in this cafe, and of all things, they need to work as MAIDS! If it's not only absurd that they're working at such delicate age, they also need to work in questionable ways (Sadly, it's a job that is highly sexualized in Japan).
The entire concept is supposed to be about protecting the Earth and fighting alien threats, but the show rarely explores the ecological theme in any meaningful way. Another issue is that the show relies too heavily on coincidences. Ichigo just happens to be at the right place to be transformed; the café just happens to be the perfect magical base; the aliens appear exactly when the girls are nearby. There’s a sense that the plot moves because it must, not because actions lead naturally to consequences.
The weak plot structure affects the characters, who end up feeling shallow because they exist more as roles than as people. Ichigo is the typical clumsy leader whose entire personality revolves around her crush, and her emotional reactions repeat instead of developing. Mint is the rich, cold girl. Lettuce is shy and insecure because the genre needs a shy girl. Pudding is energetic because the cast needs a quirky one. Zakuro is cool and distant because the team needs a mysterious older figure. Their traits rarely evolve, and when they do, the changes are undone by the next episode.
Even their relationships are surface-level. Conflicts get resolved too fast, emotional arcs are rushed, and their interactions are built on clichés rather than on actual chemistry. Because the plot resets constantly, the characters don't grow as a team; they simply repeat their assigned roles. This makes it hard to feel attached to them, since we never see them struggle in a way that feels real or earn their development. They always return to the same personality loop, making them feel one-dimensional.
Overall, the story lacks depth in its conflict, and the characters lack meaningful growth, which makes Tokyo Mew Mew charming but shallow, more reliant on magical-girl formulas than on real narrative strength.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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