Tokyo Mew Mew is an anime and manga series that gained a moderate amount of popularity in the 2000s. Much like other anime of the time, it aired for quite some time and had 52 episodes, only 26 of which ever made it out of Japan. The series also has been heavily neglected, and DVDs are hard to find. It was even renamed overseas to Mew Mew Power, which confused younger viewers and made many fans miss out on the manga series due to it still being titled Tokyo Mew Mew. Even in Japan, the series is just now getting a blu-ray release later in 2020, which is an insane amount of time.
But after what seems like years of neglect, Tokyo Mew Mew looks like it's on the path to getting some much needed love. It was recently announced that the anime would be getting a remake, with the hope being that it would attract both newcomers and old fans. Older fans are obviously excited, but they wouldn't mind a few changes and improvements to their underappreciated gem. Here are 10 things fans want from the upcoming Tokyo Mew Mew remake.
10 A Better Dub
To cut to the chase, the dubbed version of Tokyo Mew Mew was horrible. It's not that the voice actors were bad, but 4Kids were directly involved.
This meant that many of the Japanese references where removed and the script was oversimplified to make the show more appealing to children who watched Saturday morning cartoons. Needless to say, this didn't help the anime to get more than 26 episodes aired.
9 Less Editing & Americanization
Another huge problem with the show was heavy editing. In the American broadcast, most of the original Japanese customs were removed. This is similar to rice balls being referred to as "Jelly Donuts" from fellow 4Kids series, but this time they even changed the anime's title to make it more "American."
Long story short, 4Kids advertised Tokyo Mew Mew as either Hollywood Mew Mew or The Mew Mews before finally sticking with Mew Mew Power. Combined with the aforementioned changes 4Kids implemented, and Tokyo Mew Mew barely resembled its original Japanese counterpart. The remake should be picked up for adults and teenagers and not be forced as a kid's show.
8 Stick To The Manga Faithfully
The original anime followed a very well-known formula in the Magical Girl genre of old: Each episode was a monster of the week themed with slow progression.
This made the seven-book manga series take forever to complete as an anime and, at times, it just got boring. The new adaptation should take notes from other shoujo revivals and stick to the manga, and this means ditching the old formula.
7 Better Transformation Sequences
The transformations in Tokyo Mew Mew didn't feel as glamorous as the ones seen in other Magical Girl anime. Even Ichigo's transformation fell kind of flat, which is weird when considering that she's the lead character of the original anime.
With today's advanced animation techniques, though, the girls should have stunning transformation scenes. Fans expect a lot more shine on the remake, especially during the introduction of each Mew Mew. After all, it's what they deserve!
6 A Better Soundtrack
The original anime's soundtrack wasn't bad, and many fans even consider the English soundtrack good. Even so, there are very few memorable tracks from the show and the theme song, while catchy, doesn't hold a candle to Sailor Moon's 'Moonlight Densetsu.'
While it's unlikely Tokyo Mew Mew's music will overshadow that particular song, it can't be denied that there's a lot of room for improvement. The manga gives the show everything it needs to be great, and the composers and animators just need to bring it to life.
5 An OVA Of 'Tokyo Mew Mew A La Mode'
One thing fans are hopeful for is an OVA of the sequel/spin-off manga Tokyo Mew Mew a la Mode. While the sequel series is only two volumes long, it could make for a fun OVA series that would be perfect for fans wanting more after the remake concludes.
It could even be used as a movie concept, if nothing else!
4 Better Merchandise
While the show actually did have a decent amount of merchandise, most of it wasn't that great. Back in the day, anime toys and figure looked much rougher than the ones fans have today. The merchandise of the Mew Mew's and their weapons were sadly no exception.
Hopefully, fans can at least get a great Banpresto set of the whole team this time around.
3 Updated & Deeper Dialogue
Even in the original Japanese version, some of the dialogue could feel a little plain. Now that the anime industry has had so much time to grow and improve, the more serious side of the manga can be better portrayed in the remake.
The manga actually has a great take on preserving animals, and this fits perfectly with real life conservation efforts. It's a pity this was buried in the original anime's serviceable if pedestrian translations. The remake could really point bring out the source material's eco-friendly themes and animal-loving messages more so than the original series did.
2 Sweeter Romances
The romances in the original Tokyo Mew Mew felt a little bland, especially when compared to the manga. This is likely to do with the series going on for way longer than it needed to.
The remake should zoom in on the romance between Ichigo and Masaya and bring Quiche's feeling more into play. The anime's strange love triangle could be fun for fans to debate over, provided it's done well and a lot sweeter than before.
1 No More Filler Episodes
Fans generally hope that this series stays away from filler episodes. They don't want to see extra aliens brought in just to artificially pad out or extend the episode count. If fillers are still needed, though, then the remake can have an odd number of these episodes just as long as there is no corny sidetracking going on.
Fans want to see the manga that they love retold in anime form and don't want to see it messed up by sub-par, shoehorned content.