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I grew up in a large family with several brothers, and as a trans girl who was yet to recognise her true identity, it meant I kept a lot of interests and aspects reflecting that unknowingly close to my chest. Sneaking away to watch shows like Cardcaptor Sakura, Sailor Moon, and Tokyo Mew Mew became a regular thing, knowing I’d be teased by my siblings or my parents would be confused as to why I wasn’t engaging with something designed for boys.
Well it turns out I wasn’t one, and perhaps confiding in these shows that championed femininity was a way to chase a childhood I had no way of obtaining. I didn't know what it meant to be transgender, but when I look back there were so many signs that something wasn’t right, that I was living a life that wasn’t destined for me. Now I’m on the right path, and with Tokyo Mew Mew receiving the reboot treatment, it takes me back to a time when such shows acted as a coping mechanism for me and likely many, many others.
Tokyo Mew Mew New - very imaginative naming I know - seems to be a complete remake of the anime series that will feature returning characters and storylines. Set to begin airing this summer, recent weeks saw the first key visuals, character designs, and other details released for the show. The original is iconic and beloved across the world, an admiration that largely comes from nostalgia, so some were afraid that a reboot would change characters too much or perhaps abide by modern conventions that could ruin them.
Fortunately, it appears that Yumeta Company and Graphinica are keenly aware of this reputation, and want to keep the aesthetic of this series untouched as the manga approaches its 20th anniversary. Please bear with me while I run down the synopsis, and please don’t burn me alive for being a giant weeaboo in the process.
Ichigo Momomiya is a young girl who finds herself adopting the genes of an endangered species that allows her to transform into a Mew Mew, which is fancy language for a catgirl. She has tails, ears, and magical powers which she and her fellow Mew Mews use to fight evil all while attending school and dealing with youthful crushes. It’s your classic shojo setup, providing a female audience with relatable characters and plenty of adorable imagery that managed to stand the test of time. I would have killed to be a catgirl as a kid, a dream that was far more wholesome in 2002 than it is now.
Anime and manga like this are a dime a dozen, but Tokyo Mew Mew managed to establish a foothold outside of Japan where it saw immense popularity. It was dubbed, with the anime and manga receiving a release that few in the medium did a couple of decades ago. It would mean nothing today, but back then, it was huge. It saw sequels, spin-offs, games, merchandise, and so much more than splintered outside of Japan and established the property as a major franchise. Obviously it wasn’t on the same level as Dragon Ball or Sailor Moon, but it was a name that even casual anime fans were familiar with at the time. Now it’s coming back, millennials like me are warmly awaiting an adventure that we can now view from a new perspective, and perhaps children will learn lessons from it just like I did.
Even if Tokyo Mew Mew New is rubbish I’ll still have an excellent time revisiting its world and characters. It will be fascinating to see how its romantic tropes and approach towards fashion and womanhood have progressed in the years since its original airing, and if any changes will be made to bring it up to modern standards. It can be tiring to see old names like this brought back from the dead, but there’s something different about this one, even if I’m just holding onto fractured memories and a message of gendered acceptance I desperately needed as an oblivious little kid. Catgirls are also cool as hell. That’s a fact.