#tmmreview

[mother-of-wisp]

Tokyo Mew Mew New: A review so far and why I’ve stayed silent

So I know I had made a post before about how I’d go episode per episode, reviewing the new reboot series. I actually still have my full post in drafts of the very first episode of TMM New, but I’ve sat on it for awhile. Why?

Spoilers Ahead Beware

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So I watched the first episode of the reboot series and felt….hopeful. It was nice to see beloved characters back on the screen with a fresh look. Even seeing an iconic scene brought back some happy nostalgia and made me happy that they chose to keep it. However, hopeful is the keyword here. It meant that I hoped there would be more to come; more content that proved of a worthy reboot, of a well done reboot. Again, I wrote my optimistic review but it also had a lengthy list of cons. I decided to keep it in drafts, hoping my harsh critique was just a one-off impression from a first episode. I thought as more episodes turned out, perhaps I’d end up being pleasantly surprised. Maybe it’s a slow burner!

Nope. It never picked up for me.

With each passing episode, I felt less and less hopeful that it would live up to the expectations I previously had for such a beloved anime’s reboot.

By no means do I consider myself a TMM purist. I think anyone who’s read the manga knows that the original anime didn’t exactly follow the manga. The timeline of events differed in the anime from the manga, and back then, anime studios often used their creative freedom to make filler episodes that were often not originally derived from the manga storylines at all. But even so, the original TMM did filler episodes in a not so annoying way. The added content, though not necessary, was appreciated. It made sense, lore wise; it built character, literally. It helped us grasp better senses of the world and characters introduced to us through the form of animation, so it’s not even like the filler episodes were meaningless.

And yet, the reboot, which follows the timeline of arc events mostly correctly, ends up losing its character. It loses the story’s moxie and oomph. With this reboot, I feel nothing for the characters I loved. They feel like cheap copies made for money and solely money. It feels like whoever directed this reboot did it with sole intention of pumping out a generic magical girl anime, because they knew that TMM was a pioneer in the genre anyway. But just bc something pioneered a genre doesn’t mean you get to take out all the unique characteristics that made the OG anime it’s OWN thing! Sailor Moon and TMM were the same genre, but so starkly different within their own creative avenues. I felt like the original TMM had this very strong duality of dramatic undertones coupled with colorfully overtly feminine visuals, and it worked beautifully to deliver its very serious messages. It was a magical girl anime, and yes it was a romance in a sense, but it was also so much more than just “an anime for little girls” though it was meant to be perceived as such.

I can go on and on about why the reboot is bad, but I’ll just end my review of Tokyo Mew Mew Reboot with this:

I feel like although they were going for timeline accuracy, it falls flat with building character and therefor falls flat on building a relationship with the audience.

It feels as if there’s no heart in the show. It has been made to seem and feel very generic and fast paced. The pacing in itself, though again closer to the manga source, somehow feels too rushed in the form of animation. Bc of this, it now feels rushed and uncared for.

The characters and show itself have somehow been made overtly annoying even though they’re basically the same characters we know and love. Something just isn’t right here.

Bc of all this. I will indeed watch the show to the end, but I will not review it. If it ends up surprising me, maybe I’ll make another post.

As a long time fan, this breaks my heart. I’d rather read the manga or watch the OG anime. Seriously. I’d do either 100 times over if it somehow meant this reboot could’ve been made better. I would’ve waited another decade or so. But this is just such a disappointment. Such a miss. What feels like such an obvious cash grab at playing with nostalgia.