The Spring 2023 Anime Preview Guide

Tokyo Mew Mew New Season 2

The anime follows Ichigo Momomiya, a girl who transforms into Mew Ichigo (Strawberry) with the power of the Iriomote leopard cat to save Earth from parasitic Chimera Anima aliens.

Tokyo Mew Mew New Season 2 is based on Reiko Yoshida and Mia Ikumi 's Tokyo Mew Mew manga and streams on HIDIVE on Tuesdays.

Tokyo Mew Mew New's second half is off to a much better start than its first. I think that's largely due to the fact that the pesky setup is out of the way and the main couple is established, meaning that now the story can simply get down to the business of detailing the Mews' fight against an increasingly unhinged Kish. Seriously, he's lost a lot of whatever restraint he had in the first half of the show and has now gone full-on obsessive where Ichigo is concerned. He's almost frightening in his intensity, and whether that's down to his loss in the final battle or Ichigo and Aoyama making it official is up for debate. I'd hazard that it's a combination of both, based on his attempt to isolate Ichigo in order to ensure that she's the one human who survives his assault on planet Earth. He not only goes out of his way to separate her from the others, but also to create what he clearly thinks is some sort of teen girl wonderland, complete with carousel and princess dress. It never crosses his mind that she'll refuse him after he's gone to such lengths for her.

That's what makes the early establishment of Ichigo and Aoyama as a solid pair work so well, her too-enthused parents notwithstanding. We watched them build towards a relationship for 12 episodes, so to see it actually come to fruition is rewarding, especially since the other girls all support them. Now they have to work out how to face down the dangers together, and that presumably is what leads to the entry on scene of the Blue Knight. Seriously, does anyone not think that he's Aoyama, playing Tuxedo Mask or Black Pepper to Ichigo's heroine? But there's something really sweet about him being created from Aoyama's desire to help Ichigo, especially since it's much more charming than putting a literal bell around her neck so that he always knows where she is. Yes, that still bothers me.

It's also nice to see that the art and animation seem to have leveled up as well. There are some really nice images in this episode, from Kish's evil face to his undersea utopia, to say nothing of an aquarium scene that actually feels like it takes place in an aquarium. Lettuce also looks less awkward in general, although that may be more due to the fact that she's starting to feel more secure in herself. When Shirogane notes that she's smiling more, he's not being creepy, he's remarking on how far she's come in the short time they've known each other. For Lettuce, being sneakily injected with animal DNA helped her to come into her own, and that's really great to see. On the whole, I'm feeling very positive about this continuation of the series, because it looks like it has truly hit its stride.

After the relieving realization that the first season of Tokyo Mew Mew New wouldn't be speedrunning the entire story in its meager run, we're able to comfortably kick off this second season. There are even some solid status quo shifts, primarily in Ichigo and Aoyama formally starting dating. Tokyo Mew Mew was always heavier on the romance quotient than something like Pretty Cure, and that shows no signs of receding now that Ichigo's got herself an official boyfriend. A large chunk of this episode is dedicated to depicting the specific highs of teenage dating.

It's not just Ichigo and Aoyama either, as Ryo starts teasing at a relationship with Lettuce. And of course Kish isn't going to be deterred, which is great news if you're like me and are a fan of Ichigo's Danger Boyfriend. Kish's appearance at first is about whisking Ichigo away on a fantastical date instead of just trying to clobber her with monsters like usual. And that's before this episode throws one more wrench in at the very end in the form of another new suiter for Ichigo. Surely this Blue Knight guy has nothing to do with some other character who has the word for "blue" in his name.

So if you were coming here for the shipping, Tokyo Mew Mew New will have you well fed. As for everything else, it's pretty much the same solid magical girl show it was in the first season. There is some light teasing at new plot points amongst all the teasing about who's going to smooch who, with some of it even being integrated into things like Aoyama's occasional bouts of environmental depression or Kish's boss apparently coming up on some sort of deadline. Cramming all that in among the relationship stuff does mean this episode can still feel like it's rushing to cover the content, like the first season did at times. Also, apart from that aforementioned bit with Lettuce, it means we don't get a lot of time for the Mews who aren't Ichigo here. But we've got a whole season ahead of us here, with this premiere making clear that it's not going to stall on the action.