Minky Momo is dead. Long live Minky Momo. I know I've said that before, but it really is the best way to describe not only the original series' infamous killing of its heroine but also the reboot of the series in 1991. Mahō no Princess Minky Momo: Yume o Dakishimete took the original 1982-83 series and reset the clock, both leaning into the wacky elements of the 80s version and steering away from the idea that Momo herself had to have a serious mission. The result is what feels like classic 1990s children's programming – sometimes preachy, sometimes zany, and always completely insane.

Rather than revive the original heroine, this series stars a different girl named Minky Momo. She's the cousin of the original girl, the princess of the undersea kingdom of Marinarsa rather than the floating kingdom of Fenarinarsa. She journeys to Earth after her parents decide it'll be interesting to watch, so her entire impetus is less “save our world” and more “freewheeling adventure.” Like her cousin before her, Momo gaslights a couple into believing that she's their daughter, using their home as her base for a variety of adventures. She's accompanied by her dog Cookbook, monkey Chamo, and bird Lupipi, and the first episode takes care to spell out the connection with the Japanese fairy tale Momotaro. Also like her cousin, Momo has her Gourmet Popo car and camper, as well as the ability to transform into an eighteen-year-old version of herself when she uses her magic wand. The most notable difference here is that where OG Momo transformed “with an adult touch,” 90s Momo does it “with a Minky touch,” which I have to say works better. The only real restriction on her transformations is that she can only transform into a human – so in episode four when she declares that she'll become a dinosaur, it doesn't work.

Momo's wish to transform into a dinosaur to help out a paleontologist is a perfect encapsulation of who she is as a character. Whereas her cousin had a mission – save Fenarinarsa – this girl is just having a series of unrelated adventures. While she does transform into some professional roles (golf pro, pilot), most of her transformations are on the lighter side – cat burglar, Tarzan, Robin Hood, etc. While the original series wasn't what I'd call serious, this one has a much more lighthearted air.

Or at least, it does for the most part. As I mentioned, parts of these episodes can be very preachy, and at times they also delve into content that might be upsetting. The clearest example is in episode five, when she goes up against a Hitler lookalike who is trying to keep his country's prize lollipops away from foreigners. Not only does this have straight-up Nazi imagery, but Momo also gets shot down when she's flying over the country in Gourmet Popo, and there's a lot of genuine peril – especially for an episode revolving around candy. Episode eight pits her against a wealthy man who buys out the town's golf course and aims to eradicate a local mole breed, while episode three features a truly upsetting poaching scene. This is probably the preachiest of the episodes, but it's hard to argue with its environmental points, something that can be said for episode twelve as well. Finally, episode eleven, the purported Christmas episode, has AI trying to blow Santa out of the sky with missiles, mistaking the horde of Saint Nicks for enemy planes. Everything turns out fine, but it could still be upsetting to younger viewers – and possibly to older ones as a parable about where AI could go. It definitely hits different watching in 2026 than it would have in 1991, although Momo thinking that bombs are fireworks is unsettling in any year.

Don't worry, though, because there's still plenty of the insanity that older children's media brings to the table. Some is unintentional, like a bomb being labeled as a BOOMB, but the show has a fun sense of humor that it runs with more often than not. In an episode about an author hiding from her many editors at the hotel Momo's Earth parents run, the main editor's name, Ohno, is consistently pronounced “Oh! No!”, which is very funny, and the idea of Santa having sleighphone just tickles me for some reason. Momo herself, ably and engagingly voiced by Megumi Hayashibara, is a delight. She's a madcap, running around as her fancy takes her, but almost always with her heart in the right place. (The episode where she harasses a fourteen-year-old boy over a VHS they both want to rent is the notable exception.) The animation isn't anything spectacular, but there's a comfortable Saturday morning feel to the entire production.

This is never more in evidence than in episode six, which may be one of the earliest examples of game isekai. This episode centers on a Dragon Quest lookalike with a Final Fantasy name (Final Quest), which Momo ends up stuck inside. It is a pitch-perfect parody of early 90s RPGs, from the look to the plot to the gameplay, and Momo's Earth mom having to play the game for Momo to help the game's characters is fantastic – especially since she's absolute garbage at playing. Modern game isekai ought to revisit this episode and take some notes.

While Fairy Princess Minky Momo's reboot doesn't have the same reputation or fascination for modern viewers as its predecessor, it's still worth watching before the most recent resurrection of its heroine appears in the fall of 2026. Aside from being part of a storied (or infamous) magical girl franchise, it's also a good snapshot of an earlier time in its own right, and one that reminds viewers that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Parents today are just as likely to put pressure to succeed on their kids as they were when episode thirteen originally aired, and we do need to do a better job protecting the environment. But we also need to relax sometimes, and what better way to do so than watching a pink-haired girl gaslight an archeologist and a novelist into thinking she's their daughter while she rampages through town on a mission to have fun?