At the end of a countdown that’s been running since February, the official Tokyo Mew Mew site has announced that the series will be getting a new anime titled Tokyo Mew Mew New as part of the 20th anniversary of the manga’s release and the 65th anniversary of Kodansha’s Nakayoshi magazine, the series’ original serializer. It’s unclear at this time whether or not the series will be a one-to-one reboot of the original, or if it will contain elements of the series sequel Tokyo Mew Mew a la Mode, or the spinoff series Tokyo Mew Mew Ōre, which featured a male cast in place of the original.
For those unfamiliar with the Tokyo Mew Mew series, or have just tried to repress the 4Kids dub, it’s understandable. It showed up in the middle of 4Kids lifespan as a channel and didn’t receive the same kind of commercial success as earlier series like Cardcaptor Sakura or Sailor Moon. However, the key premise of the series, which is ordinary girls receiving magical powers is given an interesting twist in that those magical powers are received in part by coming into contact with the DNA of endangered animals. While this key point got glossed over and was largely thematic in the original, it’ll be interesting to see if the new anime gets into any of the existential ideas surrounding the concept.
Open auditions have also started for the voice of protagonist Ichigo Momomiya. They’ll be run through the spring and summer through the app mysta, are open for females from elementary school to age 30. The winner will receive an exclusive contract with the music production label Pony Canyon’s voice acting division, Swallow.
Creator Mia Ikumi has also commented, surprised that the series is getting a reboot, and asking the new anime’s staff to do their best. She also including an adorable drawing of the main cast in their cafe attire. How cute!
