 The latest volume of the Tokyo Mew Mew manga sees the aliens starting to plan on a grander scale, and poor Ichigo developing another small problem to worry about...
Chapter 5: Shall We Dance?
Thinking that Masaya's figured out she's a Mew, Ichigo's been avoiding
him. When he finally manages to pin her down, new alien adversary Pie
attackes with a large group of Kirema Anima. Somehow, however, Ichigo
manages to transform to Mew Ichigo & see off the attack without
Masaya making the connection, and she's relieved to find out that he
thinks it's just a case of them looking similar. Meanwhile, Kish is
under 'house arrest' due to his failure to take care of the Mew Mews,
while Ryou tells the other Mews about Mew Aqua, a substance that will
increase their powers greatly & hopefully allow them to return to
normal sooner...
Chapter 6: Cruise Control
After Ichigo flips out about being overworked at the cafe, Ryou offers
to take them on a trip on his cruise ship (a private ocean liner - just
how rich is this guy!?). He has ulterior motives, though, as Ichigo is
essentially thrown into Tokyo Bay to search for Mew Aqua - so much for
her day off... Later, there's a party on board the ship - Lettuce is
still not confident in her own abilities, but when the ship is attacked
by Kirema Anima, some prodding from Ryou helps her to dig deep &
uncover her true abilities...
Chapter 7: Alien Invasion
Pie's still not having much luck tackling the Mews, allowing Kish back
onto the scene. After some explanation about who the 'aliens' are &
their reasons for attacking the Earth, it's back to the serious
business of taking over the world - they have a plan, 'Tokyo
Continental Rennaisance', and if it succeeds there won't be much left
in Tokyo for the Mews to defend... Meanwhile, the girls are on their
day off - noticing that Ichigo's not in the best of form, Mint and the
others haul her round to Masaya's hose in an attempt to cheer her up.
Their effort backfires, though, when Ichigo gets so nervous that she
transforms into a cat...
Chapter 8: The Truth About Cats and Dogs
Kish's plan for 'Tokyo Continental Renaissance' continues, with the
most obvious sign being a giant coccoon growing on Tokyo Tower - when
it's full grown, it'll release enough poison to kill everyone in Tokyo.
Ichigo's not in much state to help, though, as she's still stuck in cat
form & having great problems avoiding kindergarten kids, cars, and
amorous tomcats - never mind being stuck sharing a bedroom with Masaya
& his pet dog. The other Mews are doing their best to take care of
Kish & his plans, but they're not having much luck - and even when
Ichigo manages to figure out how to turn herself back into a human,
there's the small matter of new alien Tart to take care of...
Extras
- Bonus sidepanels: Mew's Day (a little story about the author's pet
cat), a short teaser about old project Biolip, and a little strip about
new-girl-in-the-office Shukuko
- Strawberry Personality Test (or, what you do with strawberries says about you)
- It's Me, Ikumi (diary-style item from Mia Ikumi)
- Afterward
- Bonus comic (1-page strip about Mew Five, the live version of the Mew Mews)
I love the little bonus items that Ikumi throws in - they're almost
as much fun as the main comic. Speaking of the main story, it's now
moving away from setting the background to the story & getting into
the main business of the aliens' plans & motivations, while still
managing to keep one eye firmly on Ichigo's day-to-day life.
Sadly, the rest of the Mews seem to get short shrift in that area -
to date all we've really seen of them, other than their 'introduction'
stories, are them turning up to fight. I'd like to see a bit more
character development for them at some stage, although I realise that
manga doesn't always have the 'time' to do that.
Some nice developments on the alien front, though, with Kish &
friends being given some real motivations that almost make you want to
side with them. Almost. Very unusual to see the 'bad' guys having
motivations beyond the usual 'take over the world becuase we can'.
Overall, then, still enjoying the manga. I have to admit that I
prefer the anime (call me shallow, but full-colour & full-motion
appeals more to me, along with the extra time the anime is able to take
to tell the story), but this is still well worth picking up as a way to
see the story from a slightly different angle. |
