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Now in Japan
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Saturday, 06 January 2007 00:00 |
 After what seems like a very long time, Tokyo Mew Mew finally reaches its climax (and yes, I know it would've seemed quicker if I'd watched the episodes as they came out ^^;). Deep Blue has appeared and is set on the path of global destuction - which isn't quite what Kisshu and the other aliens had counted on. Can Ichigo reach what's left of Aoyama and avert disaster? It's a magical girl show - of course she can...
50 - Ichigo's Trial! I am a Mew Mew
Ayaoma-kun's transformation into Deep Blue is almost too much for the girls to handle - especially Ichigo. Saying "it can't be so" doesn't mean it isn't, though, so the Mew Mews soon have to come to terms with fighting against their former friend - although according to Pai, the awakening of Deep Blue would have erased the personalities of Aoyama and the Blue Night anyway. Not that Ichigo's going to give up her boyfriend without some attempt to get through to him, but neither is Deep Blue inclined to stand by and do nothing. The girls aren't the only ones upset at Deep Blue's appearance, either - Kisshu hasn't counted on him awakening so soon, and now his own plans have been knocked off-track...
51 - The Final Battle! I Believe in Your Smile
Deep Blue retreats inside a giant ship that's appeared over Tokyo, leaving Pai to take care of the girls. The ship is responsible for the Mew Aqua reaction that Keiichiro's been tracking for a few days now - it seems to be a piece of alien technology that was left on Earth when the aliens had originally departed millions of years earlier, and it has the power to destroy the Earth - which means that time is running out for the Mew Mews to defeat Deep Blue. When Ichigo has problems reaching Deep Blue on her own, Taruto steps in to help - but pays the price for turning traitor...
52 - For the Earth's Future, We'll Serve You ~nya!
Aoyama's personality resurfaces, banishing Deep Blue's and leaving him having to deal with the memories of the destruction and death "he" has just caused. Despite Ichigo's reassurances, in his own mind he's still responsible for Deep Blue's actions - and a moment's weakness allows Deep Blue to return, this time with the knowledge of where the final piece of Mew Aqua is. Faced with what could be one last moment of weakness, Ichigo takes the opportunity to finally destroy Deep Blue...
I think there are probably enough spoilers in the episode summaries without going into too many gory details here. I'll just point out that everyone dies, and leave it at that. Seriously. :)
We get 2+ episodes of climactic final battle, and a half-episode epilogue that shows life getting back to normal - briefly. With Deep Blue being the Blue Knight being Aoyama, Ichigo's obviously got a very personal involvement in the final battle - she's the leader of the Mew Mews, the one who's got to deliver the killing blow, and the one person with a major reason not to, so a lot of the story is spent looking at how Ichigo is dealing with events and working up to doing her job, regardless of personal feelings. That leads to some very touching scenes along the way, not to mention some really heart-rending ones.
Add in Kisshu's involvement - he's past the psycho stage and straight into lovestruck mode, where his actions are all geared towards saving Ichigo - and some other unexpected interventions, and what could have been a fairly simple battle soon becomes something a lot more complex, but in a way that makes it a lot more enjoyable to watch. I've seen a fair number of magical-girl endings in my time as an anime fan, and Tokyo Mew Mew's is up there with the best of them.
Of course, it's not entirely perfect. Good old deus ex machina makes an appearance from time to time to make sure the girls can come back from even the most hopeless situation, and as always there's a Big Red Reset Button™ for some aspects of the ending, to make sure it's a happy-happy ending instead of a very bittersweet one. That's more a function of the audience the show is aimed at - you can't tell a large group of 9-year-olds that their favourite characters are really all dead, so I'll grin and bear it, but sometimes I do wish the dead would stay that way.
As a series, I can't really bring myself to criticise much, either. Yes, some plot "twists" were throughly expected, but the story and animation throughout have been very good, and I've been hooked from day one. It's just a shame the English-language rights were picked up by a company that doesn't seem to understand that some things are best left alone - this version of Tokyo Mew Mew is infinitely better than 4Kids' adaptation, and if you're able to get your hands on it, I'd highly recommend it. |
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