Mew Mew
From Kokorodatabase
A Mew Mew is a type of magical girl: the source series and the main team are both called Tokyo Mew Mew. Drawing their power from endangered animals (one each, save for certain exceptions), they use their powers to purify both people and monsters. Their marks and powers only exist as long as there is a threat to this world. In the Kokoro game, though Mew Mew powers are rarely used save for animal transformation and communication, they are still there, so perhaps there is a danger... even if it's just Tsubasa's Brother.
Contents |
[edit] Power Source
In canon, save for Shirayuki Berii/Mew Berry/The Canon Sue of a la mode, each Mew Mew draws her power from one endangered animal. This animal turns her into a kemonomimi, granting her two animal parts, usually ears and a tail. Mew Lettuce is the only known exception; she only has streamer-like antennae. She's a fish. What can you do with a fish?
Each girl gains one sparkly light attack themed for her assigned power base. Mew Mint is air, Mew Lettuce is water, Mew Pudding is earth and Mew Zakuro appears to be light or night. The power bases also relate to the girls' animals. Mew Ichigo is the only exception; her power base is "cute magical girl leader powers", she has a million or so attacks, and she's a cat because it's cute.
They also get cool emotion-triggered powers that can be used in civilian form as well as transformed. The manga shows Retasu controlling nearby water sources with rage, and Ichigo turning into a cat or catgirl from embarrassment. The anime expands on this by having Bu-ling create boulders from nothing with courage and Minto withstand strong winds with sorrow. Zakuro's power either wasn't shown, or I forgot it.
The PS game has Mew Ringo because every RPG needs a healer. Because she's a healer and not an attacker, she has no mark and wasn't injected. She gets her power from... Mew Aqua. Magic Mew Aqua. Well, Mew Aqua's already magic, but you know... okay, I don't know either.
[edit] Naming Pattern
Tokyopop, learn from this. Calling Hwang Bu-ling "Pudding" is like calling Mizuno Ami "Mercury"; not totally wrong, but a bit confusing. The girls' names are written in katakana as Mews, relating to the food they were named after. For example, Aizawa Minto was named after the mint; as Mew Mint, she becomes the mint.
The names can be translated or stay Japanese in mew form, as long as they look like loan words when you write them out; it seems that if the civilian name was a loan word to begin with, so will the mew name be. Henshin phrases are a little more complicated; they don't seem to take into account the character, as Ichigo, who speaks only Japanese and can't even introduce herself in English, says "Strawberry", while Zakuro, who speaks English fluently, says "Zakuro". The early manga dispenses with henshin phrases entirely.
The last names are composed of a colour and a physical land feature or building. The first names are foods. Why I am the only one that follows this to the letter, I do not know.
[edit] Attacks
The attacks are "Ribbon" or "Reborn" (the canon name jury's still out on this one) followed by the character's food in the form that it is used in the henshin phrase (English or Japanese) and another word that fits the character. Mew Ichigo's "check" is cute, like a leader; Mew Mint's "echo" relates to bird calls; Mew Lettuce's "rush", water; Mew Pudding's "ring inferno" sounds like a circus trick; and Mew Zakuro's "pure" refers to her cross whip, the Zakuross.
Attacks vary in strength and can improve with time. Mew Lettuce was the strongest Mew in terms of pure power, but by the end of the series, she was relegated to Ichigo's backup like the others, with Ichigo laying out attacks left and right. They can also be powered up with modifications to the weapon.
[edit] Weapons
STRAWBERBELL, MINTONARROW, LETTASTANETS, PURINRINGS, ZAKUROSS.
They can be upgraded and/or replaced at any time, but Ryou isn't quite fond of churning out weapons without letting the girls get stronger on their own.
In the anime, they all have a big yellow circle with Ichigo's mark on it, just in case you couldn't tell who the leader is. In the manga, they're much more simple.
[edit] Physical Features
Mew Mews change their hair colour and eye colour to different shades of their theme colour when they transform. They also gain the aforementioned animal body parts. As the magic reveals the modifications to their DNA, every physical imperfection that occurred from degrading the body in life, such as cuts, scars and needing glasses, is also removed. Of course, it all comes back after you detransform.
What's always there is your mark. It's a slightly darker patch somewhere on the girl's skin. Symmetrical and divided vertically, it is an image of either two of the girl's animal or two of something that belongs to that animal, such as a tail. Ichigo's looks remarkably like her Strawberbell.
Also, costumes. Pretty much free reign here; the uniform bit is in the accessories. Use one standard colour with one trim colour; dark blue with white blue, orange for yellow, etc, or just use white for the trim. The needed accessories are one garter (worn on the left leg if you're not Ichigo; Mew Pudding doesn't need one because of her uniform design), one choker with a pendant bearing Ichigo's mark on it (again, obvious leader), and fluffy arm bands. The uniform also contains one one- or two-piece major clothing item and a pair of boots, both unique to the wearer (in Kokoro, Mew Plum has Mew Mint's dress, but meh). Gloves are optional. Bows are for main characters.
