Over 20 years after its debut, Tokyo Mew Mew is set to return in 2022 with a brand new anime series. For old fans, this is a nostalgic treat, but for new audiences, Tokyo Mew Mew might seem slightly out of reach, with so many releases and alternate versions of the anime -- thanks to 4Kids -- that make it more complicated than it should be to fully enjoy.
Thankfully, there's actually nothing to fear when approaching Tokyo Mew Mew. This handy guide should direct your attention to the right corners of the Tokyo Mew Mew universe, making it easier than ever to jump into this magical girl fantasy.
How to Read the Tokyo Mew Mew Manga
Tokyo Mew Mew's original manga was written by Reiko Yoshida and drawn by Mia Ikumi. The series ran for seven volumes between 2000 and 2003, followed by a two-volume sequel manga from 2003 to 2004, Tokyo Mew Mew à la Mode, which was written and illustrated by artist Mia Ikumi. While the original is the iconic Tokyo Mew Mew manga everyone knows and loves, Tokyo Mew Mew à la Mode was a cute separate story that, while nice, didn't really shake up the universe set up in the previous manga. Throughout the original volumes, there are also special chapters included, including Petite Mew Mew and Tokyo Black Cat Girl.
2020 saw the return of Tokyo Mew Mew with two new manga. Tokyo Mew Mew 2020 Re-Turn was a two-chapter manga released in celebration of the series's 20th anniversary and featured redesigns of the original cast. It was accompanied by the now-ongoing spin-off Tokyo Mew Mew Au Lait!, which features a team not of magical girls, but of magical boys. Both started on December 2019, but Tokyo Mew Mew Au Lait! is, as of this writing, still ongoing.
Tokyo Mew Mew became a best-selling manga in North America when it was licensed by Tokyopop, though the run has been out of print for quite some time. It has instead been replaced by a set of omnibuses that collect all of Tokyo Mew Mew in three large volumes, with a separate omnibus for Tokyo Mew Mew à la Mode. These are published by Kodansha, which also publishes the Sailor Moon manga. These can be bought on Amazon, Comixology, iBooks, Kobo, NOOK or physically in bookstores. For now, Tokyo Mew Mew 2020 Re-Turn and Tokyo Mew Mew Au Lait! do not have English-language releases.
How to Watch the Tokyo Mew Mew Anime
While the upcoming 2022 anime has yet to be released, Tokyo Mew Mew had an incredibly popular anime released between 2002 and 2003. However, actually watching it is a bit of an undertaking. Tokyo Mew Mew was one of many anime localized by 4Kids, and, while Mew Mew Power did prove very popular, it is a significantly altered version of the original.
4Kids only dubbed the first half of the anime, resulting in Mew Mew Power having just 26 of the original's 52 episodes. Bizarrely enough, Mew Mew Power was only released on home media in its entirety in South Africa. The home media for Mew Mew Power is out-of-print, meaning that, unless you import out-of-print Region 2 DVDs from South Africa, you'll have to wait and hope that an unabridged version of the anime is released in English along with Tokyo Mew Mew New.
