Tokyo Mew Mew

***Tokyo Mew Mew*** (東京ミュウミュウ *Tōkyō Myū Myū*) is a Japanese *shōjo* manga series written by Reiko Yoshida and illustrated by Mia Ikumi. It was originally serialized in *Nakayoshi* from September 2000 to February 2003, and later published in seven *tankōbon* volumes by Kodansha
 from February 2001 to April 2003. It focuses on five girls infused with
 the DNA of endangered animals which gives them special powers and
allows them to transform into "Mew Mews." Led by Ichigo Momomiya, the
girls protect the earth from aliens who wish to "reclaim" it.

The series was adapted into a 52 episode anime series by Studio Pierrot. It debuted in Japan on April 6, 2002, on both TV Aichi and TV Tokyo; the final episode aired on March 29, 2003. A two-volume sequel to the manga, *Tokyo Mew Mew à la Mode*, was serialized in *Nakayoshi*
 from April 2003 to February 2004. The sequel introduces a new Mew Mew,
Berry Shirayuki (meaning "White Snow Berry"), who becomes the temporary
leader of the Mew Mews, while Ichigo (meaning "Strawberry") is on a trip
 to England. Two video games were also created for the series: a puzzle adventure game for the Game Boy Advance system and a role-playing video game for the PlayStation.

Tokyopop
 originally licensed the manga series for English-language publication
in North America and released the complete original series as well as
the sequel, with Kodansha Comics planning to re-publish the series with a new translation in September 2011. 4Kids Entertainment licensed the anime series for North American broadcast under the name ***Mew Mew Power***. Heavily edited and dubbed, 23 episodes of *Mew Mew Power* aired on the 4Kids TV channel in the United States and 26 episodes aired on YTV
 in Canada. 4Kids Entertainment was unable to license the remaining 26
episodes of the series, thus were unable to complete its broadcast. They
 have never released the series to home video.

Well received by English-language readers, several volumes of the
manga series appeared in the Top 50 sales lists for graphic novels in
their respective months of release. Critics praised the manga as a cute
and entertaining series with free-flowing style and character designs. *à la mode*
 received praise as a good continuation of the series, but was also
criticized for offering nothing new. The anime adaptation received high
ratings while airing in Japan, resulting in numerous marketing tie-ins.
Despite criticism for extensive editing that removed most of the
Japanese elements, the *Mew Mew Power* dub became the highest rated
 4Kids show during its broadcast. It was licensed for regional release
in several other countries instead of the original Japanese series.

## Plot

Ichika Usami
is a second year high school student who loves sweets and wishes to work
 in a patisserie, but struggles to make anything good. One day, she
encounters a fairy named Pekorin, who is able to detect "kirakiraru", an
 element residing in sweets that represent the feelings put into them.
However, evil fairies start to steal the kirakiraru for themselves,
leaving the sweets black and lifeless. Determined to protect the sweets,
 Ichika gains the power of the Legendary Patisserie and transforms into
the Pretty Cure, Cure Whip, to protect the kirakiraru. Joined by five
other Pretty Cures, Ichika opens up the mobile sweet shop, Kirakira
Patisserie, and spends her days making sweets while fighting against
those who seek to steal kirakiraru and bring misfortune to the world.[3]

## Characters

### Main characters

Ichika Usami (宇佐美 いちか *Usami Ichika*) / Cure Whip (キュアホイップ *Kyua Hoippu*)[4]
Voiced by: Karen Miyama[5]
The main protagonist, a confident 14-year-old second year middle
school student who wishes to become a pastry chef when she grows up.
Very cheerful and energetic as a rabbit, she loves sweets and desserts
but struggles with actually making them as perfect or good as possible.
Her mother works overseas as a doctor, leaving her father who runs a
Dojo as her caretaker until she returns home. Though her baking skills
are not perfect, her determination and heart were in the right place,
which fueled her resolve in becoming a Pretty Cure. As Cure Whip, she is
 the Pretty Cure of cheerfulness and smiles, sporting a rabbit and
strawberry shortcake motif.[6]

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She uses her Rabbit-like instincts for enhanced hearing and powerful

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jumping ability. Also, she utilizes her Sweets Pact as a weapon, using
the wand to create a pink cream lasso to attack or grapple enemies. She
later uses the Candy Rod to perform her new attack, Whip Decoration, in
episode 12. Her Animal Sweet is the Rabbit Shortcake and her theme color
 is pink. At the end of the series, she now travels around the world
with KiraPati to make others smile.

Himari Arisugawa (有栖川 ひまり *Arisugawa Himari*) / Cure Custard (キュアカスタード *Kyua Kasutādo*)[4]
Voiced by: Haruka Fukuhara[5]
A 14 year old classmate of Ichika, she is a hard-working second year
 middle school student. She is shown to be shy yet very knowledgeable,
sometimes been known to be fast and light as a Squirrel. While working
on the shop, she is very knowledgeable about sweets and pastries, often
being referred to as a "Sweets Professor". As Cure Custard, she is the
Pretty Cure of intelligence and courage, spotting a squirrel and pudding motif.[6]

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Her squirrel abilities allow her to use lightning-like abilities and

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superspeed to make her run extremely fast. Her upgraded attack is
Custard Illusion when using the Candy Rod. Her Animal Sweet is the
Squirrel Pudding and her theme color is yellow. At the end of the
series, she is now working as a Sweets Scientist on creating a large
Pudding with other food scientists.

Aoi Tategami (立神 あおい *Tategami Aoi*) / Cure Gelato (キュアジェラート *Kyua Jerāto*)[4]
Voiced by: Tomo Muranaka[5]
A 14 year old second year middle school student and another
classmate of Ichika, who is known to be enthusiastic and brave like a
lion. She is a lead vocalist of Wild Azur, a rock band and loves to
sing. When managing the shop, her strength comes in handy as well as her
 support. It is later revealed that she is a heiress to the Tategami
family's immense wealth. As Cure Gelato, she is the Pretty Cure of
freedom and passion, sporting a lion and ice cream motif.[6]

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Her lion abilities allow her to use ice powers and lion's roar to

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freeze the enemy. Her upgraded attack is Gelato Shake when using the
Candy Rod. Her Animal Sweet is the Lion Ice-cream and her theme color is
 blue. At the end of the series, she is now a world-famous singer.

Yukari Kotozume (琴爪 ゆかり *Kotozume Yukari*) / Cure Macaron (キュアマカロン *Kyua Makaron*)[4]
Voiced by: Saki Fujita[5]
A 17 year old noble second year high school student who is known for
 her beauty, but can be quite selfish and arrogant at times like a cat.
Though a bit intimidating, she only uses her skills in the shop when
bored. But when with Ichika's support, she then starts to enjoy her job
and now supports the group. As Cure Macaron, she is the Pretty Cure of
beauty and excitement, spotting a cat and a macaron motif with elements from "Musumeyaku (娘役, "Daughter's Role") actresses of Takarazuka Revue.[6]

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Her cat-like abilities allows her to have better reflexes in battle,

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making her more nimble. Her upgraded attack is the Macaron Julien when
using the Candy Rod. Her Animal Sweet is the Cat Macaron and her theme
color is purple. At the end of the series, she appears to be travelling
around the world.

Akira Kenjo (剣城 あきら *Kenjō Akira*) / Cure Chocolat (キュアショコラ *Kyua Shokora*)[4]
Voiced by: Nanako Mori[5]
A 17 year old gentle second year high school student who has a
boyish appearance that is unknown to others why. She is very nice and a
strong sense of justice like a loyal dog, often times being a good
person to rely on. Akira has knowledge on places and has a sick younger
sister named Miku who she tends to cheer up and is very protective of,
as shown when Julio steals Miku's kirakiraru. She moved to Ichika's
neighborhood in order to be closer to the hospital her sister stays at.
As Cure Chocolat, she is the Pretty Cure of strength and love, spotting a
 dog and chocolate motif with elements from "Otokoyaku (男役, "Male Role") actresses of Takarazuka Revue.[6]

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Her dog-like abilities allows her to have a better sense of smell in

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battle, making her more sensitive. Her upgraded attack is Chocolate
Aromase when using the Candy Rod. Her Animal Sweet is the Dog Chocolate
and her theme color is red. At the end of the series, she is currently
studying as a nurse.

Kirarin (キラリン *Kirarin*) / Ciel Kirahoshi (キラ星 シエル *Kirahoshi Shieru*) / Cure Parfait (キュアパルフェ *Kyua Parufe*)
Voiced by: Inori Minase[7]
A lamb-like fairy who is able to transform into a human. She became
known as the Genius Patissiere after studying in France and recently
returned to Japan for a demonstration. It is later revealed that she is
Julio's sister, who was able to transform into a human after studying
baking for a while, however, she reverts to her fairy form whenever she
is hungry. As Cure Parfait, she is the Pretty Cure of dreams and hope,
spotting a pegasus and parfait
 motif. Her attacks include Parfait Etoile and KiraKuru Rainbow, the
latter being used to purify monsters. Both of these attacks require the
Rainbow Ribbon. Her Animal Sweet is the Pegasus Parfait and her theme
color is cyan. At the end of the series, she and Pikario work together
in creating sweets.

Pekorin (ペコリン) / Cure Pekorin (キュアペコリン *Kyua Pekorin*)
Voiced by: Mika Kanai[5][8][4]
A chubby and spoiled lamb fairy who loves sweets and resides at
Mount Ichigo. The color of her ears changes based on her emotions (e.g.
Pink if she is happy and blue if she is sad). In later episodes, she
gained the ability to turn into a small human girl, which she uses to
assist the main girls. In Episode 47, after Ichika and the others were
drained of their Kirakiraru, she gained the potential to become the
group's seventh member, obtaining her own Sweets Pact and Animal Sweet.
As Cure Pekorin, she is the Pretty Cure of Taste and Sparkles, sporting a
 doughnuts
 and lamb motif. Her attacks include firing cream-like projectiles using
 the Candy Rod, which explodes in certain time. Her Animal Sweet is the
Pekorin Doughnut and her theme color is pink. At the end of the series,
she now runs PekoPati with Elder, working hard in making sweets.

Lumière (ルミエル *Rumieru*)
Voiced by: Kiyono Yasuno
A legendary Patissiere the PreCures encounter while traveling back
in time, later revealed to be an nemesis of Noir from a century ago.

### Antagonists

Noir (ノワール *Nowāru*)
Voiced by: Yoku Shioya[9]
The main antagonist of the series, a demon who is wearing a mask and
 a robe. A century before the events of the series, due to his inability
 to make sweets, Noir demanded Lumière to bake only for him. Her refusal
 resulted in Noir vowing to stained the town in darkness, using his
powers to stain the Kirakiraru of a person's heart and turn them into
objects to take others' kirakiraru. While he possesses Elissio to
confront the Cures, Noir ends up being betrayed by his vessel when his
past is revealed and the Cures attempt to reach him. He gets turned into
 a card alongside Lumiere for Ellissio's own agenda.

Gummy (ガミー *Gamī*)
Voiced by: Yūji Ueda[9]
Gummy is a tempering dark-purple lizard-like fairy who is the leader of the Kirakiraru Thieves (キラキラルをうばう存在 *Kirakiraru o Ubau Sonzai*),
 a group of ten fairies bewitched by the belts Juilo gave them while
instilling the notion in them to gain power by stealing Kirakiraru from
pastries. Each member targets a different type of pastry, like Gummy
going after cakes, absorbing the Kirakiraru to become monstrous versions
 of themselves which the Precure team defeat. When the Kirakiraru
Thieves all attack the sweets festival, they were combined into a
powerful version of Gummy by Julio to overpower the Precures. But the
thieves were restored by the Candy Rod while freed from Julio's
influence, the group later apologizing for their actions.

Julio (ジュリオ *Jurio*) / Pikario (ピカリオ *Pikario*)
Voiced by: Junko Minagawa[9][7]
Originally a lamb-like fairy, Pikario is Kirarin's twin brother who
fell into a depression as he couldn't match Kikarin's skills. As a
result, he grew to hate sweets and was transformed into the human Julio
by Noir by taking the Kirakiraru from his heart. However, any sweet
Pikario would make from then on would turn bad. The taken Kirakiraru was
 then transformed into a black rod he can transform into any type of
weapon depending on the type of sweet that absorbed Kirakiraru
originated from. Revealed to be the one who influenced the Kirakiraru
Thieves into being evil, Julio assumes the identity of a transfer
student named Rio Kuroki (黒樹 リオ *Kuroki Rio*)
 to spy on the Precure team as Ichika's classmate. He discovered the
Cures' identities during their second confrontation. He believes that
all his intention are part of his experiment. After being exposed by
Yukari when she discovered that he had been gathering information about
the Cures, Ciel revealed her brother's true identity before he is
restored by the Cures. When Noir attempts to kill Ciel, Pikario
sacrifices himself for his sister so she can complete her parfait while
giving her his rod as it transformed into the Rainbow Ribbon. He
eventually recovered in the shrine, coming to help the Cures battle
Glaive.

Bibury (ビブリー *Biburī*)
Voiced by: Chiemi Chiba[9]
A girl who takes over after Julio loses to the Cures, Bibury was
originally a lonely orphan whom Noir recruited while extracting her
Kirakiraru and corrupted it into a Kirakiraru-absorbing doll called Iru (イル *Iru*)
 which Bibury carries around with her. Following Julio's defeat, Bibury
first made herself know in an attempt to sabotage Kirakira Patisserie
with ugly yet foolish rumors before being foiled by Yukari and her
fangirls. While Iru serves as her enforcer once absorbing enough
Kirakiraru to increase its size until defeated, Bibury can merge into
her doll to increase its power. When she confronts the Cures to in a
final attempt to redeem herself before Noir, Bibury ends being send back
 in time with them to Ichizoka's past and learned that Noir engineered
her solitude to recruit her. Iru then forcefully absorbs a conflicted
Bibury to attack the Cures, who defeat the doll as it dissolves back
into Bibury's Kirakiraru energies. Bibury later begins working at Ciel's
 patisserie, supporting the Cures.

Elissio (エリシオ *Erishio*)
Voiced by: Daisuke Hirakawa[9]
A charismatic yet nihilistic man who serves as Noir's vessel,
considering himself as a hollow shell while serving as the secondary
main antagonist of the series. He always carrying tarot cards, using
them in a variety of ways from absorbing Kirakiraru to weapons and a
method of mind control. He also uses them in his Noir Miroir spell to
turn an object into a monster. He mostly researches the Cures for their
weaknesses before planning out an attack. After sealing Glaive and
Diable within cards, he can tap into their power to assume different
appearances to fight the Cures. While allowing Noir to possess him to
fight the Cures, Elissio deems Noir's motives ridiculous as he seals
both the spirit and Lumiere into cards so he can use their powers to
turn Ichigoazaka into pastel-colored place devoid of emotions while
attempting to prevent the Cures from interfering via memory alteration.
But when the Cures overwhelmed him despite using Noir and Lumiere's
powers, Elissio sucked them and the planet into his body as a last
resort. But the Cures open Elisso's eyes by revealing that he possesses a
 heart, convincing him to help them restore the world. Elissio
relinquishes Noir and Lumiere's cards to the girls before taking his
leave to see the world.

Glaive (グレイブ *Gureibu*)
Voiced by: Hisao Egawa[9]
A fierce man with a blonde hair who owns a purple car that can
absorb Kirakiraru, able to create claydoll minions called Nendos which
he can turn into monsters based on the Kirakiraru that his car absorbs.
Glaive later has his car absorb the essence of a dying Diable,
transforming it into a stronger Diable Custom (ディアブル カスタム *Diaburu Kasutamu*)
 car. He then attacks Ichigoza by converting its denizens into Nendos,
later merging with his car to fight the Cures until they defeat him with
 Sweets Castle. Glaive is turned into a card by Elissio. Glaive was
revived after Elissio turned Ichigozaka into hos domain, now military
garb with the task of quickly exacting any Kirakiraru that manifests to
maintain Elissio's ideal order and keep the Cures from regaining their
memories. But Pekorin intervened and defeated Glaive while restoring the
 Cures' memories.

Diable (ディアブル *Diaburu*)
Voiced by: Ryota Takeuchi[9]
A fox-like spirit who was an old ally of Noir before he was defeated
 by Lumiere in the past, seeking to gather enough Kirakiraru to fully
revive. In episode 36, he fully assumes his true form, and battles the
Cures, only to be defeated, with Glaive absorbing the dying being into
his car. After Glaive's defeat, Diable's essence is turned into a card
by Elissio.

### Movie characters

Jean-Pierre Zylberstein (ジャン＝ピエール・ジルベルスタイン *Jan-Piēru Jiruberusutain*)
Voiced by: Matsuya Onoe[10]
A pâtissier who taught Kirarin how to make sweets in Paris. He is
passionate for making sweets but something seems to have changed about
him.

Cook (クック *Kukku*)
Voiced by: Aoi Yūki[10]
A doll-like fairy who always seems to be seen together with Jean-Pierre.