Plot: Kisshu seems to be gaining the upperhand against the Mews as his Moth finally emerges from the cocoon. It’s a struggle to merely keep the moth from getting into the city, let alone destroy it. When everything has been thrown at it and nothing seems to work, it’s up to Ichigo to find it within her to save the day.
——————————————
Let’s psych ourselves up shall we!?
I don’t normally do post-first-episode intros, but since this is the first SDC I’ve completed so far, I think it warrants one. Allow me to formally welcome you to the final SDC of Tokyo Mew Mew/Mew Mew Power.
Thank you, thank you. It’s been a trying journey, but we’re gonna make it over this final hurdle! I started this comparison on an old forum in 2013 and finished it mid-2015. After getting swept up in a wave of too many comparisons, I decided this, being the shortest and most completed so far, would be the main focus and I would get back to the others later.
This series is 26 episodes and took nearly two years to complete.
I had nearly 60 episodes of Yu-Gi-Oh completed in less than a year.
That pretty much shows how much of a chore this comparison has been. I just reached a point where I didn’t want to do it anymore. At least the other shows, while being poorly dubbed, though ranging in dub quality, are usually entertaining. This is just painful. Everything about this dub is unpleasant, and the only thing getting me through it was the new and fantastic ways 4Kids continued to amaze me with their stupid and nonsensical changes in terms of visuals, audio and script.
Keep in mind, the end of this SDC does not mean the end of Tokyo Mew Mew. 4Kids lost their license after season one and never got to dub season two. You may all cheer again.
The reasons aren’t entirely clear, at least from what I’ve been able to find. They either lost the license because the original creators were unhappy with the quality of the first season or 4Kids dropped the project after season one because apparently it wasn’t marketable enough, which I find to be complete bull.
Outside of shounen gaming/fighting anime, magical girl anime is the easiest anime to market. Just look at Sailor Moon and Cardcaptor Sakura. I really just think 4Kids didn’t know how to handle shows that specifically focused on a female demographic, which really explains their utter lack of shoujo shows outside of this and Doremi, another SDC that will be premiering soon.
I will be continuing this project after the finale by continuing on in a Shoujo Step-by-Step and reviewing the Japanese episodes. I know I’ve made a full review of TMM, but that is pretty old and now I’m getting a new view on the show, so it will hopefully be entertaining and fun.
Let’s start the torture so we can finally end our pain. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Mew Mew Power’s series finale!
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Wow, 4Kids wants to celebrate the finale too by doing something they really haven’t done in this series so far; fully breaking the fourth wall! Both versions start with a recap of the previous episode’s events, but the original’s is from Ichigo’s point of view recapping the events from their side of the story (searching for Mew Aqua, getting exhausted, date with Aoyama, Tokyo Tower, moth etc.) and the dub is from Dren’s point of view explaining his moth, his armadrillos searching for Blue Aqua and Zoey being luvey duvey with Mark. Dren starts his recap by saying “Hey, Sardon, remember what I did in the last episode?” Hehe, it’s funny because he’s not supposed to know he’s in a TV show. He must be channeling his inner Team Rocket.
They also mess up their damn flashback again because Mark just says he has a surprise for Zoey and she never learns what it is. In the flashback, he outright tells her that he has two tickets to the Bon Bons concert and Dren mocks him saying that. The dub’s flashback includes more clips that weren’t included such as Masha flying up to the cocoon (which, according to Dren, was just what he wanted him to do. *shrug*) Dren’s armadrillos, shots of Dren and the others and the very last shot of the previous episode.
Scene swap! The original then goes onto a scene with Pai and Taruto investigating where the Chimera Moles stopped. The dub goes on with Mark and some kid named David after kendo practice. Let’s tackle this then.
The start of this scene is cut off because bowing. You can barely see them they’re so far away, so no real point in a screencap.
Name change: Aoyama’s senpai is not named. In the dub, he’s named David.
Aoyama’s senpai doesn’t mention where he got the tickets, he just says he’s surprised Aoyama wanted them. He also mentions that Aoyama’s fangirls will be crushed now that he seems to be formally dating Ichigo. In the dub, David says he gave him the tickets because his girlfriend dumped him “So no tickets for her.” Then he acts passively bitter over the fact that Mark has a girlfriend and now he doesn’t and leaves him by saying “Have fun with my girlfriend’s tickets.”
The following scene after this was originally the girls arriving at the tower. In the dub, they place the scene I mentioned before with Pai and Taruto after this.
Text on the pole is removed.
Subbed: 
Dubbed: 
Kiki: “Superheroes coming through!” Yes, yell that in a crowded area, Kiki. Not like you guys have secret identities or anything.
They cut Ichigo’s running short after she goes through the crowd of people; same for Pudding and Lettuce. Also, Ichigo has inner monologue running of her continuing the conversation that the group was having with Akasaka in a bit of an audio flashback. All he’s saying is stuff about the moth that we already know. This is not included in the dub. They do have a dub-exclusive exchange of Elliot telling the girls to hurry and Zoey pointing out that he’s in the back and asking “What’s the matter, Elly? Too many pastry puffs?”
Signs behind Lettuce as she’s running are de-textified.
Subbed: 
Dubbed: 
They either shortened the scene of Mint running to avoid showing this shot, or they removed a pole with a sign on it that goes by in the background as Mint’s running. It is literally only visible for a frame or two but I watched the dub version three times and I can’t even see the pole. I’m going to bank on it being cut because I also can’t see a different pole that has caution lines on it.
I had to go frame by frame for those screencaps they go by so fast. Pfft.
They remove text from the clock.
Subbed: 
Dubbed: 
After the scene with the girls running but before they arrive at the tower is where we see the scene with Aoyama and his senpai from earlier in the dub.
Pudding just points out that Kisshu’s there. Kiki says “Look, it’s a flying dweeb!”
They remove Ichigo telling Kisshu to shut up as well as Akasaka pointing out that it’s a diversion tactic.
The original has very shortened versions of the girls’ ALREADY SHORT AS IT IS transformation sequences back to back; Mint first, then Lettuce, then Pudding, then Zakuro. Then our almighty Ichigo, the only Mew who matters, gets her transformation sequence at the end in full. In fact, they friggin’ change the music cue like she is above the one the other girls were using. Rrrgh.
The dub once again decides to be fair and uses their traditional full-on transformation mashup with ‘Supernatural’ playing.
Kisshu talks about how refreshing it is to be up at that altitude, Pudding agrees and Lettuce says she doesn’t like it because she’s getting chills. Dren asks if the girls are ready to party, Kiki gets excited, but Bridget says it isn’t that kind of party.
Zoey: “Mew Mew style…”
Nnnnn……Nnnn…..Endure….must endure….
“Mew Mew grace…..”
Just…..one more…….time…..
“Mew Mew power…..”
Rrejwlrkjerlkwelrkjweljrlekrlwejrlkejrlksajdf’pashdvposahrfpohjw
“In”
“Your”
“Face”
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
RRRRRRARRRHGFHHGH…….*gasp* *gasp* *pant pant pant*……*sigh*…………..Hehehe…..hehehehehehe…..it’s done….it’s over….I survived! NO MORE MEW MEW POWER IN MY FACE!!
Ichigo’s attack is cut a bit in the original and full in the dub.
Edit: Hello everyone. I’m revisiting this Sub/Dub Comparison after completing it, and before posting it because I’m sane, because two days after finishing it and thinking I was done for good, I remembered a video that showcased some of the more prominent paint edits in Mew Mew Power, and it showed an edit I completely overlooked.
After Ichigo’s attack fails, we see a back shot of the girls slightly to the side. Since it’s a somewhat revealing shot of Lettuce’s backside, they painted her dress to be quite a bit bigger to cover what you could see of her butt and most of her thighs.
Subbed: 
Dubbed: 
Not as laughable as the diaper she had on in the mermaid episode, but still.
“Now, Twix,” you ask yourselves, “How could you miss such a dramatic change?”
Quite frankly, while I’ve trained myself to look for the tiniest indications of text and signs…..I am not nearly as apt to constantly stare at a 13-year-old girl’s ass…..
End of pointless pre-post edit.
They shift a shot of Ichigo looking at Kisshu.
After Ichigo looks at Kisshu, we cut to Aoyama at the meeting place. In the dub, we continue on in the battle sequence.
After a shot of Ichigo panting, Aoyama calls her on the phone. In the dub, they cut to Mark’s scene at the meeting place.
Text on the overhang is removed.
Subbed: 
Dubbed: 
Aoyama says he’s come too early. Mark says Zoey’s late as usual, which she’s not because they left in the shot of the clock, both versions told her to meet him there at 5:00 and the clock clearly says 4:27. Well I guess if 4Kids thinks kids can’t read words, they probably don’t think they can read an analog clock either. (And, remember, this is back in the day when people were commonly taught to read analog clocks.)
For some stupid reason, they cut this scene short. The only part that they cut off is Aoyama smiling. Good. No one should be smiling here.
Text is removed from the little gift shop vendor.
Subbed: 
Dubbed: 
The dub didn’t convert the distance correctly when judging how far the Chimera Animal is from the tower. In the original, it’s 20 km. In the dub, it’s 20 miles. 20 km converts to 12 miles.
It’s here where the start of the scene with the girls before it cut off to get to Aoyama’s shot is. Eugh, I’m dizzy just saying that.
The screen on Ichigo’s phone is changed to merely say ‘Mark.’
Subbed: 
Dubbed: 
Also, look very very very very closely and you can see they also removed some random shapes from a couple of buttons on her phone too. They’re not text, they’re just shapes.
Text behind Aoyama is removed.
Subbed: 
Dubbed: 
I think they trim the shot of Ichigo starting to cry a bit.
Ya know, I appreciate what the girls are doing, trying to face the enemy alone to let Ichigo go on her date……….but that uh….world…..ending…moth…..About to hatch……Even Ichigo wasn’t able to put a dent in the cocoon with her Strawberry Surprise…..so the moth inside must be pretty nasty…….Hate to tell you guys this, but the writers really made you guys suck in terms of power, except Zakuro. Now’s not the time to be sending ‘I get all the powerful, new and fun things’-Ichigo off to catch a concert.
The earlier shot of Ichigo looking at Kisshu was shifted to after he gets angry at the idea of Ichigo leaving for her date. Because….that was a good use of time wasn’t it?
The blue banners flashing on Akasaka’s screen have text on them. This is removed from the dub. Those oh so useful blank warnings.
Subbed: 
Dubbed: 
Zakuro originally says to attack the moth before it flies away. In the dub, Renee says the transformation must’ve weakened it, so they should attack now…..the transformation was a process to make it stronger; what makes you think it’s weak because of it?
So I guess, in the end, Zakuro’s attack never gets a dub name. Corina rarely ever says her attack name, and Renee never gets one by default; they never even name her weapon. Weird.
They shorten Pudding’s second attack in the dub.
Attack….Name….Change?? Pudding just keeps using her Pudding Ring Inferno over and over as she chases the Chimera Moth. The dub has her keep saying ‘Goody gum drops’ when she repeats the attack over and over. Does that mean, like Bridget, they kept the exact same attack animation and effect yet gave it a different name to pretend it’s something else?
Let me get this straight; Renee gets no weapon name, no attack name and only grunts when she attacks.
Corina gets no weapon name, one attack name and hardly ever says it after the first time she does it.
Bridget gets a weapon name, four attack names and hardly ever goes without saying it.
Pudding gets a weapon name, two attack names and is half and half with saying it.
I applaud the effort to at least give the illusion that the other girls are getting more stuff to do, but if you’re just going to take away stuff from a couple of the girls for no reason as well, why bother?
They cut out Ichigo powering up her Strawberry Bell. I dunno.
They have kicked up the budget for this episode, being a season finale and all, but man the animation when Ichigo got knocked off the moth. Ick.
Aoyama seems to hear Ichigo thinking to herself ‘I want to see you, Aoyama-kun.’ In the dub, he seems to only hear her screaming as she falls. Not sure how to take this, to be honest. The original obviously shows some sort of connection between the two of them while the dub kinda just has Mark hearing her, but she is an awful long way away.
Ichigo, hearing yet again that the Blue Knight was born to protect her, starts saying that she loves someone else, but is interrupted by him saying that he doesn’t care because loving someone is noble. Love overcomes all difficulties and opens a path to the future. In the dub, Zoey asks who he is, he says it doesn’t matter and gives Zoey a pep talk.
BK: “You have the power to beat this thing, Zoey. Because you love and are loved in return, and that love makes you strong.” It’s roughly the same message as the original, though they omit the insinuation that she loves Aoyama…..but did he seriously say ‘love’ three times in one sentence? Am I watching Moulan Rouge?
Text on a building is gone.
Subbed: 
Dubbed: 
Another record scratch…..*rubs temples*
4Kids, you made BK say “THAT love makes you strong” not “YOUR love makes you strong.” He literally said this less than a minute ago. You really forgot in that time?
They cut out a reaction shot of Kisshu.
The flashback in the original has a green tint to it. Outside of the normal fuzzy border they always add, the flashback is unaltered in the dub.
Subbed: 
Dubbed: 
Zakuro originally theorizes that the Mew Aqua may only cause a reaction in them, IE glowing, when they’re emotionally charged. Renee says they have been looking for something that’s been in their hearts this whole time. Both versions give off basically the same information, but man the dub is cheesy.
So the others are reduced to being a barrier again…..nice…Also, the barrier doesn’t even seem to do anything. At least show the moth bumping into it or something. It just makes it seem like they’re doing nothing AGAIN.
There’s a lyrical song as Kisshu and Ichigo are racing to the Mew Aqua in both versions. It’s….actually not too bad of a song. It matches the tone and melody of the original’s pretty well, even if it’s a bit poppier, though I can’t really judge the lyrics since the song is so soft you can barely hear them.
Ichigo originally says that magical words are coming to her from her heart, and she recites the words “O virga Mew Aquae luce!” Zoey just parrots the speech BK gave her earlier and gives no other words as she revitalizes the wand.
Weapon Name: The Mew Aqua Rod is changed to the Strawberry Scepter.
Attack Name Change: Ribbon Aqua Drops has been changed to Blue Aqua Drops.
I have no idea why, but they edit the shots of the girls saying “Ichigo” one at a time, to stop their lips from moving and ultimately stop them from saying their lines……To be completely honest, I kinda like the dub’s version better because that whole shtick is kinda annoying to me, to be honest, even if there is simply no reason to have done that.
Shirogane originally says “Keichiro, I must glorify them!” (In response to the girls saving the day) Keichiro then responds with “Sure. They are wonderful goddesses.”
Elliot just says “Well, I think it’s safe to say our girls just saved the world.” Wesley gets no line.
Again, I kinda prefer the dub because the original lines are just really cheesy.
They cut out a shot of Ichigo’s skirt as she’s running.
The original simply ends on the shot of the area where Aoyama is supposed to be. In the dub, as a bigger cliffhanger, they impose the silhouette of Deep Blue over the shot, perhaps to indicate that Deep Blue may have done something to Mark, and they add ‘To be continued…’ on the shot.
Subbed: 
Dubbed: 
——————————————————–
And it never will be continued.
I actually feel bad for the people who only know of this show as a dub. Not only is it terrible, but it ends with practically everything unresolved.
You never find out who Deep Blue is or who the Blue Knight is, Zoey and Mark’s relationship is left hanging, though considering he never seems mad at her, it’s not that much of a worry that they’ll break up. You never find out if they beat the aliens or anything. Oh and yeah, you never get a continuation of the very first episode where they manipulate it to make it seem like Mark learned who Zoey was.
You’re left completely in the dark. If I was watching this with no knowledge of the original, I’d be pissed. To be honest, though, with how much they’ve changed, I don’t see how they would’ve continued on, anyway.
I can not be happier over the fact that this comparison is over. It’s been a real challenge, and having one comparison under my belt leaves me excited to get others done. Other than One Piece, this has been the most mangled show I’ve seen so far.
Updates for the Tokyo Mew Mew Shoujo Step-by-Step will be a little slow as I focus on other things, but that shall be completed as well. I really am getting a fresh pair of eyes on this show after doing this project, so I expect it to be interesting.
I have one more thing I want to do before I close this comparison out, and that’s give Mew Mew Power, as a whole, an objective review. You probably already know my feelings on this series if you’ve followed this series from start to finish, but on its own, as a stand alone show, is there any merit to it?
Thanks for following the series, and here’s to more SDC’s in the future!
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The Anime Madhouse 