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Ichigo is out on a hot date with her 'crush' when suddenly she's involved in an odd incident in which her DNA is merged with the DNA of an almost extinct wildcat. When four other girls' DNA is merged with the DNA of four other almost extinct animals, it's apparent that they're part of a much bigger plan. Ichigo and her friends have been chosen to become a part of a secret project called the "Mew Project." Their mission: To protect the planet from aliens who are using the planet's animals to attack humans.

184 pages, Paperback

First published April 8, 2003

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7675 people want to read

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Mia Ikumi

42 books141 followers

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5 stars
7,201 (46%)
4 stars
3,339 (21%)
3 stars
3,154 (20%)
2 stars
1,312 (8%)
1 star
568 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 320 reviews
Profile Image for Amber.
722 reviews29 followers
March 7, 2018
This manga is beyond cheesy, like soggy nachos cheesy. I am seriously debating some life choices, since I kinda want to read the second volume. I think I want to read it to continue to make fun of it, laugh at it's immaturity and outrageous story line.

Here is the story overview, Mild spoilers? . The story revolves around our main character Ichigo, the cute pink haired girl on the cover. In the first part of the story she is a normal girl, so why does she become a cute cat girl? All I am gonna tell you guys is, aliens... Yep you read that right, mother flippin' aliens. I was like...



The whole reason behind the sudden transformation of the girls into animals was ridiculous, to say the least. And then you have the characters, equally ridiculous. Ichigo may be the only character I kind of like, but I am not sure if I like her that much either. So here are the characters.



I haven't officially been introduced to all the girls in this volume. Just Ichigo, the blue haired girl named Mint, and this is the kicker, the green haired girl's name is Lettuce. Lettuce What kind of name is that? I cringe to think what the other two girls' names are. When Mint was introduced, I was already quizzical. But, Lettuce was a bit much. Now, I concede that the ridiculous name choices may in fact be due to the translation, but then we need a better translator, or just change the names.

The boys are a whole other story. The main guy is clueless and the other two possible love interests are on the verge of being rapists... I can't help reading it and thinking this is supposed to be hot? You see the guys and at first maybe you think they are cute, but then they do something or say something.



To be fair, this would have probably been a good story to me when I was in high school or middle school. However, now that I am 21 and in college, this story makes little to no sense to me. It's a shoujo, I get that it is supposed to be romantic, but kissing a girl you just met? NOT O.K . I think the romance in this manga is a bit over the top even for a shoujo.

And yet, I am going to check out the other books. Does that make me a hypocrite? Maybe. But I am honestly just curious how much more ridiculous this story can get. Bring it on.
Profile Image for Marc D. ✨.
802 reviews79 followers
March 22, 2022
4/5 estrellas.

Me llenó de nostalgia.
El arte es simplemente hermoso.
Voy a extrañarte demasiado, Ikumi-sensei. Gracias por esta historia con el increíble mensaje de salvar animales en peligro de extinción.
Profile Image for Bookarune.
296 reviews2 followers
July 31, 2021
Ayant regardé plus d'une fois l'anime, il fallait que je me lance dans la version papier. C'est niais certes, mais ça reste un vrai doudou plein de nostalgie.
Profile Image for Lauren.
3,670 reviews142 followers
March 8, 2013
This series right away reminded me of a Sailor Moon type of manga. I loved it right away and was caught up in the adventures of the girls. I also loved the idea of each of them having a different animal that they were based on. The drawing style is amazing and the action scenes are authentic in design. This series shows strong willed girls placed in tough situations having to show themselves and everyone around them just what they are capable of. I’m looking forward to reading the series sequel Tokyo Mew Mew a la Mode.

Note: Review based on volumes 1-7.
Profile Image for Bibliothecat.
1,740 reviews77 followers
September 22, 2019


Review for complete series



Ichigo is finally out on a date with her crush Aoyama when it is cut short by a strange occurrence: a cat appears and seemingly fuses with her. It doesn't take Ichigo long to notice changes coming over her in which she behaves more and more like a cat. When it is brought to her that this is a byproduct of a DNA experiment gone wrong, she is given a choice: find the others who have also been affected by the experiment and, with their help, fend off aliens who threaten the earth, or remain with cat DNA forever.

Objectively, Tokyo Mew Mew has so many things wrong with it, I could probably tear it to shreds. Subjectively, it's a good example of how a book can be a favourite without needing to be a 5-star read. This was one of my first manga and it has heavily influenced my manga reading for more than 10 years. Even now, while I can see many things that make me want to roll my eyes, I still love it to bits.

I love Ichigo (and strangely, so does almost the entire male cast). I love her quirkiness and upbeat nature. Give her cat genes, a pink outfit and some strawberries on top and you've really got a character that's just perfect for me to love. Unfortunately for the other Mew girls, Ichigo simply steals the show. I would imagine it is more balanced in the anime adaptation, but the other four girls often seem more like Ichigo's backup - they get their odd little chapter and all, but the story would barely differ without them. Nonetheless, there are a handful of lovely friendship scenes, my favourite being where they visit Mint and have a pillow fight.

I think one glance at the cover should already tell you that this manga is cute. And by cute, I mean disgustingly so. It's all pink, hearts, ribbons and cutesy poses. There's no way around saying it, there is just too much of it. And yet, thanks to a big dose of comedy, it's perfectly tolerable. I think any cat lover will have a lot to laugh, even if just for all the cat-ish misfortunes Ichigo constantly finds herself in. The art itself is also adorable - the proportions can look odd in some panels, but otherwise, Mia Ikumi is definitely way up there when it comes to my favourite manga artists. If she had an artbook, I'd buy it, no questions asked. In fact, I've always wished there were one.

Getting back to Ichigo's little harem, as much as I like Ichigo, it never sat quite right with me how many romances she had going on. It's one thing if they're all interested in her, but given that she's supposedly so in love with Aoyama, I thought she wavered quite fast when any of the others paid her any attention. That being said, out of all of Ichigo's love interests, Aoyama is by far my least favourite. The guy is just about as flat as you can get - an absolute oblivious bore. I never understood what Ichigo saw in him. Despite my initial dislike of him, I do confess that their actual romantic scenes together are indeed very cute - in those moments, I could see myself rooting for him. But at the end of the day, I still found the other characters more interesting.

Ryo and Ichigo had a lot more chemistry and I generally wished we could have seen more of him. While I would have definitely preferred him over Aoyama, it is actually Quiche who, for the past 10 years, has been one of the biggest letdowns in my manga reading history. Awkward name and too low-sitting trousers aside, I love Quiche - one of my all-time favourite male characters in manga and will always feel heartbroken over the fact that he and Ichigo weren't meant to be.



Tokyo Mew Mew will forever be a special series to me which, despite my sorrow of Quiche, I always find myself returning to for yet another reread! Some volumes include older short-stories of the author which are also pretty cute in their own right. I also loved the short story about Princess Azumi, the forerunner of Tokyo Mew Mew catgirls!
Profile Image for Sylwia.
1,320 reviews26 followers
October 17, 2017
Dropped in the middle of chapter 3 because I found it hard to read in that I was bored and found myself having to re-read panels over and over in order to finally be able to focus on what's going on. I tried the anime instead, which helped me get my thoughts together about why this story doesn't work for me. I think it's got too much going on (environmentalist values, endangered species-related magic, magical girls in general, a maid cafe). The manga was also cheesier than the anime; I thought the anime did away with some pieces of the manga that were the hardest to digest. Lastly, it didn't give me much to look forward to, which I feel like every story needs to do in the beginning in order to "hook" a reader.
Profile Image for Kiarra.
170 reviews4 followers
January 15, 2024
5 stars for sentimentality. I used to read this series with my first friends in 2nd grade. We'd read it, watch the show in Japanese, then reenact it on the playground. When I moved, the books became my friends and they're still so important to me. Such a treat to reread.
Profile Image for Morgan.
412 reviews34 followers
April 10, 2021
Eh, maybe this just isn't for me. I might try watching the anime instead of reading the manga though.
Profile Image for R.
1 review2 followers
April 5, 2024
Pure nostalgia :')
Profile Image for Faith.
572 reviews44 followers
April 2, 2020
*full series review*


I am very, very biased in my review seeing as this manga's anime was the reason I got into anime/manga in the first place. Nostalgia for the win!

That's not to say that this manga is perfect - far from it! Tokyo Mew Mew is very much your average magical girl shoujo: a ton of potential love interests, cutesy outfits and a typical/everyday girl (read: clumsy and awkward) protagonist. It's full of crazy, unrealistic situations, romantic moments and battles for justice.

Truth be told, the manga is a little shallow and doesn't flesh out many of the characters besides Ichigo and its pacing is way too fast (this is where - despite all the excess filler episodes - I really recommend the anime). However, the manga is just a ton of fun! Just don't expect a revoluntionary masterpiece. Suprisingly enough though, I find a majority of the jokes still land all these years later. And I still stand by the opinion that this series pulls off one of the greatest plot twists.

A definite (nostalgia/fun) recommend!

Now if you want my fandom-related opinion, I just going to get this out of the way: Kisshu x Ichigo is a toxic relationship, and Masaya x Ichigo is totally sweet relationship that shouldn't get the hate it always seems to receive. That's my personal opinion - I won't judge you for having a different one.

P.S. If you do watch the anime, I recommend the subs. Although the dubbed version (called Mew Mew Power) can be fun for a goofy cringe watch, it only covers half of the series and also eliminates a very vital plot episode (they stupidly chose it for the English pilot episode and invented a new story for that episode)
Profile Image for Kelly.
210 reviews
December 18, 2011
The storyline is fun and informative. Five girls have secretly been injected with DNA from endangered species to fight aliens who are using animals to take over the planet. The book contains information about the animals who are endangered and brings some awareness to the problem.

What I don't like about it, includes the outfits the girls obtain when they transform, the fact that they didn't volunteer to do this but had it done to them and the people who are running the experiment continue to kidnap and tell the girls what to do. Our primary heroine is pushed around and taken advantage of a lot. She is dressed in multiple outfits to please and excite young boys. Finally, some of the drawings were hard to follow what was happening, especially in the beginning.
2 reviews1 follower
May 16, 2010
I found Tokyo Mew Mew to be an interesting read. It may be a little cutesy, and gets into love relations plenty of times, it has a good art style, interesting dialogue, and even a few jokes now and then, as is expected with a Shoujo manga. The only thing I didn't like much was the lack of background around characters, specifically Ryou and Keichiiro, as well as missing parts of the other mew's lives. Like Pudding's siblings, or Mint's wealthiness. But seeing as it wasn't vital to the story, I can let it slide, ohohoho. All in all, this is a very good series, complete with plot and no filler! Hooray! I'd recommend this to anyone who is a fan of the genre, like Sailor Moon or Kamichama Karin.
Profile Image for Amory.
1,074 reviews37 followers
March 30, 2022
If you like magical girl manga and animals, this is for you! The set up for Tokyo Mew Mew involves a group of young girls having endangered species DNA and powers that help them save and protect the earth. As ridiculous as it sounds, the characters are so adorable that this setup works. It's just a fun magical girl read with some great drawings, and since the entire series is only 8 books, it's great for people intimidated by the idea of getting into a longer series.
This first volume alone also introduces 3/5 of the main girls, so the plot moves quite quickly.
Bonus points for Ikumi's cute little doodles and stories in the margins of each volume.
Profile Image for Mary.
472 reviews92 followers
March 27, 2014
The first manga I ever read. I loved it when I read it in the 6th grade, and no longer own this. However, from what I remember I really enjoyed it and literally flipped out at the kiss at the end. I got flustered when PDA happened around me and my parents were there. I always found it awkward so to see that was something that sent me into a giggling fit. I need to pick this up again.
1 review
March 10, 2021
When I started to read ​Tokyo Mew Mew​ by Mia Ikumi I truly had no clue what it would be about. Between the cover and the title, I could not come up with an idea what the book was about. ​Tokyo Mew Mew is about 11 year old Ichigo who’s life gets turned around. She gets injected with weird DNA. There are four other girls injected with weird DNA, too. These 5 girls have been chosen for a secret project called “Mew Project.” The mission is to protect the planet from aliens using animals to attack humans. Ichigo and her friends have to kill all the aliens to save the world. I would recommend to this people who are interested in really crazy mangas. I know this isn’t as crazy as other but very different.
Profile Image for Anna T.
98 reviews4 followers
March 8, 2022
Tokyo Mew Mew was the second anime I ever watched, and although it took me a while to get around to reading the original manga, I can't look at either without nostalgia love. 🍓🍰

This is a classic magical girl story with character themes inspired by treats and endangered animals, and they battle aliens. Sounds random but I promise it's actually a really cohesive story. 😆 Each character has a multilayered personality and there's plenty of heartwarming moments and comedic moments. I've read/watched tons of magical girl stories but Tokyo Mew Mew is iconic and memorable. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of it in preparation for the new anime adaptation coming out this July! I'm so excited!
Profile Image for lady lea nox fleuret ⚜.
116 reviews6 followers
March 31, 2022
Cuando era más joven siempre quise ver el anime y al final nunca lo hice. Así que ahora que tengo la oportunidad decidí empezar por el manga y no me decepcionó para nada.

Es cierto que se nota que es de hace años, pero aún así no ha envejecido del todo mal.

Los personajes son muy diversos, sobretodo las heroínas protagonistas y me encanta que tengan personalidades distintas y no sean todas iguales.

Me sorprendió mucho, en el buen sentido, pues pensaba que no iba a terminar de gustarme.

Lo recomiendo muchísimo.

4'5/5 ⭐
Profile Image for Delfi.
23 reviews
March 10, 2020
Ah, this manga brings back my childhood.

I remember read this manga when I was in elementary school. I borrowed this series from my friend and since then I tried to collect it. I used to imagine myself as one of the Mew lol. This was definitely something in the past but now I realized it was so childish and lots things could go wrong with all its characters but I cant stop reading this!
Profile Image for Jo.
308 reviews10 followers
March 17, 2022
The nostalgia is unbelievable. I loved this so much as a kid, and it was incredibly fun to revisit it now. Yes, it is cheesy and clichéd and whatnot, but it's perfect if you don't take it seriously and just enjoy it for what it is.
12 reviews1 follower
March 4, 2022
Meine Kindheit bestand aus diesen mangas
i love it
der love interest ist aber sehr sehr langeweilig
alle nebencharaktere sind viel viel besser als er
Ende war bisschen lame
Profile Image for Szybki  Zum Zum Traktor.
57 reviews
February 3, 2025
Kreska jest przeurocza, uwielbiam ją

Wyłapałam chyba dwa momenty, w których zdanie się gramatycznie kupy nie trzyma, ale to już wina tłumaczenia
Profile Image for Andrea.
41 reviews5 followers
August 22, 2020
Since my friend introduced me to manga back in middle school this was one of my favorite series. And it continues to be. The story is cute and it teaches us humans to love where we live.
Profile Image for NLillebro N. L..
129 reviews1 follower
August 19, 2024
A nice quick read that takes me back to when I watched the anime ❤️
Profile Image for Natalie.
421 reviews46 followers
July 11, 2025
Talk about a manga series that's just cutesy for the sake of being cutesy.

There is absolutely nothing spectacular about this manga whatsoever. This has the same formula A as Sailor Moon. A couple of girls has some cute outfits and use their unique powers to defeat the evil bad guys.

While I never watched or read Sailor Moon I know that each of the girls represent a certain planet and each had their unique powers. Tokyo Mew Mew is no exception.

Instead of each girl representing a planet, each one is representing an endangered animal species. Ok, that's environmentally considerate but then it adds these alien villains that are making animals go insane and I really don't understand the purpose. It tries to explain it and I found the premise of the villains surprisingly complicated. But after it was explained, I just forgot about two minutes after reading it. It's trying to add science fiction and magic within the same story and it just doesn't make any sense to me.

On top of that, it also adds just cheesy cutesy moments that I found rolling my eyes. Like Ichigo interacting with that one guy that is in charge of the café. He does something unexpected and she blushes for it. It’s just the typical good-looking guy who is NOT the love interest doing repetitive and cliché actions that make the girl embarrassed or assume that he has feelings for her. Yeah, never seen that before.

In the first few pages of the first volume, we take a look at the main character going on a date with her crush. A few events happen to show all the girls in the Mew Mew project and people are trying to figure out who they are. When the last member joins they are on TV and become popular and no one can figure out who they are despite them not wearing masks or disguises. What really? Even in the most obvious scenarios.

I mean really? Are people that stupid where they can’t figure it out? To put insult to injury, they have the students at the school and the fans have no idea who they are! Is it just me, or is it so difficult just to give them masks of the animal that they represent? It’s not like we won’t be able to tell them apart. And speaking of which . . .

The characters don’t have much to them and their personalities are just revolved around their chosen animals. Let me give you a few examples. Zakuro represents the grey wolf and her characters traits are her being silent and by herself most of the time. Pudding represents some sort of ape and guess what her personality is like? She’s energetic, fun, and just can’t sit still. Get it? She’s just like a real monkey and Zakuro is the lone wolf in the group. *sigh*

Sadly, the only characters that I can think of that has some sort of a personality are Lettuce and Mint. (odd choice of names) Mint is a spoiled snob that adores Zakuro and can be a bit bossy at times. Lettuce is kind, shy, and is very clumsy but very sweet. Ichigo’s love interest is as entertaining as a cardboard box. Ryou is just there to be fan service for the girls and Keiichiro is just . . . kinda there.

I would have finished it since it was only like what, seven volumes? But I couldn’t take it anymore and gave up in the middle of volume 3. Sorry, there’re just so many cutesy moments I could take without any interesting characters or story.
Profile Image for Elizabeth.
186 reviews27 followers
April 10, 2020
“For the future of the earth, We shall fight for it ~Nyan!~”
Someone on my news-feed reviewed a manga novel and although I don't frequent the manga section of my bookstore anymore it of course got me digging around this section of Goodreads looking for my adolescent favourites: cue Tokyo Mew Mew. I want to defend my oldest favourite- if you are looking for a story with its own alternative universe, a vast array of characters and even indulging in some darker themes, something akin to Bleach, then you will be sorely disappointed before you even get going.

Tokyo Mew Mew is neatly tied up in 7 volumes and while the plot is fairly tidy and balanced it does offer its fair share of plot twists and character developments etc. Yes it's cutesy, yes it's sometimes borderline cliche, (although may I remind you it's original publication was circa 2000 so what has had 16 years to develop in to cliche was probably adding another layer to the shojo canon before the characteristics of contemporary shojo had fully come in to fruition) but it's exactly what you should expect from the genre: 'Shōjo, shojo, or shoujo manga [sic][...] is manga aimed at a teenage female readership'. (Thank-you again, Wikipedia.) The central characters in Tokyo Mew Mew, even secondary ones such as Ryou, Keiichiro etc. are 10-18 respectively, the manga books touch upon themes such as love and murder, themes that make an exciting superhero story, but understandably due to the demographic they don't plunge in to ones like sex.

Simply put, I feel some of the reviews here have been looking for something more than a frothy teen story, as aforementioned when I was 14 this stuff was one of my first addictions. Take Tokyo Mew Mew for what it is rather than for what it isn't!

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