Mew Mew Power

Mew Mew Power
"But it's hard to save the world when you're falling in love." Yeah, and dubbing a foreign-language show is even harder...
Genre: Magical girl Running Time: 22 minutes Country: Japan Release Date: February 19, 2005 - July 22, 2006 Network(s): 4Kids TV (The CW) Created by: Mia Ikumi, Reiko Yoshida Starring: Amanda Brown Andi Whaley Erica Schroeder Kether Donahue Mollie Weaver Seasons: 2 Episodes: 26

Mew Mew Power is the English version of Tokyo Mew Mew (東京ミュウミュウ Tōkyō Myū Myū) dubbed by 4Kids Entertainment.

Plot

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.

Why This Dub Can't Save the World, Even If They're Falling in Love

1. The title is somewhat unoriginal and uninspired, all because the original Japanese version received a title under the name of Tokyo Mew Mew.
2. The voicework is laughably bad because most of the voices don't sound like their Japanese voices nor character and personalities. Instead, they were just trying to imitate Bratz (a CGI show that aired in 4Kids) and Lola & Virginia.
   • Zoey's/Ichigo's English voice (Amanda Brown) is irritatingly scratchy-sounding at times.
   • Corina's/Minto's English voice (Andi Whaley) is a bit too mature for such a spoiled, snobbish, and self-centered character.
   • Bridget's/Retasu's English voice (Erica Schroeder) is sometimes annoying, though her voice is much more tolerable than Monkey D. Luffy's in the 4Kids dub and her voice actress played her decently.
   • Kikki's/Purin (Bu-Ling)'s English voice (Kether Donohue) sounds kind of tomboyish and isn’t high-pitched to match her playful, child-like, and cute yet immature character.
   • Renée's/Zakuro's English voice (Mollie Weaver) sounds like she has no purpose, despite being the mature member of the Mews.
3. The names of the characters in this dub are uncreative, simple, and dull.
   • Ichigo Momomiya is Zoey Hanson/Mew Zoey.
   • Minto Aizawa is Corina Bucksworth/Mew Corina.
   • Retasu Midorikawa is Bridget Verdant/Mew Bridget.
   • Purin (Bu-Ling) Huang is Kikki Benjamin/Mew Kikki.
   • Zakuro Fujiwara is Renée Roberts/Mew Renée.
4. Laughable, unnecessary, and nonsensical censorship, as expected from most of 4Kids Entertainment's dubs:
   • The Mew Marks are erased. This is because said network believed them to be tattoos and didn't wish to encourage this matter to the children who were watching the show.
   • Like Sonic X and other anime that were dubbed by 4Kids, the text and reading is removed.
   • Dancing men turned into non-dancing women.
   • Swords and chopsticks are changed into shovels and forks.
   • Asian cuisine turned into westernized cuisine, which is just asinine.
   • The transformation scenes were edited because 4Kids Entertainment claimed that they had "partial nudity", even though each transformation is depicted with "barbie-doll anatomy", as while they are naked during the transformation scenes, nothing is shown.
   • Plus, they cut out Bridget (Retasu)’s transformation scene.
   • Near the end of Renée (Zakuro)’s transformation scene, Renée (Zakuro) comes almost too close to the camera, which is insufferably terrifying for viewers.
5. Unfunny humor, like Zoey (Ichigo) saying the Predasite needs to change his diet after he knocks out the Mew Mews by farting and unnecessary slang (i.e. "What's up?").
6. Like in most of 4Kids Entertainment's dubs, the dialogue is inaccurately translated and sounds like it’s from the original animated Bratz series.
   • Zoey (Ichigo) says “Mew Mew Style, Mew Mew Grace, Mew Mew Power In Your Face!”, which is never said in the original Japanese version.
   • There is even out-of-place dialogue added to the transformation scenes, and it’s distracting and obnoxious to listen to.
7. Many of the emotional scenes were edited, either going from sad to humorous or just being cut out entirely.
8. In Latin America Televix used this version and it was completely dubbed in Colombia, and of course they did a poor job.
9. The dub even had the nerve to end on a huge, confusing, nerve-racking cliffhanger as none of the episodes from Season 2 were released in English.

Redeeming Qualities

1. At least the original Japanese version of Tokyo Mew Mew is an amazing show, and we wish it got a good English-dub that stays true to the original, like Sailor Moon.
2. Some of the voicework is pretty decent, such as Bridget (Retasu), Renée (Zakuro), Elliot (Ryou), and Heidi (Heicha).
3. Decent new score for the dub.
4. The theme song "Team Up", despite some of the cheesy and repetitive lyrics, is decent and pretty catchy.

Comments

Loading comments...