tokyo mew mew

back before the days of internet literacy (when piracy was a much less accessible alternative to buying media) people would upload episodes of anime to youtube, usually mirrored with pitched up or down audio, oftentimes cut into three parts. tokyo mew mew was one such series, following the adventures of five magical girls. ichigo was represented by the color pink and her transformation was inspired by a black cat, mint was represented by blue and transformed into a swan girl, retasu was represented by green and transformed into a finless porpoise (random as hell lol), pudding was yellow and transformed into a monkey, and zakuro was purple and transformed into a wolf.

the five girls had to constantly navigate the woes of secondary school in japan, but also had to protect the earth from aliens who were seeking to "reclaim it" from humanity. it was a perfect show for young people who were learning to navigate new and sometimes frightening social situations, but also for kids who loved the drama and glamour of magical girl transformations, as well as learning about animals.

im sure your reading this and wondering who my favorite character was......and of course, it was zakuro!!!!! what i loved about zakuro was her solitary nature. by the time i started to get into anime, i was dealing with a lot of bullying in school, especially from older girls (and from younger girls who wanted the older girls to like them XD ) and so as a little kid, i really admired zakuro's strong and solitary nature. zakuro is never afraid to make her opinions known to others, always stands her ground, and has a strong sense of justice- but she can also be vulnerable. without spoiling too much, during some point in the series she becomes something of an antagonist- it is hinted at that she will betray the group.

zakuro's betrayal hurts mint very deeply. at one point the two of them actually end up having a fight scene. but even throughout that scene, mint is constantly trying to tell zakuro how much she loves her, and how hurt she is by zakuro's actions. throughout the series, it is also obvious that mint feels a strong attatchment and admiration for zakuro, seeing her as somewhat of an older sister figure. i think when i was small i really loved their dynamic, and wanted to be needed, but also wanted to be a mentor for someone. i wanted to have someone who would affirm my worth the way mint did for zakuro.