- "Mew Mew style, Mew Mew grace, Mew Mew Power in your face!" - Mew Mew Power.
Ichigo Momomiya (jpn. 桃宮 いちご Momomiya Ichigo) is a character from the manga and anime series Tokyo Mew Mew, and the main protagonist and heroine of the story. She is the first of the Mew Mews to be introduced and her D.N.A is merged with an Iriomote cat.
Plot[]
Tokyo Mew Mew/Mew Mew Power[]
Ichigo is first introduced when she is on a date with her love interest, Masaya Aoyama. She is attending a Red Data Animal exhibit with him[1]. She meets the future Mew Mews at the exhibit[2].
In the anime, Masaya and Ichigo go to the park after going to the exhibit. Suddenly, there is an earthquake and then Ichigo is injected with the D.N.A of an Iriomote cat. Later on, she begins having cat-like aspects, such as eating a lot of fish, being more acrobatic (as in she can land on her feet like a cat does), and sleeping more than average. During the date, she passes out when she is injected and has a dream of a cat going inside her or merging with her. When she wakes up, Masaya says she has been sleeping for hours. A bit later Masaya is then attacked by a Chimera Anima and Ryou Shirogane gives her a Mew Pendant and encourages her to transform into Mew Ichigo.
Midway through the series, Ichigo gains a mysterious protector – the Blue Knight who later turns out to be Masaya. Throughout the series, Ichigo repeatedly rejects repeated advances by Quiche, one of her enemies, but, even though she could not accept his final declaration of love, she cried and held him when he died, showing how kind Ichigo is.
Ichigo dies while transferring her own life force into Masaya after Masaya sacrifices himself to kill Deep Blue, another one of her enemies, but is subsequently revived by the Mew Aqua in Masaya. Later on, Masaya decides to go to study aboard in England at the end of the series; but before he goes, Ichigo participates in a mock wedding with Masaya (manga only).
Tokyo Mew Mew à la Mode[]
In the sequel, it's revealed that Ichigo has decided to join Masaya in England. She returns to Tokyo partway through the series to aid her teammates (and the new Mew Mew, Berry Shirayuki) in the battle against the Saint Rose Crusaders. Her powers have deteriorated since the final fight against Deep Blue, leaving her temporarily unable to transform into Mew Ichigo.
Tokyo Mew Mew New[]
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Personality[]
Ichigo is a sweet girl who is ready for just about anything life throws at her. Though kind-hearted, compassionate, and eager to help others, she is also hot-headed and, for better or worse, tends to wear her emotions on her sleeve. She isn't afraid of confronting bullies and standing up for others who've been wronged. Ichigo is, however, completely terrified of ghosts, to the point that Minto had to drag her around on a leash and force her to explore a supposedly haunted school. She is head-over-heels in love with Masaya Aoyama and often frets over his opinion of her, even having nightmares about him finding out she's a Mew Mew. Her favorite foods are waffles with maple syrup, pizza, fish, dried bonito, and strawberries. She dislikes carrots.
In Mew Mew Power, she is noticeably snarkier and less tactful.
Appearance[]
Ichigo Momomiya, infused with the Iriomote Cat
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Mew Ichigo
Civilian[]
Ichigo has red hair. She normally has it in pigtails tied up in red ribbons. She wears a red ribbon with a bell on it around her neck (given to her by Masaya), and is usually found wearing her school uniform such as a black and light gray sailor dress with a red ribbon tied two white blouse short sleeves with black and white lines and a light gray ribbon on. When not, she is often seen wearing a yellow shirt and red shorts.
Café Mew Mew[]
She wears a red dress with a white, heart-shaped apron and pink and white ribbons. She also wears pink socks and laces with black shoes. Instead of pigtails, Ichigo's hair is clipped with a lace headband and let down.
Mew Mew[]
When Ichigo is transformed, her hair and eyes turn bright bubblegum pink and she grows black cat ears and a tail. Her tail has a dark pink ribbon tied around it with a bell. Her hair is let down and is curlier than her civilian form's. She wears a short light pink dress with matching arm garters and a leg garter on her right thigh, along with a choker around her neck. Her gloves are dark pink and reach to her wrists. Her boots are dark pink with black laces and end just below her knees. She has dark pink lace lining the top of her dress and the top and bottom of her arm garters, leg garter, and her choker. Her choker has her Mew Pendant dangling from it.
Her Mew Marks is a pink version of the imprint on her Mew Pendant on the inside of her right thigh.
Feline Form[]
When transformed into a full cat, she has black fur with pink paw pads and pink inside her ears. She maintains her pink eyes and tail ribbon from her Mew Mew form and the ribbon choker from her civilian form.
Mew Mew New[]
Her outfit remains the same aside from a few upgrades and different color palette. Her Mew Pendant is no longer in place of a red ribbon with pink heart gem in the middle. Her red garter now has a ribbon attached, and her gloves has a white band with a small pink heart gem. Her red hair is also noticeably feral-like in-appearance in both her human and Mew New forms.
Abilities[]
As a Civilian[]
She is full of energy, agile and enduring even in her civil form. In one episode, Ichigo joins the rhythmic gymnastics team at her school where she improved her stamina, agility, flexibility and reflexes. Sometimes her enhanced Mew Mew abilities (jumping high, landing on her feet) manifests in normal form, without her controlling it. She has some hand-to-hand skill that is combined with her acrobatic skills giving a combat advantage. She knows how to swim.
As a Mew Mew[]
Ichigo is the leader of the Mew Mews. Ryou Shirogane, a wealthy, 15-year-old boy, gave Ichigo her Mew Pendant so she could transform into Mew Ichigo. Later on in Tokyo Mew Mew, Ichigo meets a grey cat called Alto, who was actually Ryou as a cat, who first finds Ichigo's lost choker. Her D.N.A is infused with the Iriomote cat. Her transformation phrase is Mew Mew Strawberry... Metamorphose, and she transforms into Mew Ichigo. At first, Ichigo constantly frets that Masaya would not return her feelings due to her powers, but when he did find out, he didn't mind. She first transforms when Ryou pushes her out of a tree. Ichigo's powers are love-based and emotion-fueled. She transforms partially (cat ears and tail appearing) when she is excited or embarrassed.
Ichigo, with her ears and tail popped out during an argument with Ryou.
If she is very excited or embarrassed she turns into a small black cat and must kiss another animal or human in order to return to normal.
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Ichigo in cat form
With the D.N.A of an Iriomote cat, Ichigo is granted certain cat-like abilities. One is being able to land easily after falling from a great distance. Another is being able to predict the weather.
Transformation[]
Mew Mew[]
Ichigo's transformation is the most elaborate sequence out of the five team members. It begins with her Mew Pendant glowing with a burst of rainbow light. The next scene shows Ichigo in a curled up position, surrounded by the power of the Mew pendant with her DNA morphing in the background. She then throws her arms upward and twirls around in a burst of sparkles and her Mew uniform appears on her body in a swirl of pink energy. Her tail pops out and her gloves dissolve onto her hands. Finally, her ears sprout from her head and she concludes the transformation by gracefully lifting her leg and sending a stream of sparkles from her hand, which spirals around and dissolves into her choker and Mew Pendant. She then strikes her signature pose.
Mew Mew New[]
Ichigo's transformation,
Weapons and attacks[]
- Attacks
- Ribbon Strawberry Check
- Ribbon Strawberry Surprise
- Reborn Aqua Drops
- Ribbon Trinity Sonata – in combination with Mint and Lettuce.
- Ribbon Trinity March – in combination with Mint and Pudding.
- Ribbon Trinity Symphony – in combination with Mint and Zakuro.
- Ribbon Trinity Prelude – in combination with Mint and Ringo.
- Ribbon Trinity Concerto – in combination with Lettuce and Pudding.
- Ribbon Trinity Serenade – in combination with Lettuce and Zakuro.
- Ribbon Trinity Nocturne – in combination with Lettuce and Ringo.
- Ribbon Trinity Rondo – in combination with Pudding and Zakuro.
- Ribbon Trinity Rhapsody – in combination with Pudding and Ringo.
- Ribbon Trinity Requiem – in combination with Zakuro and Ringo.
- Ribbon Strawberry Excellent – in combination with Mint, Lettuce, Pudding and Zakuro.
- Ribbon Strawberry Check Healing – in combination with Mint, Lettuce, Pudding and Zakuro.
- Ribbon Imperial Prayer – combining the powers of the six Mew Mew.
- Ribbon Doubleberry Check – in combination with Berry.
Manga[]
Mew Ichigo's weapons are the Mew Aqua Rod and the StrawBell Bell. It is first seen in chapter 1 of the manga and episode 1 of the anime. In episode 15 of the anime, Ichigo's weapon gets joined up with the Mew Berry Rod to make an upgraded version of the StrawBell Bell. In chapter 8 of the manga, the weapon is given the ultimate upgrade and named StrawBell Bell Version Up, because the Mew Mew's weapons join up with hers, excluding the Mew Berry Rod.
Her attacks are Ribbon Strawberry Check and Ribbon Strawberry Surprise. The first attack consists of Mew Ichigo aligning the heart-shaped jewels on both her glove and Bell and rising into the air, surrounded by multicolored sparks. She then blasts enemies with a rainbow colored energy blast from the Strawberry Bell. Ribbon Strawberry Surprise, on the other hand, is more powerful version of it, however she only Both attacks can return the Chimera Animas back to normal.
Another attack used by Ichigo is Ribbon Aqua Drops, in which she summons the power of the Mew Aqua Rod and in a swirl of light, she rises in the air and spreads blue, bubbly energy across the surface of the Earth.
In à la Mode, Ichigo is able to perform a joint attack with Berry named Ribbon Doubleberry Check.
Mew Mew Power Dubs[]
Zoey's weapon name in the English dub and some other Mew Mew Power dubs is simplified to "Strawberry Bell", and her attack is renamed as "Strawberry Bell, Full Power!", and is sped up compared to Ichigo's. When the wings are attached, the weapon is given the name Rose Bell and the attack is called Rose Bell! Full Power!.
Her third weapon is called the Strawberry Scepter. Her Mew/Blue Aqua Wand's only attack was named Strawberry Sceptre! Blue Aqua Drops.
International[]
Name changes (manga)[]
For the English translations of the manga, Ichigo's name is the same as the original Japanese version.
| Language | Title | Publisher | Name | Mew Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | Tokyo Mew Mew | Kodansha | Ichigo Momomiya | Mew Ichigo / Mew Strawberry |
| English | Tokyo Mew Mew | TokyoPop & Kodansha | Ichigo Momomiya | Mew Ichigo / Mew Strawberry |
| English (Singapore) | Tokyo Mew Mew | Chuang Yi | Ichigo Momomiya | Mew Ichigo / Mew Strawberry |
Name changes (anime)[]
Tokyo Mew Mew was dubbed and localized in many different languages. The names of the characters were also subject to change. Many of the dubs that didn't use Ichigo or Zoey often translated their words for "Strawberry" as her first name; for example: Chau-Mui and Morango all mean 'Strawberry' in their respective language.
| Language | Title | Name | Mew Name | Voice Actress |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | Tokyo Mew Mew | Ichigo Momomiya | Mew Ichigo (Mew Strawberry) |
Saki Nakajima (2002 Anime)
Yuuki Tenma (Tokyo Mew Mew New) |
| English | Mew Mew Power | Zoey Hanson | Mew Zoey | Amanda Brown (Amanda Lipitz) |
| Mandarin | Dōng Jīng Māo Māo (Tokyo Cats / Tokyo Mew Mew) |
Méi "Xiǎo Méi" TáoGōng | Mew Mew Xiǎo Méi | Qiū Méi-Jūn |
| Cantonese (VCD Dub) | Dung Ging Miu Miu (Tokyo Mew Mew) |
Chau-Mui TouGung | Mew Chau-Mui | Chin Wai-Ling |
| Cantonese (ATV Dub) | Maau Maau Jin Deui (Cat Team / Mew Mew Team) |
Chau-Mui TouGung | Mew Chau-Mui | Dang Git-Lai |
| Italian | Mew Mew Amiche Vincenti (Mew Mew Winning Friends) |
Strawberry Momomiya (2002 Anime)
Ichigo Momomiya (Tokyo Mew Mew New) |
Mew Berry | Debora Magnaghi (2002 Anime)
Giulia Maniglio (Tokyo Mew Mew New) |
| Korean | Berry Berry Mew Mew | Berry Hong (2002 Anime
& Tokyo Mew Mew New) |
Mew Berry / Strawberry | Misuk Jeong |
| Indonesian | Tokyo Mew Mew | Ichigo Momomiya | Mew Ichigo | N/A |
| Hebrew | Tokyo Mew Mew | Ichigo Momomiya | Mew Ichigo | Liat Har-Lev |
| Brazilian Portuguese | As Super Gatinhas (The Super Kittens) |
Zoey Hanson | (None) | Samira Fernandes |
| Portuguese (1st Dub) | Mew Mew Power | Zoey Hanson | Mew Zoey | Sandra de Castro |
| Portuguese (2nd Dub) | Tokyo Mew Mew | Morango Momomiya | Mew Morango | Bárbara Lourenço |
| Danish | Mew Mew Power | Ichigo Momomiya | Mew Ichigo | Amalie Dollerup |
| Thai | Tokyo Mew Mew | Ichigo Momomiya | Mew Ichigo (Mew Strawberry) |
Sansanee Wattananukul |
| Albanian (Albania Production) | Vajzat Mjau - Mbrojtëset e Planetit (Mew Girls - Defenders of the Planet) |
Zoi Hanson | Mjau Zoi | Esmeralda Metka |
| Albanian ("Jess" Discographic) | Luftëtaret Mace (Cat Warriors) |
Luleshtrydhe Momomiya | Mjau Shtrydhe (Mew Berry) | Laura Nezha |
| Hungarian | Vadmacska Kommandó (Wildcat Commando) |
Zoey Hanson | (None) | Titanilla Bogdányi |
| Latino Spanish | Miau Miau Power (Mew Mew Power) |
Zoey Hanson | Miau Zoey | Alejandra Ramírez |
| French | Mew Mew Power | Zoey Hanson | (None) | Sophie Landresse |
| Dutch | Mew Mew Power | Zoey Hanson | Mew Zoey | N/A |
| Serbian | Družina Mjau - Mjau / Mjau - Mjau Tokio (Mew Mew Team / Tokyo Mew Mew Team) |
Zoey Hanson | Mjau Zoi | Marija Dakić |
| Croatian | Mijau Mijau Družina (Mew Mew Team) |
Zoey Hanson | Mijau Zoi | N/A |
| Bulgarian | Силата Миу Миу / Silata Mew Mew (Mew Mew Power) |
Zoey Hanson | Mew Zoey | Asya Bratanova |
| Greek | Mew Mew Power | Zoey Hanson | (None) | Sofia Kapsampeli |
| Turkish | Mew Mew Power / Sihirli Kızlar (Magical Girls) |
Zoey Hanson | Mew Zoey | Milay Ezengin |
Etymology[]
- The name Ichigo is written in hiragana (いちご), which has no special meaning. However, when written in kanji (一吾, 一悟, 一護, 一期, 一五 or 苺), it could possibly mean:
- 一吾 – "one" (一) (ichi) and "I, me" (吾) (go).
- 一悟 – "one" (一) (ichi) and "enlightenment" (悟) (go).
- 一護 – "one" (一) (ichi) and "safeguard, protect" (護) (go).
- 一期 – "term/first term, half-year, quarter".
- 一五 – "15".
- 苺 – "strawberry".
- Ichigo's surname Momomiya means "peach" (桃) (momo) and "temple, shrine, palace" (宮) (miya).
Trivia[]
- In an episode of Mew Mew Power, Zoey says she's not a good dancer and claims to have sent five people to the emergency room by attempting the Macarena.
- The Iriomote cat (Prionailurus bengalensis iriomotensis) is a subspecies of leopard cat endemic to Iriomote Island. It is classified as "critically endangered" on the IUCN Red List, with a population of under 250.
- It was previously classified as a separate species before mt-DNA analysis in the 1990s led to its reclassification as a subspecies.
- Ichigo was initially the only Mew Mew whose garter is on her right leg, as in à la Mode Berry's garter had the same placement. This suggests that the placement indicates a Mew's status as leader.
- Unlike the other Mews, Ichigo's attack and transformation phrase don't use her Mew name (Mew Ichigo), but instead uses the English translation; strawberry.
- In New, her transformation phrase is changed to use her actual Mew name. Her attack still uses strawberry, though.
- Despite an old rumor that circulated around the fandom, Ichigo and Ringo are not related in any way.
- In Episode 3, it's revealed that Ichigo has a fear of ghosts.
References[]
[]
| Characters | |
|---|---|
| Tokyo Mew Mew | |
| Ichigo Momomiya • Minto Aizawa • Retasu Midorikawa • Bu-Ling Huang • Zakuro Fujiwara • Ringo Akai • Berry Shirayuki | |
| Major Characters | |
| Masaya Aoyama • Ryou Shirogane • Keiichiro Akasaka • Tasuku Meguro • Masha • Ucha | |
| Aliens | |
| Quiche • Tart • Pie • Blue Knight • Deep Blue • Gâteau du Roi • Chimera Animas | |
| Saint Rose Crusaders | |
| Duke • Royal Highness • Happy Child • Blue Bayou • Sweet Juliet | |
| Friends and Family | |
| Shintaro Momomiya • Sakura Momomiya • Seiji Aizawa • Minto's Nanny • Mickey • Eizaburou Midorikawa • Yomogi Midorikawa • Uri Midorikawa • Mrs. Huang • Taren Huang • Bu-Ling's Siblings | |
| Civilians/Minor Characters | |
| Three Beckys • Mary McGuire • Masazo Aoyamada • Rei Nishina • Norihiro Edomurasaki • Satsuki Tadano • Iruka • Heicha's Teacher/Ms. Rosbe • Tsukiko Yamada • Mariko • Shunsuke • Kanna Saionji • Yuebing Long • Ayano Uemura • Momoka • Asano • Jacqueline | |