Minto Aizawa (jpn. 藍沢 みんと Aizawa Minto) is a character in the manga and anime series Tokyo Mew Mew, and one of the main heroines of the story. She is the second Mew Mew to be introduced and her D.N.A is merged with the blue lorikeet.
Plot
Minto's Childhood
When Minto was a child, she would show her dancing to her older brother. But one day, her brother was taken to a prestigious school. They never spoke to one another much afterward. Besides that, Minto had a wonderful childhood. She used to see her parents often inside her home before they became focused on work. Minto was learning Ballet as a little girl and was becoming a very good dancer. She had many recitals and shows. She was a starter ballerina but soon became a Prima Ballerina.
Tokyo Mew Mew
Minto is actually afraid of being hurt and as a result she quits the Mew Project but shortly returns. Minto lives in a large mansion with her brother and unnamed parents, along with a Nanny who cares for Minto due to her parents being away. She also owns a small dog, Mickey, who turns into a Chimera Anima and is the cause of Minto's first transformation into a Mew Mew.
Minto is a very strong admirer of Zakuro Fujiwara and is sad when Zakuro initially refuses to join the Mew Mews. When Zakuro eventually decides to join the Mew Project, Minto is extremely happy.
Personality
Manga and first Anime
Minto was initially depicted as spoiled, snobbish, and self-centered because of her wealth (like most rich girls), but is later shown to really be an empathetic, kind, and loving person who cares deeply about her friends.
She idolizes Zakuro Fujiwara, who frequently influences Minto's decisions as a Mew Mew. Zakuro is also one of the few people Minto is nice to the most, which proves that she is a kind and loving girl on the inside.
Minto is, despite her relatively small size, extremely headstrong and can be very powerful when cooperating with her teammates. She enjoys dancing, particularly in the style of ballet. Her favourite food is French food and scones. She slightly dislikes common food (i.e. fast food, canned food, etc.) but will eat it if given to her.
Tokyo Mew Mew New
Minto is more soft spoken, calm and rarely gets mad, and she works and helps, buts only a little bit. She still loves dancing especially ballet. Mint's personality still has bossy in it but only with Ichigo, she also has a lot of patience compared to the old one. And she's more shy and tsundere like, trying to open up to her fellow mew mews.
This version of Minto is also far more interested in proving herself capable and committed to her goals, namely her role as a mew mew and even more so as a promising member of the Aizawa cooperation, especially during the show's second season. As the first girl selected for the mew mew project Minto felt a great responsibility thrust upon her, which she immediately accepted do to the validation of being needed. In order to prove herself to her family, as well as to combat pollution, Minto works hard on designing and creating a roof mounted wind power generator. She dreams that one day these generators can be used by families all across Japan to reduce their carbon footprint.
In a more comedic light, this version of Minto is more flamboyant and over-the-top in some of her actions. In the second episode of the second season she runs away from home in a palanquin, driven by an ox and accompanied by an entourage of bodyguards. At the Momomiya residence, Minto has her large bed transported from the Aizawa mansion inside Ichigo's room, claiming that she could not sleep in any other bed that wasn't hers. She is likewise surprised at how the middle class live in small houses after spending some time with Ichigo's family. Despite this, she is very polite and cordial with the Momomiyas, as demonstrated by enjoying Sakura's home cooking and prompting Shintaro to comment that Minto acted like an older sister to Ichigo.
Appearance
Civilian
Minto has navy blue hair that is seen often in buns. She wears a mid-thigh formal white and black dress with tights and black pumps, and a blue ribbon tied.
New
Minto no longer wears her hair in buns and is let loose. Her school uniform is a long light blue dress with puffed sleeves and a blue sleeveless vest. The uniform's collar is white with black stripes. She pairs this outfit with dark blue tights and a pair of strapped shoes.
In her everyday outfit, she wears a long sleeved and frilled shirt, blue pleated skirt and a pair of loafers with knee highs. Her accessories includes a purse bag and a red fabric tie held up by a green gem.
Café Mew Mew
Minto's waitress uniform is a blue color scheme that is similar to the other waitresses outfits.
Mew Mew
When changing into Mew Mint, Minto's hair changes from navy blue to indigo blue and keeps it in buns. Her eyes change from brown to indigo blue. She wears a short aquamarine dress that only reaches past her waist. She has garters of the same color with dark blue lacing on her arms and left leg. She has a choker, the same color as her outfit, with her Mew Pendant hangs off of. She has blue gloves and ankle boots. She has a dark blue feathered tail and wings. Her Mew Mark is a pair of bird wings on her back between her shoulder-blades.
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 blue ribbon with blue heart gem in the middle. Her blue garter now has a ribbon attached, and her gloves has a white band with a small blue heart gem. She seems to wear an inner pair of gloves and a pair of socks. Her boots now have a pair of tied white ribbons. Noticeably, her hair becomes a little longer and gains a pair of buns.
Relationships
Family
Minto's family is very wealthy. She wears expensive clothes and she is the heiress to all of the family's money. However, her mother and father are never at home when she is, and they do not attend her ballet recitals, so Minto spends more time with her Nanny, Baya (The English dub changes this character to be Minto's Grandmother). Minto does not spend a lot of time with her brother, Seiji, either. Though when she was younger he would watch her practice dancing. The family all live together in a mansion. Minto owns a small puppy named Mickey, who she cares about greatly.
Abilities
As a Civilian
Mint is a talented dancer and is very flexible and gracious. Despite her fragile appearance, she is very enduring. She demonstrates a certain skill in hand-to-hand combat, even if she doesn't show it all the time. She knows how to swim. She seems to have archery skills, as demonstrated by her use of the MinTone Arrow.
As a Mew Mew
She is the only Mew mew who can fly. She can communicate with birds.
Transformation
Minto's transformation references her love and dedication to ballet dancing. During the beginning of the transformation, she kisses her Mew pendant and bends backward gracefully while her DNA morphs. Afterward, she strikes an arabesque pose, twirls, and leaps into the air, trailing bright blue feathers behind her. She begins a series of elaborate ballerina twirls and dance moves while her Mew uniform appears on her body and her wings and tail plumage appear on her back. The transformation concludes with her Mew Pendant bursting from a small encasing of bright blue feathers and Mew Mint striking her finishing pose.
Weapons and Attacks
Mew Mint's weapon is the MinTone Arrow and her attack is Ribbon Mint Echo. This attack involves her summoning a bow and arrow out of a windy burst of feathers, charging up a shock-wave, and releasing it into a light pink blade of energy. She can also call upon Ribbon Echo Spin (only in 2022 anime) which requires Mew Zakuro's assistance to use her ZaCross Whip to spin her around. The attack sends multiple arrows out in all directions and is used once.
Mew Aqua Drop, only shown in the manga and 2022 anime, is Mew Mint's second attack. She performs this attack when she acquires the Mew Aqua Rod. Her rod is pink in the manga while it is blue in the 2022 anime to reflect her theme color.
International
Name changes (manga)
As in most cases, the characters' names in Tokyo Mew Mew went through changes upon translation. For English manga translations, TokyoPop and Kodansha used the food translations for both the characters' names and Mew Mew names. For the Singapore English translation, publisher Chuang Yi chose to keep both the civilian and secret identity names.
Language | Title | Publisher | Name | Mew Name |
---|---|---|---|---|
Japanese | Tokyo Mew Mew | Kodansha | Minto Aizawa | Mew Mint |
English | Tokyo Mew Mew | TokyoPop & Kodansha | Mint Aizawa | Mew Mint |
English (Singapore) | Tokyo Mew Mew | Chuang Yi | Minto Aizawa | Mew Mint |
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 Minto/Mint or Corina often translated their words for "Mint" as her first name; for example, Bò-Hé, and Menta mean 'mint' in their respective language.
Language | Title | Name | Mew Name | Voice Actress |
---|---|---|---|---|
Japanese | Tokyo Mew Mew | Minto Aizawa | Mew Mint | Yumi Kakazu (2002 Anime)
Mirai Hinata (Tokyo Mew Mew New) |
English | Mew Mew Power | Corina Bucksworth | Mew Corina | Andi Whaley |
Mandarin | Dōng Jīng Māo Māo (Tokyo Cats / Tokyo Mew Mew) |
Bò-Hé LánZé | Mew Mew Bò-Hé |
Lín Měi-Xiù |
Cantonese (VCD Dub) | Dung Ging Miu Miu (Tokyo Mew Mew) |
Bok-Ho LaamJaak | Mew Bok-Ho |
Ng Siu-Ngai |
Cantonese (ATV Dub) | Maau Maau Jin Deui (Cat Team / Mew Mew Team) |
Bok-Ho LaamJaak | Mew Bok-Ho |
Ng Siu-Ngai |
Italian | Mew Mew Amiche Vincenti (Mew Mew Winning Friends) |
Mina Aizawa (2002 Anime)
Mint Aizawa (Tokyo Mew Mew New) |
Mew Mina | Emanuela Pacotto (2002 Anime)
Giulia Bersani (Tokyo Mew Mew New) |
Korean | Berry Berry Mew Mew | Mint Ju (2002 Anime)
Mint Ha (Tokyo Mew Mew New) |
Mew Mint | Jeongmi Bae |
Indonesian | Tokyo Mew Mew | Minto Aizawa | Mew Minto | N/A |
Hebrew | Tokyo Mew Mew | Minto Aizawa | Mew Minto | Eti Castro |
Brazilian Portuguese | As Super Gatinhas (The Super Kittens) |
Corina Bucksworth | (None) | Priscila Concépcion |
Portuguese (1st Dub) | Mew Mew Power | Corina Bucksworth | Mew Corina | Claudia Gaiolas |
Portuguese (2nd Dub) | Tokyo Mew Mew | Menta Aizawa | Mew Menta | Ana Vieira |
Danish | Mew Mew Power | Minto Aizawa | Mew Minto | Gry Trampedach |
Thai | Tokyo Mew Mew | Mint Aizawa | Mew Mint | Viphada Jatuyosporn |
Albanian (Albania Production) | Vajzat Mjau - Mbrojtëset e Planetit (Mew Girls - Defenders of the Planet) |
Korina Bucksworth | Mjau Korina | Manjola Merlika |
Albanian ("Jess" Discographic) | Luftëtaret Mace (Cat Warriors) |
Mina Aizawa | Mjau Mina | Eneida Rabdishta |
Hungarian | Vadmacska Kommandó (Wildcat Commando) |
Corina Bucksworth | (None) | Ilona Molnár |
Latino Spanish | Miau Miau Power (Mew Mew Power) |
Corina Bucksworth | Miau Corina | Claudia Chavarro |
French | Mew Mew Power | Corina Dujardin De Montéclair | (None) | Nathalie Hugo |
Dutch | Mew Mew Power | Corina Bucksworth | Mew Corina | N/A |
Serbian | Družina Mjau - Mjau / Mjau - Mjau Tokio (Mew Mew Team / Tokyo Mew Mew Team) |
Korina Bucksworth | Mjau Korina | Vladislava Đorđević |
Croatian | Mijau Mijau Družina (Mew Mew Team) |
Korina Bucksworth | Mjau Korina | N/A |
Bulgarian | Силата Миу Миу / Silata Mew Mew (Mew Mew Power) |
Corina Bucksworth | Mew Corina | N/A |
Greek | Mew Mew Power | Corina Bucksworth | (None) | Chrysa Samara |
Turkish | Mew Mew Power / Sihirli Kızlar (Magical Girls) |
Corina Bucksworth | Mew Corina | N/A |
Etymology
- The name Minto (2) is written in hiragana (みんと), which has no special meaning. However, when written in kanji (海音, 香草, 香葉, 壮, 美音, 碧音, 未夢戸, 民斗, 眠兎, 明音, 明兎, 明都, 明桃, 明扉, 明歩 or 弥都), it could possibly mean:
- 海音 - "sea, ocean" (海) (min) and "sound" (音) (to).
- 香草 - "herbs, cooking spice".
- 香葉 - "Incense leaves".
- 壮 - "magnificent, robust, manhood, prosperity".
- 美音 - "beautiful" (美) (min) and "sound" (音) (to).
- 碧音 - "green, blue" (碧) (min) and "sound" (音) (to).
- 未夢戸 - "undreamed" (未夢) (min) and "door" (戸) (to).
- 民斗 - "people, nation, subjects" (民) (min) and "Dipper" (斗) (to).
- 眠兎 - "Sleeping rabbit".
- 明音 - "bright, light, clear" (明) (min) and "sound" (音) (to).
- 明兎 - "bright, light, clear" (明) (min) and "rabbit, hare, cony" (兎) (to).
- 明都 - "bright, light, clear" (明) (min) and "metropolis, capital" (都) (to).
- 明桃 - "bright, light, clear" (明) (min) and "peach" (桃) (to).
- 明扉 - "bright, light, clear" (明) (min) and "door, opening" (扉) (to).
- 明歩 - "bright, light, clear" (明) (min) and "walk, step" (歩) (to).
- 弥都 - "all the more, increasingly" (弥) (min) and "metropolis, capital" (都) (to).
- Minto's surname Aizawa means "indigo" (藍) (ai) and "marsh" (沢) (sawa/zawa).
Trivia
- According to her official profile for the Playstation game, she is a 1st-year middle schooler, same as Ichigo. However, since Minto's birthday is October 3rd, Minto is older, and would age to 13 by that date. The Japanese school year begins in April and ends in late March, meaning Minto ages to 13 not long after the series begins.
- The blue lorikeet (Vini peruviana) is a small parrot from the Cook Islands and French Polynesia. It is currently listed as "vulnerable" on the IUCN Red List, with an average wild population of 5,000-7,000.
- In an episode of Mew Mew Power, Corina says she sings karaoke, but in Tokyo Mew Mew, Minto says she can't sing.
- In Mew Mew Power, Corina's fixation on Renee has been toned down, yet her attraction to men has been cut out completely, as seen in the picture to the left. Either way, Corina seems to be more infatuated with Renee than Minto was ever with Zakuro.
- There is a constant goof in the anime where Minto's hair suddenly becomes the color of her Mew Mew form for a few scenes, then reverting back to normal. The same happens with her eyes, changing them from brown to blue in some scenes for a while. At one point in the anime, Minto's eyes became bright pink whilst being Mew Mint.
- Minto tends to avoid work by saying that she does a "taste test" for the tea, much to the irritation of Ichigo. She also over-confidently mentioned how she came to the Café earlier, despite this not compensating at all for the lack of work she does.
- In fact, Minto almost never works once in the Café throughout the entire anime, with the only instances being when it is overworked and she is shown in the background dealing with orders. She also usually covers for Ichigo whenever she is absent and usually holds it over her every chance she gets.
References
Japanese school system page. ("School year starts in April and ends in March.")