Tokyo Mew Mew New Prologue #10: Recap & ReactionFor as much as we’ve talked about Saki
Tokyo Mew Mew New Prologue #10: Recap & ReactionFor as much as we’ve talked about Saki Nakajima narrating this docuseries and “passing the torch”, nothing could have quite prepared me for seeing Nakajima-san open a letter (complete with a strawberry seal!) containing the name of the girl chosen to be the new Ichigo. As she called up the winner on FaceTime and waited excitedly for her to appear, I felt a wave of nostalgia. And when Yuuki Temma accepted the role of Ichigo Momomiya, I found myself fighting back tears.“We saw the strongest enthusiasm to be the role of Ichigo in you.“ Nakajima-san explained as she read the letter aloud from the production committee. “Many of the judges were attracted by your performance which showed your strong determination, and it made us feel that we should keep an eye on you.“The letter went on to talk about, though Temma-san still has a lot of practice to do even now, how the judges and staff could see the way she worked hard at the lessons to learn as much as she could, and about the growth and potential they saw in her. The letter emphasized that she reminds them of Ichigo, who is always strong in a pinch.Thinking back on the auditions process, and how personable Yuuki Temma was from the beginning, energetic, full of feeling, and not afraid of her own mistakes, I realized that she already possesses many of the same qualities Ichigo has. Ichigo, who, at the end of the day is just an ordinary girl doing her best at school, at work, in love, and - as it turns out - in saving the world.Nakajima-san later confessed to an emotional Temma-san that she knew just how she felt. When she first received the call that she got the role of Ichigo in 2002, she was shaking, crying, and just couldn’t believe it. Nakajima-san went on to congratulate her and encourage her in creating her own Ichigo. Watching the video again as I make the final adjustments on this post, I’m struck by how warm and nurturing Nakajima-san is, and how genuine their feelings are. If the new Tokyo Mew Mew can carry those heartfelt feelings, I think it’ll be something truly special.“I’m panicking now, I understand how much Tokyo Mew Mew is loved by so many people of various generations. It’s a big title,“ Yuuki Temma said. “I’ll work hard as the new Ichigo, and do my best for dear life! Thank you so much!“(There’s another really sweet exchange between them on Twitter, too.)[ Judges Comments: ]Hidenori Sugai (vocal instructor): “I felt that she has the natural talent over the techniques, sort of a diamond in the rough. I like her free and darling expression, but without solid skills, it will be just antics. I think she will grow much more if she learns properly, and that growth will be clear. I hope she will grow more and more.”Toshiki Kameyama (acting instructor): “In terms of voice quality, Temma-san needs a little more effort. However, she is the best in terms of facial expression. She was able to reflect her facial expression into her voice, which was a great thing. I can tell that she understands structurally what feeling is. I found she was making all kinds of faces. Actually, I liked it.”SA.KANA (dance instructor): “I suppose Temma-san doesn’t have much experience in dancing, but I was very impressed by how much she tried to express herself with little experience. I could see her determination, and she will grow much more with more lessons.”The episode continued into a Q&A session with the judges, discussing the auditions and the other finalists’ progress (subtitles have now been added for these, and it’s definitely worth a look!).Afterwards, the cast of the remaining four girls was announced:Mirai Hinata as Minto AizawaRyoko Juni as Retasu MidorikawaRian Toda as Bu-Ling Huang (Purin Fon)Momoka Ishii as Zakuro FujiwaraThe next episode (2/12) will introduce and follow the auditions process for these four girls. Delayed until 2/20!The following episode on “Cat Day” (2/22) will be a live event on Youtube, “1st MEW♡ting”, beginning at 7PM JST (that’s 5AM EST). The episode will include information about the new anime as well as the first performance of all five girls joining together as a unit. An after party is scheduled following the event, at 500 yen per person. Details can be found here. And here. The live stream is scheduled to be ~25 minutes long, and it does seem that the after party on ZAIKO accepts overseas payments such as Paypal.In addition, Yuuki Temma will be appearing on トミドコロのノゾキドコロ on 2/24 as a guest along with assistant MC Sappi (PATI PATI CANDY…☆) to discuss her successful audition.The full video can be viewed on the Tokyo Mew Mew Youtube Channel here.You can also check out the girls’ replies to the announcement on the official Twitter account for Tokyo Mew Mew New. -- source link