This is going to sound weird, but for me, I tend to think of the 2002 anime adaptation of Tokyo Mew Mew as aiming younger than it actually is. I know many consider it a tween/teen series, but it comes off more as a 5 to 8 type of series and I don't mean this to be mean. I actually like this, because it's probably part of why I love this series. Also, this is just my opinion, it's not fact. So here's my opinion of why Tokyo Mew Mew comes off to me as more of a 5 to 8 type of series. Older than a Nick Jr. series but younger than a Nickelodeon series. I'm mainly talking about Tokyo Mew Mew 2002, though Tokyo Mew Mew New I think I have similar feelings when it comes to a lot of this. Not the pacing though since Mew Mew New is faster with the pacing compared to the original.
Keep in mind, I'm wrong about this. I know I'm wrong. I know it's not for 5 to 8. Its just the writing often comes across as this to me and this is also a positive for me, because I tend to love shows that aim very young.
First is that it has bright colors. A lot of preschool shows have bright colors and the pinks, blues, greens, yellows and purples on the main 5 characters has that little kids show feel to me. It's very saturated and attention grabbing. I always saw Tokyo Mew Mew as a bridge show between a preschool show and elementary, even though people will say I'm incorrect.
Next is the story is simple enough to understand. There is nuance in how the aliens hate how humanity has polluted the world and the aliens had to flee to their own world which has poor living conditions and they just want their home back. However, the way it's delivered is easy enough for a 5 year old to understand.
The stories in the episodes are also rather simple and easy to understand, like Ichigo doing gymnastics or Retasu and a little girl both learning how to swim. There's even stuff reinforced in the same episode like Bu-Lings mom dying and her dad leaving the family to off to master his martial arts skills.
The pacing is very slow and the background music is incredibly calming.
The series is also incredibly wholesome with each of the five girls clearly loving each other. Even Minto, who is very snobby deeply cares for her friends. Even when she's snobby, she's a snob in the way that a character from a very young kids show is like in my opinion.
Even the romance between Ichigo and Aoyama is super wholesome and loving.
Tokyo Mew Mew is also a very cutesy and happy show where characters get really happy often. A lot of shows for very young children are very cute. It even has the cute animals and cafe stuff.
Also, even though it has dark moments, there's always a cushion to soften it heavily like calming background music or ways to make it less scary or intense.
The series also is very apparent about its morality. I'm not saying its morality is saccharine. I wouldn't say it is. Just that the way it delivers its morality does feel very young. Remember, I'm not saying any of this is bad. This is just my opinion and all of this actually contributes to why I love this show so much.
Tokyo Mew Mew 2002 also promotes kindness and empathy and love heavily. The way it promotes that has a very young feel too.
Despite it having action, Tokyo Mew Mew has a very low stakes feel to it. When I watch it, I feel like I'm watching something that's aimed at a slightly older audience than Blue's Clues, but younger than say, the shows on Nickelodeon outside of Nick Jr, Disney Channel outside of Playhouse Disney/Disney Junior and Cartoon Network.
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