11 "Shinjiru Kokoro, Gonin Sorotte Tokyo Mew Mew"
(Believing Hearts, The Five Together are Tokyo Mew Mew)		2002-06-15
11 "The Taming of the Mew" 2005-05-07
Mint is depressed. She is so depressed that when Ichigo reminds her of tea time, she tries to drink out of a vase. Ichigo, Lettuce, and Pudding go to talk to Keiichiro and Ryou about Zakuro, and Ryou acts all uncaring about Zakuro not joining the team. Ryou tells Ichigo that it's her job to convince Zakuro, and Pudding believes that if she's not a member, she's an enemy.
Kishu is speaking to Deep Blue how the girls will meet with Zakuro again. He plans to erase all of the Mew Mews except for Ichigo, whom he will bring with him to help with his plans.
The four girls decide to go to a handshake session to meet Zakuro. Ichigo tries to stick around to speak with her, but the security guards throw her out. Next, they try to jump onto the car that Zakuro's riding in, but Ichigo gets stuck on a traffic sign. The girls decide that they have to find Zakuro alone to talk to her. Mint asks Ichigo how she's so sure that Zakuro isn't an enemy. Ichigo says that her eyes say so.
After her photoshoot, Zakuro is sitting a room waiting to go onto a TV show. Kishu teleports in and tries to convince Zakuro to join with him to take revenge on the ones that made her into a Mew Mew. The other girls have entered the building, and Mint, Lettuce and Pudding get to the room where Zakuro and Kishu are. Kishu traps the three girls in a sandstorm that throws them into another dimension. He says he won't bring them back until Ichigo and Zakuro fight each other, and then the winner has to work with him. Kishu leaves, and Zakuro tries to pick up Lettuce's dropped glasses. Ichigo doesn't let her and says that it's her fault, which Zakuro denies.
Back at the cafe, Keiichiro confirms that the girls are alright, but are trapped inside the dimension with no way out. He and Ryou say that even if Ichigo fights Zakuro, Kishu will kill all of them anyway. Ryou tells Ichigo to believe in Zakuro, and Keiichiro says that her whip will be able to cut through the dimension. Ichigo runs off to find Zakuro.
At the TV station, Ichigo argues with someone to try to get inside. Zakuro comes out and says that it's alright that she's there. Ichigo tells her that Ryou said that Zakuro could rescue the others, but she refuses to work with the people that changed her body. Ichigo says that the others are her important friends, and all she wants Zakuro to do is save her friends.
While Zakuro is on the TV show, one of the workers gets a call about an intruder. She runs out and is attacked by Kishu. When he attacks, the dimension starts filling with sand and shrinking. Masha alerts Ichigo to the danger, but before she can transform, Kishu pins her to the ground. He sends his snake Chimera Animal to attack Zakuro, who is handling a normal snake. Ichigo finally kicks Kishu off, transforms, and runs to protect Zakuro who is trapped by the normal snake around her. Ichigo gets slammed through the wall and is constricted by the Chimera Animal. She tells Zakuro to run to safety because she is a friend. When dropped, she is attacked with a light blast. Kishu floats down to Ichigo and says that Zakuro isn't a friend because she ran. Kishu tells Ichigo that he won't kill her if she works with him. Ichigo tries to attack, but her powers seem to not work.
Mint, Lettuce, and Pudding are almost sucked under the sand when Zakuro transforms and appears. She gives Lettuce her glasses, then uses her whip to toss them up and then again to slice out of the dimension. The snake continues to attack a weakened Ichigo when the others appear and attack, but the Chimera Animal puts a shield up and blocks the attacks. As it's about to strike again, the girls' weapons start to glow and resonate. They transfer their power into the Strawberry Bell, allowing Ichigo to attack the Chimera Animal and defeat it.
As the girls celebrate, Zakuro says she doesn't like friends, but will consider it this time, and joins the group. But...this entire time, the girls have been on live TV! Ichigo panics and almost gives away who they are. As the reporters try to get Ichigo to talk, she decides to say with the others, that the five of them are the protectors of justice, Tokyo Mew Mew!

I was very pleased with this episode...until the battle scene. Does it hurt them that much NOT to use a silly insert song!? And the random scenes stuck in there...worst use of an insert song so far, in my opinion. Changing the ending didn't help my opinion either.

Instead of writing the normal remarks, I shall review my through process during the episode:
First part: Hm, not bad... A few corny jokes, but there's been worse.
Second part: Wow, this is shaping up to be a pretty nice episode.
Third part: ... I was wrong.
Next episode preview: Seems that they're making it a direct continuance from episode 11... I wonder when, or if, they'll fit in episode 12.
And does anyone else think Renee Roberts sounds like a porn star name?

Today...the script was like the original, but more harsh. Like while Pudding thought Zakuro was an enemy, Kiki thought the girls should capture Renee.

The TV show "Ani Ani Animal" is changed to "The Wild World of Wilderness"

The random worker at the TV station gets named Annie.

The above name changes causes the Chimera Animal Garara to be renamed Annieconda.

The flashback is lengthened to match the ending of the last episode, but what they say is completely different. It's also moved after a shot of depressed Mint.

"Piece of cake."
"What do you mean 'piece of cake'?"
"He means she'll get over it"
"But...how can you be so sure?"
"Actually I was just wondering if anyone wanted a piece of cake."

Elliott is so evil.

"Want me to show you?"
"Quit monkeying around."

Now Elliott's just stupid.

(35 seconds) The Kishu/Deep Blue scene is cut. Because of this, it seems like Dren's attack on the girls is completely random.

Every sign that had kana on it during the CD signing/handshake session is de-kana'd. The posters of Zakuro get English text put back on them only for the first time they're shown.

Zakuro's necklace is decrossed for this episode wherever it appears.

The little shot where Zakuro's sitting in the car is mirrored to make it look American.

In the original, Kishu was telling Zakuro that if she joined him, he could change her back to normal. The dub changes his to Dren telling Renee that the Cyniclons would work with the humans and live together if she joined him.

(13 seconds) Zakuro leaving the room and Ichigo standing there crying is cut.

"Looks like they'll be missing a couple shifts at the Cafe."

Now he's just being MEAN.

The red light that Zakuro was caught in was her getting infused with the wolf DNA, not an attack by Dren. Bad dubbers.

(15 seconds) Kishu pushing Ichigo to the ground and holding her down while she struggles is cut short.

(3 seconds) A little bit more struggling before Ichigo knees Kishu.

(4 seconds) A close up of Ichigo running while she says "Mew Mew Strawberry! Metamorphosis!" was cut.

And that above scene was cut for the worst transformation scene yet. They show the beginning and end of Zoey's transformation, but in the middle stick a bunch of random clips from other episodes in. It turns it into a music video to Animal Instinct! My vote for "Worst Transformation Scene" and "Worst Use of an Insert Song"

(27 seconds) Kishu asking Ichigo to join with him, her refusal, and her discovery of her powers not working is DELET'D.

(15 seconds) Zakuro attacking her way out of the dimension is cut for some reason.

Zakuro's weapon is decrossed like it always has been.

(27 seconds) Ichigo's Ribbon Strawberry Check is cut out.

Zakuro's mark on her stomach is erased. You could barely see it in the first place, though.

The show and the fight that the Mew Mews were just in was shown all around the world in the dub. But...doesn't that seem a little...odd? In the original it was just shown around the country (which is Japan, if you couldn't tell from the name of the show)

(8 seconds) The five girls posing and saying they're Tokyo Mew Mew is cut.

The way the next episode preview talks (with Zoey saying "Just when I get up enough courage to face Mark...") it's like episode 12/the premiere never happened. Really odd...I wonder where that episode fits in now?

Total Retained 75%