Just when things didn’t look bad enough, things take a turn for the worse when the Hybrid Anima, Dust Wyvern, emerges from the egg atop Tokyo Tower. The other Chimera Anima were obstacles already, but this type of Chimera is a lot worse in so many ways.
And while the fight was hard, the way it all went down was a bit anticlimactic if I had to be honest. It did feel high stakes when the sky changed red and everyone around Tokyo Tower started coughing and collapsing. That actually is terrifying but the actual monster itself didn’t even feel all that threatening. The season ended with a lot of action both from last week’s episode and this one and while it was fine, it wasn’t too exciting. Maybe it was the animation, I’m not sure. When it turns out the Mew Aqua that Kish had was a fake and Dust Wyvern coming about, the girls were at a standstill until they decided that they could also just fight off against the aliens. Makes sense, and I guess Ichigo just coming to that decision helped Mint realize that she has her own options about the school thing. I understand that Mint was having issues with coming to a decision about that, but her coming to that decision because of Ichigo’s choice to fight the aliens kind of felt silly and out of nowhere. I don’t see how it correlates to her school thing but whatever.
Mint does get the spotlight this time around when she’s the one to sense the real Mew Aqua that was hiding above Tokyo Tower. With that classic magical girl nostalgia, Mew Aqua took the form of a wand that Mint used to purify the pollution in the area and weakened Dust Wyvern. And surprisingly Ichigo also…somehow, got a power up as well. I don’t quite understand why that happened, I guess all she needed was everyone’s powers to power her up. I know power ups are always a thing in magical girl shows but this one came out of nowhere, and it happened RIGHT AFTER Mint used her own personal power up a la Mew Aqua. It sort of took away from Ichigo’s own new attack, especially when power ups happen when the girls get a certain item or new power like Lettuce and Mint did. It just sort of happened and that was that. I’ve said this before but I do like the girls as a group and when they work together, but this honestly did come out of left field. The animation for it was cute though, and again I always like the cutesy rod weapons.
I expected more drama from Ichigo and Aoyama but instead we got a tight embrace under the rain, with both of them confessing their true feelings for each other. Them playing a slower version of the original anime’s OP as Ichigo ran through the rain was such a nice touch, it’s funny that I recognized the song immediately even though I watched the dub. But again, a cute touch. Things end bittersweetly as it looks like another alien is about to awaken, possibly the Boss like most magical girl anime follow. And so it ends there…but we already have confirmation that the next season will air in Spring 2023!
Final Impression
I was really excited for this anime when it was first announced since I never properly watched the original the way I should have (thanks 4kids). Did this anime live up to the hype and excitement I had? Sadly, no. This anime fell really short in a lot of ways and I am disappointed. I didn’t hate this anime but it did start to feel like a slog after awhile and I did feel more bored than anything at a certain point. And I’m not sure whether it was how the anime was handled or if it was the material itself, or a mix of both.
Because I will say, there are certain tropes and situations that happened that you’d only find in older anime/manga. Mainly the drama and romance pertaining to Ichigo and Aoyama was the biggest thing and I found it entertaining for all the wrong reasons. I do think the anime could have elevated certain scenes and characters. If I had to pick a favorite, I guess it would be Mint with Pudding as a close second for how funny and cute she is. But I can’t say that I’m exactly all that attached to them, and the whole team in general. No one is terrible really (except for Kish) but no one is a stand out. They’re just okay, and I think that’s how I would describe every aspect of the anime. It’s just…okay, and kind of bland. The animation at times would look nice, but other times just okay or even kind of ugly. The transformations were okay in general, the action okay, the voice acting okay. I already mentioned before that some of the actresses struggled and sounded like they were forcing too much but I did feel like they sounded better by the end. I hope for them to improve even more and have great careers, and this is a stepping stone. The OP and ED were both really cute though and they all sounded great! But as a whole package, the story handles a cool theme but so far it’s only alright. The aliens have potential but so far they’re kind of boring and I can’t stand Kish and just don’t understand his obsession with Ichigo.
Basically this anime just needs some work and I’m hoping that for the second season it’ll improve much more, both in the story department and characters. I’m not into the Ichigo/Aoyama romance but I’d be interested to see if it actually gets better especially with Ichigo still hiding her Mew Mew secret. This season was a 5/10, meaning it was very average. It had its good moments, cute moments, but also boring and sometimes bad moments. It was an underwhelming show that became a chore to watch after awhile, and I hope I don’t feel that way for next time.
