Lettuce Midorikawa
| Lettuce Midorikawa | |
|---|---|
| Tokyo Mew Mew character | |
| Mew Lettuce (Mew Bridget) Lettuce in her Mew form as seen in the anime. | |
| First appearance | Episode three |
| Created by | Mia Ikumi Reiko Yoshida |
| In-universe information | |
| Alias | Mew Lettuce |
| Relatives | Eizaburou Midorikawa Yomogi Midorikawa Younger brother (anime only) |
Lettuce Midorikawa (碧川 れたす, Midorikawa Retasu) is a fictional character in the manga and anime Tokyo Mew Mew. Lettuce is known as Bridget Verdant in Mew Mew Power. She is the only Mew Mew whose Mew Mew Power name still refers to her signature color, as "verdant", her last name, means green.[3]
Lettuce is the third member of Tokyo Mew Mew to be discovered by Mew Ichigo. Her powers are associated with water.
History
Before becoming a Mew Mew, Lettuce was always taken advantage of, because she was shy and wouldn't stand up for herself. When she is infused with the DNA of a Finless Porpoise, she at first starts thinking of herself as strange, fearing she will never be able to have friends. She later accepts herself being a Mew Mew, and tries hard to do the tasks assigned to her.
Anime
Tokyo Mew Mew
Lettuce's anime introduction is a little different from the manga one. Ichigo never meets her until episode three ("Ghost Story from School: Finding the Ghost's true identity ~Nya!"), when she accidentally bumps into her on her way to school. The story of Lettuce being revealed to be a Mew Mew is almost the same as in the manga.
Mew Mew Power
In Mew Mew Power, Bridget seems to be intelligent, while Lettuce is not mentioned to be especially smart. Although, Zoey once thought that Bridget had a t-shirt that said "Me+Math=Love".[4] This could mean that Bridget is exceptionally good at math or is just interested in it.
The first part of her transformation has also been cut, due to her being silhouetically naked during most of the sequence. However, 4Kids has not given her a specific transformation, unlike the other Mews, and she only appears in group transformations.[5][6] They are also very inconsistent in doing this and sometimes she spins two times on herself. In the Japanese version, she spins only once.
Personality
Lettuce is a smart, shy, clumsy girl who is very polite. She comes from a positive family and always speaks formally. She always has a hard time opening up, but she is very sweet and helpful. She doesn't believe in fighting but does if she has to. She always does what she thinks is right but she is easily influenced by other people. Lettuce has strong moral values, but doesn't like to enforce them on people because she is so shy. At Café Mew Mew, Lettuce always tries her best, despite her clumsiness causing her to break some dishes. She has a very good relationship with Pudding in the anime, and thinks of her as a little sister.
Family
Little is known about Lettuce's family, as they don't appear in the manga, and only in one episode 34 in the anime. Her family has green hair, wears glasses, and she looks more like her mother.
Romanization
In the Japanese version of the manga, Lettuce's name is written in katakana and hiragana. When she is in Mew form, her name is written in katakana, and when she is "normal", her name is written in hiragana.[7] This was most likely done so that she can hide her identity as Mew Lettuce, and for emphasis, as it is common to write Japanese words in katakana.[8] Due to the difference being different writing systems, this was omitted in the English version of the manga, as English has only one writing system. Because of this, fans who have only seen the English version could find it odd how no one found out her identity.
Profile
- Name Translation: "れたす Retasu"=Lettuce (Japanese equivalent in kana), "碧 Midori"=Green, "川 kawa"=River/stream
- Name Pronunciation: Reh-tah-soo Mee-dou-ree-kah-wah. The 'su' part of 'Retasu' is to be pronounced like an "s", making the pronunciation more like Retas, sounding closer to "Lettuce".
- Signature Color: Green
- Grade: 2nd year of junior high school by Japanese standards[2] (10th in Mew Mew Power)
- Height: 161 cm[2] (5 feet, 2 inches)[9]
- Weight: 47 kg[2] (104 pounds)[10]
- Bust-Waist-Hip measurement: 87-59-85[2] (34-23-33 inches)
- Blood Type: B
- Hair Color: Dark Green, light green in Mew Form
- Eye Color: Blue-violet, green in Mew Form
- Likes: Making dolls[11]
- Talents: Sewing and making little dolls to sell[11]
- Favorite foods: Shortcake and Mille crêpe[2]
- Least favorite food: Mushrooms[12]
- Mew Mark: Two Finless Porpoises on her chest, colored green (pink in the anime)
- Transformation saying: "Mew Mew Lettuce, Metamorphosis!" (ミュウミュウレタス メタモルフォーゼ!) in Tokyo Mew Mew, "Power Pendant, Activate!" in the premire episode of Mew Mew Power ("Power Pendant, Mewtamorphosis!" in later episodes, but not all, as her transformation is often cut)
- Love interest: In the manga, her lovelife is mostly not given much background; there is only a small connection between Lettuce and Ryou Shirogane.
In the anime version, Lettuce's first crush is a boy she met and interacted with in the library. In the end it turns out he loved someone else and she accepted the fact and eventually became friends. She also had a connection to Pie, and he seemes to return it as well. During battles she would question him about fighting, hoping to get a truce and he began to warm up to her. In Episode 52 when the aliens leave, Lettuce calls out "Pie-san". Before that he had sacrificed himself to save the Mew team and smiled at her. The relationship between Lettuce and Ryou is strengthened. In episode 43, Pudding was jokingly going to tell a fortune about her and Ryou, but a very embarrassed Lettuce tells her not to, almost confirming she has a crush on Ryou.
Weapons and abilities
Her DNA is infused with that of the Finless Porpoise, though she cannot swim unless she becomes a mermaid with Mew Aqua (her legs become a porpoise tail). Later, apparently she can breath in water and swim a bit. In the manga, she instead becomes a mermaid when immersed in water while transformed. At first, her powers were fueled by rage, but after meeting Ichigo and Mint they were calmed down. Her attacks focus on water.
Tokyo Mew Mew
- Weapon: Lettuce Castanets/Lettuce-tanets/Lettuce Tanet (レタスタネット, Retasutanetto)[15][Weapon]
- Attack: Reborn Lettuce Rush (リボーンレタスラッシュ, Ribōn Retasu Rasshu)[Reborn][Rush][15]
- Weapon (manga only): Mew Aqua Rod (ミュウアクアロッド, Myū Akua Roddo)
- Attack (manga only): Reborn Aqua Drop (リボーンアクアドロップス, Ribōn Akua Doroppusu)[16]
- Weapon: Lettuce-tanets
- Attack (manga only): Mew Power Extension! (ミュウパワーエクステンション, Myū Pawā Ekusutenshon)[17]
- this attack is only used in volume seven with Mint, Pudding, and Zakuro to give time for Ichigo to battle Deep Blue.
Mew Mew Power
- Weapon: Combat Castanets (Also known as "Morse Code Castanets"[citation needed])
- Attacks: The name of her attack is constantly changing. Some examples include: Deep Sea Surge Attack,[18] Tidal Wave Rush,[18] and Underwater Surge Attack.[19]
Mew Mew: Amiche Vincenti
- Weapon: Fiocco di Lory (Lory's ribbon)
- Attack: Fiocco d'acqua (Ribbon of water)
Voice actresses and alternate names
In the original Tokyo Mew Mew anime, Lettuce is voiced by Kumi Sakuma.[20] In Mew Mew Power, "Bridget's" voice actress is Bella Hudson.[20]
In the Italian adaptation, Mew Mew: Amiche Vincenti, she is known as "Lory Midorikawa", and her voice actress is Elisabetta Spinelli.[20] and her transformation saying is "Mew Lory, metamorfosi!" (Mew Lory, metamorphosis!). In the Spanish adaptation, Miau Miau Power, her voice is provided by Dilma Gómez; her name is the same as in Mew Mew Power.[20] In the Portuguese adaptation, As Super Gatinhas, Lettuce is known as "Brigiti", and is voiced by Letícia Quinto.[20]
Character songs
Lettuce has two character songs performed by Kumi Sakuma, Lettuce's voice actress.
- Hitori de Itemo (Though I'm Alone) Played in episode 34
- Umi wo Miteita (I have seen the Sea) Played in episode 16
Both can be found on Mew Lettuce no CD (Mew Lettuce's CD). They are also included in the CDs Character songs megamix, Super best hits-Cafe Mew Mew side, and Super best hits-Tokyo Mew Mew side.[21]
Source notes
- ^ Lettuce's age is never said in the manga or anime. Her age is derived from her grade. This Japanese School System chart shows how old someone usually is, according to their grade.
- ^ a b c d e f g Takara Inc. released three sets of Tokyo Mew Mew dolls, with the first two sets being called the "Elegant collection." On the back of the first set, it lists their grade, animal, weapon, weapon call, height and weight, bust-waist-hip measurement, birthday, and favorite candy. The birthdays of the Mew Mews were first mentioned in Kodansha's magazine, Nakayoshi. Their birthdays are never said in the manga or anime (except for Zakuro's, mentioned in episode ten). Mia Ikumi mentions the dolls in volume four, page 48 (English translation; Tokyopop, ISBN 1591822394), saying she "was thrilled because Takara Inc. listened to most of my little requests!" and "was able to direct a lot of details".
- ^ http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/verdant
- ^ Mew Mew Power, Episode 22
- ^ "Episode 5 Comparison", by Kari, Mew Mew Power Uncensored. Retrieved on May 27, 2007
- ^ "Episode 16 Comparison", by Kari, Mew Mew Power Uncensored. Retrieved on May 27, 2007
- ^ Ikumi, Mia; Yoshida, Reiko. Tokyo Mew Mew volume 1, page 110. Kodansha. ISBN 4061789554.
- ^ Nihongo o Narau - Learn Japanese Retrieved on July 10, 2007
- ^ http://www.convert-me.com/en/convert/length
- ^ http://www.convert-me.com/en/convert/weight
- ^ a b Episode 34.
- ^ Ikumi, Mia; Yoshida, Reiko. Tokyo Mew Mew volume 3, page 85 (English translation). Tokyopop. ISBN 1591822386.
- ^ Ikumi, Mia; Yoshida, Reiko. Tokyo Mew Mew volume 1, pages 17, 107, 120. Kodansha. ISBN 4061789554.
- ^ Episode three.
- ^ a b Ikumi, Mia. Tokyo Mew Mew volume 1, page 133. Kodansha. ISBN 4061789554.
- ^ Ikumi, Mia. Tokyo Mew Mew volume 6, page 30. Kodansha. ISBN 406364006X.
- ^ Ikumi, Mia. Tokyo Mew Mew volume 7, page 56. Kodansha. ISBN 4063640175.
- ^ a b "Episode 3 Comparison", by Kari, Mew Mew Power Uncensored. Retrieved on May 27, 2007
- ^ "Episode 9 Comparison", by Kari, Mew Mew Power Uncensored. Retrieved on May 27, 2007
- ^ a b c d e Tokyo Mew Mew (TV), by Anime News Network. Retrieved on May 27, 2007
- ^ "CD's", by Lai Tsua, SAIKOU NI HAPPY!. Retrieved on May 27, 2007
Content notes
^ Reborn: In the Japanese version of the manga, the first word of the Mew Mews' attacks is written as リボーン ribōn, which translates to "reborn".[1] In the Tokyopop's English version, it is translated as "ribbon" throughout the entire manga series. The word "ribbon" (リボン ribon) is used in the opening song of the anime series, and リボーン could possibly be intended as a pun on リボン; however, there is no clear indication of this.
^ Rush: In the earlier volumes of TokyoPop's English translation of the manga series, Lettuce's attack was misromanized as "Ribbon Lettuce Rash" [citation needed] and "Ribbon Lettuce Flash".[2] "Rash" is most likely due to the way "rush" is written in Japanese. In katakana, "rush" is written as "rasshu" (ラッシュ), which looks more like "rash" than "rush". As for "Ribbon Lettuce Flash", the "r" and "l" are the same in Japanese, and Tokyopop used the "L", making it "lashu", which would translate to "lash", which sounds a bit like "flash".
^ Weapon: The pun of her weapon in the Japanese version is a cross between "lettuce" (レタス, retasu) and part of "castanet" (タネット, tanetto, from カスタネット kasutanetto), making it "Retasutanetto" (レタスタネット), which translates to "Lettuce tanet", or "Lettuce castanet".
External links
Template:Contains Japanese text
- ^ "Death Reborn Revolution and Death Ribbon Revolution: Rebōn in Tokyo Mew Mew", by Ian Andreas Miller, DIES GAUDII. Retrieved on May 20, 2007
- ^ Ikumi, Mia; Yoshida, Reiko. Tokyo Mew Mew volume 1, page 137 (English translation). Tokyopop. ISBN 159182236X.