So, thanks to the first Live Stream Party we had during the anniversary, I decided to watch Tokyo Mew Mew, and I did!  I just finished a few weeks ago, so I've had a change to digest, formulate my thoughts, and share them with you all.  Spoilers ahead, obviously.

Plot
Entertaining.  The main romance developed nicely in my opinion (more on that below) and the main character with it.  The stakes got higher and the battles harder as the series went on.  Almost all the filler was great for character development, and I was never bored with the series (like Sailor Moon in the SuperS Fillerland).  The only episode I would not watch again is 29 - the cat marriage episode.

They did a decent job with the surprise identities. I knew from the start that Shirogane was NOT the Blue Knight, because the characters were all SO convinced that he was.  That made it a wonderful surprise when Alto turned out to be Shirogane.  I suspected that the Blue Knight was Deep Blue for almost his entire existence in the series (alien ears!), but Aoyama being both of them I only guessed much later.

The explanation of how the three were all facets of the same person, or whatever, was not very clear.  In fact, the whole finale seemed rushed and often nonsensical.  I mean, I know it's anime but... they regroup and chat for how long just fifty feet from the final boss?  How long does it take Deep Blue to get situated in his palace before flipping the destruction switch?  Why is Ichigo literally walking slowly to the final boss room when the whole world's existence depends on her getting there in time?


Sorry, the last few episodes just really stretched my suspension of belief there.

The environmental message of the anime, however good it is, was pressed a little too hard too often for me.  I don't like to feel like I'm watching propaganda, again, however good.

Finally, I wish the series could have ended with them all still together - keep the shop open! - but as normal girls, since that's what they all wanted and were promised, anyway.  I guess they had to keep the door open for another season...


Characters
Pretty good.  I've heard some people try to say that Ichigo=Usagi, Mint=Rei, Lettuce=Ami and such like.  But it's not that simple, really.  Their personalities are different in many ways from the Sailor Moon characters'.  Ichigo wasn't quite the klutz Usagi was; Mint was a tad more stuck up than Rei (anime!Rei, at least); Lettuce wasn't as brainy/nerdy as Ami; the Blue Knight was more powerful than Tuxedo Mask.

I do wish we had more backstory for Lettuce, sort of like Pudding got.  She just dropped onto the scene with no explanation. Also, it's too bad Mint wasn't given more than just the slight tastes of character we got besides "snobby rich girl".  We see her occasionally reluctant to fight, but it's a facet of her character that's not really explored much.

The aliens' redemption happened a little too quickly to me.  Even Kisshu/Quiche, who was rebelling against Deep Blue for a while, seemed to get too sympathetic to the Mew Mew too fast, after all the built-up antagonism.  However, Taruto was likeable at the end for me (through Pudding, probably).  In fact, the most emotional moment of the finale for me (again, through Pudding) was probably when Pai killed Taruto.  I knew everyone else would survive - but for a minute or two, I wasn't sure if the aliens would come back.  I literally shouted at my screen, 'They'd better bring him back!'

A common complaint I noticed was that Aoyama was too perfect.  It really didn't bother me much, and besides, he explained to Ichigo later on in the series that his being perfect was all an act of sorts, and that he's very cynical.  Which is at least a bit of character depth.

My favorite character may just have been Zakuro.  For being Zakuro.


'Ships
I shipped Ichigo with Aoyama simply because Ichigo shipped herself with Aoyama, and I liked Ichigo.  Let her have whom she wants!  A lot of the YouTube commenters wanted Kisshu/QuichexIchigo, but c'mon, man!  He stole her fist kiss on day one of that relationship!


MintxZakuro seemed more like a close friend/idol relationship than a romance, but what do I know?

PuddingxTaruto I wasn't into at first - Pudding seemed to have no reason to befriend him - but my heart went out to them at the finale.

LettucexShirogane - I like it.  It came out of the blue, though.


Artwork
Decent.  There were a few really good moments, and a few bad moments.  It's not a reason I would choose to re-watch. 


Music
Nothing special.  The transformation and attack music (especially Ichigo's) sounded like something out of Mario Kart 64.  At least that's what it reminded me of.  But the end credits tune was one I listened to every time, which is more than I can even say for Sailor Moon's, which are great.  I still have that tune playing in my head...


Overall
After the first few episodes I was thinking, "Magical cat-girls in a cake shop run by high-school boys... fan service here we come..." but in the end, it certainly wasn't focused on that.  It also felt like a formulaic rip-off of Sailor Moon to some degree at first, until the plot really started coming to fruition.  I would recommend it to an anime fan who is interested in this kind of thing.  7/10.

It's cool to see you liked Tokyo Mew Mew! I've read the manga but I haven't watched the anime, and Imd day I agree with your rating overall. It's a nice, fun show but it's not the greatest magical girl series ever or anything.

Honestly, your assessment is pretty spot on when I started to watch it years ago (like, back when there was only Youtube and fansubs.). I also, for one, would not rec' getting into the fandom itself much. There's a lot of wars there. I recall a lot of it.

I also shipped Ichigo and Masaya but only because I quite liked the pairing and I liked his character a lot. He reminded me of Mamoru a bit but way more cynical and asocial to a degree outside of that perfect act of his.

I liked the ideas presented in Tokyo Mewmew and I even read the manga for it (but not the part two or Mew Berry?? whatever her name was).

For what it's worth, I recall (but I'm not sure) that Tokyo Mew Mew was actually a spin off of an idea the author had called Black Cat but decided to lighten it up a bit.

Also agree the environmental message is a bit on the nose. It's very 90s. 'Cause everyone in the 90s had a lot of that.

Oh man, I saw the anime back when it was on US television as "Mew Mew Power." I collected the old tokyopop editions as they came out when I was 11-14. I never did see all the episodes of the anime, but I've had them downloaded for quite a while. It needs a rewatch, for sure!

I love Tokyo Mew Mew and I agree that it is a very good series. I watched all of the episodes of the anime and read some of the volumes of the manga. I am so glad that I'm not the only person who actually likes Masaya and Ichigo as a couple since I really don't like the Quiche and Ichigo pairing. To be honest I don't understand why some Tokyo Mew Mew fans hate Masaya so much and to me Masaya is a very amazing character who needs love, plus he is one of my favorite male characters in the series. What some of the Tokyo Mew Mew fans have to realize is that Masaya is not perfect and that he has flaws just like any other person.

The only reason why people hated Masaya was the same reason why they Hated Mamoru (Seriously, it's the same!) and it's why they liked shipping Kisshu/Ichigo and Usagi/Diamond (And to a lesser extent: Usagi/Seiya).

Both Kisshu/Diamond/(and lesser extent Seiya and Haruka at times) are extremely extroverted and basically provoke the heroine in the same way that old bodice ripper romance novels had the 'hero' do much of the same. Also, their aggression is romanticized and the 'But she can CHANGE HIM!" is a theme in a lot of those.

(Not with Seiya and Haruka, thank gods. In the grand scheme of things, those two are basically a godsave for Usagi to an extent, even if both are a little pushy with their flirtations.)

Another element of this is- the person with that ships it? Normally, it's because said person is imagining themselves as the heroine and it's whom they would pick if they were her. (Also see above about Aggression treated as Romance. This is still a popular thing aimed at kids and in a lot of romance novels.)

Both Masaya and Mamoru come off as 'boring' (either by the later season or something) because neither one is aggressive with the Heroine or extroverted overall. (Mamoru in season one is, and thus he's tolerated more until second season and down he becomes 'boring'.) mostly due to their reserve introverted nature. They don't do anything aggressive towards the heroine at all. Thus that elment of 'She can Change Him With Love' doesn't work. Thus boring.

Also see: He's a Lone Wolf! Not Friendly! But Because of Heroine (aka insert-self in her stead), He becomes nicer and she is the exception- thus super special!

Despite the fact that both Mamoru and Masaya have either A: Been faking a persona (Masaya) for the sake of things and only reveals to the heroine how he really feels (Mamoru). or B: Been evil and it's the heroine's love that helps him. (Oh look, the actual trope in action.)

I just find it funny that both Masaya and Mamoru represent the same thing and position to a degree and both get hated on for the same things.

Apparently, wanting to be with a smart dude that's more or less ideal and a good person is a terrible Thing.

I feel like it's not that they were good people, but they were kinda flat characters in the beginning. Especially Masaya-it's like he was a one-character-trait person for the longest time. I felt nothing for the guy as a character until the blue knight thing, which added more depth to him-especially when he figured out Ichigo's secret identity on his own. Knowing what information you find out later gives you a bit of a lens to look back at how "plain" he was and realize his own intentions behind those earlier actions.

True, but every time I used to see the reasoning, it seems like a consensus that that was the reason: They were boring because not extroverted enough or just, in general, good people.

To be fair, it's probably because also at the time it was a huge trend in some circles for that sort of thing too. 
(I'm also surprised that Lettuce and Ryoua(?)/Blonde boy weren't a more popular ship. Shy girl/'Lone wolf-like' guy?   But then again the anime killed off any hints towards these two. So it came off really out of no-where?)

I really liked the Ryo-Lettuce ship, but the anime gave absolutely no hint of it that I can remember until the episode where Lettuce kisses him underwater.  It escalated quickly.