Series:Tokyo Mew Mew Artist: Ikumi Mia Publication: Nakayoshi Magazine (06/2001) Details: Heart to Heart Trump Case Source: Scanned from personal collection
As many of you have known, mangaka Mia Ikumi, author of some manga, including the most famous “Tokyo Mew Mew”, passed away on March 7th. For many it represented their childhood, including mine, but not only …I wanted to do a better tribute instead of this quick sketch but the various commitments prevented me. However, I wanted to do something to homage her, because this author has given me a lot. Mia ikumi and her manga helped me discover this manga world … at 12 I entered a newsstand in Abruzzo where I spent the summers and found the fourth volume of MewMew with Puddy on the cover, from there a world opened up for me, I remember that I said to my father: this is what I want to do when I grow up, and I started folding A4 sheets and creating my stories, until I get to now, where I still have a lot to learn but if I got to where I am now it is only thanks to that manga and that anime I loved so much (followed immediately after by Inuyasha). So in addition to being deeply saddened by Sensei’s passing, I thank her from the bottom of my heart for giving me the strength and emotion to embark on this journey. Thanks Mia Sensei, rest in peace.
I don’t know how to begin to explain the reason for this drawing. Really not.
Perhaps I should start by saying that Tokyo Mew Mew is a work that I have a great and deep affection for. It’s an anime that I loved from the first moment I saw it on cartoon network back in 2005 and that I watched every night trying to never miss an episode. And that love resurfaced even stronger when I saw it again on YouTube around 2010 the afternoons at my grandmother’s house when I came from school and the nights I stayed over. I remember all the times I tried to draw them correctly (placing a paper on the screen to trace haha), when I cut out those drawings to play, when I took pictures of images from the internet with a phone that was only good for that. And of course I can’t miss the memories of when I read thousands and thousands of Kisshu x Ichigo fanfics; which is still my favorite ship, for which I even wrote my own fanfic on paper (which should be clarified, it was only the story of a couple of episodes rewritten so that my ship would be canon haha)
If I stop to think about it, it was thanks to Tokyo Mew Mew that I entered the world of anime and; above all, it was the one who gave me the inspiration to draw. It was Tokyo Mew Mew that inspired me to try to draw anime style, until finally I could start drawing without tracing (even if they didn’t look so good haha)
I think I could easily say that I owe a lot to Tokyo Mew Mew, but mainly to the women responsible for said work, one of whom sadly passed away on March 7. Mia Ikumi was in charge of the manga illustration and was very actively involved in the anime; both the original and the reboot that will be released soon.
When the news came out I couldn’t believe it; I refused to believe it, I wanted to believe that it was a simple fake news or a mistake, and when I got out of shock I just burst into tears. It had hurt in the depths of my soul to find out that the person responsible for all that happiness had passed away without being able to see the premiere of the reboot she had been working on and for which she was so excited, it was- IT IS just very painful.
But I don’t want this long text to remain in sad things. Despite the pain I want to say goodbye to her with a smile while I remember and thank her for all the good and all the beauty that her work left me. Thank you Mia Ikumi for having given me and many others something to treasure, something that we will remember with love and happiness, whether it was for having been part of our childhood or for having been an important part of the lives of some of us. Your work will always be kept in a very special place in my heart along with all the beautiful memories.
Did my best to fill in the gaps and color it like the anime. Their skin tones are taken from official anime artwork while the rest of the colors are taken from the promo image. Haft to say some of these colors really aren’t doing it for me.
