Ringo Akai

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Mew Ringo/Ringo Akai

Ringo Akai (赤井　りんご, Akai Ringo^?) is a character in the fictional world of Tokyo Mew Mew.

1 History
2 Personality
3 Romanization
4 Profile
5 Weapons and abilities
6 Voice actress
7 Character Songs
8 Trivia
9 External links

[edit] History

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Ringo is a character in the Tokyo Mew Mew video game for PlayStation that was only released in Japan. She is never included in the actual manga series as a Mew, but appears in the bonus story—"Petite Mew Mew"—at the end of Tokyo Mew Mew A La Mode volume two, as well as having her own bio page near the end of Tokyo Mew Mew volume six. In the videogame, the Mews meet Ringo while visiting a nature reserve island. Ringo has an older brother named Mashio, who is a ranger on the reserve and bears a resemblance to Masaya Aoyama. Ringo herself looks a little like Tasuku Meguro. Her Mew Aqua pendant necklace was given to her by her mother who passed away.

In the video game Ringo lives with her brother Mashio after her mother died. There is no mention of her father. After Ringo's pet penguin Yuki-chan transforms into a Chimera Anima, the pendant containing Mew Aqua on her necklace activates and allows her to transform.

[edit] Personality

Before Ringo met the Mew Mews, she had no friends other than her penguin, and so was a bit shy at first. She is childish and energetic, but also very gentle and caring. She refers to herself in the third person and calls everyone "onee-chan" (Japanese for "big sister"). She looks up to and admires her big brother Mashio a lot and always tries to do her best.

[edit] Romanization

In Playstation game, Ringo'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. This was most likely done so that she can hide her identity as Mew Ringo, and for emphasis, as it is common to write Japanese words in katakana.

[edit] Profile

Name Translation: "りんご Ringo"-Apple, "赤井 Akai"-Red
Name Pronunciation: Reen-gou Ah-kah-ee
Alias: Mew Ringo (ミュウ・リンゴ Myuu Ringo)
Signature Color: Red
Age: 13
Birthday: December 27
Height: 134 cm (4'3")
Weight: 30 kg (66 lbs.)
BMI: 17.8
Likes: Taking walks at night
Favorite foods: Apples and sweet things
Least Favorite Foods: Bitter and sour things
Blood Type: O
Mew Mark: a heart with lines coming out similar to ichigos located behind ear
Transformation Saying: "Mew Mew Ringo, Metamorphosis!"
Represented Animal: Humboldt Penguin

[edit] Weapons and abilities

Ringo is not infused with animal DNA like the other Mew Mews. Her necklace contains Mew Aqua that allows her to transform into a Mew Mew. She represents the animal Humboldt Penguin. Her attack is actually a healing technique. She can somehow understand all animals, not just penguins.

Weapon: Appletick (アップル・ティック appuru tikku)
Attack: Reborn Apple Pop (リボーン・アップル・ポップ)

Ringo's weapon name is literally translated as "Appurutikku", a combination of "apple" and "stick".

"Reborn" was incorrectly translated as "Ribbon" in the English version of the manga. In the Japanese manga it was written as リボーン riboun, which is "reborn". But, to an English native speaker, it roughly looks like "ribbon", so Tokyopop assumed it was "ribbon" which is seen throughout the entire manga series. However, many fans still call it "ribbon," as do fansubs and fandubs, as a vast majority of fans do not know the correct translation.

"Ribbon" was to be used only once in the Tokyo Mew Mew franchise; in the opening song of the anime, sang by Rika Komatsu, which sounds very different from リボーン riboun. リボン ribon was never to be present in the manga, but the English version of the manga has "ribbon" present.

A screenshot of the opening song of the Japanese version showing Rika Komatsu sings リボン ribon, not リボーン riboun.

リボン ribon and リボーン riboun do look similar, with the only difference being a dash between ボ bo and ン n, called a chōon, used in katakana. The chōon represents the length of the a vowel, which is very important in determining the meaning of a word, regardless of a words looking similar. Many non-Japanese fans who have seen the Japanese version of the manga and the anime most likely either didn't know that the chōon is important in determining the meaning of a word, or knew but didn't catch this.

Though Ringo is never shown in the anime, and story of the manga, non-Japanese fans who have seen the game mistranslate "reborn" to "ribbon".

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Voice actress

In the Playstation game, her seiyū is Taeko Kawata. She does not have an English voice actress due to the game only being released in Japan.

[edit] Character Songs

Although she does not feature in the anime, Ringo has two image songs sung by Taeko Kawata.

Rakuen wo Sagashite (Searching for paradise)
Iyashite Agetai (I want to heal you)

Both can be found on her character CD and Super Best Hits! Cafe Mew Mew side and Super Best Hits! Tokyo Mew Mew side.

[edit] Trivia

Despite rumors and speculations by fans, there is little evidence supporting the theory that Ringo is Ichigo’s cousin. There is no indication that Ichigo ever had a cousin in the manga or anime of Tokyo Mew Mew, so therefore it is highly unlikely that Ringo is in any way related to Ichigo, even though she somewhat resembles Ichigo.
Ringo is the only Mew Mew with no garter on her thigh.
The name of Ringo's pet penguin, Yuki, is the Japanese word for snow.
Both Ringo and Pudding refer to themselves in the third person