Episode 16: Droplets of Love! Lettuce and the Little Mermaid

Season 2, Episode 4 - Aired: 7/25/23

'''Droplets of Love! Lettuce and the Little Mermaid''' is the 16th episode of Tokyo Mew Mew New.

Summary
Walking home, Lettuce overhears a lady call out to someone named "Ryo"; however, the person was different from the Ryo she knew.

The following day at the Café Mew Mew underground lair, Ryo and Keiichiro inform the Mew Mews about a plausible spot where more Mew Aqua is located, the Maritime Museum. Ryo planned to have one of them accompany him to figure out whether or not a Mew Aqua was located there, and Lettuce volunteered herself. It was decided that Lettuce would be best as it suits her Mew Mew Nature.

On the event day, Lettuce gets dressed and meets Ryo at the train station, where they ride the train to their destination. At the museum, they locate the artifact believed to be the Mew Aqua, and Ryo notes that it resembled the earrings that Lettuce wore that day. Lettuce also mentions how the artifact earrings resemble the ones from the Mermaid fairy tale. Ryo, though, mentions the earring's historical facts and asks Lettuce to see if it contains Mew Aqua. When Lettuce does, she's surprised as she hears a voice in her head.

Kish could then be heard who sat on a lifeboat hanging above the artifact. He then tried to steal it, but Ryo took it and passed it to Lettuce, who escaped while in her Mew Mew Form. Although Ryo tries to hold Kish back, he escapes Ryo's grasp and attacks Lettuce, who counterattacks, but still gets sent backward and falls into the ocean water while sustaining a cut to her arm. While drowning in the water, Lettuce locates the other earring artifact that reacts to the one she held.

Meanwhile, at the Café Mew Mew, Ichigo talks via text to Aoyama, and after Purin buts in, Keiichiro announces that Lettuce has gone missing.

Switching to Lettuce, she awakens on a beach where a pointy-eared lady mistakes her for a mermaid. Transforming back into her human form, the lady sees that Lettuce is hurt and guides her into town. There, the lady introduces herself to Lettuce as Madeline; while they walk, a man named Chiffon, who resembles Ryo, approaches them and tries to convince her to come with him. However, she refuses, and before leaving, Chiffon tells Madeline to come to the docks that night if she changes her mind.

At Madeline's house, Lettuce's cut is treated by Madeline, and when she prepares some soup, Lettuce asks about her relationship with Chiffon. Madeline then reveals that he and some others will escape the planet via a spaceship as it's foretold the land will sink into the ocean.

A flashback shows that the island they lived on was becoming increasingly submerged in water because of the planet's climate change. Two sides were formed: one wanted to escape via spaceship, and the other wanted to stay. Chiffon was on the escape side, while Madeline was on the stay side. When Lettuce asks Madeline if Chiffon is her boyfriend, she blushingly denies the notion. Lettuce then notices the earrings resemble the artifacts, and it's revealed that Chiffon bought her them one day. Just then, Chiffon contacts Madeline again, begging her to meet him at the docks; although she dismisses him, Lettuce convinces her, using the earrings to motivate her.

Upon reaching the docks, Lettuce and Madeline rush to the dock's end, where the spaceships start to take off. Madeline catches Chiffon's attention as they do, but falls off the dock in the process. Transforming into her Mew Mew Form, Lettuce dives into the water and manipulates it so the two can hug and embrace each other.

Brought to tears by what she did, Madeline's earrings started to glow and flash, sending Lettuce into an alternate space. There Madeline thanks her and reveals that, in reality, she never reunited with Chiffon and that her earrings embodying her regret, sank the bottom of the ocean. Before passing on, Madeline advised Lettuce to be honest with whom she has feelings for.

Back in the present, Lettuce is reunited with Ryo and learns that she has both earrings and the same bandage that Madeline wrapped around her arm. Later, it's learned that the earrings no longer have Mew Aqua in them, and by the ship's bow, Lettuce confesses her love for Ryo. Hearing this flusters Ryo who lists off positive qualities about her; however, he cannot reciprocate them as his main focus is the Mew Project. Lettuce understands, and after, it meets up with Zakuro, who praises her bravery.

Trivia
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