Lettuce Midorikawa (碧川れたす, Midorikawa Retasu) is a fictional character in the manga and anime Tokyo Mew Mew. She is known as Bridget Verdant in the English dubbed version of the show, entitled Mew Mew Power. Retasu's given name is how you say lettuce in English, and her family name is pronounced "mee-dori-ka-wa". Lettuce develops a crush on Ryou Shirogane and kisses him once in the anime. Lettuce's full name means Lettuce Green River,and she is sometimes called Retasu Midorikawa. Retasu is Japanese for Lettuce.
History
Manga
Ichigo finds Lettuce at the museum, where she is being bullied by three girls who are yelling at her because she brought them hot coffee when it was hot outside. Ichigo runs to help but Pudding gets to the girls first, and they run off.Lettuce states she'll have to apologize to them later, and Ichigo doesn't see Lettuce again until after the earthquake. Later, the four girls are sitting in Cafe Mew Mew, talking about a mysterious ghost that haunts the pool. They try to persuade Lettuce to go and find out what it is. As their aggressiveness increases, Ichigo runs over with some food and purposely trips, dumping the food in the three girls' faces. Keiichiro appears and escorts the girls to the bathroom to wash up, and Ichigo introduces herself to Lettuce, who says she only hangs out with them because she wants to be their friend. The three girls appear and Lettuce leaves the Cafe. Later that night, Mint drags Ichigo (who, as it turns out, is terrified of ghosts) to the school at night to see if the mysterious creature is a Chimera Animal--but it turns out to be Mew Lettuce, who attacks them! Ichigo is about to fight back when she notices Lettuce is crying. Ichigo confronts Lettuce, saying that she's only fighting because she's scared. Lettuce admits to this and cries that she'll never have any friends. Mint comforts Lettuce, but Ichigo says she can't let hurting people go unpunished, and pretends like she's going to attack Lettuce, but Ichigo tickles her and afterward hugs her and they fall into the pool.
Tokyo Mew Mew A La Mode
Lettuce was among the Mew Mews who met Berry Shirayuki in her Mew Mew form. When Ichigo returned, she and the rest of the Mew Mews move to her school so the whole group could be together if an enemy shows up. Later, the Saint Rose Crusaders brainwash the people to believe that Berry was evil. However, Lettuce and the others stand by her side. After their enemy is turned good and the people knows that Berry is good, Lettuce and the other Mews Mews celebrate Ichigo and Masaya's fake wedding.
Anime
Running late for school, Ichigo runs into Lettuce (literally). A demonstation clip of a model car crashing into a wall and a dummy being pushed back by an airbag demonstrated how they crashed and added humour for some. The two fall over and the latter apologizes profusely. Ichigo notices that she has four schoolbags and wonders why, when three girls appear and tell Lettuce to hurry up. Lettuce apologizes one more time and runs off. Later, the four girls are sitting in Cafe Mew Mew, talking about a mysterious ghost that haunts the pool. They try to persuade Lettuce to go and find out what it is. As their aggressiveness increases, Ichigo runs over with "Ketchup and Mayonaise Parfaits" and purposely had her hand "slip, dumping the food in the three girls' faces. The girls try to attack her but she ducks and the three girls crash into a table. Keiichiro appears and asks for the girls to forgive Ichigo's clumsiness. Charmed, the girls go with him as Keiichiro escorts the girls to the bathroom to wash up, and Ichigo introduces herself to Lettuce, who says she only hangs out with them because she wants to be their friend. She thinks she is made fun of because she thinks she always does something to upset the three girls. The three girls appear and Lettuce leaves the Cafe. Later that night, Mint drags Ichigo (who, as it turns out, is terrified of ghosts) to the school at night to see if the mysterious creature is a Chimera Animal--but it turns out to be Mew Lettuce, who attacks them! Ichigo is about to fight back when she notices Lettuce is crying. Ichigo confronts Lettuce, saying that she's only fighting because she's scared. Lettuce admits to this and cries that she'll never have any friends because she has "this body" and that she is weird. Mint comforts Lettuce, but Ichigo says she can't let hurting people go unpunished, and pretends to attack Lettuce with her Ribbon Strawberry "Jail", but she tells Lettuce it was to get rid of her "weirdness". Ichigo hugs Lettuce and they fall into the pool.
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. She doesn't believe in fighting but does if she has to. She always does what she thinks is right.
At Cafe Mew Mew, Lettuce always tries her best, despite her clumsiness where she might break some dishes.
Lettuce had her first love in the anime which ended up as just friendship (he loved someone else) but she fell in love with hot-tempered Ryou. The question is,does Ryou love her back? This answer had not been given in either the manga or anime for the entire span of the story. But Mia Ikumi once reported in a private interview that in a future third series, that Lettuce will actually have a crush on an old friend of hers in the United States who returns to Tokyo later in this yet-to-be-released third series. The only details revealed is that Ryou (to the disappointment of many fans) does not love Lettuce, but merely tries to get her coordinated and faithful of herself. The only other detail to keep fans purposely guessing is that this unidentified character in the third series will posibly become Lettuce's permanent love interest. It is revealed later in this new series that Lettuce harbors an early childhood crush on him as strong as Ichigo's love for Masaya.
She also has a talent of making dolls, and baking a minority of pastries in the Cafe Mew Mew.
In the yet-to-be-released third series, it is revealed that Lettuce has private talents of singing and slow dancing.
Profile
Name: Retasu Midorikawa
Name Translation: Lettuce Green River
Age: 14 years old (15 years old in English dub)
Birthday: November 7
Grade: 9th (3rd year junior high by Japanese standards)(In 10th grade in the English dub)
Zodiac sign: Rabbit
Hair Color: Emerald Green (Lime Green in Mew Form)
Eye Color: Ocean Blue (Light Green in Mew Form)
Height: 5 feet 9 inches
Weight: 102 lbs
BMI: 18.7
Likes: Making dolls, baking pastries, slow dancing
Talents: Making dolls, baking, slow dancing, singing
Favorite foods: Any kind of stew/ Most pastries
Least favorite foods: Mushrooms
Blood Type: A+
Mew Mew Mark: Two dolphins just above her breasts
Color: Green
Henshin/transform: Mew Mew Lettuce Metamorpho-sis :: in the manga when we see her she has already transformed.
Animal: Finless Porpoise (Black Finless Porpoise in English dub)
Alias: Mew Lettuce (Mew Bridget in dub)
Mew Mew Power
In Mew Mew Power, Bridget is bossed around by three popular girls called 'The 3 Beckys' and vents out her anger at nighttime at the school. However, Zoey and Corina befriend her and she stops hanging around with the three girls. She also seems to be intelligent, while Lettuce is not mentioned to be especially smart. Although, Zoey once said that Bridget had a t-shirt that said "Me+Math=Love". This could mean that Bridget is exceptionally good at math.
Abilities and Weapons
Her DNA is infused with one of a Finless Porpoise, though she cannot swim unless she becomes a mermaid by 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, so to speak. Her attacks focus on water. In the non-released third series, Lettuce begins to become a mermaid outside of her transformation. i.e. depending on Lettuce's current emotion, she becomes a mermaid when submerged in water.
Tokyo Mew Mew
Weapons: Lettuce Castanets (Lettuce Tanet in the Tokyopop English version)
Attacks: Ribbon Lettuce Rush (Ribbon Lettuce Rush/Ribbon Lettuce Flash (mistranslation, and even Ribbon Lettuce Rash (Another mistranslation) in the English Tokyopop manga)
The pun of her weapon in the original Japanese is a cross between "lettuce" (retasu) and part of "castanet" (-sutanetto, from casutanetto) making it the "retasutanetto" or "Lettucetanet".
Mew Mew Power
Weapon: Combat Castanets (Also known as "Morse Code Castanets")
Attacks: Deep Sea Surge Attack (Also known as Tidal Wave Rush, and Underwater Surge Attack
Voice Actor
- In Tokyo Mew Mew, her seiyū is Kumi Sakuma.
- In Mew Mew Power, her voice actor is Bella Hudson.
Trivia
- She develops a crush on Ryou Shirogane (Elliot Grant).
- Eventually grows a more personal crush on an old friend who returns from The United States. [His name is not certified yet]
- In the Mew Mew Power, they currently never show (nor for some reason edit) her full transformation due to her being silhouettically naked throughout most of the sequence.
- It is rumored that she is the love interest of her enemy, the alien Pai.
- Ironcally she can't swim for sometime in the anime (until she gains her mermaid tail, afterwards she learned to swim), despite her element being water and her having fused with a marine animal.