The Ensemble Mews are the protagonist Mew team in Ensemble Mew Mew that fight against a team of Danseurs called the Diaboliques. Each Mew has elemental powers as a result of their infusion with the Rainbow Pearl. Each member of the Ensemble Mews also has an associated instrument that both serves as their weapon and is present in their musical themes.
Willow Roth was the first to actually become a Mew, wholly by accident, with the others following due to circumstance. She discovered the Rainbow Pearl in the underground laboratory, in her home, and started to approach it while holding her cat Mitzi. The Pearl then reacted to something within Willow, radiating so much energy that it infused her body with its power and merged her cat’s DNA with her own. After realizing the Pearl’s potential, Cadence Harper, one of the three scientists in the series, actually decided to use this property of the Pearl in conjunction with research on animal DNA done by Viola Roth, Willow’s late mother, in order to create a potential team to fight the Diaboliques. Cadence partnered with Celestia Sweet, a friend of hers and Viola’s, to work on the Mew project and on researching the Pearl.
One of the side effects from Willow's direct contact with the Pearl was that she could now turn into a cat. Because she did not have her emotions wholly in control, Willow kept accidentally and involuntarily transforming. She eventually did so by accident in front of her friends while at school, after they surprised her suddenly, and the light from her transformation attracted the Diaboliques who promptly came after her. Willow’s friends tried to protect her, and together they ran back to her home, luckily outrunning the alien group, but consequently finding out about the Ensemble Mew Project from Cadence and Celestia. Knowing that the Diaboliques would not stop in their pursuit of Willow, the girls offered to help fight against them in order to keep their friend safe.
Fight Against the Danseurs
The team’s main goal was to stop the Diaboliques, who by then had become a major threat to Lune City. The first Ensemble Mews spent their time planning to take down the alien threat while simultaneously countering their enemy's own plans against the Mews. The Ensemble Mews struggled at first while still getting accustomed to their powers, but they soon managed to keep the Diaboliques at bay and work together efficiently. Though the original Ensemble Mews never truly defeated the Diaboliques, they came very close.
Downfall[]
The original Ensemble Mews failed. Celestia, who'd been working alongside Cadence on the Mew project, was kidnapped by Étoile and used as leverage to get the Pearl from Cadence, who handed it over in fear of losing her friend. Étoile studied the Pearl herself and came to realize that she could “control” it if she concentrated enough, and she decided to use this understanding of the Pearl to her advantage. In the Mews’ last battle, Étoile used the Pearl against them, taking everyone’s powers away and leaving them unable to fight her. The only one who who remained unaffected was Willow, who had fled in fear after seeing that her friends were falling and that Étoile was winning.
She disappeared after the team lost, and Étoile devoted her time to searching for Willow in order to steal her power too, not wanting to leave any “loose ends”. After the Ensemble Mews' defeat, and with Willow missing, the rest of the girls were instructed to just carry out their lives as normal by Cadence, who understood that progress against the Diaboliques was forever halted, so long as their enemy had the Pearl. The girls each went their own ways, splitting up, with a few of them moving out of Lune city. Willow, however, returned to the scientists soon after everyone had gone, feeling guilty for abandoning her team and now wanting to help stop the Diaboliques in any way she could.
Resurgence[]
Willow, after growing a little bit stronger and now desperate to prove her worth after a long while of training, foolishly and prematurely faced the Diaboliques before she was genuinely ready to. She failed, but managed to break a piece off of the Rainbow Pearl that Étoile had and escape with her life intact. Willow went back into hiding and promised Cadence and Celestia never to use her Mew form again unless necessary, fearing that the Diaboliques would find and hurt her. However, with the Rainbow Pearl shard Willow brought, the scientists were able to study the Pearl’s properties once again.
As they remained in hiding together, the scientists and Willow worked to do as much as they could to find a way to stop the Diaboliques. After a few years, Willow went undercover as a student to Lune High so that she could steal supplies from the school's labs, and met Marianne Richardson in her class. Marianne soon discovered Willow could transform into a cat, and she was thus put in danger, as school officials had overheard the girls' subsequent conversation about the incident and had reason to suspect the both of them. Willow took Marianne into the laboratory to hide with her and the scientists, but she was barred from becoming a Mew.
Cadence and Celestia did inject Marianne with animal DNA to see if her genes were compatible, in the case they absolutely had to turn her into a Mew. Although she failed the test and had no reaction to the animal DNA, the rainbow shard reacted to her. This was surprising to everyone, however Cadence still refused to let Marianne become a Mew and made it a point to teach her to contain her emotions to avoid any accidents with the shard expelling power. While Marianne had to resort to working with Willow to steal supplies instead, after a series of circumstances she ended up becoming a Mew anyway. She was caught by the Diaboliques while out with Willow one day, and in order to protect her, Willow had grabbed that rainbow shard from the lab and threw it into Marianne, infusing her with its power.
Because she was infused directly with the Pearl’s energy, Marianne’s Mew form and powers were slightly different from the other girls, and she actually posed a threat to the Danseurs while fighting alongside Willow.
While none of the other original Ensemble Mews get their powers back, they do appear once more later on.
The Mews all meet in Willow’s home and the underground lab, as it is hidden and private. The first Ensemble Mews used to meet regularly at Willow's home, however the lab became more commonplace as the danger they faced grew. Celestia, Cadence, Willow, and Marianne all meet and sleep in the lab, as Willow’s home above them was ransacked and left in shambles soon after the original Mew team split and the Diaboliques relentlessly searched the place looking for Willow, having learned where she lived and what she looked like.
Members
Willow Roth: Willow is the first to become an Ensemble Mew, and her alias is Mew Parfait. She is the shy group member, though her personality changes later on as she learns to be more self-reliant. Willow has the DNA of a Black Cat.
Klara De Jongh: Klara is the second to become an Ensemble Mew, and her alias is Mew Licorice. Despite Willow becoming a Mew before her, Klara leads the original team because of her sense of harmony and ability to help the Ensemble Mews work together. Klara has the DNA of a Black African Pygmy Hedgehog.
Daniella Gillespie: Danny is the third to join the Ensemble Mews. Around the same age as Willow, she is very energetic and happy. Her alias is Mew Tangerine, and she is a joyous and sprightly member of the group. Danny has the DNA of an African Wild Dog.
Vianney Soubrette: Vianney is the last of the original Mew team, and her alias is Mew Blackberry. She is the resident "rich girl" of the group, but is very kind and often invites the girls over to her huge home. She is the same age as Klara, and is often seen as second-in-command because of her age. Vianney has the DNA of a Purple Peacock.
Marianne Richardson: Not an official member of the original Ensemble Mews, but considered a part of them. Marianne meets and pairs up with Willow a few years after the original team split, becoming Mew Meringue and helping her fight against the Diaboliques. She is much like Daniella in that she is energetic and joyous, and like Vianney in that she is passionate and engaged. Marianne has alien DNA, as a result of her infusion with a shard of the Rainbow Pearl.
Trivia
The original Ensemble Mews were able to combine their powers and attack with Ribbon Pearl Ensemble. However, they had to use this sparingly because it was as extremely destructive as it was powerful, and the girls didn't want to compromise Lune City if they could avoid it.
