Lettuce Midorikawa (碧川 レタス, Midorikawa Retasu), known as Bridget Verdant in Mew Mew Power, is a character in the manga and anime series Tokyo Mew Mew, and one of the main heroines of the story. She is the third member of Tokyo Mew Mew to be introduced and her D.N.A is merged with a Finless Porpoise.
In the anime, Lettuce has a younger brother named Uri. She also made dolls as a pasttime. Her parents, Yomogi and Eizaburou Midorikawa, always encouraged her to be herself, and someday, she will have real friends. Lettuce still had her so-called 'friends' from school, called "The Three Beckies" in the English dub, though she still hasn't told them she is a Mew Mew.
Lettuce first appears in chapter one of the first manga book, but she is not named until chapter 3. She is at a museum for an endangered animals exhibit but she is being picked on by three girls. (In the English anime adaptation, they are known as "The Three Beckies" and their surnames are not revealed, but in this chapter, one of the girls is referred to as Satsuki.) They were shouting at her because, even though they told her to spend her own money of coffees only for them, they mocked her, saying no one would want hot coffee when there is hot weather. Ichigo runs to get help but Pudding Fong gets to the girls first and they run away. Lettuce says that she'll have to apologize to them later, and then doesn't see Ichigo or Pudding again until an earthquake that later occurs. During the earthquake, Lettuce, Ichigo and Pudding were trapped in a room and a ray zapped Lettuce, resulting in her D.N.A being infused with that of the Finless Porpoise, allowing her the ability to transform into Mew Lettuce.
Later in the manga, Lettuce and the three girls that were bullying her are sitting in Café Mew Mew. They are talking about a mysterious ghost-girl haunting a pool. They want Lettuce to investigate it, but she doesn't want to. As they shout at her, Ichigo runs over and dumps food on the three girls. Keiichiro Akasaka takes the girls to get cleaned up and Ichigo introduces herself to Lettuce. Lettuce reveals that she only hangs out with the girls so that they'll be her friend, but when the girls come back, Lettuce leaves the café.
That night, Mint and Ichigo (who had already found out they were Mew Mews) went to Lettuce's school to see if the mysterious ghost was a Chimera Anima - one of their enemies - but it turned out to be Mew Lettuce. Her powers go out of control and she attacked Mint and Ichigo, but only because she is scared. She starts to cry and says she'll never have any friends, but Mint comforted Lettuce. Ichigo tickles and hugs Lettuce, after tricking her into thinking she was going to attack her for hurting people, and they fell into the pool. After this, Lettuce starts working in Café Mew Mew with the other mew mews.
The difference between Lettuce's first appearance in the manga and her first appearance in the anime is that, when Lettuce meets Ichigo for the first time, it is in a different place. Ichigo is running to school, late, she bumps into Lettuce and they fall over. Lettuce is carrying four bags, because she is carrying her own and the ones belonging to the three girls that bully her. Ichigo wonders why and the three girls appear. They tell Lettuce to hurry up and she apologizes to everyone, including Ichigo.
Mew Mew Power
In Mew Mew Power, Bridget is bossed around by three popular girls called 'The Three Beckies' and vents out her anger at night in her school. However, Zoey Hanson and Corina Bucksworth befriend her and she stops hanging around with the three girls.
Once, due to a close encounter with a drop of Mew Aqua, Mew Lettuce changed her lower half into a mermaid. She changed so she could save the life of Ryou Shirogane, who she has a crush on. Lettuce kisses Ryou, (though it is rumoured that one of her other love interests is the alien Pie) but their relationship ends up as them just being friends because he likes someone else. Lettuce grew more confident because of the relationship her and Ryou had.
Lettuce's hair turns a lighter green and she doesn't wear glasses. She wears a green strapless dress with a skirt that fans out in a flower-petal like appearance, with green garters on her arm and left leg. She has a green choker that her Mew Pendant dangles from, and white lace lining on her chocker and garters. She has long white antennas on her head that reach her feet and knee-high green boots. Lettuce's Mew Mark is on her chest, with two curves that resemble a fish.
Lettuce is a sweet but shy and timid girl. She is very polite and always speaks formally, even to her friends and family, who she speaks to all the time. Lettuce's family is very positive and they told her that she would be able to make friends when she thought she couldn't. Lettuce becomes more confident when she joins the Mew Mews, and leaves the three girls that bully her (though in Mew Mew Power she still talks to them). Lettuce does not like to get involved in fights unless it will prevent her friends from being harmed. She is a shy, thirteen-year-old girl eight-grader (second year junior high student, by Japanese school standards) who attends Okumura Junior High (Excalibur High School in the English anime adaptation) and works at Café Mew Mew. Lettuce's favorite foods are shortcakes, grapes and stewed foods, while her least favorite foods are shiitake mushrooms.
Lettuce's transformation begins with a kiss on her Mew pendant and a declaration of her metamorphosis. Her pendant begins to glow while her DNA morphs, initiating the sequence. Lettuce parts her hands from the Mew mark on her chest, and she twirls into a flurry of bubbles, causing her Mew uniform to appear. She performs a final spin as her antennae sprout from her head and she lands safely on the ground, clapping and striking a pose.
Lettuce's D.N.A is infused with the D.N.A of the Finless Porpoise, a cousin of the dolphin, so Lettuce's legs can transform into a porpoise's tail when she is underwater (if she is in possession of Mew Aqua), greatly approving her ability to swim. She is the third girl to join the mew mews and, at first, is afraid to use her powers, but this changes because of Ichigo Momomiya and Mint Aizawa's encouragement.
Lettuce's attack stems from her weapons known as the Lettustanets. During her attack sequence, she rises up into the air with her arms crossed over her chest. She then parts them and manifests the Lettuce Castanets in each hand. Playing a small rhythm with them, she spins around and then fires a blast of watery power at the opponent.
Vajzat Mjau - Mbrojtëset e Planetit (Albanian) - Cady Marule
Mew Mew Amiche Vincenti (Italian) - Lory Midorikawa (Her Mew form is renamed Mew Lory)
Dong Jing Mao Mao (Mandarin) - Wo-Ju BiChuan (Her Mew form is translated to Mew Mew Wo-Ju)
Dung Ging Miu Miu (Cantonese) - Hueng-Choi BikChyun (Her Mew form is translated to Mew Hueng-Choi)
Berry Berry Mew Mew (Korean) - Leti Bae (Her Mew form is still called Mew Lettuce.)
טוקיו מיו מיו/Tokyo Mew Mew (Hebrew) - Retsu Midorikawa (While she keeps her original name, her transformation call and Mew form keep that pronounciation, thus her being called Mew Retsu instead of Mew Lettuce)
As Super Gatinhas (Brazilian Portuguese) - Brigiti Verdant
Mew Mew Power (Season 1 Portugal) - Bridget Verdant
Tokyo Mew Mew (Season 2 Portugal) - Alface (Lettuce) Midorikawa (Her Mew form is translated to Mew Alface)
In Mew Mew Power, Bridget is shown to be intelligent, while Lettuce is not mentioned to be especially smart.
Even though all her attacks are based on water and she can swim as Mew Lettuce, Lettuce cannot normally swim.
The finless porpoise (known as the "Sunameri" in Japan) Sunameri (Japanese finless porpoise) look like small beluga whales, and are called finless because they have no dorsal (back) fin. They are found in the costal waters of the Indo-Pacific.
Lettuce's birthday, April 29, is the "Day of Green" in Japan.
In Mew Mew Power, Lettuce, "Bridget", transformation into Mew Lettuce is not shown because she is mostly naked in her transformation.