{"id":1422,"date":"2008-06-01T21:05:05","date_gmt":"2008-06-02T02:05:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/?p=1422"},"modified":"2008-06-01T21:05:05","modified_gmt":"2008-06-02T02:05:05","slug":"mermaid-forest-anime-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/2008\/06\/01\/mermaid-forest-anime-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Mermaid Forest&#8211;Anime Review"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/image\/stars\/3o5.gif\" alt=\"3 Stars\" \/><br \/>\nRumiko Takahashi is surely the most successful living <a href=\"\/fun\/terms-used-in-anime-reviews#manga\">manga<\/a> artist, and the most influential since  Osamu Tezuka. Just about every <a href=\"\/fun\/terms-used-in-anime-reviews#anime\">anime<\/a> fan is familiar with at least some of her work, including popular series like <a href=\"\/fun\/2006\/12\/20\/inu-yasha-anime-review\/\"><em>Inuyasha<\/em><\/a> and <em>Ranma 1\/2<\/em>. This one is less well-known. It is much shorter than most of her other works, and also much darker. (<em>Inuyasha<\/em> has some dark moments, but it alternates them with much lighter material.)<\/p>\n<p>Takahashi&#8217;s success is largely due to the fact that she is a good storyteller (though she tends to have trouble bringing a long series to a conclusion in a reasonable amount of time.) This is evident here: the stories are unsettling but compelling.<br \/>\n<!--more--> <\/p>\n<ul class=\"ItemList\">\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Original Title<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\"><em>Ningyo no Mori <\/em><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Demographic<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\">Shounen<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Genres<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\">Horror<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Contents<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\">13 episodes on 4 DVDs<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Languages<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\">Japanese with subtitles, English<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Based on<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\">A manga by Rumiko Takahashi<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Director<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\">Masaharu Okuwaki<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Character Design<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\">Masaki Sato<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Art Directors<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\">Junichi Azuma, Toshiyuki Tokuda<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Story Editor<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\">Yunichi Miyashita<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Animation Studio<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\">TMS Entertainment<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Broadcast<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\">2003<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Region 1 Publisher<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\">Geneon<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li> <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This is often described as an incomplete series. In my opinion it is complete&#8211;it has an ending that is as satisfactory as the premise allows. By the end of the first episode it is clear that Yuuta will never find what he is looking for. By the end of the last episode he has found something that is arguably just as good.<\/p>\n<p>In any case, 13 episodes are enough. These are entertaining stories, but by the end of the last one it is sufficiently clear that the desire for immortality will corrupt humans and lead them to commit depraved acts. I don&#8217;t need to see any more variations on that theme.<\/p>\n<h3>Availability<\/h3>\n<p>This is one of the series that was orphaned when Geneon withdrew from the North American market. However it is still in stock at most of the usual online stores, and can also be rented from Netflix.<\/p>\n<h3>Parental Advisory<\/h3>\n<p>This is unsuitable for children due to dark themes and extensive bloody violence. Teenagers and adults only please.<\/p>\n<h3>Premise and Characters<\/h3>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<a href='https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/06\/mermaidmoon.png'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/06\/mermaidmoon.png\" alt=\"Mermaid with Moon\" title=\"Mermaid\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1426\" \/><\/a>According to legend a man can gain eternal youth and immortality by eating the flesh of a mermaid.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<a href='https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/06\/monstertransformation.png'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/06\/monstertransformation.png\" alt=\"Monster Transformation\" title=\"Monster Transformation\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1428\" \/><\/a>What the legends don&#8217;t make clear is that this is almost impossible. Mermaid flesh is a deadly poison; most humans who eat it will die or become monsters. Only a tiny number, perhaps 1 in 100, will actually become immortal.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<a href='https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/06\/mermaids.png'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/06\/mermaids.png\" alt=\"Uncute Mermaids\" title=\"Mermaids\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1427\" \/><\/a>Also, mermaids are not cute.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<a href='https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/06\/yuutaeating.png'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/06\/yuutaeating.png\" alt=\"Yuuta Eating\" title=\"Yuuta Eating\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1430\" \/><\/a>500 years ago a fisherman named <strong>Yuuta<\/strong> ate some mermaid flesh. He lucked out and became immortal. However as all the people he knew grew old and died, he came to see this as a curse. He set out to find a way to become a normal human again so that he could live out a normal life.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<a href='https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/06\/yuutamap.png'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/06\/yuutamap.png\" alt=\"Yuuta with Map\" title=\"Yuuta with Map\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1423\" \/><\/a>I find Yuuta a rather frustrating character. It seems to me that he should be much more interesting than he is. He may have started out as a simple fisherman, but I would think that in the course of his 500 year quest for mortality he should have traveled around the world several times, studied at the feet of great teachers, made and lost several fortunes, and participated in epochal historical events. Instead he seems to have stayed in Japan, hanging around the fringes of society, avoiding notice and supporting himself with menial work.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<a href='https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/06\/yuutaconversationboats.png'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/06\/yuutaconversationboats.png\" alt=\"Conversation with Boats\" title=\"Conversation with Boats\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1429\" \/><\/a>As he travels around following rumors of mermaids, he meets people who have also encountered mermaids, invariably with unfortunate results.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<a href='https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/06\/manawalking.png'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/06\/manawalking.png\" alt=\"Mana Leaning on Tree\" title=\"Mana Leaning on Tree\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1424\" \/><\/a><strong>Mana<\/strong> is a 15-year-old girl who was raised in isolation and tricked into eating mermaid flesh. She also ended up immortal. Her background has left her very naive and ignorant about the world. Yuuta allows her to travel with him since she seems likely to get into deep trouble without his protection.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<a href='https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/06\/manayuuta.png'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/06\/manayuuta.png\" alt=\"Mana with Yuuta\" title=\"Mana with Yuuta\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1425\" \/><\/a>Though naive, Mana is strong-willed and determined. She doesn&#8217;t know whether immortality is really a curse. She hasn&#8217;t lived long enough to experience what life has to offer, and she wants to keep on living.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<\/div>\n<h3>Links<\/h3>\n<p>ANN Encyclopedia <a href=\"http:\/\/www.animenewsnetwork.com\/encyclopedia\/anime.php?id=2976\">entry<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Wikipedia <a href=\"http:\/\/\">entry<\/a> (spoilers.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rumiko Takahashi is surely the most successful living <a href=\"\/fun\/terms-used-in-anime-reviews#manga\">manga<\/a> artist, and the most influential since Osamu Tezuka. Just about every <a href=\"\/fun\/terms-used-in-anime-reviews#anime\">anime<\/a> fan is familiar with at least some of her&#8230; <a href=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/2008\/06\/01\/mermaid-forest-anime-review\/\">Read more &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,7],"tags":[64],"class_list":["post-1422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-anime","category-radio","tag-mermaid-forest"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1422","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1422"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1422\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1422"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1422"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}