Review: 'My Bride is a Mermaid'

Anime: My Bride is a MermaidGenre: Harem, Romantic Comedy

Age Rating: Good for all.Studio: Gonzo, AICMusic: Yasuharu TakanashiAuthor: Tahiko KimuraDub/Sub: DubEcchi Level: Otaku

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Found this on someone's favorite anime list, and I'm a sucker for mermaids in mythology so I had to check it out. And so I did. And here I am, reviewing it for you.

Okay, the story is pretty basic, but that just makes it cooler in execution. Nagasumi Michishio is your average teenager who went to the coast of Seto for summer vacation with his parents. Unfortunately, he ends up in the deep end of the ocean, and starts drowning with nobody around to save him. Then, out of nowhere, a mermaid grabs his hand and rescues him.

When he wakes up, he's on the shore again, and goes home to find out nobody believes his story. That is, until Nagasumi's entire family is forced to come to the bottom of the ocean where the girl's family, who happen to be a bunch of gangster merfolk, live. According to the "Seto Code," Nagasumi has seen the mermaid's true form, so he either has to die (something her father is eager to do) or marry the lovely savior, Sun Seto.

So now we have a comedy about a young man, engaged to the daughter of a mermaid mob boss. A boss who wants nothing more than the death of Nagasumi himself for taking away his daughter. And the comedy in this series is fantastic. It's been a long time since I laughed as hard as I did during this anime. The ceaseless struggle for Nagasumi to try and spend time with his wife, while fighting off her father and his henchmen was almost a perfect balance.

Throw into the mix a head of the junior high discipline squad, a pop idol, a chimp boy, a submarine millionaire, and a literal terminator, and the result left my jaw aching. The characters each felt unique and the voice actors all played their parts amazingly well. Aside from the fact that the show basically proves that Chris Sabat is in every goddamn anime ever, it also sees actors that I personally haven't heard from as much, such as Alexis Tipton (Sekirei's Musube) and John Swasey (Who did a bunch of voices in the original Dirty Pair).

The animation was incredible as well, and switched styles almost on the spot to comedic effect. Each style it changed to fit the comedic moment perfectly, whether it was Nagasumi running for dear life from his future father-in-law, or a dramatic moment between characters.

All that said, I would like to say that the villain at the end is almost... too cliche. Not saying I didn't enjoy the final few episodes, but to try and push this narrative they made Nagasumi act entirely out of character, which was a bit weird. So yeah, if I had any complaints, then there they are. In order for the final episode to take place, the protagonist had to act sorely out of character, and the villain is a decades old anime trope to be sure. Oh, and the INTRO WAS TWO FUCKING MINUTES LONG! SERIOUSLY!?

But with those out of the way, I can't really say I disliked anything about the show. I do wish they had gone a bit more in depth with the relationships between the other girls, but it wasn't necessary for me to be satisfied by this mermaid funfest. I'd recommend it to anyone and everyone who enjoys comedic anime.

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TLDR: This anime is funny, and you should watch it. If you like romance (or what manga artists believe romance is anyway...) and comedy, then this is a top marks recommendation from me. The story is simple and not too overly intense, so you can just sit back and enjoy the comedy. I'd compare it to something like FLCL, but with less... random stuff out of nowhere.

RatingsAnimation: 10/10Music: 8/10Story: 6/10Comedy: 10/10

Overall Rating: 9/10

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SPOILER TALK BELOW!!! IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO HAVE ANYTHING SPOILED, DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER!!!

Best Girl: Iina Chiyo. Otherwise known as Class Rep. Yes, I know your name, and you never got your chance to shine. T-T The few episodes where she was prominent were pretty good, and her amazon personality when her glasses comes off is also hilarious.

It's funny how most of my Best Girl's have Chi somewhere in the name. =/ Weird.

In any case, I was slightly disappointed at the fact that none of the other parts of this so-called harem were really explored. Class Rep got a single day to spend with him, Lunar got nearly no time at all after the fiasco mid-season, and Mawari got fuck all. They just all of the sudden accepted that they weren't going to win against Sun. Which hey, awesome on the more level headed characters. But missing out on more character's gooey feelingness kinda sucks. But, the ending was amazing at least. Gotta say, I did not see that coming at all, and it was totally the right path to take. Go Nagasumi.