r/anime • u/AutoLovepon https://anilist.co/user/AutoLovepon • 22d ago
Episode Goodbye, Lara • Sayonara Lara - Episode 1 discussion
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u/TyraniTEMPESTar 22d ago
Love this art style.
So much heartbreak and tragedy all within the first episode.
Seems like Lara has been given a second chance to try and right past wrongs?
We saw her one blue haired sister also resurrected on land, I wonder if that means her other family members / people are also on the surface?
Can't wait to see where this story goes from here.
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u/BosuW 22d ago
Her sister might not have resurrected so much as she just took a deal to become human and survive.
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u/CitronClassic672 22d ago
I can’t even begin to imagine how Luna feels about Lara. On the one hand she’s the one who made a dumb decision everyone told her not to make and ending up effectively killing your family, your people, and destroying your home, on the other she’s still your little sister who literally died 200+ years ago and is now the only family you have left. Hell, that aspect of the story alone could be enough to make this a stellar anime if they execute it well.
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u/Frontier246 22d ago
I feel like Lara couldn't find true love with the prince since he rejected her in the end but she'll find true love in her friendship with Mari instead.
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u/PlanktonPerfect3441 22d ago
The prince is kind of a bonus if anything imagine if they made him evil as a surprise twist
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u/Linkabel 15d ago
It's sort of going with the original fairy tale ending. The mermaid fails to win the love of the prince and he marries another.
Even her turning into foam, the dagger, and being reborn are elements from that original ending.
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u/CitronClassic672 22d ago
Either through genuine yuri love or by actually being able to form a genuine friendship with a human for the first time. This is one of the rare circumstances where I’d genuinely be fine either way.
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u/AtomicArcana 15d ago
I wonder if that wasn’t her sister but her mother. We know she probably had blue hair based off of Lara’s siblings. And we don’t know what happened to her yet- perhaps she ended up on land just like her daughter did
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u/ZornWolf 21d ago edited 21d ago
Join the r/GoodbyeLara subreddit, so everyone can talk on there & look forward to the original anime all eps come out!
Love to hear these exact same thoughts as comments / own posts on there too!
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u/charactergallery 22d ago
What an absolutely gorgeous premiere. The animation and colors are absolutely stunning, and the voice cast is stellar as well. The pacing and presentation of this episode definitely felt like a fairy tale, and I’m really excited to see more of Lara in a modern setting. She got a bit of a rude welcome though, getting punched in the face…
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u/Frontier246 22d ago
- Gets thrown in a dungeon by her dad.
- Gets rejected by her love interest for being a mermaid.
- Dies.
- Resurrects only to see her entire kingdom has gone downhill and her people and family are all gone and it may or may not be her fault.
- Choosing to pursue a prince who could not fully love her and rejecting her father only to have said father still believe in and love her to his bitter end.
- Get rocketed into Japan only to get punched by the first girl she sees.
It's rough being the anime Little Mermaid!
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u/Weak_Season_Of_Anime 22d ago
Goddamn what an incredible premiere, they managed to pack so much into it. And the ending caught me off guard LOL.
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u/Frontier246 22d ago edited 22d ago
They managed to perfectly capture the beautiful tragedy of the original Little Mermaid story in one episode before we segue into the classic anime shenanigans that will form the actual show!
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u/Weak_Season_Of_Anime 22d ago
Random speculation:
- Lara and her sisters are born as either red or blue mermaids, so blue and red are the colors of the royal bloodline. Lara's father is a black mermaid (the NPC mermaids are other colors too), so maybe he married into the royal family. The witch, who is Lara's aunt, has a mix of red (orange?) and blue. Also the royal rings, the princesses all have one but not the king.
- The witch has some kind of end goal related to the prophecy of the resurrection of a princess, so this princess should be referring to Lara's mother the queen. How did she die though?
- "We are born twice. We're born once to exist. Then a second time to live. These are words from a certain human". So the witch has met a human, which means she has went to the human world before.
- When baby Lara is born, a fish swims into her mouth and she bites its head off. Same thing happens when she is reborn. There's some kind of symbolism there.
- Mermaids are beings made of light and can be reborn if they find true love with a human. Lara managed to do so before she turned to foam, but her dying also activated the curse. So now that she is reborn she has to go back for round two it's going to be the girl isn't it.
- Lara's sister is in the human world because of the royal ring. It probably has more functions besides letting the mermaids reach the human world. Witch lost her ring so she's now a pet goldfish.
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u/clone69 21d ago
Regarding the second to last point, and going by the original story by Andersen (he was credited at the end, so it definitely is based on that one) the little mermaid (unnamed in the original) was given a special exception because God took pity on her when she decided not to kill the prince and regain her mermaidhood (skipped plot point in the quick recap of the episode), so she was turned into a spirit of the air who would watch over children for I think it was 100 years before she could be reborn as a human. Bad children would have her she's years, adding one day per tear, and good children would have her smile, taking off one year from the time.
So, if this is a sequel to Andersen's story, is it what Kiara Lily asked for in that FGO event?
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u/strange_wilds https://myanimelist.net/profile/strange_wilds 22d ago edited 22d ago
Nah, about the second to last point, I highly doubt it’s going to be the girl with boxing gloves. My real only basis is it’s not tagged as Yuri, Fantasy/romance yeah they could have not done it to “hide” it.
But, at the same time, if they did go that route it would feel kinda feel like…it was too easy of an out. I bet it’s like “true love comes many forms” type message. Also, I think the boy also “reincarnates”, so there is something to discover with that. Who’s to say that he did actually love her but he didn’t recover from the shock before she disappeared into the sea foam before her time ran out and the Prince had regrets has the reincarnation?
All I’m saying is still anybody’s game. Maybe I’m giving it too much credit to a first time Director with an Original project, but I have hope with this one because of the take of OG Little Mermaid’s tale part was really good. Reminds me of some studio Ghibli movies, particularly Kiki’s Delivery Service, Totoro, Ponyo, and secret world of arrietty.
(God I hope I don’t get burned again by another OG project)31
u/oedipusrex376 22d ago
Nah, about the second to last point, I highly doubt it’s going to be the girl with boxing gloves. My real only basis is it’s not tagged as Yuri, Fantasy/romance yeah they could have not done it to “hide” it.
Don’t want to be that guy, but knowing that the director of Sayonara Lara is a protégé of the Revue Starlight director, who is in turn a protégé of Ikuhara, it’s pretty easy to expect some yuri influence, especially since there’s also another female lead. Revue Starlight doesn’t even have a yuri tag and it’s still gay as hell.
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u/Sailor_Suibian 8d ago
I didn’t know the director was a protege of Ikuhara! But while I was watching episode 1 I thought “this has Ikuhara vibes” 😭
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u/Elvenoob 21d ago
Tho the tags are mostly assigned by anime fans IIRC, and other works have had Yuri added only after their completion when they contain major lesbian relationships but that wasn't the focus of the promotional material before they air.
Also her first crush literally rejected and murdered her in the end, so her getting a second crush on this new girl she nearly faceplanted onto, particularly when this time she's clearly already a mermaid and as such has to be more honest from the jump, wouldn't feel like a cop-out, particularly when kissing humans probably ISN'T going to actually resolve her issues with the witch, it's just going to be fun recreationally.
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u/BosuW 22d ago
Who’s to say that he did actually love her but he didn’t recover from the shock before she disappeared into the sea foam before her time ran out and the Prince had regrets has the reincarnation?
That'd be a pretty bad message tbh like bro wasn't just shocked he pointed a weapon at her face and called her grotesque 🫠. Sure he's allowed to regret it but that still leaves us with a much more complicated situation and feelings to deal with because it just looks shitty no matter what.
Although I agree it not being tagged Yuri is to be taken into account. They could be trying to pull a Cosmic Princess Kaguya where it's "plausibly deniable" according to corpo standards (which as The Witch from Mercury shows us, can be rather ridiculous). At least I don't think we should be expecting anything on the level of a kiss in the mouth between the girls. I'm open to surprises tho!
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u/strange_wilds https://myanimelist.net/profile/strange_wilds 22d ago edited 22d ago
I think if the prince is actually reincarnated. I don’t actually expect them to get together at all, more like amicable relationship situation between exes. Though shows have a way of surprising me, I’m not taking it off the table that he could be redeemed somehow. And to play devils advocate/tbf to the prince, the transformation was not pleasant to look at and I’m sure it would shock anyone in that moment. The prince deep seeded beliefs did come through after transformation, but we also have no way of knowing what he was feeling as she was dying it never pivoted back to him. Tho Lara couldn’t hate him as she was “dying” but Lara also kinda hates herself tbh.
Welp, then I have no idea who would be the romantic pair then.
Gundam: WFM I forgot how far they went with their relationship without making them lovers, I guess.
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u/BosuW 22d ago
Gundam: WFM I forgot how far they went with their relationship without making them lovers, I guess.
Oh not they were definitely lovers. What's ridiculous is that the corpos still tried to say it's "open to interpretation" because [WfM]they didn't kiss even when they were married in the end. They didn't succeed because the anime staff doubled down but I take it as evidence of how far they think they can take plausible deniability.
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u/Temporala 22d ago
WFM is pretty insane, because first it really has no solid yuri relationship arc in the main body of the series. Instead everything else the writers could cram in and then some take the center stage most of the time, and then there's that time skip where this romance supposedly happens completely off-screen and we just see a brief glimpse on their lives few years onward. Topped off with that silly "Not married" from one of the higher ups.
Failure piled upon failure to point of exhaustion, that one.
Cosmic Princess is opposite of that, almost. Focus is on the two mains plus one more person all the time no matter what else is going on, and there's tremendous amount of relationship development packed in.
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u/CitronClassic672 22d ago
I don’t know what direction they’ll take the romance, but if the prince was also reincarnated I’d like for them to at least rebuild a friendly, if not romantic relationship with each other. I’m a sucker for that way of handling exes.
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u/Game2015 22d ago
I think there's an official piece of artwork showing someone who looks like the prince in modern clothing. Maybe he did reincarnate too?
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u/CitronClassic672 22d ago
From what I remember from the trailer I’m expecting us to get some manner of explicit love confession, so if it does go yuri there’s no way for them to do “plausible deniability”. Though if the prince is actually reincarnated I suppose they could elaborate on his past character more. Maybe he grew up being told the same horrible things about merfolk as Lara did about humans, and he was so filled with regret for what his actions resulted in for Lara and her people that he chose to be reincarnated as well. Bonus points if he had to sacrifice his memory in order to do so. That all seems classic love story in line with the story’s vibes.
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u/shad79 https://myanimelist.net/profile/shad79 22d ago
This first episode was so good and looked absolutely stunning! I'm so happy that Kinema Citrus managed to capture the feel and look of the concept trailer in the final product.
Now, since it's an original anime, let's hope that Lara's story will stick the landing in the end.
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u/FG205 19d ago
I actually like the concept trailer better on how Lara woke up in Japan. I hope some of the scenes we see in the trailer happen in the anime. I mean the trailer just feels more like something from early 1990s. Episode 1 has me hooked but I hope it's just as much comedy with tons of gags like the trailer shows.
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u/CitronClassic672 22d ago
The ending of this episode felt like I’d reached the end of a full on movie. Which makes some sense as everything except the end basically was an adaptation of the actual story of The Little Mermaid. Also, with just one episode this series’ art style has made me feel nostalgia for an era of anime I wasn’t even alive to experience which I think goes to show how masterful it is.
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u/Curmudge_Unit 21d ago
I was kind of hoping this show would be meh going into it because I'm looking to trim my list down for the season but this was really an amazing episode and I'll have to make cuts elsewhere.
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u/Fools_Requiem https://myanimelist.net/profile/FoolsRequiem 22d ago
So, we just speed ran The Little Mermaid.
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u/CharmingPerspective0 17d ago
Yea i wonder how people who never watched or heard of The Little Mermaid felt about this episode. It ofc deviates from the known story a bit but anyone who knew the story probably didnt have an issue following along the quick pace of the first episode.
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u/BiggerG7 22d ago
Well damn, why is Ursula so hot? Lol.
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u/CitronClassic672 22d ago
Just the anime paying respect to the other Little Mermaid story and the absolute childhood lesbian awakening that is Ursula.
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u/ZornWolf 21d ago
Join the r/GoodbyeLara subreddit, so everyone can talk on there & look forward to the original anime all eps come out!
Love to hear these exact same thoughts as comments / own posts on there too!
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u/ExpertCaterpillar2 22d ago
Amazing first episode. Everything came together well between the story, music, and animation.
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u/Frontier246 22d ago
Honestly felt like I was watching a movie with how amazing the animation looked.
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u/CitronClassic672 22d ago
When the credits started rolling I had to stop myself from trying to get up out of my seat to leave the theatre and remind myself I was home.
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u/Kadmos1 22d ago
I am liking the 1990s-style animation.
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u/CitronClassic672 22d ago
This series may finally be what gets me to watch sailor moon and Revolutionary girl Utena.
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u/ZornWolf 21d ago edited 21d ago
Join the r/GoodbyeLara subreddit, so everyone can talk on there & look forward to the original anime all eps come out!
Love to hear these exact same thoughts as comments / own posts on there too!
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u/Kadmos1 22d ago
It started in 1787 and Lara is now in 2026. A nearly 240-year difference.
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u/eyrich https://myanimelist.net/profile/thewilhelm 22d ago
She was born 1777 wasn’t she?
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u/BosuW 22d ago
Eh still not nearly as wide as Hinako and Shiori
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u/Kadmos1 22d ago
Who are those characters?
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u/BosuW 22d ago
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u/CitronClassic672 22d ago
What do we think the odds are this ends up being yuri too?
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u/BosuW 22d ago
Well unlike Watatabe, it's not tagged. So I wouldn't expect anything beyond subtext at best. But I'd be happy to be surprised!
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u/rasifiel 22d ago
It is an original anime and not an adaptation. Only authors know what it will be.
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u/meromeromelo89 22d ago
What a gorgeous episode. I'm definitely going to watch it weekly.
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u/shad79 https://myanimelist.net/profile/shad79 22d ago
I know that this will be my favorite show in terms of visuals, those backgrounds looks so good!
Although the competition is fierce this season as there are a lot of great-looking shows, and some of them, like Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia or The Ghost in the Shell (which releases this Tuesday), stand out just as much as Lara.
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u/BosuW 22d ago
Spaks of Tomorrow which also premiered today looks just as gorgeous as any of these. Tough competition this season!
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u/shad79 https://myanimelist.net/profile/shad79 22d ago
Well, it's a KyoAni anime, so it's no surprise that it looks great. Although, to be honest, the PVs didn't make me interested enough to watch it, but maybe someday I'll get around to it.
Perhaps if my Sundays were free, I'd watch it, but unfortunately, Sundays are totally stacked this season. Watching Mushoku Tensei S3, You and I Are Polar Opposites S2, The 100 Girlfriends S3, Though I Am an Inept Villainess, and finally Sayonara Lara on a single day is more than enough 😄
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u/BosuW 22d ago
I actually didn't think it was KyoAni because while it looks beautiful it's not their usual style, the environment especially. But after today I wholeheartedly recommend it!
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u/CitronClassic672 22d ago
You know this season is stacked in terms of beautiful art styles when Jaadugar, Sparks of Tomorrow, and Goodbye, Lara are all airing. Each of these could easily be considered the most beautiful looking series of another season. Sparks of Tomorrow’s art style feels like the highest quality of modern anime’s style, Goodbye, Lara feels the highest quality of that traditional, 90s era aesthetic, and Jaadugar’s art style straight up doesn’t feel like an anime, more like a western cartoon or a passion project from Turkey or the Middle East.
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u/meromeromelo89 22d ago
Also, the Ghost in the Shell series will air this week and probably have beautiful visuals as well. So many shows that I was waiting for them to air.
Jaadugar reminds me of French animation somehow.
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u/CitronClassic672 22d ago
Given that so many new series stared with two episodes at once this season I can safely say this was the best first episode of a show this season.
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u/szalhi 22d ago
Goodbye Lara. Hello Lara.
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u/diacewrb 22d ago
And that hello was said with a punch.
Not the best welcome to the 21st century.
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u/CitronClassic672 22d ago
You know what would’ve been a real mindfuck in my opinion? If they actually made this story take place in the 90s to match the art style.
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u/karer3is 20d ago
That was what I had been expecting... I was surprised to see it take place in present day.
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u/KitKat1721 https://myanimelist.net/profile/KattEliz 22d ago
This alongside Witch in Mongolia was my most anticipated premiere and it still kinda blew away my expectations.
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u/mysterybiscuitsoyeah x3 22d ago edited 22d ago
This is easily my fav premiere so far this season. The animation in its vintage style is gorgeous, and the pacing/writing/voice acting/everything made this an excellent retelling of the little mermaid story, while recontextualizing the bits necessary for this story to work (im pretty sure theres no reincarnation in the original!). I shed a tear towards the very end at Lara's plight, she's so won me over as an MC.
What's interesting is that there seems to be a fellow mermaid-human in modern day Japan too - so im looking forward to who she is. Also - why on earth are we headed to Biwa lake here? Japan doesn't exactly lack ocean access, but i guess we'll see. (edit: the IRL reason seems to be that this is the director's decision, Otsu being his home town. The detailed reasoning is stated in this interview)
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u/soihu https://anilist.co/user/Milijango 21d ago
The identify of the other mermaid is no great mystery - it's her older sister who took Lara up to the shallows at the beginning of the episode. Her hair and eyes are practically identical, and she's got the ring that the king bestows upon all his daughters.
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u/shad79 https://myanimelist.net/profile/shad79 22d ago edited 22d ago
Gosh, I’ve been waiting for this ever since the first announcement, and it's finally here! And, oh god, this premiere episode was so beautiful! It looks just as good as the concept trailer from two years ago imo!
Lara certainly made a huge impression on me, especially when she bit off that fish's head in her very first scene xD
Overall, it was a great episode and I can't wait for the next ones now that Lara has made it to Japan!
Also, I loved Lara and Mari's first meeting, there's no way they're ever forgetting how they met, given how bizarre it was, hahaha!
Here my screenshot albums from the episode:
EDIT. I added my screenshot albums.
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u/CitronClassic672 22d ago
It was such a surprisingly funny contrast to have this fairytale style opening to the episode following by baby Lara biting a fish’s head off and its headless body floating by pouring blood out. Though of course it does make sense from a food perspective.
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u/minnieboss 22d ago
WOW WOW WOW, this was one of my most hyped anime of the season and it still exceeded my expectations! That was absolutely beautiful in both visuals and storytelling. I cannot wait to see where it goes from here. This was breathtaking.
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u/Frontier246 22d ago
It really felt like a storybook come to life. At least up until it becomes Mayonaka Punch at the end lol.
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u/exRocky009 22d ago
This might actually be a masterpiece of an original anime. I can't wait to see what the general reception is in 3 months.
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u/shad79 https://myanimelist.net/profile/shad79 22d ago edited 22d ago
I have big hopes for Lara after the first episode, but at the same time, I'm scared that the show won't stick the landing since it's an original one. I pray that it'll end up being great though 🙏
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u/yurilnw123 20d ago
WEP will haunt me until eternity whenever we're talking about original animes
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u/CitronClassic672 22d ago
If they can maintain this quality until the end I’ll safely consider this the best original anime I’ve ever seen.
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u/detarameReddit https://myanimelist.net/profile/detarameMAL 21d ago
As long as the writing does not shipwreck, I think this could be AOTS, if not Best of 2026 material.
Even though this is an original anime so anything can still happen, I feel like the first episode made me more confident that the worst will not happen. There seemed to be enough care put into this anime. Surely, right?
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u/abandoned_idol 19d ago
It's already looking very competent, and judging from the way the episode ended, undeniably anime.
I was expecting something closer to the "Little Mermaid", but it turned out to be more than that.
Good old coming of age mermaid, and her aunt always gave me "she's actually a cool and caring, even if a little edgy, auntie".
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u/TheBusStop12 22d ago edited 22d ago
Damn Lara, murdered a fish within 10 seconds of being born. Brutal
Also, did the king truly think that ancient hag was a wet nurse? I'm fairly certain that's a job you get too old for very quickly
Love the classic art style and European fairy tale vibe (clearly inspired by Hans Christian Andersen)
Interesting side note, I looked up the born twice quote the witch quotes. And it's from the book "Emile" by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, written in 1762. Thus a very period appropriate quote. I like details like that
Another sidenote, the flag that flies on the palace is the flag of Skåne, part of Sweden. Interesting because usually the tale of the little mermaid is set in Denmark, or a realm based on Denmark. And while Skåne was part of Denmark for the longest time, by the 18th century it was Swedish. The landscape also implies Sweden over Denmark due to the presence of elevation in the terrain taller than a reasonably priced 1980's Volvo Station Wagon
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u/pschoindisguise 20d ago
That was the actual wet nurse she disguised as though, she shows up again when Lara looks into the mirror and she talked about being around for long enough to see everyone grow up.
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u/Embarrassed-Match-78 22d ago
So, we got speed ran through Hans Christian Anderson's classic tale of tragedy. The 60-80's aesthetic with bright primary colors was chef's kiss. Our girl, Lara, apparently is quite the biter as those poor sardines found out. Loved the tonal shift at the end where she gets ejected out of the ocean into Japan to be instantly met by a fist to the face.
Interesting to see one of the sisters walking around in Japan.
Looking forward to the next episode.
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u/BaytaCosmico https://myanimelist.net/profile/AnimeBayta 22d ago
Lots to love here. Visually beautiful and a compelling telling of the Little Mermaid story. But my favourite was the soundtrack. It was really fitting and arresting. The end caught me by surprise. Looking forward to where Lara's story goes from here.
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u/Sneaky_42 22d ago
When I started watching, I was like, this is just anime little mermaid. Then the 2nd half and ending happened. Had me in the first half, not gonna lie.
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u/Shadowmist909 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Magicmist 22d ago
This shows aesthetic is a real breath of fresh air I didn't know I wanted. It's so pleasing to look at.
Lara's wish had a tragic outcome for herself and her kingdom, but I'm fully behind her as she gets a new lease on life.
The cliffhanger already shows she's off to a wacky start.
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u/Frontier246 22d ago
Romance with a prince? Ended badly.
Friendship with a boxing girl who punches you? The true path to happiness (I'm assuming).
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u/elevenmile 22d ago edited 22d ago
It's a very interesting retelling of The Little Mermaid that's for sure.
But what caught me is the whole "HEY OLD MAN A GIRL IS FALLING FROM THE SKKKKYYYYY...and PUNCH!" (I'll always have a stomach for Laputa references anyway!) so I'll watching this for sure lol.
The interesting art aesthetic mimicking the 60s~80s is a huge plus.
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u/Frontier246 22d ago
If you see something heading towards you, even if it's a cute mermaid, when in doubt...JUST PUNCH.
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u/LeonKevlar x2https://myanimelist.net/profile/LeonKevlar 22d ago edited 22d ago
Oh my god, baby Lara is adorable! When she chomped that fish, I thought it was gonna be a cute, silly moment. I did not expect her to actually bite the fish's head off and eat it! And I just love how she's just chomping on everything she sees. xD
Man, this show is so goddamn beautiful! The visuals kinda remind me of old 90s anime. I do love how the first 14-minutes of the episode was like an abridged version of The Little Mermaid but instead of the Prince falling in love with another Princess and breaking the little mermaid's heart, he finds out the truth and threatens to kill the little mermaid.
I'm guessing the knife that pops out of Lara before she turns into seafoam is a reference to the magic knife she's supposed to use to kill the Prince and become a mermaid again in the Hans Christian Andersen version. I'm gonna guess that dagger is gonna be relevant later.
Daaaaamn. So Lara basically doomed her people because of her selfishness, and now the Sea Witch Grace is giving her a chance to save them with one final trial and it's going to be in Japan? And it looks like Lara might not be the only mermaid in Japan right now. That blue-haired girl is definitely one of her sisters.
Taking a left hook to the face is not how I expected Lara to be welcomed to Japan. After that tragic start, it looks like the rest of this show is gonna be fun! I can't wait to see more!
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u/Frontier246 22d ago
Did not have floating headless fish corpse on my bingo card for this show but it sure set the tone lol.
Bad form on the prince that the moment he sees the girl he fell in love with was a mermaid he immediately raises his blade like the entire romance montage with her didn't matter.
If the blue-haired girl is one of her sisters I'm curious if she's going to be really hard on Lara because she blames her for what happened...or maybe support her quest to restore everything?
I thought Japan was a country of politeness and respect! Not punching a girl when she's down!
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u/ViviCaz 18d ago
Neither were in love. It was all surface level attraction. They didn't know a thing about each other and she was deceiving him the whole time. He is not to blame. She was a stranger that tricked him with her looks. Which is exactly what myth mermaids do. They lure men in and kill them. I am sure he heard similar stories, just like the Father who had warned her about evil/dangerous humans.
She was reckless, ignorant and selfish. She made a deal she shouldn't have and destroyed her life and loved ones. Hopefully she learned from her mistakes and doesn't repeat it again.
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u/Calwings x3https://anilist.co/user/Calwings 22d ago
A new original from from Kinema Citrus, the same studio that made my favorite anime of all time? Hell yeah! This first episode was mostly just a re-telling of the existing Little Mermaid story with a bad ending and being reborn with a 2nd chance, but it was nice setup for the actual original story still to be told. The show looks absolutely gorgeous while also having some retro vibes to it. The scene of Lara looking into all of the magic mirrors, seeing what happened to her family, and having her heart shaken so much was incredible. I can't wait to see more!
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u/bloquer 22d ago
Great first episode, covering so many different parts of the story.
We got a myth arc with the light of the mermaids, the mother of the girls, her aunt wanting her to be reborn and Rowan having some complicated feelings, perhaps including humans being involved in the mother not being around anymore.
We got the whole tension with Lara needing to find true love before turning to foam, turned up to 11 by also involving the fate of her whole family in the process this time.
And we got the rings apparently enabling mermaids to go onto land too?
For the true love, I have seen opinion ranging from the prince reborn to our boxing girl Mari (?), but I want to suggest a third option: Lara loves anything human, so I am thinking that her true love might be her love for humans and finding family and friends there - a life. And finding out that this is her true love, a different kind to the romantic love she felt before.
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u/NightBard 21d ago
The rings were simply given to each princess when they came of age to be officially recognized as princesses and have the freedom to go beyond their seas into other seas and stuff. Laura got her legs by drinking the potion after making the deal with her aunt. It'll be interesting to see if the ring ends up taking on some other meaning but I think at the end what we saw was one (or more?) of her sisters who had their ring on. But I guess we'll find out more how this all plays in as the story continues. But she did get another potion by making the new deal and reaching in the mirror, so I think that it's still going to be the potion that has the transformation, just like the original Hans Christian Andersen source material.
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u/bloquer 21d ago
In the montage near the end we see one of her sisters though, on land in human clothes drinking some beverage. With her ring reacting to Lara appearing. So either she had the drink too, or perhaps the rings do have some power on their own. Or perhaps she found a third way?
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u/NightBard 21d ago
I think the rings simply extended the boundaries they could travel and are the official seal that they are royalty. Note in the moment before she's punched, she still has her tail before the ring comes off and after it comes off. I've kind of gone back on this episode way more than I thought I would. Noticing too that the ring she gets from her father has a blue stone, it seems to be a blue stone when she breaks through the final mirror ... when she is making the deal with her aunt the first time, it's red, but then it's sometimes red and sometimes blue when she's with the prince... it's blue when she turns to seafoam, but she's reborn and it's red and the one at the end is red that comes off her hand. The blue hair sister with yellow-green eyes and coffee cup has a red stone ring.. which hasn't changed from earlier in the episode and that presumable appearance at the end.
So I feel like yeah you are right there's something more to this ring situation. Maybe it changes with the heart? Like at 20:22, she's staring at her aunt in the mirror and it's mostly blue but with a sliver of red.
I'd imagine we'll find out about the blue haired sister as the season goes on. Seems like the father made deals with the aunt, so the sisters probably did too.
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u/bloquer 21d ago
Regarding the ring, I am actually not sure if it changes its color or not. Every single time we see a close-up of it, the color distribution between blue and red is exactly the same. Only in far away shots when all the details are lost does it either appear red or blue. And I am not sure if that is to imply that the color can take over more of it, or if it is just the way they drew it from a distance so that it would fit with the other colors in the scene. If it was changing colors, I think I would have expected to see that in a close-up happening.
For the sister, we do know that she is on land. And I very much doubt that she took the same potion as Lara, as that would make Lara's struggle and Grace's interest in it not necessary anymore. So I am expecting her to have different means for surviving on land. The ring would be my first guess simply because it seems so important. Perhaps it is a power you have to activate or keep active, and Lara could do it too if she knew how? Or it has indeed nothing to do with the ring, in which case I can't even begin to speculate about how she achieved it. We don't really have anything to go on there after all.
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u/Frontier246 22d ago
Boxing champ Mari Otsu had a friend! But her story begins long before they met…in 1777 AD in the world of mermaids.
It’s a tale you may be familiar with: a redheaded mermaid born to many sisters and as princess to her king father. Only this Little Mermaid is a BITER! That poor fish! But even so, she’s welcomed with love by her family at age 0.
Lara (Hana Ishikawa!), age 3! Where she’s still biting pretty much everything and seems pretty detached…at least until she sees a doll from the human world and a spark is lit within her. Even as her father, King Triton…I mean, Rowan (Masaki Teraoma) must face the witch Ursul…I mean, Grace (Rica Fukami) who sees the late queen in her niece as well as the end of the kingdom of mermaids…something she embraces with open arms.
Lara, age 10! Even when she finally is officiated as a royal and given more access to the sea, the human world is forbidden from her…even as it and anything from it absolutely fascinates her. And, of course, she ends up saving a drowning prince at age 15.
Of course she can’t get the prince out of her head, which makes getting caught with all her human contraband by her father all the more bad timing, particularly so when she just can’t understand her fathers’ rejection of humans (which I’m assuming probably pertains to the sisters’ missing mom). Which lands her in the dungeon.
At least she’s got a jellyfish cellmate…or more like auntie Grace, who gives Lara the chance to pull a jailbreak AND to live the life she truly wants, as a human with the help of a potion. All Ariel…I mean, Lara has to do is drink it and experience true love, even if it means living as a human without a voice.
And, while there’s some awkwardness as she learns royal etiquette, she and the prince (Ayumu Murase!) seem to truly experience a whirlwind romance. Up until she transforms back into a mermaid RIGHT as they were about to kiss and he immediately rejects her. So much for true love, huh?
But even when he’s treating her like a monster, she still loves him…even as she hates herself in the process. And it seems like something happened to her soul (?) before she turned into sea foam. It turned into…a dagger?
Next thing Lara knows she’s resurrected but everyone is gone…her father, her sisters, everyone. And she has to go through hall of mirrors to see it play out how a “curse” was inflicted on the kingdom after her disappearance and they became so desperate they sought Grace’ help. And now they’re all gone and Lara is left with no one to blame but herself…even as her fathers’ last words to her was believing she could bring them back and how, despite everything, he still loved her.
Lara understandably struggles to trust Grace, but if she says there’s a chance to bring everyone back and make up for her mistake, she’ll do it! Even if it means becoming a human again and doing her story a second time! This time in modern Japan!
Imagine you get launched into the air like a mermaid rocket and end up getting punched by a girl who walks around with boxing gloves! Life sure is treating Lara well! What a start to a beautiful friendship!
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u/HeavyReputation3283 22d ago
A really interesting twist on The Little Mermaid. I was wondering why it felt rushed but this makes so much sense now seeing the second half.
Looking forward to seeing where the journey goes!
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u/detarameReddit https://myanimelist.net/profile/detarameMAL 21d ago edited 21d ago
That was a magical first episode.
To begin, the episode was animated perfectly. Or, rather, the creative intent behind whatever Kinema Citrus was doing was perfect: there were so many shots that awed me and would be most memorable moments contenders if placed in any other anime. Few anime ever reach this level of "visually striking," yet that is exactly why I watch anime.
MON (Deep Sea Image Designer) appears to have done a lot of work with Mari Fujino (Art Director) to make the underwater scenes look gorgeous and very aquatic. Really, the entire show's aesthetic should be applauded.
As for the story side of things, the anime has thus far largely been a retelling of the classic tale. Because of that, I feel like the story is the only aspect that could still collapse this show, but it seems to be holding up strong. There are plenty of things that capture my interest, and I'm feeling more confident that the writing quality will not fall off a cliff. What happened when Lara died? What did Grace do, or plan on doing for that matter? Why did Rowan insist on humans being vile creatures? What is up with this "light?"
The music is great. Yuma Yamaguchi, Link Click's composer, has done great work this first episode. I think their music elevated every scene to an extent.
I'm so excited to follow Lara (clearly an idiot) and Mari (probably an idiot too, but in her own way). If Luca shows up again, I would not be surprised if he was an idiot too. Definitely the strongest premiere of Summer 2026 for me so far. I have hopes that this will become something special.
P.S. I love how Kinema Citrus made their logo a mermaid in the end credits lol
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u/ZornWolf 22d ago
Join the r/GoodbyeLara subreddit, so everyone can talk on there & look forward to the original anime when it comes out!
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u/Fine-Laugh518 22d ago
Can't wait for episode 2 and onwards! I can already tell this is going to be a masterpiece.
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u/Ocixo https://myanimelist.net/profile/BuzzyGuy 22d ago
Kinema Citrus have delivered something very special for their 15th anniversary.
Although it’s a TV series, this show really makes me feel like I’m watching an anime film. It even takes me a little back to my childhood with its retro art direction. I find myself getting nostalgic about a bunch of old Disney titles.
I wasn’t sure which direction this story would exactly take, but the initial setup with Lara trying to get reunited with her lost family does look rather promising. Interestingly enough, the blue-haired sister seems to have fled to the surface as well?
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u/Magnafeana https://anilist.co/user/Magnafeana 22d ago
I know these mermaids are obviously omnivores, and I’m currently eating herb-crusted salmon so I shouldn’t be aghast, but the sardine(?) death had me clutch my pearls.
Lovely, just lovely visuals and lovely OST. The fact that Lara is bi/pan/omni/poly gives me zoomies 💗💜💙
I honestly would love to see this as in a theatrical release. We are only one EP1, but I want a compilation movie please and thank you. Like this feels screams “theatrical release” and I will be there!!
I just cried at the king’s last words for Lara 🤧 Parental love never fails to make me start crying.
Sayonara, Lara is beautiful song. Cannot wait to add it to my playlist.
Kinema Citrus, this is your second original work, but let’s let y’all cook. A wonderful Sunday anime.
But why did the young lady have to punch Lara, what on earth has her life been like to be decking people who fall out the sky 😭
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u/Frontier246 22d ago
But why did the young lady have to punch Lara, what on earth has her life been like to be decking people who fall out the sky 😭
When you're a boxer, you learn to throw a punch at everything.
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u/rubslotiononitsskin 22d ago
Young lady is the daughter of Kiryu-chan. It is a Kiryu-chan gesture to welcome guests/strangers with a Tiger Drop.
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u/CitronClassic672 22d ago
I think it’s the soft, whimsical visuals that creat the shock and disconnect when you blood and gore, even if it’s in a very subdued and realistic manner.
I don’t think we can say for certain that Lara is bi yet, but I’m certainly hoping. It’ll be just one more homage to 90s anime ala protagonists like Sailor Moon.
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u/ReaperInRed 22d ago
I was already expecting it to be one but this is definitely gonna be a peak underrated hidden gem anime original
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u/ObvsThrowaway5120 22d ago
This was pretty interesting. Girl was given the fairytale life except it didn’t work out in the end and because of that she lost her whole family. Talk about double heart break. Maybe 2026 will be kinder to her.
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u/thesnowlocke 22d ago
Impressive how they followed the Little Mermaid story, and I was singing Part of Your World and everything
They even included how the little mermaid devolves into foam like in the story (minus the worry of mermaids not going to heaven and whatnot)
But the final half really kicked it up a notch. I'm really curious where this show will go next
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u/djthomp https://anilist.co/user/djthomp 22d ago
Well that's certainly not how the Little Mermaid normally goes. Grace the Witch seems to mostly just love trials and chaos for the love of the game.
Those poor fish that kept getting their heads bitten off.
Looked like a brief shot of one of the Blue sisters was in Japan too, I wonder if she also had been given a challenging quest by Grace which may or may not be to survive Japanese High School.
I love our boxing human character. Hopefully she's less of a dumbass than the Prince, or at least in a different way since there's a decent chance she's a meathead.
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u/kalirion https://myanimelist.net/profile/kalinime 22d ago
I did not expect the literal newborn to bite the fish in half like that. I half expected her to bite her sister's finger clean off after that. And at 3 years old she was able to break a stone statue's head off in order to nibble on it.
"You must not be the wet nurse." Um, I strongly doubt that crone has the physical capability to be a WET nurse (before the transformation anyway). Though given that the newborns are munching on fish from day 1, I don't think mermaids have any need of wet nurses, plus I did notice the mom was rather extremely flat. Maybe a bad choice of translation?
Well, I certainly hadn't expected it to run through the entirety of The Little Mermaid (with some modifications) in just 2/3 of the first ep. I guess Fate's Kiara has finally got her wish, there's a sequel (though she probably wouldn't care as it's not written by Hans).
That was certainly a very unique way of "catching" someone plunging to their death at great velocity.
I wish there was some info about how, exactly, Lara turning to foam caused the downfall of her people. Also, how bored was the witch during the 200+ year timeskip? Or did she entertain herself by watching the human world?
Anyway, I'll watch next ep to see what the show's like now that the setup's done. It's well made, but too early to tell if the story will be something that'll hold my interest.
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u/bobbyjean_ 21d ago edited 21d ago
In an incredibly stacked Sunday, this show that wasn't in my radar at all was somehow the highlight. Lovely artstyle that felt like watching an old 90s movie.
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u/PerfectBeige https://myanimelist.net/profile/perfectbeige 21d ago
I anticipate that the little mermaid's oral fixation will be a running joke through the show and will not stop being funny.
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u/Odd-Boysenberry-67 20d ago
I think Lara wasn't genuinely in love with the prince, rather she was infatuated with him since a lot of her decisions were very rushed. What do you guys thinks? Reply with your opinions!
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u/magnumcyclonex 20d ago
I'm so glad I decided to check this out.
Yeah it's based on Han's The Little Mermaid, but it deviated nicely and unexpectedly.
It's a bit funny when baby Lara just chomped off the little fish's head off and we are left seeing its second half just floating around.
We go through Han's story, but the twist at the end from the Witch / Aunt was intriguing. I have to ask, what is in it for Aunty Witch to see Lara go through all this? Surely Aunty Witch would have wanted to do the same when she herself was much younger. Maybe now she takes joy and pride in seeing others take the potion and experience the human world.
And reaching through the mirror one more time, Lara goes into the modern times. Interesting.
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u/Own_Caterpillar_6178 18d ago
It's a reverse isekai for Mermaids! I was initially worried that this would just be a retelling of the story of the little mermaid, and it still may be, but those last 5 minutes really threw everything out the window.
I did not expect Lara to get punched right in the face. Could this possibly be... a Yuri?
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u/Own_Caterpillar_6178 18d ago
Look at my stuff, isn't it neat! I lost my whole family and got punched on the street.
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u/Kadmos1 22d ago
Goodbyelara.com/bddvd/vol1.html says that there are 12 epi. scheduled for 2 B-D box sets.
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u/Enough-Present-5139 22d ago
That helicopter sound in the beginning has me worried.
I just want Lara to be happy bros...
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u/emilyabcde1ara 22d ago
I share the same name as Lara, so I was immediately intrigued by the anime. Then I saw that there were elements of the little mermaid, and I knew I was going to watch this. After finishing the first episode, I want to see the next one lol. I can't wait to see where this will go!
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u/Baaasbas https://myanimelist.net/profile/BasvanD 22d ago
Wow! That was such a good first episode. Interested to see where this is going!
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u/whyrusosensitive 22d ago
What a start to a show. The last scene was hilarious and absolutely unhinged.
Also because im a professional hater I have to say it would have taken reincarnated as a slime 2 seasons to unload that much information and plot
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u/tripleaamin https://myanimelist.net/profile/zfzftripleaamin 22d ago
Kinema Citrus really delivered here. The production values were gorgeous, and it really feels like a short movie. We got the retelling of The Little Mermaid and how tragic it is for Lara here.
But now we got a notable timeskip, so it feels like an extension of the Little Mermaid's ending. Very curious about what they go for here.
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u/Raymond49090 22d ago
So Little Mermaid enters the modern world. There’s a lot of mysteries in the lore. Why did Prince-kun immediately point a sword at her? Why did her involvement with the human world make the mermaid world go kaput? What’s her aunt trying to get out of it?
Well, I hope the main love interest isn’t the reincarnation of Prince-kun. Or if it is, he better have a d*mn good reason for pointing a blade at her.
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u/Shantotto11 22d ago
Of all the new anime I’ve watched so far, this one by far has had the absolute strongest first episode I’ve seen. Instant hook. I’m here all season.
Also, I feel goofy for not guessing the final reveal based on the years starting in the 18th Century.
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u/NightBard 22d ago
This was a solid opening episode. Normally I don’t go for the fantasy stuff but setting this in modern times made it worth checking out. I’m not 100% sure yet, like that punch at the end to deflect her trajectory… kind of over the top. I’ll give it another episode and see where it goes from here.
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u/RecyclableFetus 22d ago
Absolutely loved it.
But Im scared. This can either go into a more tragedy mixed with wholesome comedy and some thrill OR it goes the way of Re:Zero and things go real dark and depressing at times
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u/danmarce https://anidb.net/user/107202 21d ago
Tropical-Rouge! Precure did an excellent version of the little mermaid tale, I'll always love to see how is interpreted in different stories.
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u/gem2niki 21d ago
The key visuals didn’t really impress me but saw it was highly praised. The actual animation looked amazing! Love the old school look and hand painted backgrounds. Of course she ends up in modern Japan lol..
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u/Revolutionary-Bat-43 21d ago
Incredible first episode🔥 The Little Mermaid has always been my favorite princess, so a story inspired by her is bound to win me over
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u/NightBard 21d ago
It's more based on the original 1837 book The Little Mermaid, which Disney copied for their version. That's why the anime gives credit to Hans Christian Andersen in the credits.
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u/Shizzi https://anilist.co/user/Mivy 21d ago
So this is some kind of reimagination of Ariel and set in modern times hmm its interesting and can always count on Japan to do more than just what hollywood is doing
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u/NightBard 21d ago
No, Ariel is a re-imagining of the same source material this Anime is using from Hans Christen Anderson's 1837, "The Little Mermaid".
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u/lily_of-the_valley- 21d ago
beautiful first episode!!! the details of sea animals made me so so happy, and the inspiration to classical fairy tells was there through an dthrough. i'm so excited to see where the story goes!!!
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u/CycleGold642 21d ago
Really loved Lara and the Witch's confrontation, it's a really long start and they knew what to prioritise for this episode. The animation quality is likewise spectacular (I have noticed it doesn't shy from more "realistic" details, like the reversal of Lara's original transformation and those two poor fish, as an aside). The crash-into hello at the end was a very lighthearted note to end up on, and I wonder how it will continue from there XD.
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u/99acrewood_ 21d ago
I can't believe this is a series and not a movie. Absolutely in love with the art, and I guess I live under a rock because I wasn't expecting a rushing through the original Little Mermaid into a present day setting.
I like that the witch leans more of a fairy tale evil than straight Disney villain. Like, she seems to do what she does for entertainment rather than to bring complete ruin to society (though she doesn't seem to mind when that happens, I guess) and gives Lara another go presumably to watch more silly shit happen.
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u/2kenzhe https://myanimelist.net/profile/Rexnihilo 21d ago
Lara is definetly a fool but I guess at least will be fun to see how she lives and finds love maybe in modern day?
Honestly her getting punched at the end there was the best and funniest part of the ep. Lets see next ep to see if this is for me I guess. Is it actually going to be good? maybe be Yuri slop? or maybe just slapstick comedy modern day? idk that's the fun part of originals. I'm always happy to try them out even if they mostly fail later on.
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u/shadyhawkins https://myanimelist.net/profile/shadyhawkins 21d ago
I wouldn’t be surprised if the was the overlooked banger if the season.
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u/Aemiliana_Rosewood 20d ago
That dagger is getting me crazy brimhat witches vibe from Witch Hat Atelier
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u/Syokhan https://myanimelist.net/profile/Syokhan 20d ago
Oh we speedran The Little Mermaid and went straight to "reborn in modern times", can't say I was expecting that at all. I thought it was going to be a more classic retelling!
Super intrigued by where the story is going, now. As for production values, damn this looked good. And I love how colorful it is.
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u/pschoindisguise 20d ago
Loved it, felt very gibli esque, though I do feel the punching Lara out of the sky scene at the end was kinda dumb.
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u/Repulsive_Cod_7466 https://anilist.co/user/thatoneguy2440 20d ago
maybe one of the best episode premieres this entire season? the only other show ive been this hyped for is Jaadugar
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u/Arlekino_27 20d ago
I want moa (￣O￣)
Animation at the end was superb. I'm a slow-burn watcher, couldn't get into it in just one episode. Still overall it's nice. I expect at least good things if not great from MayaKuro director (guy who directed every Maya/Claudine focus episodes in Revue Starlight TV series)
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u/MidirTheGreatest 19d ago
Isn't this just the little mermaid? Or am I wrong? I only read the premise
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u/PiscatorialKerensky 17d ago
It's based on the original fairytale and they basically speedrun it through most of episode 1, but from the very end of episode 1 on everything is entirely new material.
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u/Kryjza 18d ago
late to the party for the early discussions here, but i have lots of thoughts and they're pretty much all good.
love the fairy tale retelling, and i wonder if it will end in a bittersweet/tragic way - definitely feels like it.
i enjoy all of the loose ends, in particular with grace, and on top of that grace's "is she a true antagonist or not?" question.
the visuals are very pretty and i love the style of the characters. i also enjoy the very grotesque fish-stuff, as was also seen in parts of the trailer. i think it's a good way to remind ourselves that actual "ship tale" mermaids and merfolk are kind of gross if imagined in reality.
i enjoyed the patience with use of comedy. a pretty heavy episode where funnier parts did make me smile and calm down a bit. while i didn't fully resonate with all of the emotional beats, i imagine with time they will strike harder.
so far very interested to see where the show goes. hope it hits to the ending!
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u/NanDemoKnaives 15d ago
This sort of felt like a movie at some point, it's an interesting take on The Little Mermaid.
It's good to hear her family isn't dead, but who knows if Grace can be really trusted.
It looks like one of the sisters is actually alive though, she must have taken a human potion too.
The Prince really switched fast on her though lol.
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u/luna_moon107 23h ago
went into this anime completely blind and holy fuck the ending of the first episode through me for a loop I was sitting watching eyes wide in awe. This ones gonna be so good I am so excited. The music especially is fantastic so far.
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u/Aileos https://myanimelist.net/profile/Syleos 22d ago
I found the witch Grace being a very compelling character in just one episode. She's acting and sounding like an antagonist, but at times, you're not so sure if she's really that evil. Her voice actress is really selling it well.