My Bride Is a Mermaid, Part 1

The set-up for this frenetically comic anime finds young Nagasumi—saved from drowning by a teen mermaid named Sun—facing challenges, since deep-sea culture forbids revealing Sun's true nature, so both must be killed to prevent that from happening, unless the pair marry…which they do. Sun moves into Nagasumi's house and enrolls in his school, but the budding romance is continually obstructed by, among others, Sun's ragingly jealous father (a yakuza boss), a snarky bodyguard, rival suitors, and assorted gangsters. Shifts in animation style and a rapid succession of jokes of all kinds, from sly to (more commonly) broad physical comedy, make the rare quiet interlude seem out of place, while hints of actual love between Nagasumi and Sun are inevitably overwhelmed by rampant innuendo and fan service. My Bride Is a Mermaid relies neither on character nuance nor strong plotting, but rather on constant distraction and occasional amusement. The approach mostly succeeds, thanks to likable protagonists, and new figures appearing every few episodes to sustain the momentum. Compiling the first 13 episodes of the 2007 first season in a dual-language two-disc set, rated TV-MA, this is a strong optional purchase. [Note: My Bride Is a Mermaid, Part 2 is also newly available.] (L. Martincik)