Summary: >

In a legend it is said that if a person partakes in eating a mermaids flesh, they will attain life everlasting. Quite a few people know this. What the legend doesn't say, is that very few actually gain this immortality. Many die an unpleasant death. Others become hideous creatures cursed until their until they die. It is only a select few who ever eat the flesh and become immortal. Yet immortality is in itself a sort of curse. When life becomes endless, you loose site of things worth living for. After 500 years, Yuta found life to be a dull existence. With nothing better to do, he searches for one such as himself. Could that person possibly be the girl Mana?

Shortly after meeting Mana, Yuta becomes intertwined with a different immortal girl, a cursed girl. It is known that many become cursed from eating the mermaids flesh, but what happens if you only drink the blood? The girl it seems is partially cursed, and she is obsessed with retaining her beauty and not becoming a monster. For this she will need Mana, or at least her body. But things are not always what they appear to be.

Thoughts: >

Well I watched this series in reverse order by mistake. Even though I watched Mermaid's Scar a long time ago and liked it, I put off watching Mermaid Forest for quite a while. Even though the animation itself is telling of how old this anime is, the story simply can't be beat. The strange twists in the plot are just TOO cool. I've never been able to figure out how the story will turn out, which has always added to the enjoyment of watching this series. Keep in mind that I categorized this as horror because I don't know what else to call it. It is sort of mild horror, but it's not horror in stereotypical way.

Now some people call Yuta and Mana "flat" characters. And yes they appear quite detached but you see, that's the POINT. One of the themes of the series is that people who are immortal are in essence, bored with life. When you keep living for century after century you're detached and not particularly emotional over events which won't really affect you or your immortality anyway. I'm not sure why everyone reads the premise of the series and then is surprised when Yuta and Mana don't go into melodramatic fits every 5 minutes. Even their relationship is supposed to be special. Not necessarily romantic, nor that of a friend or relative. Their bond is through their immortality. Most marriages don't even last a few years, and people expect these two to develop a romance that spans multiple lifetimes?

The OAV is currently out of production so coming by it is sort of unlikely. This is the OAV from the 80s mind you, not the TV series by the same name. Originally the manga series was produced into an anime, but only two of the stories made it that far (Mermaid Forest and Mermaids Scar). Recently the mermaid saga has been resurrected as a TV series, although I've already heard criticisms about the animation quality.

All in all I highly enjoyed the OAV. I mean the animation looks dated, but it's done well enough. And the big draw here is the story, so in that context the animation is just a vehicle to get you there, and it's more than adequate for that purpose. Highly recommended for old school anime lovers, and old school horror lovers alike.