| Animation: | Fair |
|---|---|
| Depth: | Good |
| Design: | Fair |
| Characters: | Good |
| Story: | Good |
Type: OVA (1 episode)
Vintage: 1993
Category:
Reviews @ Archen's Anime Page
Mermaid's Scar
Summary: >
Eat the Mermaid's flesh and become immortal. Becoming immortal sounds like a blessing, but immortality itself can become a curse. Life as an immortal becomes boring after a while. People live and die around you, yet you continue to live. Having someone share your immortality with you, as a companion who wouldn't die is what binds Yuna and Mana in their everlasting journey.
The two arrive at a small coastal town and take menial jobs to get by and pass the time. Rumor has it that unusual things are happening at a local mansion. A woman recovers with minor injuries from a boating accident bad enough to kill her husband. In fact she has no scars from her ordeal. Could she also be an immortal? Yuna and Mana decide to find out, only to uncover other dark secrets. Is this woman as evil as they think?
Thoughts: >
Keeping with the tradition of twisted great story, Mermaid's Scar is a great follow up to its predecessor Mermaid Forest. Considering how much I love both, I'm a bit surprised more of the series were never made into OVAs.
The show is dated, and the style and animation reflect this. Much like Mermaid Forest, the show is a bit too short for me to detail the story without almost giving the whole thing away, but it's really a great story in the horror vein. While Mermaid Forest was twisted, this one is a bit more hardcore with violence, but if you're watching horror anime you probably need to be ok with that in the first place.
When I first watch this series, I was struck by Mana being a brat. Was that just bad character development? Actually this is intentional, but it's never really explained in the OVAs due to short length. Mana is only 14 and never emotionally grew out of that, despite her real age.
I still think the Mermaid Saga OVAs are in the top tier of anime titles to come out of the 1990s, and I sincerely miss the days of oddball one shot OVAs like this. Disturbing with a great story and imaginative concept: highly recommended.
Screen Caps: >
