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Review

by Carlo Santos,

Mermaid Forest

DVD 3: Unquenchable Thirst

Synopsis:
Mermaid Forest DVD 3
Eating a mermaid's flesh supposedly brings eternal life... but so far this has only been successful for Yuta and Mana, two immortals who are wandering Japan in search of a natural end to their lives. While thinking back to feudal times, Yuta recalls an encounter with Natsume, a seemingly immortal girl who heals instantly, just like an eater of mermaid flesh. However, Natsume's miraculous ability comes from a much darker power. Then, in the present day, Mana and Yuta help a boy named Nanao find his way home, but they become suspicious when he claims to have a cure-all medicine from his mother. As they visit Nanao's house and investigate this "medicine," Mana and Yuta uncover a dire family conflict that spans four generations.
Review:
Wouldn't it be annoying to keep coming back to life every time you die? Viewers of the previous Mermaid Forest DVD would agree, after seeing the same plot device twice in a row. Fortunately, death takes a holiday in this installment as Yuta and Mana survive the next three episodes without falling off cliffs or getting hit by trucks. Instead, they learn that some people are so desperate for immortality that they even invent other ways to cheat death. With moody visuals and an air of fearful mystery, it's another disturbing glimpse into the world of those who foolishly want to live forever.

Following the format of previous discs, Volume 3 contains a one-shot episode and a two-parter. The solo story "Bone Princess" flashes back to feudal times and reveals another shocking and costly way to prolong human life. It's in the two-part "The Last Face," however, that Takahashi's storytelling skills shine best: disjointed incidents and characters gradually weave into a twisted family drama involving duplicate mothers, duplicate sons, and one psychotic woman. The conclusion may seem far-fetched and ready to have plot holes poked in it, but it still delivers the impact of a parental relationship gone terribly wrong.

The presence of such vivid characters and stories has its drawbacks, though: the strong supporting cast inadvertently forces Mana and Yuta into the background. This isn't so much of a problem in "Bone Princess," where Yuta is on a solo adventure that requires active participation, but Nanao's family problems in "The Last Face" demand so much focus that it reduces the two immortals to observers. In fact, this is what they do for most of the two episodes, lurking in bushes and crouching behind signposts as they try to solve the mystery. Not that the reduction of their roles ruins the story—rather, it makes room for developing the side characters, especially the growing madness of Nanao's mother as she fights for her son.

The work of the animation staff remains consistent in these middle episodes: sharp lines and rich colors bring out both the characters and the backgrounds, especially in depictions of rural coastal Japan. Atmospheric effects like monochromatic red backgrounds establish the horror-mystery tone of the series, serving a dual purpose of mood and symbolism ("The Last Face," for example, uses fog as a motif at the beginning and ending of the story). Unfortunately, the series is also consistent in the things it does poorly, including action scenes. Quick, sweeping movements often come across as awkward, and nothing takes away from the horror atmosphere like seeing Yuta suspended in mid-air against a background of shounen-style burst lines. The character designs are also less-than-impressive, lacking the elegant Takahashi touch and looking more like generic, easy-to-draw anime designs.

Matching the subdued mood of the animation is a quiet but effective music score. With little more than solo instruments and fragmentary melodies, the music adds an extra dimension of mystery to the story. More interesting, however, is when the music drops out and uses silence to enhance a particularly dramatic scene—don't expect any clangy "surprise" chords (since when have those ever surprised anyone?) in this series. The theme songs, although dull, also set the right mood at the beginning and end of each episode.

Liam O'Brien continues to be the standout voice in the English dub, playing Yuta with confidence and portraying a wide range of emotions. The supporting cast is a hit-and-miss affair: Mermaid Forest has a stronger concentration of children and the elderly than most anime, and while the actors have the idea of what kids and old folks sound like, they fail to bring out the individual personalities. The Japanese track is a more sure-footed reading of these characters, although they also fall into the trap of sounding like pre-fabricated grandparents and kids. The dub script features some odd inconsistencies—follow it with the subtitles on, and you'll find some lines with a significantly different meaning, even though other portions of the conversation are kept intact. At times, it reveals plot details that the original script tried to keep hidden or ambiguous.

Extras on the DVD include a production gallery of character art; with the cast of characters changing regularly in the series, it's a welcome bonus to see each DVD containing a new set of sketches.

It's easy to fault Mermaid Forest for being repetitive: mermaid-hunting folks who want to live forever, Mana and Yuta trying to figure out the histories behind them, and the depressing consequences that follow. But on these recurring themes, fresh twists emerge: a darker side of mysticism in the search for immortality, and a disturbing family mystery that's as rich and complex as one of Kindaichi's or Conan's whodunits. It's easy enough for our two immortals to escape death, but escaping episodic monotony? That's a feat in itself.
Grade:
Overall (dub) : B-
Overall (sub) : B+
Story : A
Animation : C
Art : B+
Music : B+

+ Still an engaging mix of horror, mystery and drama.
Not enough spotlight for the two main characters; stiff action scenes.

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Production Info:
Director: Masaharu Okuwaki
Series Composition: Junichi Miyashita
Screenplay:
Junichi Miyashita
Megumu Sasano
Daiki Shimazaki
Tsuyoshi Tamai
Storyboard:
Junji Nishimura
Hideaki Oba
Mitsuko Ohya
Masaharu Okuwaki
Episode Director:
Yasuo Ejima
Masahiro Hosoda
Hiromichi Matano
Hiroshi Matsuzono
Ryo Miyata
Susumu Murakami
Hideaki Oba
Yukio Okazaki
Daisuke Tsuji
Shinji Ushiro
Sumio Watanabe
Unit Director: Masaharu Okuwaki
Music:
AGENT-MR
Sueaki Harada
Original creator: Rumiko Takahashi
Character Design: Masaki Satō
Art Director:
Junichi Azuma
Toshiyuki Tokuda
Chief Animation Director: Masaki Katō
Animation Director:
Yoshitsugu Hatano
Masumi Hattori
Masaki Hinata
Shingo Ishikawa
Akio Kawamura
Ichiro Ogawa
Osamu Ōkubo
Masaki Satō
Hirotoshi Takaya
Masahiko Yoda
Sound Director: Yasuo Uragami
Director of Photography: Mitsuru Sugiura
Executive producer: Masahito Yoshioka
Producer:
Noriko Kobayashi
Satoshi Yokoyama
Licensed by: Geneon Entertainment Inc.

Full encyclopedia details about
Mermaid Forest (TV)

Release information about
Mermaid Forest - Unquenchable Thirst (DVD 3)

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