Ningyo

"Mermaid" is a delightful little experimental short by Osamu Tezuka's Mushi productions that subverts the themes of the famous Hans Christian Anderson fairytale. We follow an unnamed boy who plays with a fish he considers a pet, only to discover the fish transform into a mermaid. After a montage where the mermaid takes the boy to the ocean and the two bond, the boy convinces it to return with him to land. Things only deteriorate from there, because it turns out that the boy is the only one who can see the mermaid. Other people are implied to only be able to see a simple ... fish.

Thee contents of the short are quite simplistic, but the themes are quite interesting. What initially appears to be a standard fantastical tale turns into an exploration of mental illness and a critical look at the treatment of the mentally ill in the sixties. The story is set to an ambient score of chamber Jazz by Isao Tomita that accentuates the moments underwater as opposed to on land. An interesting and short curio worth checking out.

Well, Ningyo

It's about a boy who dreams a lot and saves a fish, him saving the fish makes him see it as a mermaid. He, was the hero of that mermaid. He however was not aware that the only person that could see the mermaid was him. Everyone else saw a fish. So the people thought he was dreaming and making fantasies. In this world however, making fantasies is illegal so they punish him in various ways so that he sees the mermaid as a fish. After a lot of experiments and failures the "police" finally managed to make the boy see it as a ... fish. This depresses the boy and he tries to see a mermaid again, but alas, he couldn't see it so, he went back to where he first saved the fish and in the distance at the ocean he sees a mermaid calling him towards her and he goes deep into the ocean towards his dream while everyone else doesn't even try to stop him.

I know! Real cheesy shit right? But in context this simple idea just looks so beautiful in animated form. It's as if the creator made it cheesy on purpose just to show off his cinema skills. It's very good as an animation but the art is very outdated so if you want to see visual beauty this might not be for you and if you don't get such short dialog-less old movies then it's not for you either. But if you're like me who is looking for art(totally not praising myself) , then this for you and if that's the case you will definitely enjoy it.

-Your Average Weeb

Rate a 6
English sub (very little in text. no vocals.)

Story
Basic. You get what you are lead to get. The message behind this is feel free to think what you want to think and don't be closed minded.

Art
A wonderful job and demonstrating the stories message. Sure the artwork was half-assed as in it did not look realistic but the message it con-vied was spot on. For starters not how the authoritative figures are drawn. Note the hard texture. Then take a look at the civilians(ordinary people) they are clearly transparent. The importance behind this they haven't yet given up on hope. They might be ... scared but still are able to see what they want to even if they don't want to be public about it.

Sound
One might argue the need for sound. I too would have agreed but upon further thinking i disagree. Having animation effects or vocals would ruin the vibe. They made it clear in the beginning this was a fantasy as in not real. So, in other words a dream. When a person dream in the real world we don't hear sound coming from their tired head so why would we hear it as they dream? Also, having sound or more a voice would ruin the captive hold the police (government) has on the people. If you are in a place where thinking something different it bad i think speaking what is also on your mind would be equally as bad or worse.

Character
information to understand the characters was provided. This was a Rosa Parks kind of story. A focused one person story on making a change.

Enjoyment
I might not have enjoyed how the story played out but the story did a good job at showing their message. I think those who would enjoy this film are kids and those are in favor of free speech.