Eridanah

Even as a dyed-in-the-wool Star Blazers fan with the Comet Empire series ingrained somewhere in my brain, I still watched this on the edge of my seat. Granted, there are differences--big differences--and those differences alone make it worth watching. I do like the mecha aspect, but it's the human dynamic captured by this film that sets it above all others. All I'm going to say, though, is that if I were Yuki Mori, I would have found another love interest sometime before the film begins. But hey, that's me. It's true that this film aroused such a response in Japan that the Comet Empire series was made to meet audience demand. An issue of the comic (yeah, okay, I'm a real geek) explained the various scenarios depending on what storyline you're following. Thus this film is both the end and an interesting diversion. Take your pick.

I'm not being corny--this is an actual line from the film, straight from the Sea Witch (her sister Sand Witch was on vacation) to goofball princess Marina.

There should be a special section in video stores for Brutal Truth Fairy Tales. As opposed to the dark Disney overlords, the producers of this piece stuck to the original story with a few turns of creative license here and there. That is, Marina, our little mermaid, dies at the end. But hey, it's not so bad--after all, she stays true to her love (however misguided). It also appears that she picked up an immortal soul, or at least the promise of one, somewhere along the way.

The Little Mermaid for Mature Audiences? Well, I can't help thinking that kids expecting Disney magic would be a little horrified by this version. The happy ending--I guess--might be a little too philosophical for kids expecting dancing crabs and evil doers who are more goofy than terrifying. But if you're an anime fan and you'd like to see the mermaid thing a little more like it was originally written, you probably would enjoy wasting 1.5 hours with this.

I am thrilled to find one of my all-time favorite pieces of anime! This is an excellent education in the story and music of "Swan Lake" for those with short attention spans and/or an adversity to ballet/orchestral music. After all, we're talking about one of the fundamentals of Western cultural literacy. This movie tells the story with all of the adventure of anime while incorporating the rich historical feel of the piece as well as the breathtaking score. I remember back when I first saw this, my mother, who is a musician and music teacher, watched it with me and went on for days about how wonderful it was as a means of introducing new generations to "Swan Lake". True!