"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 simplefish.

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.