Rumiko Takahashi's dramatic anime are just a tiny drop in the bucket compared to her much more well-known and more popular humor series. And that's a bit of a shame, because in my opinion her drama stories are more interesting. If you've seen any ten episodes of Ranma 1/2 or Urusei Yatsura, there's no need to go further because you've already seen every joke she knows. But there's a wider range when it comes to her non-humor stories. Like Mermaid Forest. Except this is one of her more flawed efforts - it has its good points, and yetthere I have some issues. First of all, the artwork and animation are pretty par for the course - every Takahashi character looks the same, and the animation is decent enough. Where this story succeeds the most is in evoking a mood or feeling, she seems to have a good handle on what makes Japanese horror interesting.

However, it feels like you are dropped into the middle of a much broader story, and in fact that's the case as Yuta has already been around for a few hundred years by the time it gets going (and there is also a flashback to much earlier to help explain things, too). But I never seemed to get a good "feel" for the character, or his motivations (or lack thereof) - it seems like he was just going through the motions. Which, I guess, would make sense for a reluctant immortal - but even so, it's not exactly enjoyable to watch. And I could never understand Mana; the two sisters were not relatable in any way, it seems the only sympathetic character was the long-suffering doctor.

I read the Mermaid stories in manga format a couple decades past, and I recall them making a more coherent story in that format. But this anime feels like just a snippet of a larger tapestry, and there's not enough here to fully grasp the overarching story.