Goodbye, Lara

Entry updated 9 November 2026. Tagged: TV.

Japanese animated tv series (2026). Kinema Citrus. Directed by Takushi Koide. Written by Anna Kawahara with Yusuke Aose and Mai Inui. Voice cast includes Rica Fukami, Hana Hishikawa, Kaori Ishihara, Nana Kawaishi, Ayumu Murase, Masaki Terasoma, Minami Tsuda and Kazutomi Yamamoto. Twelve 23-minute episodes. Colour.

In 1777 Princess Lara (Hishikawa), a mermaid (see Under the Sea), is born from a clam-shell womb, with the sea witch Grace (Fukami) prophesying she will bring destruction (see Disaster). Lara is allowed to wander the seas but forbidden by her father, Sea King Rowan (Terasoma), to approach those "vile, cursed beings", humans (see Race in SF). However such a Taboo only makes them more interesting and at fifteen she rescues a prince who falls from a boat, for which Rowan imprisons her. Grace offers her a potion to make her temporarily human, but warns unless she finds true love she will turn into sea foam: after some psychological pressure from the witch, Lara takes it. Lara's courtship with the prince goes well until he discovers she is a mermaid; she turns into sea foam.

In 2026 Lara awakens in a clam shell, reborn in the now deserted mer-folk palace. Grace appears and explains the predicted disaster occurred when Lara's true love failed, but she had managed to put the mer-folk into shells at the last moment, where they now sleep (see Suspended Animation); they can only be revived if Lara finds true love with a human in the present day. A water spout now carries her towards land – she is in Japan's Lake Biwa – and Lara plummets to the ground, where schoolgirl Mari Otsu (Kawaishi) is carrying her pet goldfish in a bowl; Mari is a boxer and, on seeing Lara falling towards her, quickly dons her gloves and hits her. Lara, in human form, wakes up in Mari's house and is alarmed to discover the goldfish is Grace, who talks to her and Mari: Mari seems unfazed both by this and by Lara being a mermaid, part of the wall she has put up between herself and the world since her mother died. Mari's grandmother takes her in and for a while Lara watches romantic television shows (see Media Landscape) to find out about modern-day princes, and wonders when she will find true love. Eventually she and Mari get jobs.

Lara's sister Lisa (Tsuda) evaded being put to sleep by Grace, but had then been captured by humans and put on display for decades, eventually escaping with the help of anglerfish-turned-human Kota (Yamamoto); she makes use of Grace's potion – Kota having stolen it previously – and awaited her sister's revival. By the 1930s their supply running out so Lisa and Kota reluctantly contact a human Scientist who studies the potion and is able to create a weaker version; the scientist hopes analysis of the potion might reveal some of the secrets of life, but this research proves futile and he dies of old age (it might be inferred he sought Rejuvenation). Lisa becomes a scientist herself, studying Aquatic Biochemistry. Lisa meets with Mari to give her some of the scientifically produced potion, explaining it will temporarily hold-off Lara turning to foam – which seems increasingly likely as she is not finding her true love.

Lara is currently fixated on Luca (Murase), an artist resembling her eighteenth-century prince, who is more interested in her as a subject. Earlier, a giant monolith shaped like a fish had appeared over Lake Biwa, hanging like a blade: it is the manifestation of Lara's "Light", a power that princesses possess (see Magic). Though unseen by humanity it reacts to Lara's feelings, almost killing Kota (when Lisa sends him to murder Mari) and Luca (when he prevaricates in response to her declaration of love). As she increasingly questions herself – admitting she does not really know what "true love" is – Lara comes to realize her feelings towards Luca are not really love.

Lara is now kidnapped by Lisa, taking her to where the mer-people lie dormant in clams; Grace reverts to her mermaid form and pursues, but the effort kills her (she was old and frail). Her death temporarily awakens Rowan, who is sickly, but argues Lara's "heart was betrayed by an unfulfilled love and has become tainted". Lara realizes she loves Mari – but learning her Light will consume any human she loves, she rings Mari to say they cannot meet again; not long after, Mari is dragged underwater by one of Grace's eel companions and taken to a magic mirror to witness Grace's story. Grace and Lara's mother Rigmor (Ishihara) were twins, both fascinated by the surface world, but Rigmor fell for Rowan and their true loves' kiss – that is, Rigmor's Light – revitalized the Mer-folk kingdom. Grace fell in love with a human, who attempted to kill her on discovering she was a mermaid – with Grace's Light responding by killing him; Rigmor also dies whilst trying to save her sister (thus Rowan's hatred for humanity and Grace). Grace wanted to believe love with a human was possible and when Lara's first attempt failed she collected her sea foam and deposited it in a birthing clam. The mirror now shatters and Grace's final words are "Live for love, not for the laws". In the present, Rowan has reverted Lara to her mermaid form; when she subsequently meets Mari, the monolith – now knife sized – kills the latter: but this is not what Lara wants, and she realizes "I don't need true love": with this realization her Light transforms her back into a human and Mari back to life. It will also – in the next few years or so – revive the Mer-folk. Six months later, Lara leaves to set up home alone in a nearby city, saying goodbye to Mari – though its clearly not a final farewell.

Goodbye, Lara is a revisionist-fantasy reworking of "The Little Mermaid" (1837) by Hans Christian Andersen [see The Encyclopedia of Fantasy under links below] but also evokes his other tales, particularly "The Snow Queen" (1846), and shares his tendency to avoid overly comfortable endings. Lara's journey has her reluctantly confronting the assumption that her purpose is to engage in conventional relationships that bond and preserve her society (see Feminism; Women in SF) – for mer-folk a mermaid princess finding true love with her prince literally revitalizes their civilization, while falling for the wrong type of person destroys it. This recalibration even has her stepping back from her relationship with Mari; nonetheless, her experiences have helped her friends Mari, Luca and Lisa face those personal traits that hold them back. At one point Lara is told by her father "originally mer-folk and humans both came from the same sea", but the former are "the noble ones who carry the light", which – ignoring bigotry – might suggest divergent Evolution. Goodbye, Lara is a notable Fantasy Anime, well animated and successfully handling its interesting themes. [SP]

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