Anime: Andersen Douwa: Ningyohime

One of the few ways my pop culture experience diverges from the typical American millennial's is that this, not Disney's animation, was my first exposure to The Little Mermaid. As a faithful adaptation of the story, this is a much bleaker but much more effective and memorable version.

This film is part of Toei's late 60s-early 80s fairy-tale phase, which also included feature films The World of Hans Christian Andersen (1968), The Wild Swans (1977), Thumbelina (1978), Twelve Months (1980), Swan Lake (1981), and Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp (1982), as well as the TV series The World's Greatest Fairy Tales (1975-83) which aired on Nickelodeon in the U.S. This Little Mermaid is the cherubic Marina who has the look of a wholesome 60s flower child with long, blond hair and freckles. Rather than using seashells or starfish, Marina and her sisters get to swim around topless, although their hair usually strategically covers their bust. I think the nipples might have been edited out of the U.S. VHS I had as a kid. Still, it’s hard to believe that this made it to U.S. children's VCRs without hardcore censorship.

Marina's best friend is a cute baby dolphin named Fritz. Her family are reasonable, regal nautical aristocrats. The sea witch is a giant, Medusa-esque eel-woman who lives in a terrifying sea-forest of spiky, ghostly trees and vicious spiny carnivorous plants. The undersea bits of this movie are gorgeous and interesting, with colorful plants, sea creatures that have personalities (the backstory of a whale who stole a pearl from the palace to give to his whale-girlfriend is particularly delightful) but retain their oceanic otherness, and beautiful movement. There’s a musical number in-universe where you actually see all the characters (even the cruel sea witch) doting on Marina’s voice. It’s all incredibly charming and sweet.

The tone is, like shoujo of its time, haunting, melancholic, and romantic. Besides a few cute animal characters, it takes the story very seriously and there’s not much cartoon-slapstick. Through ethereal, orchestral music and heartbroken inner dialogue, the film emphasizes the selfless and unconditional nature of Marina’s love, which is both tragic and transcendental. The ending is the best part of the fairy-tale, to me. Take it out and you remove the story's soul. Yes, it's sad, but it's also beautiful on an almost spiritual level.

I’ve cried every time I rewatched this as an adult. My childhood attachment to it obviously leaves a stain of bias, but I’ve seen most major adaptations of The Little Mermaid (including the live-action Russian/Czech ones, both beautiful), and this is the best.