Mermaid Forest: Quest for Death

Reviewed By: Carla Land

Geneon DVD

Review based on volume 1 (episodes 1-3)

Rating 16+

What it’s (basically) all about: A long time ago Yuta was a fisherman. When a friend brought home mermaid flesh, Yuta and several of his friends ate it. One by one Yuta’s friends all died or turned into monsters. For Yuta there was a change too- he’s an immortal, doomed to spend eternity as a young man, to resurrect when he dies. For 500 years he’s been searching for mermaids, hoping that they will be able to tell him how he can again live a normal life. When he rescues Mana, a young lady who unknowingly ate mermaid flesh herself, he gains a companion in his quest for death.

Nitty Gritty: There is very brief and poorly defined stylized mermaid nudity in the opening. For the most part, the mermaids are drawn as freakish monsters with large fish like fangs and eyes and banshee like claws. There are only a couple mermaids who are portrayed as the beautiful half fish- half woman that Western society usually associates with this mythical creature. They are also a fairly violent species, especially when on land.  A group of them kills Yuta in the first episode with fishing spears. Of course, he’s immortal so it’s a pointless thing to do.

Mana has been a “captive” of the mermaids most of her life. They have chained her legs so she can’t walk and are planning on eating her so that they can stay immortal. She has to survive eating mermaid flesh for the effect to work on them, so one of their own is sacrificed (off screen, but the screams are creepy and her lifeless tail is seen missing pieces later on.)

There isn’t a lot of blood in the show, and the violence is pretty mild. There isn’t a lot of gore, although a couple of mermaids get eaten (the deaths happen off screen and the flesh is presented like a cod filet) and a missing chunk is seen in a tail. A few people are killed here and there in fights. Overall it’s not really that violent.

The language is also fairly mild- screw you, bastard, and damn are all used in the subbed and dubbed versions.

Extras include a production art gallery (with some mermaid stylized nudity), DVD credits, and previews for Requiem from the Darkness (stylized nudity and some mature looking content), Samurai Champloo, and Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo (stylized nudity and mature looking content.)

Survey says: I’m not sure why this received a 16+ rating, because I honestly thought it was pretty tame. Yuta is a nice guy, and Mana, though she starts off as a total spoiled brat, isn’t about to let anyone eat her if she can help it. Unless the next volume gets a lot more violent or overtly sexual, I say this is fine in a teen/ YA collection.

Personal Ad: Well, I appreciate that Geneon didn’t put the fourth episode on the first disk since it’s the first half of a two part episode, but I’m still disappointed in the lack of special features and only three episodes. The show itself isn’t too bad, but it’s not very linear (episodes two and three are Yuta’s flashbacks) and that can be confusing.