My Bride is a Mermaid OVA

Many times have I seen an OVA to a popular series being used to cram in pointless fanservice, beach or onsen scenes that didn’t make it into the series. However Seto no Hanayome is no such thing, as it does its best to cram in all the stuff we enjoyed from the series into this 2 episode OVA. There isn’t much of a story but this was originally an outrageous Parody, Romantic, Comedy so it doesn’t matter as the main plot remains the same. Each episode is basically split up into two scenarios; where it starts off by quickly setting the scene and all you haveto do is sit back relax and see how it all plays out. The first scenario is as follows: it’s the beginning of a new school semester and Nagasumi is forced to move to a class of delinquent students, then we have a date to the movies scenario, followed by a maid café one and to close matters with a horror story. These scenarios may seem pretty ordinary for your average anime but this is Seto no Hanayome, so you can expect an outrageous, original, experience from this short OVA. The outrageous part stems from the characters and surprisingly all the characters make an appearance at some point, never forgetting to show their usual quirks. There are also two new characters that make an appearance in this OVA but don’t expect any character development, since that was never this series’ strong point. Although just as you’d expect from an OVA, the production values are quite high. It has the same colourful, comical, designs that made this series so funny but anyone can tell that a lot of effort has been pumped into the outrageous moments and various parodies. The music is also nicely done; with a catchy OP and ED theme for each episode on the other hand the soundtrack is pretty much the same deal. Overall Seto no Hanayome is one of the few awesome TV series that managed to spawn an OVA that just as awesome. Even though it lacks any form of development and common sense, the fast-paced comedy is what makes up for it and also makes this the most enjoyable OVA I’ve seen in a long time.

I'm not in the habit of reviewing OVAs that are bonuses for TV series, but I just can't pass up an opportunity to talk about My Bride is a Mermaid some more. It's not often that an anime comes along and really blows you away the way Mermaid did for me in the comedy department. It's even LESS common for there to be OVAs for a great series and they add something meaningful or retain the same quality of the original. This is where Mermaid again proves that it's one of the most hilarious, savvy productions out there. Artwork and Animation: 10 It's hard for meto rate this a 10, because it really should be 11. The original Mermaid covered a ton of art forms in its parody and spoof elements, and it's alive and well in the OVA- more pop culture references and other popular anime looks. This time though, the animation got even 'sharper'! One can tell just from the opening that a great amount of attention to detail was paid to these little extras, which is refreshing for in what most other series would be an afterthought. It's silky smooth, more colorful than ever, and greatly fleshed out. Sounds and Voice Acting: 8 Unfortunately, the OVA was never licensed, and so didn't receive the awesome dub attention that the main series got, but nevertheless, it's still very effective in conjuring up laughter from the craziness. Lunar and Chimp are probably the biggest standouts in Japanese audio. Characters: 10 Same players, slightly different game. There are two new characters introduced- Saturn- who is one creepy, insane chick. To say more would be spoiling it, but suffice to say that she leaves her mark on Lunar and Nagasumi in a somewhat creepy, but hilarious spoof on the horror genre. The other new character is Chimp's little sister, Satori- a fiendish little brat who has a thing for "bad boys". Story: 7 Given the short nature of the OVAs, (1 hour of total content, but divided up into 4 chapters, or 13 minute episodes) the stories don't build on each other, but upon the series as a whole. They take place one year after the close of Mermaid season 1, and is the chaos of Nagasumi's life ever funnier! As I said before, it's rare that an OVA adds anything meaningful, but we get to see how things are going beyond the close of the original series, with some fun little short episodes that have nearly as much comedy and as many references as a full episode in the original. In my opinion, the first episode of the first OVA was the best- with an utterly bonkers takeoff of Battle Royale (known to most as the Hunger Games) where Nagasumi is put in a new homeroom for delinquents run by Shark Fujishiro, who organizes a fight to the death amongst them. Nagasumi of course ends up with a garbage weapon and has to fight The Emperor, a middle school student straight out of Jojo's Bizzare Adventure who's at least 30 years old. Elsewhere, there's a new transfer student in Gozaburo Seto's class... LUNAR PAPA! Yes, he's still wearing the sailor uniform, and yes, he still kicks a lot of ass. Enjoyment and Overall: 9 Mermaid is still funny as ever, and some other characters get a little bit of the spotlight in these, particularly Akeno. If you're looking for another taste of My Bride is a Mermaid after finishing the main show- this is a very worthy bonus!

With the first release of episode one, I mistook it as the episodes 1 and 2 of the whole OVA. This OVA actually has two episodes containing two parts each with different plots. It's really a great MUST WATCH because I've never enjoyed an OVA so much until I saw these two episodes of Seto Hanayome. About the story, it's a four part OVA with different plots that have little to no connection. All are really enjoyable! But take note that at least the last part should be watched alone in the middle of the quiet night, in a dark room where the only light comesfrom your screen, or else, you wouldn't be able to appreciate it as much as I did. The art is really great! I believe that the animation was improved a lot in the OVA. There's a different OP and ED video for each episode and all four of them are very nice, specially the two OPs! The sounds are very good! The voices are excellent! The two episodes have their own separate OP and ED songs which gives a total of four different songs, one song is really nice and mellow and the remaining three rocked! All the significant characters were shown as well as two new characters, and they're all fantastically funny! An exception however to the poor unnoticeable ones. Seto no Hanayome OVA is very enjoyable and eventhough I've confirmed that I've really watched the real last episode of the OVA this time, I still hope that there's more.

This ova is actually a collection of short episodes with the Seto no hanayome gang. Some are better than others. Well I must say that the following review is based upon my personal opinion and tastes. I'm not a huge fan of comedies, mostly because there are very few comedies that manage to make you laugh while telling a good story and featuring good characters and good character development. Seto no Hanayome, the series, was not an exception but still, it was pretty funny. I wrote a review on it and I pointed the bad points and good points how I see them. However, for mydisappointment this OVA, in my opinion, didn't do justice to the series. All the bad points are back with a vengeance (Lack of plot, annoying characters, more new characters instead of focusing on the ones they already have, no development for the couple at all). Plus to aggravate it all the good points are nullified: - Except for Nagasumi who seems to be the only character who is capable of any development, what so ever, every single character forgot any development they had on the series and reverted back to the behaviour they presented when they first appeared. - San didn't even behave as assertive and protective of her relationship with Nagasumi, at least not as much as the series...if anything, their relationship seemed to go a little backwards. I know that in this series the comedy comes first, still is frustrating to watch characters that seem to be stuck in the same situations. - Hilarious characters such as Mikawa and Saru hardly show up in favour of new characters that are not really that funny. They presented pointless new characters that are a bit annoying and not really funny taking away screen time from other characters that are more relevant, likable and funnier (Like shark Fujishiro, Masa, Mikawa Kai, Saru, even San's mom is funnier). As I said before some parts of the OVA are better than others, but as a whole it is just not as funny as the series. The level of animation and sound are good, I give the OVA that. It maintained the level presented on the series. As far as story and character development are concerned, though, this OVA does NOT add more to what has been already done and I considered it actually a step down on those aspects.