Hall of Fame Induction: My Bride is a Mermaid (Seto no Hanayome)

In my Anime Hall of Fame series, I highlight shows that I enjoyed a lot and think are worth trying out. Click the "stardf29's Anime Hall of Fame" tab at the top of the page to see a list of all the inducted anime series so far. More anime series will be inducted over time, and this post will be updated with any new information for this series.

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My Bride is a Mermaid

And from an underwater mafia, no less!

Show Information

Japanese title: Seto no Hanayome (瀬戸の花嫁)

Based on: Manga (not yet available in English)

Length: 26 eps. + 2 OVA eps.

Aired: Summer 2007

Studio: GONZO x AIC x avec mode

Available for streaming: Funimation.com (all episodes subbed, first four dubbed), Hulu (first four episodes)

Home video license: Funimation Entertainment

Release information: The Complete Series [S.A.V.E.] DVD (ARP: $30)

Show Synopsis: Nagasumi gets a cramp while swimming in the Seto sea, and nearly drowns, but is saved by... a mermaid? A pretty girl mermaid who then visits his house asking to marry him? This is definitely too good to be true... and it is, because that mermaid, Sun, belongs to a yakuza of humanoid sea creatures with a strict rule that any member who is seen by a surface human must die for exposing their secret! Or, of course, Nagasumi can die, an option which Sun's overprotective dad is perfectly willing to consider. The third option? Nagasumi marries Sun and thus becomes part of the family, and all will be okay, and Nagasumi gets a cute mermaid bride in the deal.

However, the various members of the yakuza are not all pleased with this plan, and they decide to go above land and usurp Nagasumi's school to watch over their mermaid daughter. As Nagasumi deals with the various yakuza out for his life, as well as various acquaintances of Sun and Nagasumi, everyone will find out that when these fish come out of water, it's everyone above land that's going to be floundering about!

Why it's worth watching

Seto no Hanayome is among the shows I watched during my early era of anime fandom, way back in 2007, and it struck me as being one of the funniest, over-the-top comedies I've seen. Even now, having seen many other over-the-top comedies, this show is one I remember fondly for just how much energy and fun it has. Especially as the show goes along and introduces more characters (one of whom is a dead ringer for a certain terminating figure of American culture, of all things), the show is simply a riot.

Of course, as I've talked about before, any truly good comedy will also have some heart to it, and this show definitely provides that, as the relationship between Nagasumi and Sun is overall nicely done. The show provides two particularly epic sequences, one at the halfway point and one at the end, that are made even more poignant by just how much Nagasumi cares for Sun.

In the end, though, this is simply one of anime's best comedies. Try it out if you want a good laugh.

Objectionable Content

Funimation rates this show at 17+, though that is largely due to a lot of crude language used in the dub (the Japanese track with subtitles is tamer). There's definitely some violence (not a ton, but it's there, as well as plenty of really sparkly white "blood"), and there's also some mild sexually-suggestive stuff, though it is far from the level of the really ecchi, racy stuff (fanservice is actually kinda low for a show about mermaids). All in all, I'd say 15+ or 16+ is what I'd rate it.