The Little Mermaid Returns in Goodbye, Lara

The Little Mermaid (Den Lille Havfrue), Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale, once again inspires a new tale of romance and drama. Lara risked it all to find love on land, a world away from her underwater kingdom. Her love was in vain, and her life ended. Her tale doesn’t end there, however. Lara finds herself reincarnated in the modern world. She’s going to find her true love yet. We’ll see if her second chance pans out when Goodbye, Lara (Sayonara Lara) sometime in July 2026.

The animators took “classic” a bit far, and I thank them. That anime style is straight from the ’80s and ’90s. Look at it. It’s beautiful.

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Goodbye, Lara is an original anime series inspired by the classic Danish folktale. Hans Christian Andersen released the original The Little Mermaid short story on April 7th, 1837. C. A. Reitzel published it in the Fairy Tales Told for Children. First Collection. (Third Booklet, 1837.)

Goodbye, Lara Cast

The little mermaid, her new friend, and an old witch are as follows:

Lara — Hana Hishikawa (Aki Sizuha from Touhou Danmaku Kagura). Lara is a mermaid princess who seeks love on land.
Mari Otsu — Nana Kawaishi (Kansai girl from The Dangers in My Heart). Mari is a boxer and Lara’s first friend in the modern world.
Grace — Rica Fukami (Minako Aino/Sailor Venus from Sailor Moon). Grace is the sea witch who turned Lara into a human.

Studio Kinema Citrus maintains a home page and a Twitter (X) page to promote Goodbye, Lara. You can find more information about the series and the key visuals at those sites.

Goodbye, Lara and Hello, Modern Japan

Once upon a time, there lived a lovely mermaid princess named Lara. She happily lived in an undersea kingdom with her father and sisters, all of whom loved her dearly. However, her heart longed for the surface world. She fell in love with a human prince in clear defiance of the laws that prevent such a union. The sea witch, Grace, offered her a potion that would turn her into a human. There was a catch, though: if her love goes unrequited, she will die. Indeed, her love went unheeded, and she turned into sea bubbles.

Lara’s tale didn’t end there. She revived 200 years later in Lake Biwa, the largest freshwater lake in Japan. She meets Mari Otsu, the cutest and toughest boxer in the Shiga Prefecture. Mari shares her own troubles, such as her mother’s death, but she still opens her home to Lara. Now Lara must acclimate to the modern human world while still seeking the true love her heart longs for. She’ll have to deal with Grace, who swims closer than she thinks, and a boy who resembles the human prince who shunned her love two centuries ago.

Will you set off fireworks when you watch the premiere of Goodbye, Lara in July? Have you read the original short story? Will Lara find true love? Let us know in the comments below.

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