User Reviews

Hans Christian Anderson's The Little Mermaid is a 1975 anime based on the novel of the same name and tells the tale of a young mermaid named Marina who dreams of seeing the surface and finding the prince she rescued on his ship. She decides to see the sea witch who makes her drink a potion that will transform her into a human in exchange for one of her scales. But she can't speak due to becoming human. So she meets the prince and of course they somewhat fall in love. However he is already betrothed to a mysterious woman who spotted him after Marina saved him and assumes that she is the one to rescue him and not Marina. Will tragedy strike?.

I liked the fact that it didn't follow the Disney version as it followed the actual novel written by Han Christian Anderson instead where the mermaid tries to kill the prince and she dies by turning into seafoam.

I've been searching for the original "The Little Mermaid" movie for years. I saw it during my obsession with the Disney version, clueless of the differences between versions. Of course, the Disney version has the happy ending where the heroine is rewarded for rescuing her prince...of course she falls in love and he follows suit quickly after...of course there is no third party, disregarding Ursula's attempt to distract Eric.

In the real "Little Mermaid", we have a mermaid named Marina who has also fallen in love with a human. She has her loyal companion, her large family of sisters, and a beautiful voice. She gives it all up to be with a man she has seen and saved...her life as she knows it, just to find love. She visits the evil sea witch and makes a deal--her voice for her love. In an un-Disney-like motion, her tongue is chopped off and the only way her "beloved" can recognize her is gone. If the prince returns her love she will regain her voice and live on. If he does not, she will die and become part of the ocean.

Throughout the movie, you think that Marina will get her man, but another woman comes into the picture...she has sidetracked Marina's true love and he falls in love with her. They are married and Marina accepts her fate to die. Her best friend intervenes by telling her sisters...they all make a deal with the sea witch. They have chopped off their beautiful hair in exchange for her life. The catch: Marina must stab her love while he is sleeping.

The most poignant part of the movie is watching her hover over the bed... the knife is raised, the two lovers are entwined. Even though the last time I've seen this movie was ten years ago, I still remember the big eyes of a Japanamation character first narrowing, then accepting defeat. She chooses love over life. She dies and melts into the ocean, while her poor friend is jumping out of the water, calling "Marina! Marina!" over and over again. I don't care how old you are, (and ignore how horrible my description of this movie may be) but if you're not at least a little teary at this scene, you've got problems.

Anybody who has seen the Disney "The Little Mermaid" must see this. I still love the other version, but this one stayed with me for much longer. Like to torture yourself with tragic movies? This one should be top of your list.

Welcome to the wonderful world of the Little Mermaid, the one that adheres to the original story and is kind of one big bummer. Then again it is a Japanese anime, they do not coddle their children the way we do, which is a bit harsh, but hey, at least they know not everything turns out okay in the end. The animation is not the best, they were not as proficient back then as they are these days so you will see the same character drawn again and again running in an endless loop as the ship begins to sink. They also do not mind showing boobs like we do here in the prude states of America so no seashell bras here. We also get a cat that is evil and apparently there is no real reasoning behind this...

The story, little Marina lives under the sea and is buddies with a dolphin. She comes across a sunken ship and this sparks her interest in going to the surface world. Fritz helps her by blackmailing a whale to get Marina past security as Marina is too young to go to the surface, unlike her sisters. Fritz's decision will doom Marina! In the sunken ship there is a statue of a prince and when she goes to the surface she witnesses his ship going down. She saves him and before he awakens on the beach, she leaves and another girl watches over him. Marina wishes to have legs and go to the prince and the sea witch helps her after fully outlining the drawbacks. She gets legs, loses her voice and unfortunately, she has found the only man in the world that prefers black haired girls to blonds. A cat tries to kill them and sea foam...

Marina is way too young to fall so in love so quickly, someone probably should have told her there are plenty of fish in the sea. I mean, she falls in love with a dork who plays the flute. The cat is just evil, not sure what its motivations are, even looked it up and it is just an evil cat. Fritz the dolphin is kind of annoying, not sure how he did not wind up in the Disney version, I am guessing Flounder edged him out for the role!

So, this one was not bad, but I think they should have done a bit better in areas. I mean, if the parents of the prince could understand the cat, then why couldn't the prince understand Fritz who could have told them that Marina is the one who saved him? Why could the cat speak at all? I thought maybe it was the sea witch, but apparently the sea witch was not evil and they were not the same (yes, I did read all this as the cat had a Wiki!) Still, it is kind of cool to see a more accurate depiction to the story...if only Marina were green...

I came across this version of the Hans Christian Anderson tale by chance, which was when I caught part of it playing on a T.V. in a dentist's office. It was the part with Marina and her sisters featuring this nice song I liked. I might have seen one other part, involving Marina with the prince. Eventually, I would see those parts again, as well as the rest of the movie. But that song I mentioned is what I consider to be a highlight, I just became enamored with it and it became a favorite part of mine. It definitely set itself apart from Disney's version in some ways, especially towards the end. Since I haven't read the original, I found out the ending of that and this anime rendition are different from Disney's take. I know the ending in this is supposed to be just as much of a tearjerker and seeing that moment saddens me, but I don't actually cry out my eyes. Still, nonetheless, Marina's death, which manifests as her dissolving into sea foam and bubbles ascending into heaven, is somewhat hard for me to take and I can hardly manage to get through it. Truly gut-wrenching and I warn anyone who isn't fond of things that are too maudlin either to look away or skip that part altogether if nobody reading this can get through that at all. Anderson's version and this remake are not for the faint of heart, even if it may be better than Disney's as far as the ending goes in that it mirrors it's faithfulness to the initial, as that has been pointed out by other reviewers on here.

Anyone who has read, heard, and/or seen any version of this story already knows exactly what it's all about, so in that case, it goes without explanation. To name a couple of differences between the heroine in this and the one in Disney's are their names. The former is named Marina and is a blonde, whereas the latter is named Ariel and is a redhead. All in all, the whole presentation is stunning. Not only one of the best renditions of Anderson's tale ever made, but also among the best anime. Recommended, especially for that stunning song.

I grew up watching this as a kid back in the 70's.

It makes me cry every time I watch the ending with Fritz screaming for Marina.

I love how the start of the film examines Denmark where the legendary storyteller Hans Christian Anderson was from and also the ending of the film showing the Little Mermaid statue sitting on the rock looking out to the sea for her beloved since 1913.

I highly recommend this film.

Hans Christian Anderson's The Little Mermaid (as it is called in English) was released 14 years before the more popular and well-known adaptation made by Disney. Created by Toei Animation (the company responsible for anime like Dragonball and Sailor Moon), the film follows Marina, a mermaid princess who falls in love with Prince Justin, this anime film is not for younger kids. It follows the original tale more closely than Disney did, meaning the tragic ending is still in place, and the film has nudity that some parents may find inappropriate for their young children (especially since the mermaids are topless, with hair providing strategic censorship, especially when Marina turns into a human). So, this Little Mermaid is more for the older audience who outgrew Disney's adaptation and has at least read the original tale to know what it's really about.

Other than that, it is a good movie. The voice actors all do a good job, and the animation is beautiful. I recommend seeing this one.

I saw this movie as a child and it was very sad but very moving. It left you with a feeling of awe. The ending is absolutely heart-wrenching, watching her little friend jumping out of the see over and over again calling out her name as she turns into the sea foam. I don't think they make animation quite like this anymore. What else can I say? Sure, the Disney version is light-hearted and fun but easily forgettable. This is the true story, and the emotional intensity of it has stayed with me throughout my life. Even as a child I understood to some extent the sacrifices that were made from Marina, and from her sisters in the sea. The sea witch wasn't necessarily 'evil with a vendetta' either (as in the dumbed down Disney version),she was just a sea witch. But none of her magic came without a price. She also made it possible for Marina to come back- if she would plunge a knife into the prince's heart. This scene is very intense in the movie, watching her with the dagger; the prince and his lover entwined and asleep. You can see and feel the torn emotions Marina feels and in the end she cannot do it. A truly unforgettable movie that pulls at your heart strings

I saw this first when I was around 5/6 years old and loved it. Preferred the Disney when I was a child, but still loved this one as well. Now as an adult I have a different love and understanding for this adaption than I did when I was younger. It's nothing like the Disney version. The sea witch is not the villain, the father is not overprotective, there is no rule against going to the surface when your of age. It's very different. There are things that were not added that were in HCA's book, but this is closest to the book along with the short of the little mermaid from fairy tale theatre. This story teaches about sacrifice, about pain, about loss, about feeling let down. It is, in a sense, spiritual, compared to the Disney adaption.

If you want a happy ending and the Disney magic, got with the Disney version. If you want a good cry, a tragedy and a version that is closer to the book, watch this version.

Another version that is similar to this one and closer to the book is "Fairy tale theatre's The Little Mermaid." It is not a fancy or high budget production, it's definitely dated, but it is similar to this and live action.

I grew up on Disney films like most people, considering I'm only 14 now. :D But I recently stumbled across this film on Youtube, divided into 8 parts and decided to watch it. I absolutely fell in love with the movie. Obviously the animation isn't as stunning as Disney's, but i's still beautiful in it's own way. it was anime in the 70's after all. But Marina was everything I'd imagined a mermaid to be, she was sweet and beautiful in a way that wasn't in your face like Ariel always was IMO. I don't mind the nudity, it's something I'd personally expect from living in the ocean, because damn those seashell bras would hurt. The Prince was just like I imagined, the sea witch was actually scary (indeed she was) and Fritz was an adorable character (he seemed more like a friend, than a companion like the Disney film). I pity the Prince in this movie, when he realized that Marina was the girl who saved him, I can only imagine how bitter his life must have become. He lost his true love, and instead got some dumb b***H who didn't even have the courtesy to tell him she wasn't the one who saved him. The heartbreaking story is something that will stick with me for along time I've always known the Little Mermaid was supposed to die, but until recently I never knew she had the choice. This movie showed me what true love really is: Willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for love, and it also reminded me that not everyone gets the happy ending. Not my best review, but this movie made me feel a lot. It made me think unlike Disney's version, and it spurred a new found interest in fairy tales again (the originals) and led me to find some other beautiful retelling's of this story (The Russian one from the 60's was good too). Anyone who thinks this film is inappropriate for children, I highly disagree. This film teaches valuable lessons, and is a beloved tale children have been hearing for years. I only wish I'd been ale to see this as a child. Anyone looking for this movie can watch it one Youtube ( Username NieuAnimeTV ) or buy it one Amazon for 5 dollars. All worth it.

*Spoiler* Princess MARINA turns 15, receives a PEARL HAIRPIN for her birthday. She ventures to the surface with her dolphin friend FRITZ. Falls in love with a human prince after saving him, the prince thinks it was a woman at a temple who rescued him. Marina trades her voice to the sea witch for a potion so she will have legs. Prince finds her and believes that shes a princess because of her pearl hairpin. CAT tries to get rid of her while the prince and her is out riding. she gets attacked by wolves, prince rescues her. The princes told he has to marry a princess. He refuses then later tells marina that the only girl he wants to marry is the girl that saved him but since he cant find that girl he would like to marry her. The king and queen trick him into meeting his future bride. He is excited because it is the girl he thinks saved him. They get married and it breaks marinas heart, her sisters meet her at the boat and give her a dagger to plunge into his heart that they traded their hair for. She goes to the prince in his wedding bed but cant kill him. He wakes as she is going out to die on the deck, realizing it was her that saved him. She leaves her pearl hairpin and a scale from her tale on the edge of the boat, he reaches the deck in time to see her turn into sea foam.

I think this is a very beautiful film about love risking and live for love... It is a great version of Hans Christian Tale.. Is a sad story but well, the original story was like that. You can't be expecting a happy ending. But I definitely like it. Marina is a beautiful and sweet mermaid, I love how they draw her because she's very cute. Many people don't like the drawings and animation, but it was a 70s movie and for me it looks great. Also I'm so into vintage stuff and I love oldies. I know that they show nudity in this film and is not for children, is for young adults and all that appreciate anime classics. This movie makes me cry because it gives so much impact and a beautiful message of love.The people that don't like this film, definitely don't appreciate old anime and didn't know that the real true story has a sad ending. I would love to see this film again on DVD someday because now is out of stock.