Mermaid Forest: Volume
Two – Bitter Flesh (Animé TV)
Picture: C+
Sound: B- Extras: C- Episodes: C-
Though not answered in the last DVD, we again ask the
following questions: Should people eat
the flesh of mermaids? Should they
experiment with elixirs of life? These
are the burning questions behind Mermaid Forest, as male lead Yuta
starts burying leftovers because of a curse and you know how the truth has a
big problem staying buried. If it
didn’t, we would not have a show. The
next episodes are:
4 - 5) Mermaid Forest (in
2 parts)
6) The End Of The Dream
Too bad this is not the end of the series. This certainly continues its graphicness,
earning its 16 and up age minimum, and with all the curses, bizarre consumption
and anger here, that is no surprise.
Each show runs 25 minutes with its better writing being in vein. My big problem with the show continues to be
the not-so-clever way it sets up conflict for the sake of it. This is not that one needs any of the
characters to be likable for the story to work, just that these people are such
idiots that it ruins any ability to suspend disbelief.
The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image is again a
disappointment, lacking detail that is only saved by its color richness. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo in either
English or Japanese has Pro Logic surrounds and is not bad. Outside of a few Geneon preview trailers,
the only extra here is a production art gallery.
- Nicholas Sheffo
