#the anime this is from is mermaid melody

[camels-pen]

did you know there's a mermaid magical girl anime. bc i didnt

ref

[elsewhereonline]

🐠🐬🐡🦐

[sabxhere]

KOTCHI WO MUITE SUKI DA TO ITTE—✨💖💖

[sparkles-oflight]

Which is gayer?

LGBT?

Or

[miss-floral-thief]

@cream---cheese

[idiosyncraticrednebula]

I don't understand why TLM 2 tried so hard to emphasize and clarify how much Ariel is like her mother in terms of personality when she is, in the movie, quite frankly, written to be more like Eric in character. She was really primarily introverted, shy, awkward, tomboyish, mild-mannered and more serious, which is more like her father. I guess it was her impulsive, curious, rebellious and reckless nature that made the characters in the movie go, "Ow, she is so like her mother!", but I don't know, whenever I see Melody, I see her as closer to her dad. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who sees it this way. I don't believe for one second that NO ONE in that universe was able to notice the similarities she had with her father. C'mon, she even has his doggone smile! 😂

[error404vnotfound]

you are telling me a 12/13 year old won a surfing competition against adult men

[rene-darling]

SEA CREATURE- genshin men

Genshin men but they're different types of sea creatures! How do they court you if they can't walk on land?...credits [m.neuvillette on insta]

...scaramouche...xiao...neuvillette...

Xiao

Xiao was never interested in mortals, let alone those who walked the land.

But there was just something about you that drew him near.

When you went swimming he would keep an eye out for you, watching you from a distance- just in case you were attacked! Not anything creepy...

He always found humans trying to swim funny-looking but when he observed you...he felt something different.

So when once a big wave had pulled you under preventing you from resurfacing he didn't think twice before guiding you back to shore.

He panted heavily, he'd never swam that in his life!

And when you woke up and looked at him he wondered what you would say..or think, would you call him a monster? An ugly creature? Like all the other humans- "are you...an angel?"

His breath hitched in his throat before he let out a scoff "hmpf. Foolish mortal."

He grumbled diving back deep into the ocean before you could say anything or ask him further questions.

This was getting rather tiring... Everyday since then you would come to the beach and scream your lungs out, and he'd blush at all the nicknames you had given him since he'd had not told you his name

"yoohoo~ angel!, my mermaid savior!, my-" "Stop it." you froze..he finally appeared before you, tired of hearing the arsenal of nicknames you had for him.

He glared at you with those sharp eyes of his, but when you looked at him and gave him a bright smile shouting "it's you! You're back! Hah!" he can't help but let his gaze soften...just a bit!

After that, it became routine for you to meet him by the seashore.

Once he started developing feelings for you, he wasn't quite sure on what to do.

He was flustered..you were a land animal, while he was a merman..

He came to the conclusion that the two of you could not be together in any capacity...

But that didn't stop his feelings from growing. Nor did it stop his biased behavior towards you.

He would bring you many sea shells from the ocean depts

One's that could not be found near the shore.

Once he saw that you liked them he started trying them together making cute accessories for you

Necklaces, rings, bracelets etc!

Scaramouche

Scaramouche is a siren. A deadly one at that.

He doesn't care for humans until it comes to his meal time and he doesn't give a fuck about them in a romantic sense either.

He was doing his usual, singing his lovely melody to attract nearby sailors so he could feast upon them.

But once he had gotten in a bit of trouble with some pirates whom he was trying to kill. Which resulted in him being caught in a net his tail all tangled up

His tail is his best asset! It's the easiest way to lure victims in! With just a wave of his tail he'll have his pray swimming to him

But now he's helplessly stranded on shore. He's half expecting for some humans to come along and kill him by this point..and they might as well since he feels as though he might die of hunger.

And then this human does come along. He's expecting his death but not without a fight!

He tries scratching you, hurting you. But to no avail, you don't back down as you keep approaching him not backing down from his fights

He winces when you bring the knife closer, that's it. This is the end for his miserable life...

Suddenly all those tight ropes around his body drop to the floor and he gets free. In instinct, he quickly swims off not bothering to talk to you.

It's been a while since then, and he convinces himself that he doesn't care...but, he can't really explain why he swims up to the shore every day, watching with sharp eyes to see if you would make an appearance.

And when you finally do, he feels relief spread out his body..you're safe- wait. No, he's a siren. He doesn't care for you!

After weeks of just watching you, he finally makes an appearance throwing a rock at your head to get your attention. When you look at him he swims behind a large rock gesturing for you to come closer. And when you do follow him without question he thinks to himself

Stupid human! I'm siren for archons sake!! What if I was trying to kill them!!...i mean I'm not, I would never. But still!

From that day on it becomes a tradition for the both of you to meet behind the big rock slightly offshore.

He doesn't know why he feels this warm feeling spread through his chest..he's a cold-blooded siren for god sake!

Still...he can't help it so..he tries impressing you.

He shows off his colorful tail, flapping it around and sticking it out of the water for you to observe.

He also makes sure to dive deep down into the ocean and grab rocks that he finds nice from the ocean floor to give to you.

He's sure you'll be impressed by his rocks! You probably haven't seen them since he got them from the depts.

Neuvillette

He's a sea otter!! With a fluffy little tail

Meeting you was definitely a stroke of luck.

You were on a scuba diving expedition with some friends and had lost your way in the depths of the fontain ocean

Neuvillette took all measures to stay away from humans of any kind, he didn't trust them, especially with how they polluted the waters!

But he had gotten his nose stuck in a plastic cup! He was only a bit curious about this strange plastic! He hadn't expected to get stuck!

This is why while in his attempt to get his nose out of the cup he felt his body press onto someone warm

Snapping his head back he saw you! His first instinct was to run, humans were nothing but trouble!...but.

Before he could've ran you had grabbed the plastic cup and had freed his nose

He's really grateful so he decides he'll show you the way back to your friends which you got lost from.

He tries to make you understand but you don't so he wraps his fluffy tail around you and pulls you to where he saw your friends.

From then on whenever you would go on a scuba diving expedition with your friends he would always seek you out. He's still not good with humans so while your scuba team is distracted you'll slip away unnoticed and find him.

You don't need to search far, it seems he's always around the corner when you seek him out

His eyes sparkle as he swims circles around you his fluffy tail brushing against you as he looks at your swimming gear

He'll ask you questions about it, and he'll be absolutely fascinated by the gadgets you have.

He'll get really sad when you have to leave soon to not worry your swim team. He insists you must stay at least a little while longer!

He'll start developing feelings for you, but he doesn't know how to act them out

He wouldn't have ever expected to fall for a human being! A mortal!

But he feels this overwhelming desire to be near you and to protect you from any harm you might face.

Being an otter, they usually hold hands while they sleep, that being the only affectionate thing he knows how to do, He never leaves your hand! Clinging onto your arm as if you're about to die!

He swims up to shore to watch the stars with you, and as you slowly fall asleep, he holds onto your arm to not drift away from you as you both sleep under the stars.

[hadesisqueer]

The thing about Spaniards is that they can deny it if they want but we all grew up being otakus in the last couple of generations. My sister and cousins are always like "I've never watched anime in my life tbh." Guys I know that all you watched when you were kids was Doraemon and Mermaid Melody and Captain Tsubasa and Sailor Moon and Pokémon and Mazinger Z and Ninja Hattari and Detective Conan and Inazuma Eleven and Marco and Heidi and Dragon Ball Z and Shin Chan-- in fact y'all are still obsessed with Shin Chan. Literally 90% of what you guys watched was Japanese animation. You still wanna try the dorayakis from Doraemon and imitate Shin-Chan and his friends when y'all are bored or make Goku references. Y'all ARE otaku lmao /j

[sprinkanao]

Hi! I’m opening International Mail Order PO

🗓️ PO Period Aug 31 - Sept 14th

✈️ Shipping from Indonesia

More info on form :

🔗 https://forms.gle/qSPiYbrDspZ1yDk88

🎀 CF19 Circle: Shoujo Corner

🎪 Fandom: Magical Girl: Tokyo Mew Mew, Precure, Madoka Magica, CCS Sakura, Mermaid Melody, Ojamajo Doremi, Shugo Chara, Frieren, Apothecary Diaries and other Shoujo Anime

[ani-tolaat-bli-toelet]

Me rewatching Mermaid Melody in 2014: there's Something about Noel and her story with Rina but I can't quite put my finger on-

Me rewatching Mermaid Melody in 2024: the fish are homosexual

Growing up is actually just enjoying the exact same things you enjoyed at 14 years old, but in a more gay way

[sailorstarr-chan4]

What does your fave Magical Girl series say about you?

Sailor Moon: You're 1000% a Basic Bitch and proud of it! This is also probably your first introduction to the concept of queerness and shipping. Cardcaptor Sakura: You hate dubbed anime. You also pretend the manga doesn't exist, and you're Multi-Ship Trash. Shugo Chara!: You had/still have a crush on Ikuto Tsukiyomi. Madoka Magica: Get help. Just.... get help. Tokyo Mew Mew: You definitely got your fetish from this series. Doesn't matter what it is; you got it here. Mermaid Melody: Your favorite Disney film was The Little Mermaid and you carried that into anime. Princess Tutu: You like your fairy tales like you like your men: Hot, Angsty, and Homoerotic. Revolutionary Girl Utena: This was your bisexual awakening and your introduction of becoming an anime "Snob." Yuki Yuna is a Hero: You're Gen Z or younger. Wedding Peach: You're tired of pretending that love and marriage isn't what you want, and really, who can blame you? Full Moon wo Sagshite: You love cancer stories and idol anime. It probably also awakened a few things in you... Magic Knight Rayearth: You have a thing for classic Good vs Evil, Rescuing a Damsel in Distress tropes, except you are ALSO a slut for soul-crushing angst. Plus, you die a little inside when people praise CLAMP's works, but never mention this gem. Little Witch Academia: Your first fandom was Harry Potter, your next fandom was Sailor Moon, so what better combination than this?! Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne: You went into it thinking it was like Sailor Moon, and stayed for the Lupin the Third vibes and religious discourse. Pretear: You 1000% make perverted jokes about this series. Iykyk.

(Add your own in the comments! This is all just for fun! ❤)

[rose-tea-and-strawberries]

One Step Closer

Prince Rielle x Female Reader

Masterlist

A dance is like a conversation Except your lips don't ever need to part And once you've begun You speak as one Cheek to cheek Toe to toe Heart to heart - Prince Eric, The Little Mermaid Broadway Musical

Despite being a merman prince having only just gained legs a few months ago, he was much more agile on his feet than you could ever dream to be. With your hand clasped in his, he merrily dragged you around the market from stall to stall, sight to sight, attraction to attraction - being physically unable to remain in one place for more than half a minute before something else caught his eye, almost gliding across the cobbled streets to sate his childlike wonder. 

It’s a wondrous feeling, being in the presence of a philocalist who would gaze at the most mundane objects with starry-eyed reverence. You couldn’t but let fondness overcome you as he bounded here and there, fluffy waves of crimson locks bouncing with every spring of his steps. Making friends with someone as animated as The Sea King’s youngest was one of your favourite parts of visiting NRC. He was so enthusiastic, so lively and carried such a zest for life and appreciation for everything that it was impossible to not hold at least a little fondness. He welcomed you to RSA with warm open arms, seconds after meeting you and there was never a moment where you were at a loss for words since he was so ready to gush about anything and everything and listen to you, completely enthralled - even in silence he had the ability to fill the room with vibrant colours -  so accepting his and Neige’s invitation to a surprise outing was as easy as those pies the fair, ebony haired boy loved to make.

To be honest, you could understand his fascination. Being a metaphorical fish out of water yourself, your adventures in this world were one surprise after another (some good surprises and others not so much to say the least). And it wasn’t like the landscape was anything to scoff at - the organisers of this festival clearly knew what they were doing.

Bouquets of rainbow-hued flowers were tied up in bunches on street lamps and rows of blossoms were lining the roads. Kaleidoscopic bunting soared above you, their polychromatic bundles fluttering from where they were tied securely onto the sleek black street lamps that lined the streets. Every inch of this fete was something out of a picture book and paired with the beautiful weather, you could spend hours just drinking it all in.

You let your eyes skim through the stalls, looking for any souvenirs you could purchase for your friends back in NRC. You felt guilty enough saying goodbye to the Ramshackle ghosts and Ace and Deuce an hour before you left for your weeklong transfer to RSA but having this much fun without them felt almost foreign (Grim, who had been your companion in said transfer, seemed absolutely hunky dory about leaving NRC, as he was gleefully imbibing any food he came across). Besides, they were most likely well aware of you visiting the festival near their rival school’s campus if they saw the selfie Neige had posted with you and his friend group about an hour ago. 

“So,” Rielle’s bubbly voice chirped, from where he had appeared next to you, eyes coruscating, “what do you think?”

“It’s all so amazing,” you marvelled, “I can’t think of any words to say - everything is just so unbelievable.”

“That's alright!” he laughed, clasping both of your hands in his, his starry, wide-eyed grin matching your own, “who needs words? Dancing beats small talk any day. Come on.”

He pulled you to an empty path of land, away from the bustling crowds and laughing children, removed from the festival-goers sight but still close enough to hear the joyful melody of the live band that was playing. Without saying a word he twirled you around, laughing at your surprised yelp.

“I’m-I’m not much of a dancer, Rielle,” you say to him.

He merely grins at your response, “that’s alright, neither am I. We don’t have dancing in my kingdom - not the way people on the surface do. I watched these humans dance once - I think Neige told me it’s called ballet up here - and it was so beautiful that I went crying to my brothers because I wanted two fins. So when my dad let me go to RSA and I got these legs, the first thing I tried to do was learn how to dance and well - let’s just say that dancing and walking are two very different things.”

You couldn’t help but laugh at his pink-faced sheepish smile.

“Anyway,” he gathered himself, “I learned somewhere down the line that dancing is less of a movement and more of a language - only you feel it instead of speaking it. You need to use your emotions to tell you what to do and when you start moving and let the music wash away your inhibitions, you start expressing yourself in ways your words can’t.”

“So Y/N,” he holds out a hand, “would you like to have a conversation with me?”

Tentatively, you placed your palm in his and let him twirl and sway and waltz with you. And when you find yourself being lifted in the air and spun around, the skirt of your dress flaring around you as joyous laughter overcomes you, you wonder if this dance could last a little longer.

[jade-green-butterfly]

"Behold; Harmonia's Successor~"✨🌈🦋

My goodness, I cannot believe I actually had this in my head and was able to bring it all to life, just how I imagined it!🤩I amaze myself, I really do~✨🤭

Heavily inspired by one of Neo Queen Serenity's beautiful poses and the childhood song, 'My Only Love' playing in the English dub of Princess Serenity's awakening from the original Sailor Moon series, I wished to capture me/my trollsona and Harmonia (in spirit) together in this enchanting scene, for I am magically revealed to be her chosen vessel and successor in my stories~💖(Which I can actually see happening in an actual Trolls movie or special!😁)

It's been SO long since I drew Harmonia last, so I wished to change that and...SUCCESS!!✊🏻😤I also wanted to pay tribute and hugely credit my dear sisterly figure - KaitlinEXE, for the gorgeous Harmony Gown she wonderfully designed and drew for me on my birthday, last year - alongside my beloved Cooper~💗🥰💗

I just HAD TO draw the gown for myself and I am truly thrilled how it all turned out, especially the poses and every single detail~!🥹💝😍 I also got a bit of inspiration from my fave mermaid - Seira (I LOVE her song, 'Beautiful Wish'!💞) from the Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch series, who was also the successor of Sara, the original orange mermaid~🧡🧜🏼‍♀️ Hope you all like too, my lovelies!👍🏻😊💕🫂Enjoy as much as I am, hehe~🫶🏻😚xoxo.

*~Reblogs are also deeply appreciated as well, so please do reblog as well as like! Thank-you kindly!~*

Cooper (c) DreamWorks Trolls/DreamWorks Animation

Trollsona Jussy/Justina Butterfly & Harmonia The Goddess Of Harmony (c) @jade-green-butterfly​​ (Me~!) Jussy's Harmony Gown Design (c) KaitlinEXE~💜

[sixthwater]

Hello! Have you been feeling a bit lost recently? Especially with all of the eclipses that we've been experiencing? Well, here is some short advice from your spirit guides and angels to help get things sorted out.

Left → Right / Pile 1 → Pile 4)

Decks Used: The Psychic Oracle, Fairies Oracle Deck, Elle Qui Oracle, Woodland Wardens Oracle, Sacred Creators Oracle, Sea Melodies, Language of Flowers, Wild Unknown Animal Spirits,

Disclaimer | Pinned | Tip Jar | Paid Readings

Pile One

I began your reading and my back started killing me; make sure you’re doing proper stretches or you’re not pushing yourself too hard to wear yourself out.

There is a sense of holding your tongue or keeping yourself trapped in the closet. I just got an image of The Little Mermaid when she signed away her voice but it’s not the Disney version it’s the legitimate fairy tale, it’s also more of a choice? It’s difficult to describe; it’s not that you prefer to be uncomfortable and to hide under a mask blah blah blah, but there’s experience of pain and loss so you don’t want to do it again. Maybe you haven’t expressed certain emotions or identities, but you overheard them being looked down upon or it was made fun of, so instead you locked these emotions up and threw away the key (ex; someone laughing at you having feelings for them when brought up as a joke or someone disrespecting a sexual orientation/identity, etc). Your pile is the very first, in all of my history of reading, where I want to be completely silent and only listen to certain frequencies as well.

The advice: You need to listen to yourself and the world (in a way). You already have the answers to your questions/concerns inside of you, but you do need some help finding them obviously. You’re looking for external answers, but it’s only causing more confusion because...well everyone sees the world differently. So when you try to put yourself in those shoes, it causes more scratches on the Vinyl record that is your life, you know? It’s funny to say this but they’re kind of asking you to pull back and not move on so fast from what’s going on because you haven’t really sat with your feelings and gone through the process. What’s been upsetting you and why did it bother you. Why did you react that way. Well how did you get to Point E from Point B? Take a time out and sort these things out when you can because it’ll get you some clarity. There’s also a piece here about communicating and becoming vulnerable. It’s not exactly the same, but I need to figure myself out sometimes with talking and I end up stumbling upon revelations through discussions. You might need to have a low energy discussion with someone you feel comfortable with you so can get to these answers. You don’t need to immediately express or explain these things, but it will help you out. Some of you might need to re-route yourselves because you are lost and you took the wrong exit; it’s fine, that’s life and it’ll happen constantly. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about, if you weren’t here to make mistakes then what are you even here for. Confide in other people, ask for help, get some guidance. You can rely on those around you, not everyone will want to hurt you. I keep being nudged to an issue with identity and — for some it’s just figuring out who you are but there’s pain so if it is what i mentioned earlier, only you know yourself. People can help, but do not let them police who you are and decide what’s ‘correct’ and what’s not. The main message overall is that there is a need for you to be vulnerable with people — or at least someone. There is either embarrassment or pride here holding you back and it’s smothering emotions that end up causing inner turmoil. I would say this points to seeking out a therapist but there are no swords here, so I believe this could just point to finding people to confide in or making peace with the softer aspects of yourself that you might find shameful.

With ‘Chance’ and ‘Dive’, I believe it’s just pointing more towards diving deeper into unknown territory which would be emotions you haven’t explored yet. ‘You cant live your life dealing with surface level things’ is the phrase I’m getting.

Pile Two

Pretty simple so this might be short. The energy check is a bit out of reach despite how simple it seems. I think the first two songs might sum it up a lot better than I can. I don’t believe it deals directly with love, but the idea remains.

I think the advice here is to not teeter too much to one side. You’re not lacking in passion, but you might pull back too much if something fails. There’s a slim piece about being a bit scattered in where you want to go, but we’ll touch on that later. For now, it’s being enveloped by how alive you feel when you’re going after your dreams. How happy it makes you and the rush you get. I keep being drawn back to Passion Ignited as well as Aylis because they’re similar; a glowing ‘orb’ that’s placed over the chest somewhat. Ah that reminds me of The Greatest Showman. Just it’s song ‘Come Alive’, I think that fits this pile quite well. You just have to be comfortable diving into your passion and not be embarrassed, and even when making mistakes, to laugh it off and keep chasing after it. It doesn’t even have to be a dream — people call nearly everything cringe these days. Are we not supposed to have hobbies? Enjoy your hobbies, that’s the point of living. What does it matter. Express yourself and be a bit goofy, you’re a bit tense and scared of messing up right now, but it’s okay. Now before I mentioned being scattered — there’s a small message of getting a clear view of what you want in your life. Do you want to be an influencer or do you just want a good work-life balance. Or a remote job. It’s the general idea that you have which might not really be what you want at the end of the day, and they’re just asking you to clarify, because you can make certain things come true if that’s what you want. However, with just as many ‘let loose’ cards you have, they’re balanced with some grounded cards here. Also, if you haven’t reached your goal yet, don’t give up. We never reach our goal with just one attempt or in just one chapter. You will get there.

Tiger Lily...maybe my job example was on point? If you’re thinking of jumping into something headfirst with no back-up, really think about it. Make sure you have savings, you have a safety-net, you have all your bases covered, etc. There are plenty of people who can afford to take a risky route of income because other people are covering bills with an insane paycheck, or they’ve had years to build up a base. Be patient, and work dutifully to get to that place. It’s difficult, but with these really precious spread I believe that you will have much to offer people if you take your time. This doesn’t mean give up, it just means be smart and take your time.

Associated Songs: Passion – Utada Hikaru, All My Heart – Sleeping with Sirens, Tonight – Kesha

Pile Three

This is gorgeous. The energy while pulling cards was light and goofy and I’m understanding why now. The meaning of these cards would usually give off a blue/purple aura, since there are a lot of messages alluding to soul searching, but I believe this is more...personable? How do I explain this.

Usually when you think of soul searching, you think of The Hermit. Someone who pulls back from socializing and focuses on themselves. However with this combination, it feels more like really thinking about- I’m sorry the strongest smell just popped through my vents and it smells like Cinnamon. It is not my favorite but it reminds me of gatherings late at night, anyway — It feels like thinking about the people around you and how they reflect you and what you want in your life. You figure yourself out and what you want out of life by interacting with others. It’s not that you need others to do this, but they shine a light on certain aspects of yourself or they bring you to do activities that you wouldn’t have done on your own, thus making you have these realizations. So the advice itself is saying that you should sit on these moments and really let them seep in. They’re not necessarily telling you to isolate and do some introspective thinking, but when you have these moments, don’t push them aside to keep up with others. You have a knack for knowing yourself inside and out, and what’s best for you. I know that seems pretty normal, but it’s not necessarily common. Knowing who or what you want VS what you don’t is a good gift and you should be utilizing it right now. I keep hearing ‘don’t be satisfied’. Keep looking for things that really make you happy. It’s not in a greedy sense, but don’t think ‘well that’ll do’, go seek out experiences or hobbies that make you feel whole! I don’t deal with chakras, but all this green is hard to ignore considering it stands for the Heart and I’ve felt happy and calm the entire reading. There’s not much advice here because you might already have the answer inside of you but more like recommendations; such as going for walks, or having calm hangouts with friends or family. I think you’re already doing what’s being said here, but do your best to keep a balance of focusing on those revelations of what’s best for you and healthy doses of engagement with those around you. I don’t have to pull extra cards either, you seem to be doing quite fine honestly

(There are no songs here, a lot of light-hearted songs. Some goofy mixes. Good Time by Carly Rae Jepsen & Owl City as well as chill songs that don’t really have messages in them)

Pile Four

Confidence. That sums up your whole reading. Well that and some change. Right now it doesn’t necessarily feel like doubt or naysayers, but you don’t really have people to boost you up. Or you need to feel extremely safe/supported in order to really go after something — which feels more physical than spiritual. So it could be a change in majors, career, personal expression, hell maybe just changing direction with your life in terms of dropping out or not using your degree in pursuit of something else entirely. The flowers in the Deceit card resemble horns right now and it’s like opinions or external thoughts regarding the situation that can make you overthink your next steps or how you feel about the topic in general. Gosh I’m forgetting the term but in a way, they could end up being right in a sense that they affect your natural ability and make you way too anxious to perform naturally, thus making you fail. So it’s the ‘well I’m going to fail so I’m not even going to do my very best’ so when you fail you think it was destined to happen.

Your guides and angels are asking you to just take a chance and trust in the adventure. You have to move with confidence, you can’t be sheepish with this. You could be new to this change, so obviously mistakes will happen, but you can’t go into this with a pessimistic attitude. I’m seriously not getting any negative energy around you so don’t worry about that. If the world around you is dull, explore different avenues that give you joy. I’m always going to say to never just leap into the unknown without any thought, but you seem extremely hesitant and it’s holding you back from a new chapter and great experiences that are meant for you. This could be in the shape of a new job or merely just new friends who could help you gain more confidence within yourself. Again though, this pile seems more material based than the others, so I’m thinking it’s related to money matters or at the most, possibly moving but that’s a stretch. There’s a small piece of being scared to take up new opportunities because you’re not well versed in them but, you won’t know everything in the world? The only way to gain experience is to test it out. If it’s for you, then you’ll know once you try it, right?

Haha the Bear! Yeah, this is an uncomfortable time for you, but it’s urging you to sort of learn how to walk, and embrace the natural calmness yet underlying formidable strength of this animal. I’m thinking of when someone was arguing that the bear was one of the scariest predators in the world, but this card also stands for inner strength and you literally have Strength here so, you just have to be comfortable entering this new stage of life (transitions, which there are too many examples for me to list here). Don’t be hard on yourself, everyone has been in your place before.

(Not many songs, just Bends by Carly Rae Jepsen stood out)

[mahou-furbies]

Now caught up with Mermaid Melody Aqua

When this originally started my involvement was mostly about gawking at Lukia's design and I only read a couple chapters before dropping off, but now I'm caught up. Aannnddd how do I put this... it's hard to gauge how critical I can be since this is clearly aimed at a younger audience, and also romance stories aimed at tween girls are already such a punching bag, but... this is the first time I'm considering if I should give a mal rating of 1/10 to a manga. I've read other Nakayoshi series and for the most part have been able to find something like or at least end with a wishy-washy "I'm not in the target audience but I guess it's okay for what it is" sentiment, but this one just has so many issues, in addition to a myriad of stuff that personally pisses me off.

The story is about the original series' heroine's teenage daughter Lukia, who, as anyone who knows anything at all about this manga, looks exactly like her mother for no reason. The ocean is in danger again and Lukia has to marry this one merman to prevent a catastrophe, but she is in love with a human boy, who doesn't know about her mermaid identity and is into both her human and mermaid personas separately and struggles to choose. There are also some magical girl battles. So not that unusual of a shoujo premise.

I tried to think of what my biggest issue with the manga is, but it turned out to be difficult since there are so many to choose from. For starters, I can't think of anything I like about Lukia. Obviously for someone who is into fun anime designs her look is an immediate 0/10 for being an exact copy of an existing character, but it also makes the story harder to follow at times when it's difficult to tell if a character is supposed to be Lukia or her mother. But even apart from the character design she's just so bland, and doesn't have much other passions than lusting after a boy and doing the plot, and even with the plot she's just sort of passively stumbling through. Like in the part where she's being pushed to be with her fiancé and she just limply goes along, and overall it feels as if she spends like 95% of the story looking flustered.

The boys are pretty generic shoujo love interests, and in general in control of the situation while the heroine blushes and follows. They also have little else going on outside chasing Lukia, and get into arguments with each other over who gets her while she feebly stands on the side (her opinion is irrelevant).

However despite the people in the main love triangle being extremely unlikable to me, somehow I'd say that the returning MMPPP cast draws the shortest straw in terms of characterisation. The former heroine Luchia has two roles; either she is the butt of the joke as an embarrassing mum, or an obstacle to Lukia's romance who pushes the arranged marriage, and both are depressing when you consider how she was originally a typical magical girl heroine. More often than not Luchia and her friends are more often than not written like immature teenagers, and at their lowest swoon over how attractive Lukia's fiancé is (all the while the readers are shown how unhappy Lukia is about having to marry some rando).

Lukia spends majority of the series thinking about men, and she doesn't really get proper friendships to balance that out. At the beginning the series does introduce a new mermaid as a friend to her, but they quickly fade into being just an accessory to Lukia. It feels like when the series wants to have a "the heroine is doing fun stuff with her girlfriends!" scene, it just has Lukia hang out with her mum and her mum's friends (who never grew up), which is kind of cringe.

Then there's the fanservice aspect; this is a shoujo series but it sure likes to have Lukia wear tops that show off her sizable rack and skirts short enough to show her butt cheeks. In one scene Lukia is just flat out naked so the main guy can walk in on her. And the mermaid tails have been drawn to display the curves of their legs, which to me creates a kind of grotesque effect when it looks like their feet have been cut off from the ankles.

Then finally some complaints about the overall storytelling, it's just so clunky. Like Luchia reveals that Lukia is a mermaid and already engaged, and Lukia runs off in anger. Next page she is introduced to the mascot and has some banter with him, and two pages later it's already the next day and we're at school. You would think that Luchia would at least try to talk a bit more about how her daughter's life is about to take a huge turn, but apparently nothing that was important enough to show to the reader happened during this time. In general there are a lot of moments where transitioning from one scene to another, or even from panel to panel, is noticeably clumsy. Characters also feel like they act just however the scene needs them to.

I am aware that there are plenty of women and girls who are into this kind of love stories where a big strong man shows up to swoop the blank slate heroine off her feet (just think about the popularity of Twilight and 50 Shades), and I would imagine that Mermaid Melody Aqua is aimed at 12-year-old girls who want a "sexy" romance with hot boys totally devoted to the viewpoint character. But I've never been there so I can't relate, and if I had to think "well someone else probably likes this" every time I think of writing a review I could never criticise anything. So let's just close with the sentiment that with the laziest character design imaginable, wet rag of a heroine, super conservative gender roles in the romance, inconsistent and dull characters, undignified portrayal of original series heroines, unappealing fanservice and overall weak writing this is a good contender for my least favourite manga ever. The story isn't over but it's hard to see how it could crawl out of this hole.