[Anime Review]/Muromi-san - Mermaids Just Wanna Get Drunk

So, it's no surprise that we love shorts around here...but this one takes things to a whole new level of over the top insanity. I mean every single episode seems to just go one step further into the abyss of the bizarre. While not entirely unusual for a short to do be kind of all over the place, the folks at Tatsunoko have really tried to out do themselves each week.

Every episode is only about 12 minutes or so in length, so that likely adds to the crazy with no real time to set things up. However, that probably is the for the best as things are constantly coming out of left field and really just give you that "WTF?!" feeling about what's happening. Something that's also shared by our high school age fishing friend, Takuro. So, maybe it is all planned out...maybe it's not. Who knows...

I will say that this show is definitely not for the kiddies. There is a lot of over the top fan service (especially when Fuji-san is around) and other things that really does fit a late night short such as this and it's intended audience. I mean we are talking about ancient sea creatures and a few other random mythological beasties who like to get drunk and cause chaos here after all.

• Genre: Comedy/Fantasy with a dash of romance (even if it is one sided)
• Length: 13
• Rating: 7.5/10
• Recommendation: I say give it a shot if you're looking for a dose of insanity. There's a lot to take in and you'll probably spend a lot of time trying to figure out what the hell is going on at times, but don't worry...they do sort of explain a few things as the series goes on. Most of the time you're just as confused as Takuro though, but that's not really a bad thing. 
• Where to watch: Crunchyroll

Alright...time to get on with things...

So, where to even begin on this one? There's really much of an overarching storyline that's going on here. Mostly we find ourselves with Takuro, a high school boy who likes to fish, being stuck in some pretty insane moments and trying to figure out just what the hell Muromi-san is on about. Which, of course leaves us trying to figure out the same thing.

Now, of course there are more characters than just our poor, confused Takuro and the insane Muromi. Though, Takuro is really the only human that we run into throughout the entire show...the rest? Yep, you guessed it. Mermaids, sea monsters and even a harpy (who really loves fish...and apparently mermaids) and yeti fill out the cast. Most of them seem harmless enough, even if they do cause Takuro a good bit of grief while getting him to solve some of their problems, just being around or their just screwing with him, which does happen a lot.

Then again this is a show about a lonely teenager who spends his time fishing at the pier and, to his incredible surprise, fishes up a mermaid. One that doesn't quite realize she's a mermaid until she meets him either. Not only that, she is incredibly dense and crazy and has a drinking problem to top it off. Now every time Takurou goes fishing, Muromi appears and makes life interesting for him. So, there is that to keep in mind as we go further...

For some reason, which we personally haven't figured out, the ancient aged (yet eternally immature) Muromi seems to be enamored with Takuro. Even her friends seem to be very confused about this from time to time based on what we could tell. They also find out that she's mostly to blame for some (read: most) issues that they haven't been able to figure out entirely either (to the point of scarring an entire species...at a genetic level).

Speaking of her friends...they're just as messed up as our favorite random mermaid here, so let's not get off to thinking that she's alone in her neurosis. Not by a long shot. Sure, a few of them do fit into the typical character archetypes you find in anime, but there's just enough off to keep them fresh.

Maybe it's because they're a mix of ancient sea creatures that seem to have no problem with going up on land or having people realize that they're around still (definitely a new twist and weird that no one seems to care much either) or something else. I'm still not sure but they definitely do a good job with them. Who are they? Well...I'm sure you'll be able to guess by their names what most of them are.

Levia-san, who is well...a leviathan (big surprise there) but she's since been reformed by Muromi and has a much more gentler and protective way about her, though every now and then she does transform into a terrifying beastie...even if it is just to scare off some penguins. The blue haired, pony tail sporting Sumida-san, who is Muromi-san's favorite drinking buddy and definitely partner in crime for a lot of antics. Hii-chan, another mermaid who is soft spoken and kind to animals and consistently refers to Muromi as onee-tan. The fact that Hii-chan is so friendly with animals leads us to find out just how manic and insane Muromi has been over the years as well. Then there's Fuji-san (more on her in a couple) Rounding out the cast we have the later appearance of Otohime, once the proud owner of Ryugu-jo palace but it went bankrupt and now she's working part time jobs in the human world and Kawabata, a Kappa who doesn't much like humans but seems extremely fond of his possible snake girlfriend...

But wait, there's more!

In addition to this you've also got the shy, sensative and deadly Yeti, who keeps a pet of sorts in Harpy who can't seem to do much right given that her IQ is about the same as a rock at times. Though, as mentioned above, Harpy does like to try and eat Muromi quite often and she doesn't really seem to like her in return for that (nor does she like seagulls, seals or anything else really).

That said, the show's production team can't seem to stay away from the fanservice entirely. This mostly is when Fuji-san is around and is really only in a couple of episodes but it's pretty jolting when it does happen. Why? Well, the rest of the show does have it's share of innuendos and other adult humor being tossed around at will, but they seem to just go completely off the rails with the breast physics and all that is sort of decent with her character. Yes, she's obsessed with Morumi-san's tail and enamored with getting her to realize it as well, but did they really have to go that far with things regarding her anatomy? Some might say it's all good, but I'm gonna go out on a limb and say in a show full of absurd moments, they crossed the "bizzare/weird" line and straight into the "really? You had to go there?" department. Thankfully it's only around for a couple of episodes because it really doesn't fit with things at all really.

Okay, ranting over.

Overall, the show is actually insanely funny and you do kind of fall in love with the insanity of the whole thing. The animation isn't bad for a quick production such as this and while they do tend to fall back on some still scenes from time to time instead of action, it's something that actually works as a whole for the tone of things that they're setting. Sure, it's got it's cringe worthy moments but they are definitely outdone by the better aspects, stories and in some cases even character development within it.

The last few episodes even almost have somewhat of a plot going on instead of the earlier chaos that was going on and it seems to be almost an actual normal epside in the final as well. I'm not sure if they're going to bring this misfit crew of mermaids and sea creatures back for a second season, but I have to say that I wouldn't mind if they did at all. They showed that in the end...they can pull things together and maybe if they had full 22-24min episodes they could've done more...

I'd say to definitely give it a shot. I mean the episodes are only 12minutes or so long and the bizarre world that they've created definitely is one worth visiting. Again, definitely not for the kids...they really don't waste any time with the adult levels of humor at all but hey, what do really expect from a show like this? Definitely one of the stronger shows of the Spring Season...even if just for the over the top insanity of it all.