Based on the manga by Tahiko Kimura, the broadcast series "My Bride Is a Mermaid" (2007) combines a "magical girl" heroine, the madcap energy of a harem comedy, physical transformations borrowed from "Ranma 1/2", and assorted visual styles in an over-the-top farce. Just before he starts high school, Nagasumi Michishio visits his grandmother, who lives by the Seto Sea. When he gets a cramp and nearly drowns, he's rescued by mermaid Sun Seto. Mermaid Law dictates that if a human sees a mermaid in her true form, he must marry her--or she's put to death. And Sun isn't just any mermaid: her father's an undersea yakuza capo who commands a cadre of enforcers who are part human, part sea creature. Nagasumi agrees to marry Sun and takes her to Saitama, where he lives with his obnoxious parents. Unfortunately, hiding in Sun's backpack is Maki the Conch, whose pose as a "kawaii" doll conceals a murderous assassin. Nagasumi learns that if Sun's legs get wet, they turn into her finned tail until they're dry, which would reveal her secret identity to the other students. Further complications arise when pop star Lunar, a mermaid from a rival yakuza faction, starts pursuing Nagasumi. "My Bride Is a Mermaid" would be more fun if it were a little less complicated and a lot less hysterical: everything is pitched at such a manic pace, the audience never gets a chance to breathe. And after Maki throws her third screaming fit trying to kill Nagasumi, the routine begins to wear a little thin and conch chowder sounds more and more appealing. (Rated TV-MA, suitable for ages 14 and older: cartoon violence, profanity, nudity, risqué humor, alcohol use) "--Charles Solomon"
(1. The Yakuza Wife, 2. The Lord of the Ring, 3. The Island Closest to Heaven, 4. It's Tough Being a Man, 5. School in the Crosshairs, 6. Faible Femmes, 7. V (The Visitors), 8. The Duel, 9. The Running Man, 10. Pumping Iron, 11. Armageddon, 12. A Slave of Love, 13. Love Story)