I watched some episodes of this animes, and maybe if I was ten year younger I would have like it. It was a bit too cliché although I think that for young girls it must be quite enjoyable.
Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch tv Review
Lucia as a young mermaid saw a young boy on a ship, when the ship was hit with a tidal wave the boy was knocked into the ocean. Lucia saves the boy and entrust him with her pink pearl. Now years later Lucia must now go to the surface and find and retrieve her pearl. She never expected to fall in love with the boy she met years ago. However there is a legend that says if she confess to him and tells him she's really a mermaid, that she will be turned into bubbles! She must now struggle against a villain wanting to capture her and all seven mermaid princesses and her own heart, which is complicated by not knowing if Kaito loves her human form or her mermaid form.
Story & Characters
Mermaid Melody (Pichi Pichi Pitch/Pure) is everything you would expect from a mediocre Magical Girl series — if you throw in some mermaids and a talking penguin. It is not unlike Sailor Moon or Tokyo Mew Mew in many respects, wherein three to eight girls aged fourteen save the world from a cast of truly strange and awkward villains. However, Mermaid Melody is not only about three best friends banding together to save the world — in heels and short skirts, of course, a la Naoko Takeuchi. It is, to be fair, a little more creative than some of the Sailor Moon knockoffs floating around in Shoujo Space. You know, mermaids and all, right from the mind of Hans Christian Andersen. Unlike Disney's adaption (which I just adore), it retains some of the original laws: tell the boy who you are and, BAM, you're sea bubbles. The concept's a little fresh, but the novelty really ends there; MMPPP still bundles in all the blushing girl-meets-boy, magical goodness that it possibly can.
The story begins with the innocuous and well-meaning (if not a little dense) mermaid princess, Luchia. Or, as you might like to call her: Usagi, Sakura, Ichigo, Hikaru; your resident heroine. Luchia is a page out of the old book, to be honest. But, like her predecessors, her upbeat attitude and goodwill make her a likable character. And then there's the key to all things things great and shoujo — girl-meets-boy, Kaito meets Luchia. It is almost the very first thing that happens in a town by the sea: Luchia strolls down the beach, remembering the boy she saved from drowning (see Andersens' original) years and years ago when, voila, there he is! Only now he's all chiseled and boyish and handsome and surfer-chic. First thing girlfriend does is run away, and it's fairly apparent that Kaito has no idea that Luchia is the mermaid who'd saved him as a child. Hanamori's mermaids change appearance when becoming human, Luchia one of the more extreme. So, the little boy on the boat and surfing champ Kaito Domouto are one in the very same.
So, back to this mermaid princess deal. Luchia is the pink mermaid princess, one of seven (seven seas, get it?). But to save Kaito's life all those years ago, Luchia gave her mermaid pearl to him — a big taboo as it turns out, which is why Luchia is on land to begin with; to find this pearl. Without their pearls, apparently, the mermaid princess cannot sing or transform — it is my expert opinion that Karen, the purple mermaid princess, was born without one (more on this later). So Luchia, on her pearl-finding quest, takes up residence with guardian and makeshift older sister, Nikora. Throw in Taki, a fortune-teller who I assume is of Luchia's kingdom, Hippo (a boy, penguin, sea-horse thing?), Hanon and Lina and you've got a household.
To fill the 3-girl niche — think Powerpuff Girls, Card Captor Sakura, Magic Knight Rayearth — Hanon and Lina enter the scene. They are slightly, but only slightly, more compelling characters than Luchia. Hanon, aquamarine pearl voice, is a cute, boy-obsessed mermaid very wary of Luchia's growing feelings for Kaito. That is, until she finds a human man to pine over herself. Lina is the more stoic and fleshed out of the three as the green pearl mermaid. Haunted by the capture of her close friend, Noel, to evil front-man Gaito, Lina is hard to approach and unforgiving of herself and others — Kaito especially; she is very quick to note Kaito's obvious similarity to Gaito, ultimate antagonist of season 1.
Then among the brood of villains there are the Beauties, Gaito's female cast of hopeless minions. Yuri, Eriru, and others are among Gaito's evolutionized fish, each one in love with the dark master. Each Beauty has a unique power, often calling on the help of malevolent sea life, or by inducing them. One in particular of Gaito's hoard, however, lacks explanation: a mysterious woman shrouded by a veil, the only one in his league that Gaito pays any mind to. Gaito's strategy and fondest hope, you ask? The destruction of all seven kingdoms, and the capture of all the mermaid princesses and their pearls.
Mermaid Melody is, of course, complete with pretty little transformations and frilly, frilly dresses! Poised with their magical microphones and their voices — reciting "Pichi Pichi Live Start" before each battle, every single time — the mermaids hold a performance to silence their enemies and vanquish all evil, namely with a catchy little tune called "Legend of Mermaid". Their decent voices blister the ears of the underwater villians, saving the day (admittedly as effective as the sailor scouts throwing tiaras at their foe)! To be fair, I have to say the villians in MMPPP are signifigantly more fun than I would expect of a typical Magical Girl anime; they are not evil scientists, aliens, spurned queens or what have you. The villians are creative and funny and, at times, beckon sympathy. They attempt to capture the mermaids for their handsome master Gaito, not because they have to; they want to. All they really ask for is Gaito's heart, and even Gaito isn't as simple as conquering the sea.
Then there is the boy: Brash, sarcastic, charismatic Kaito. As Luchia meanwhile daydreams of Kaito and his utter hotness, Kaito is off in his own little world remembering the mermaid who'd rescued him and, recently, reappeared. He has not made the connection between human Luchia and mermaid Luchia, but struggles with feelings for them both.
Yes, even when sometimes things are a little — well, a lot — redundant, MMPPP is rather cute and fairly entertaining; there's something to be said for that alone. And, like all good we're-gonna-save-the-world heroines, they strive for peace and good in the end.
The entire mermaid cast, with pearl color, include: Nanami Luchia (Pink), Hoshou Hanon (Aquamarine), Touin L/Rina (Green), Karen (Purple), Noel (Indigo), Coco (Yellow) and Sara (Orange).
Rating:
Art
Mermaid Melody's art is maybe too cute. Maybe, but then I would have to point out that it's complimentary to the themes and mood and seriousness of the series — because it is. The fluffiness and shoujo-quality of the art is not terribly distracting, if only because it's what it ought to be. Characters such as Hanon or Yuri really bring attention to the nature of the animation as two of the cutest in the cast. However, the art is consistent and fluid enough to keep me content through the first and second seasons, but mainly the first. Nothing about the animation draws very many complaints, but it's not eye-catching either.
The only thing I can make of the animation is that it is "absolutely cute" and fits nicely with the source material.
Rating:
Sound
The sound of Mermaid Melody is especially important, being that it's essentially about singing mermaids, the means by which our heroines save the day. I've heard the audio in both Japanese and Italian, and both are delightful, particularly the Japanese. Each voice actress stayed attentive to his or her character, and I can really give no criticism to the overall sound. Their voices were nice, pleasant, but nothing extraordinary — which is just as well. Due to the genre, the lovely, but not exceptional, voices were well-suited; remarkable voices just wouldn't work, like wearing a prom dress to a dinner party. I complain about one thing, and one thing only: Karen. Dear Lord, Heaven Almighty, Lord Up Above. Listen for yourself, I mean, EVEN IN THE ITALIAN! Karen was not blessed with, in any way, shape or form, a singing talent — which is why I swear her pearl is non-existent or defective, since it is the pearl that gives the mermaid her voice. Her speaking voice is spot-on, but when she begins to sing... Well, I could go on forever; you get it.
Other than Karen, the viewer ought to be satisfied.
The most noteable songs are: Legend of Mermaid, KODOU, Splash Dream (Luchia image song), Daiji na Takarabako, Mother Symphony, Ever Blue (Hanon image song), Mizuiro no Senritsu ("), Koi Wa Nandarou, Star Jewel (Lina image song), and Piece of Love (").
Rating:
Presentation
As a whole, Mermaid Melody is nice, just kind of fluffy and happy and cute — nice. From the animation, to the somewhat commonplace story and characters, there were only a few notable complaints to draw. The series idled by at a steady pace, only ever stalling when the second season, Pure, came around. It was a mildly entertaining package of magical mermaids and toe-tapping songs, nothing that will (or intended to) knock your socks off. So, if you are not shoujo-tolerant, I'd find your kicks elsewhere. But, if you are, I'd say Mermaid Melody is worth the time and a — nice — revisit to the Magical Girl past.
"How about an encore?"
Rating:
Final Verdict
6.1667 (average)
Reviewed by xxKurumi, Jul 16, 2006
Comments
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Kazahaya Jul 16, 2006
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Mabui Jul 16, 2006
I loved the first season of Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch. The ending made me cry. It was so sad. T.T But I hated the second season. It was just boring.
Btw, I totally agree with you concerning the singing-voice of Karen. It's soooooo horrible.
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hanyoinuchan Jul 21, 2006
i watched Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch and recomended it to a friend who has younger siblings, i also recomended little snow fairy sugar. i enjoyed Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch i liked the kareoke esque battling instead of the usual magical battles it was a nice twist...lol...
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starsaturn Jul 22, 2006
I love the Mermaid Melody manga, it's really cute and the art is beautiful.
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SYMONE1501 Jul 24, 2006
absolutely love this anime. my favorite mermaid is lucia, but i still love all the mermaids. my second fav is seira. seira no kawaii! >_<
merged: 07-25-2006 ~ 07:06am
i love kaitou, he's so cool. but mashahiro is the sweetest boy. hhaaaaaa -
DaitaiOtonashiiOokami Jul 28, 2006
I've read the manga, and it was uberly cute, although I'm more of an angst fan myself, I stuck with it, even though its as shoujo as they come.
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sangel99 Jul 31, 2006
okay, I haven't read the manga, but the anime girl's voice just kills me. I can't stand it! Other than that, though, those 5-member group shows like Sailormoon and Tokyo Mew Mew mostly bug me, but I like this one better because there's romance. Still, the whole idea of fighting off evil serpent ladies with singing really annoys me xD
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twinkle-mist Jan 08, 2007
Eeeeek! I really like this anime :D One of my favs. Even though it's a cliche, I still like it. haha.
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laura92ct Feb 03, 2008
i really like this anime!
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yazn Aug 05, 2008
me to i so love mmp
merged: 08-06-2008 ~ 07:59am
I LOVE mermaid ITS COOOOOOOOOLmerged: 08-06-2008 ~ 08:01am
iaura wat u LOVE in MERMAID MELODY PICH PICH PITCH ?merged: 08-06-2008 ~ 08:02am
im LOVE in MERMAID MELODY ........ KAREN .........^^ -
Lollie04 Dec 03, 2008
I love the anime, and have started collecting the manga for this.
Shoujo manga and anime is my favoutrite genre, and this fit in perfectly. I especially liked the singing involved (though maybe not Karen's so much) as it was a new experience.
As far as favourite characters go, I would have to say Hanon as she sort of matures over time.
The art from the manga has been well carried into the anime, and has lost none of its edge. -
SchRita Mar 20, 2011
It's definitely not my style but oh well... :P
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hitsu-chan Jul 20, 2011
I love this anime! :3
thx for the review! xD
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