Nagasumi Michishio is your average 14-year old schoolboy who was dragged along by his parents on a summer vacation to the remote inland mountain beach of Seto. When he and his parents reach the beach, bad luck strikes and he gets washed away to sea. On the brink of death, Nagasumi is saved by a girl.
However, bad luck seems to be Nagasumi's brother-in-fate; he discovers that the girl who saved him, Sun Seto, is actually a mermaid. To top it off, she is also the only daughter of Gouzaburou Seto, boss of the Seto Group, a Yakuza-like organization that has a grimly rule: any human who discovers the merfolk's existence must be killed, or the said merperson would be killed instead.
But there's another solution: the only way for Nagasumi and San to escape this rule is to get married!
Based on the synopsis by: shinshinovi
Story & Characters
Seto no Hanayome. The first time I saw this in Crunchyroll (if you guys spot a certain C.Roller named arcaneguardian, ignore him, it's not me! j00 hear me?! EETS NAT MEE!
*snicker*), I clicked it out of boredom, while waiting for the next Bleach
episode.
Looks like I made a right choice.
I don't know Gonzo, but I heard his name on this particular manga named Afro
Samurai, which has been getting applause from my associates, but if I'll base Seto no Hanayome's plot
to Afro Samurai's, I can safely say Gonzo is a very good author. The fact that on the first episode alone got me
hooked on this anime, it also started a craze in Crunchyroll, C.Rollers laughing like nutcases who escaped out of a nut
hospital, me included. And yeah, Afro's tone is very different from Hanayome, making Gonzo a universal
author.
The story began somehow, in a serious tone, with the main character, Michisio
Nagasumi drowning out there in the secluded mountain seas of Seto (BTW, is this place real?). A mermaid saves
him. So I quickly assumed that Seto no Hanayome is a harem anime, and I am getting bored of harem anime. Blame it on
Shuffle! Don't blame it on Suzuhira Hiro-oneesama, or I'll kill you.
/joke
I am pwned. Again. Damn.
The rest of the story is well... AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA NGIYAHAHAHAHA AHAHAHAHAHA WAHAHAHAHA WAHEHEHEHEHEHE WAHIHIHIHI
AHAHAHAHA *snort snort* uh, excuse me, hehe, everytime I remember the anime, I always laugh, haha! Seto no Hanayome is
guaranteed 100% fun, fun, fun. The producers themselves must have a hard time concentrating on it's production,
because the whole series (which just ended recently) is wild, REAAAALLYY wild. You might not imagine yourself as
Nagasumi-kun, with tons of Yakuza-con-Mermaid guys staring, plotting, waiting, reeling, and hating him because their
young mistress saved & married him, notably their big boss, Seto Gozabura. The main reason is: Any mermaid who
exposes themselves to humans must be killed, or the human suffers the consequences. If not for San-chan's mom,
Nagasumi could have been shark food.
More and more adversaries arrive later on for the right to claim San-chan as their wife, and so, the usual comes anew:
staring, plotting, waiting, reeling, and hating Nagasumi. The ways Nagasumi escapes 'dark' fate will surely
amuse you (although most of the time, Nagasumi fails to save himself, but others do, notably, San-chan). Of course, San
also had a similiar situation, as other females starts to fall for Nagasumi's charm (or, rather, stupidity
XD)
What got me really hooked is the idiotic presentation of the story itself, with most of the characters mimicing several
popular characters like Suzumiya Haruhi or, OH NOSE, teh TERMINATOR! This anime is totally out of this world, so if you plan to watch this one,
be warned: Mental Health Authorities might suspect you. You'll realise what I meant after you start watching
it.
BTW, I mentioned idiotic jokes, right? If you're a person who has a moral code or somethin`, forget it. You require
100% mind humor for you to enjoy Seto no Hanayome.
Rating: 9
Art
Not so good. The kawaii level is high, but so is the idiot meter. But that ain't matter anyway. But it matters if
you prefer anime that focuses itself on detail. Not so much detail is given to the characters, but I can safely say they
pass the standards for cute-lovin` (and possibly ecchi-lovers :P) otakus and watchers alike. I won't get hooked if
it does not.
Basically, the artworks are so basic, you ignore `em, and you focus on the character's features. San is cute.
Nagasumi is normal. Not. You got a hot-lookin` Yakuza guy turned P.E. instructor who only intends to eat. Anything
that's edible and made of meat, `cause Shark Fujishiro is a Shark. YAY, run! You got a n afro (Gonzo-san, are you
AFRO? o.o) hottie who easily converts Nagasumi from straight to gay, and yeah, the mimics. They're really good. You
got a policegirl wannabee who looks like Haruhi. You got a perverted monkey, este, buddy who transforms into a hermit.
You got a Spiky-guy who imitates Richie Rich. You got a shy Class President who, until the end of the story, is yet
unknown (the name, that is). Blah blah blah, what am I talkin` about?
Aside from San-chan's hawtness, the rest is basically mimic. For fun. :)
But if they only incorporated good anime designers... I might really fall for Incho (Class President).
Rating: 6
Sound
Japan is well-known for good music. Seto no Hanayome is no exception. The music stimulates thy mind for you to absorb
the word "laugh". Voicing is quite nutty, since I can't imagine some kids who had older voices not
suitable for their age. But hey, that's possible anyway.
I don't know the musical director, but thumbs up to him/her. But only one thumb.
Why? Still basic. :(
Rating: 7
Presentation
One word: Humor.
You might also trip on some good values. Throw the bad values. and you get a good (but not total) package.
Seto no Hanayome is purely entertainment, and I can safely say I am entertained enough. However, critics might not
agree, although I am more than sure they'll agree that Seto no Hanayome is clean fun. ^__^
Rating: 10
Final Verdict
8.5000 (very good)
Reviewed by shinshinovi, Oct 21, 2007