Long before Disney made Ariel the default version in everyone’s brain, Japan already had its own Little Mermaid on screen: Marina.
Anime News Network’s review looks back at Tomoharu Katsumata’s 1975 anime film Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid, positioning it as a major piece of anime history rather than just another fairy-tale adaptation. The film arrived before many later screen versions of Hans Christian Andersen’s 1837 story, including Disney’s hugely famous 1989 movie. ANN also notes that, among the better-known adaptations, Katsumata’s film is one of the versions that stays especially close to Andersen’s original.
That matters because Andersen’s Little Mermaid is not exactly the cheerful version many viewers grew up with. In this anime, Marina cannot bring herself to kill the prince, even though doing so would save her from becoming seafoam. Instead, her selflessness leads to her becoming a spirit of the air. ANN points out that while Andersen’s story carries a strongly religious tone, writers Ikuko Oyabu and Mieko Osanai shape the ending into something more broadly hopeful.
The review also highlights how much the film feels like a bridge between old fairy tale and later pop-culture mermaid stories. Marina has a dolphin companion named Fritz, the sea witch keeps eels, and there is even a nasty cat in the mix. ANN suggests some of these details may feel familiar to anyone who knows Disney’s later take, while the cat may itself echo Disney’s Cinderella.
What makes Marina interesting is that the film does not frame her as a perfectly mature romantic heroine. She is young, curious, rebellious, and frustrated that she has not yet received the pearl hairpin marking adulthood like her sisters. That detail gives the story a sharper edge: Marina is making massive life decisions while still being treated as not fully grown. The romance, according to ANN’s reading, plays less like grand destiny and more like teenage hope crashing into reality.
The prince is also not exactly delivering top-tier romance material. ANN notes that he sees Marina more as a second choice after failing to find the woman he truly loves. For older viewers especially, that makes Marina’s sacrifice feel tragic in a different way — not just sad, but painfully young.
As a viewing experience today, the review says the film still has plenty going for it. The mermaid designs, underwater lighting, insert songs, and especially the manta ray-inspired sea witch design are called out as strengths. The downside is access and presentation: ANN says the DVD is out of print, the available streaming versions only have the English dub, and the video quality can be rough, with visible picture issues.
Analysis for Malaysia/SEA readers: This is useful if you’re into anime history, not just seasonal hype. A lot of us discovered The Little Mermaid through Disney, but this review shows how anime handled the same story earlier, darker, and closer to Andersen. It also connects nicely to the wider conversation around older anime preservation — because if the only easy version has poor video quality and a weak dub, that affects how new fans experience the work.
ANN’s verdict is basically: the story may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but as a historical anime film, it is worth paying attention to. And if you’re tracking how mermaid stories evolved all the way to newer works like 2026’s Goodbye, Lara, Marina is part of that timeline.