who wants to live forever?

So I've been watching the NEW (second series) of Rumiko Takahashi Anthology - MERMAID FOREST. I REALLY loved the initial Rumic World OVA MERMAID FOREST back in 1996. In fact it was one of my first animes, and I still have my VHS copy, which is made rarer because it was never released on DVD.

Overall, the new series is a low impact anime I can watch while cleaning guns and reloading because of the easier vocabulary and the lower animation frame count ; )
I was disappointed - still am but Iamwatiam and can't let go of the past.

If I started again and watched this new mermaid series fresh, as many anime fans are doing now I'd not watch it past the first 2 episodes... I would compare it to the JOJO series...

The original JOJO series was infinitely better than the new series because of different directors. I think because the original series had a limited budget and had to start from the middle they had to use a different technique.

It is similar with the MERMAID series. The OVA in 1991 had a limited time to tell the story, introduce characters, and had to use a lot of artistic licence to TRUST the viewer to read between the lines which is the storytelling style I prefer.

The new series had a lower frame count, less budget spread over 13 episodes - and also was probably catered to a younger audience since it was a TV series. It was hard to focus on if not for the fact that I loved the series.

Goes to show no matter how cool a manga is - the director to an anime makes a big difference - and can sometimes make a manga more exciting when animated.

I once thought that making an ANIME did not require any skill at all, since I thought it merely traced a manga. I think differently now.
...OK I need to go back to my manga drawing now : P