Umi Monogatari
Originally a pachinko game series, Umi Monogatari (Sea Story) was given an anime adaptation by Junichi Sato in the summer of 2009.
Under the sea, two mermaid sisters by the name of Marin and Urin are enjoying their life devoting full time to floating. When one day, a ring falls from the surface and into Marin's hands. She wants to find the ring's owner and return it, and takes Urin along for the ride. It's then that they run into Kanon Miyamori, a young priestess who's about to get involved in a series of events neither she nor the sisters could've planned for when Urin ends up unleashing Sedna, an evil force intent on shrouding the world in darkness. This is what prompts Marin and Kanon to become the Priestess of the Sea and Sky.
Tropes used in Umi Monogatari include:
- Alpha Bitch: Oshima, though she has Hidden Depths.
- Baker's Dozen: The bonus 13th episode in which Marin and Kanon have a near-encounter after the series.
- Bare Your Midriff: It's standard for Mermaids, but Oshima and Miyako are prone to this as well.
- Bittersweet Ending: Kanon and Marin defeat Sedna, but have to separate since land and sea people are not supposed to be together. It is hinted that Kanon will keep looking for Marin.
- In the DVD special it becomes clear that Kanon keeps longing to meet Marin again. She even seems to get her wish for a while, which makes things even more bitter.
- Butterfly of Death and Rebirth: Eerie blue butterflies show up the night of the eclipse. Urin grows butterfly wings after hatching from a cocoon.
- Can't Catch Up: Kanon struggles with this, feeling inadequate at times.
- Catch Phrase: "I love you!", said by Marin to almost everybody.
- Cerebus Syndrome: Done well.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: Kanon.
- Does Not Like Shoes: The mer-people go barefoot.
- Drowning My Sorrows: Not in alcohol, but in a soothing song the island priestess sings; it even calms Marin out of her Heroic BSOD. And the ocean. The islanders' tears of sorrow and ritualistic stones falling into the sea formed Sedna out of their grief.
- Earn Your Happy Ending
- Everybody Lives
- Face Heel Turn: Urin.
- Fantastic Racism: Urin's not exactly pleased with the people on land.
- Gainaxing: Oshima, only to be quickly outdone by Marin.
- The Heartless: Sedna fits this, being born out of the people's sorrow.
- Heroic BSOD: Marin in the latter half of the series.
- Hot Mom: Miyako, Kanon's mother. She looks young enough to be one of her daughter's friends, and has the personality to match.
- Innocent Fanservice Girl: Marin's skimpy clothing is commented on when she first comes ashore, though Kanon eventually gets her and Urin to wear something a little less revealing.
- Last Episode Theme Reprise: Inverted, as the theme plays at the beginning of the last episode in a more somber tone as Marin and Kanon are near death.
- Les Yay: Kanon and Marin become very close during the course of the series.
- Made of Evil: Sedna, though not so much 'evil' as 'sadness'.
- Making a Splash: Marin's power.
- Meaningful Name: Sedna sounds a bit like sadness.
- The Messiah: Marin. Her hug will save the world.
- Miko Magical Girls
- Monster of the Week: This pattern gets abandoned halfway through the series.
- Mood Whiplash: Setting in from the solar eclipse episode onward.
- Neutral Male: Kojima
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Urin lets Sedna's sky half out while looking for the ring. However, Kanon threw the ring away in the first place.
- Not Blood Siblings: Marin & Urin.
- Open-Minded Parent: Two mermaids and a talking turtle staying at Kanon's house? No problem!
- Ordinary High School Student: Kanon
- Otaku O'Clock
- Our Mermaids Are Different: Aside from the natural ability to breathe underwater, the sea people are almost exactly like humans.
- Playing with Fire: Kanon's power.
- Power Gives You Wings: Urin appears with a pair of butterfly wings after she awakens from a literal cocoon.
- The Power of Love: How Marin saves Urin.
- Prehensile Hair: Two Monsters of the Week have this.
- Real Place Background: The island Kanon lives on is modeled after one of the Japanese islands of Amami-Oshima, which even gets mentioned explicitly in the DVD special.
- The Reveal: Kanon and Marin find out about Sedna's true nature while being almost defeated by her.
- Specifically, Sedna is formed from the combined sorrow that the inhabitants of the island committed to the sea.
- Romantic Two-Girl Friendship: Curiously, Marin and Urin's relationship seems to swing that way, despite their age difference.
- Also between Kanon and Marin.
- Sealed Evil in a Can: Sedna.
- Scenery Porn: Plenty of lovely shots of the seaside town in which the story takes place.
- Shallow Love Interest: Kojima, who never gets much more background than that Kanon likes him.
- Shout-Out: To The Little Mermaid, as Marin is warned that Urin will turn into sea foam once Sedna is defeated. She doesn't.
- Small Name, Big Ego: The turtle mentor has shades of this.
- Sweet Dreams Fuel: The first half of the show, anyway.
- Sugar Apocalypse
- Total Eclipse of the Plot
- Transformation Sequence
- Treasure Map: Marin and Kanon go in search of treasure, but only end up finding angry pirates.
- Twelve-Episode Anime
- Ultimate Evil: Sedna has no real form.