When I was still in school, I happened to see an animation on TV late one night, and I didn't know the name until the end. Although it was only a short paragraph in the middle, it left a very deep impression on me.
A beautiful young girl with her feet shackled and imprisoned in a village with only women. One day an old woman gave her mermaid meat. A teenager broke into the village and rescued the girl, in the process of escaping, found a lot of monsters in the cave that had lost their minds, and then the two fell into the sea, the monsters swam to the girl and bit her, and the monster that bit the girl instantly became exactly the same as the girl.
I have remembered this fragment for many years, and with this small memory and tireless search, I finally found the answer. The anime is called Mermaid No Mori and is based on the mermaid manga series of Rumiko Takahashi.
People who eat mermaid flesh can gain immortality, and they cannot die easily, even if they are injured, they will heal quickly. But only a very small number of people can withstand the mutation, and more people either become unconscious monsters or die violently after eating mermaid meat. The male protagonist who rescued the girl, Yong tai, and the rescued girl, Mayu, are very few people who have obtained immortality.
There are many anime works on the theme of "Eternal Life", before there is "Bird of Fire", after "Eternal Wine", "Mermaid Forest" in addition to discussing life and death, but also portrays the dark side of many human beings, which can be said to be the enlightenment of my dark anime.
Human beings who will experience life, old age, illness and death are always eager for eternal life, there are still many things that are too late to do in a short life, many wishes cannot be realized in their lifetime; Yongtai, who has obtained immortality, has been looking for ways to change back into ordinary people, his wife is getting old day by day and he is still a teenager, watching the people around him die one by one, he can no longer bear this loneliness.
Even if he obtained the immortal companion Maiden True Fish, he still did not stop the pursuit. They also encountered a lot of people and things related to mermaids during their journey.
The living corpse with a flesh and soul is briefly resurrected because of the ashes of the mermaid, the undead who rely on the living bile to survive by eating raw bile alive with the ashes of the mermaid, the naïve little boy is actually a person who lives deeper than himself in the city government, and the poor woman who eats the effect of mermaid flesh but gradually declines and is abandoned.
They fled, died, rose again, and witnessed one sad story after another, and the ugly humanity of greed and selfishness.
The painting style of this work is very beautiful, and the tone is not dark, but the story's meticulous portrayal of the dark side of human nature and the tragic and sad atmosphere rendering hit people's hearts, which makes people feel depressed and even terrifying. And each plot is designed to be quite brilliant and coherent, which will make you involuntarily continue to watch.
Which is more pathetic, dying for eternal life, or becoming lonely after gaining eternal life? I think everyone will have different answers at different times. #翻滚吧动漫君 #