is an original Japanese anime television series created and produced by Kinema Citrus for the studio's 15th anniversary, announced as one of the studio's two works at the 2024 Anime Central convention in Chicago, Illinois. A modern reimagining of "The Little Mermaid" by Hans Christian Andersen, the series follows Lara, a mermaid princess who is resurrected to modern day Japan to rediscover true love and rescue her kingdom. It aired from July to September 2026.
Plot Lara, a mermaid princess who is beloved by her father, the Sea King, and her sisters, enters into a forbidden love with a human prince and aspires to live with him on land. She drinks a potion created by Grace to become a human and lives with the prince, while being warned the potion expires if she fails to experience true love. However, the prince rejects Lara after learning she is a mermaid, and she vanishes into foam due to the potion's effects and discovers her kingdom has collapsed. Lara is resurrected in Lake Biwa two hundred years later under a trial set by Grace, and she sets out to find true love again and rescue her kingdom.
Characters
A mermaid princess who is resurrected two hundred years later in Lake Biwa as part of a trial set by Grace to find true love again to restore her fallen kingdom. Like "The Little Mermaid", Lara rescues and falls in love with a human prince, which leads her making a deal with a sea witch to become a human in exchange for her voice, with the price that she will vanish into foam if she fails to make the prince return her love. Unlike its ending, the anime provides an original continuation.
A high school girl who lives in Ōtsu and is a national-level boxer. She lost her mother at a young age and allows Lara to live in her home. While Mari seems not to care about Lara at first, Mari comes to understand Lara's upbringing as a mermaid and transformation into a human. She teaches Lara how to live as one in the modern world's environment.
A sea witch banished by Rowan and Lara's aunt. She challenges her in a trial to find true love and has a hatred for authority. In the modern world, Grace has taken the form of a fish owned by Mari and is named "Gon-chan". Like Lara, Grace held a fascination towards the human world, only for it to lead to the deaths of the prince she loved and her twin sister Rigmor. Grace discreetly supported Lara and Mari's relationship, hoping they can break the long-held belief of the incompatibility between humans and merfolk.
Lara's caring older sister who is searching for her following Lara's resurrection. She currently maintains a human form, but still harbors doubts and resentments on interactions between humans and merfolk following years of captivity as a museum exhibit, with the extreme trauma following her captivity causing her to develop severe nyctophobia.
The Sea King is a widowed merman, father of Lara and his 5 older daughters. He is still alive, though trapped in a deep sleep. He greatly resents humans after they killed Rigmor.
A boy whom Lara meets after her resurrection. He bears a physical resemblance to the human prince Lara loved in the past, though he is otherwise different in personality. He has a younger brother named Leo Akizuki and spends his free time painting abstract artworks.
A devoted acquaintance of Lisa who freed her after a fire engulfed the museum she was imprisoned in. They once took the form of an anglerfish during Lisa and Lara's time as mermaids before turning into a human after stealing the remainder of Grace's potions. They also claim to know Lara, despite the latter not recognizing them.
Mari's older brother. He also studies in the same school as her, though he tends to skip classes. His full name is Otsu Yoshihiro and he likes to ride his motorcycle.
Mari and Yoshiya's father who has a hobby as a freelance photographer.
Mari and Yoshiya's grandmother who works as a church pastor and gently watches over the children with Makoto.
The queen of the kingdom and Grace's twin sister. She would marry Rowan and become the mother of Lara, Lisa, and their sisters. She sacrificed herself to protect Grace from vengeful humans.
Production and release Goodbye, Lara is directed by Takushi Koide with series composition by Anna Kawahara, Shiori Tani designing the characters and Yuma Yamaguchi composing the music. The series aired from July 6 to September 21, 2026, on Tokyo MX and other networks. Shiga Prefecture was used as the basis of the anime's modern day setting, which is Koide's hometown. Koide said that the anime's story was based on "The Little Mermaid". During his talk at Anime Expo 2026, he mentioned that Goodbye, Lara was an original project that he wanted to do.
The opening theme song is , performed by Ikimonogakari, while the ending theme song is "Hearts Glow", performed by . Portions of the opening were drawn using traditional cel animation.
Crunchyroll is streaming the series.
Screening The first episode was shown in a special screening event at Otsu City Hall on June 30, 2026. The episode was also shown at Anime Expo 2026.
Casting During a talk after the screening at Otsu City Hall on June 30, 2026, the casting of Nana Kawaishi as Mari was done to select potential voice actresses who are from the prefecture. This was done to represent Shiga in daily life, including the use of local dialects in the anime.
Episodes
Other media Light novel A light novel adaptation, written by Chihiro Haruna and illustrated by Yū Kuroto, will be published under ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Bunko imprint on October 9, 2026.
Manga A manga adaptation, illustrated by Saburouta, will begin serialization on Kadokawa Shoten's KadoComi website in October 2026.
See also Star Wars: Visions, an animated anthology series in which two short films, "The Village Bride" and "The Lost Ones," are animated by Kinema Citrus and feature character designs by Shiori Tani
Notes
References
External links Anime official website