by Burkely Hermann, Guest Reviewer

(This review contains spoilers)

With the animation industry under continued strain and terrifying corporate mergers, such as the recently-approved Paramount-Warner merger, consolidating media in fewer hands, animators, writers, and others have been turning to indie animation to express themselves without executives unfairly restricting their creative expression. One recent example is a 15-minute crowdfunded mature film produced by Studio Heartbreak in the Philippines, entitled The Lovers. Whether it is mermaid yuri, pinoy yuri, sapphic romance, or something else, there is a lot to say about this film, that has over 2.6 million views on YouTube. It has engendered a lot of online chatter, which is overwhelmingly positive.

Stories about merpeople, or even just mermaids, have never been more popular than now. An original anime this year, with yuri undertones, Goodbye, Lara, loosely based on Han Christian Anderson’s The Little Mermaid, recently ended. It continues the long-standing inclusion of mermaids in Japanese pop culture from picture books and manga to anime. There are a plethora of webcomics, family-friendly films like Julián Is a Mermaid, and mermaid characters in recent animated films and series. There’s even an ongoing “mermaid parade” in Coney Island while an inclusive and body-positive “mermaiding” subculture spreads across the world.

The Lovers differs from other mermaid stories. It begins by focusing on Sara (voiced by Sara Lim Baylon), complimented by colorful and flowing animation. Viewers are soon immersed in the culture. At the film’s beginning, Sara walks through a market in Binondo, filled with fishmongers and other sellers, on her way to her family restaurant. She is a sushi chef preparing for an important event: dinner for the Governor. She hears her mother, and grandmother, who are worried she is not up to the task, making her even more anxious.

Sara is soon fascinated by a sirena, a version of a mermaid in Filipino mythology, in a tank. The sirena (voiced by Dawn M. Bennett) is the only character with any nudity, as her chest is uncovered throughout the film. This is not excessive in a way that resembles gratuitous fan service. In a scene somewhat echoes the horror of This Monster Wants to Eat Me, she is bitten after she climbs up the ladder to see the sea creature up close.

She falls off the ladder, with her arm bleeding everywhere. Through this horror, she is able to understand the sirena. Although the language barrier is broken, Sara is unsure about this non-human creature, even through she is, undoubtedly, attracted to her. They talk through the glass. The sirena tells her that “some of her kind” are “addicted” to human flesh, alluding to the common trope of merfolk biting their human victims.

Sara soon imagines herself nearly touching the sirena’s inside. She doesn’t do so in a sexual way, but in a manner that disgusts her. She doesn’t feel that this creature is awful. Instead, she is terrified of hurting such a beautiful creature, especially when she sees the blood on the floor, blood by her hand.

What follows is one of the film’s best scenes. It has an animation style with only black-and-white coloring. She prays at the altar of her recently-deceased dad. Her family judges her, each one of them fading away, as she descends into despair. Everything seems like it is falling apart. This may be an indication of her injury. I say this because after the sirena bites her, she loses consciousness, causing her grandmother and mother to “prepare” the creature on their own. As the film continues, Sara gets closer to the sirena.

Another great scene is when Sara and the sirena have a heart-to-heart in the meat freezer. It is revealed that the dinner for the governor has a condition: the sirena must be served as a dish! The mer-woman offers up her own life, but Sara refuses to kill her. She explains her personal struggles. When it seems like she is going to cut off the sirena’s tale with her chef’s knife, she cuts the rope, setting her free!

Somehow, likely by carrying her, she brings this mer-woman back to her apartment, and places her in a bathtub. She soon lets the sirena suck the wound on her arm in a sweet, and somewhat sexual way, while intensely blushing. After her wound is magically healed, amazing her. They almost kiss before a phone call interrupts them, and later lie back-to-back in the bathtub. I loved these sweet moments.

The film stands against the parents-are-bad trope used across sapphic media. Often times, in situations based on scary real-life experiences, parents are abusive or otherwise hostile to their children for being queer. Toward the film’s end, Sara and her mother talk. She is completely understanding after Sara tells her that she only returned from school because she thought she was needed after her father’s death. Her mother wants her to be happy. She does not snoop around the apartment or insinuate that Sara is queer. Instead, she lets Sara live the life she wants. That is, honestly, is very refreshing.

The film has a bittersweet ending. Sara carries the sirena to the shoreline and lets her go. At the mer-woman’s invitation, she dives underwater and they kiss. She soon says her goodbye to the sirena. Like the much-debated series finale of Goodbye, Lara when Lara leaves Mari at the train station, Sara looks happy. She isn’t sad. Rather, she is prepared to move forward with the rest of her life and make her own decisions. Like how Lara and Mari will surely reunite, one day, Sara will likely see the sirena again.

Ratings: 
Art — 9
Story — 9
Characters — 9
Service — 3 or 4, the sirena’s chest is often uncovered
Yuri — 8 or 9, with kisses and close intimacy
Music — 8, subdued but poignant

Overall — 9

Burkely Hermann is a writer, researcher, and former metadata librarian. His reviews can be read on Pop Culture Maniacs or his personal WordPress blog. He can be followed on Instagram, Bluesky, or on Mastadon communities such as library.love, glammr.us, genealysis.social, and historians.social.