My Bride is a Mermaid (瀬戸の花嫁)

Somebody!

Help me!

Somebody!

Oh, god, I'm gonna drown!

I can't hold my breath any longer!

Dammit! I'm drowning!

Somebody help me please.

A mermaid?

Beneath the gently rolling

waves of the Seto Inland Sea.

Young Nagasumi's life is saved, and forever changed.

But as with any debt, this one too must be repaid.

So our story begins.

Please humor them with a smile, for young love is never easy.

Hey, dad, are we there yet?

You don't have to actually answer that.

I just wanted you to know how bored I am.

What's wrong with you? You're too young to be bored.

Can't you even sit still for ten minutes?

sit still for ten minutes?

Well, I guess I take after my parents.

Just try to relax.

We should be there any minute now.

Summer vacation and here I am,

Nagasumi Michishio, stuck visiting my grandmother.

Well, at least she lives by the Seto Inland Sea.

Whoa, what?

You're kidding me, there's only one bus every hour?

You surprised, city boy?

Well, it's really not very convenient.

And they don't even run the bus during the evening!

And that's just the way we like it around here!

But I guess a city boy from Saitama

wouldn't understand our easygoing lifestyle.

Are you gonna call me 'city boy' the whole trip?

Ignore him. He's just a little excited to be back.

Hey, Dad...?

Weren't we driving right next to the sea a minute ago?

Yep. It's just beyond the trees there.

Seto is nothing but mountains and water.

Not much in between.

The road's kind of narrow.

It looks like we're gonna fall off.

I guess it has been a while since your last visit.

You were only about four or five years old.

Yeah. I don't remember much about it.

Grandma, was that right?

You betcha! That made your grandpa happy.

Oh... cool.

I'm so sorry ya had to make

dinner after comin' all this way.

What kind of hostess makes her guests do the cookin'?

Oh don't worry about it, mother.

It's my pleasure. I only wish that we could make

it out here to visit you more often.

Yeah, my job's pretty stringent with my time off.

Well you don't have ta' bring

yer stinkin' husband with you.

You and Nagasumi can come on out any time ya want.

Jeez, mom... it's sure good to see you too.

Well, Nagasumi's in school.

Today's actually the first day of his vacation.

I know, I know.

Can we just forget about school while we're here?

Thanks to his grades, he spent the

last month in summer school.

You're lucky we decided to wait and not leave without you.

Well thanks, I love you too.

He's not the world's greatest student.

That's nothin'. I hardly doubt ya could be

any more lousy of a student than yer

father was and yet here he is, still alive and kickin'.

Stop picking on me.

And he managed to wind up

with the best wife in the world.

Thanks!

And he's got a cute little son.

Can't ask for more than that!

Hey, do you hear that? You're cute and little.

And you're big and ugly.

I'm sorry if my son turned out to be a letdown.

I hope ya won't hold it against me.

It's okay.

I'm sorry your grandson's so disappointing.

Ow! Come on!

And now for the local weather.

It looks as though we're going to have clear skies and

warm temperatures in the Shikaku area tomorrow...

Hey Nagasumi!

Clear skies tomorrow! Perfect for swimming!

You gonna sleep in your bathing suit?

I can't believe how

hyperactive you've been acting dad.

Well, you're not hyper enough!

Why don't you act like a kid?

Summer vacation will be over before you know it!

You should be running wild with snot-nosed joy and

screaming every word you say with frantic excitement!

Just what kind of messed up

childhood did you have any way?

And last time I checked,

snot and joy do not go together.

You're no fun.

Wait. I think I've got it.

It's cuz' you can't swim, isn't it?

What, are you kidding me?

What kind of idiot doesn't know how to swim?

Help! Please, help me!

Help, I'm drowning!

It hurts so much.

No. I don't wanna die.

Mom. Dad. Somebody.

Please. Anybody.

Someone help me.

Nagasumi.

Hey! Nagasumi!

What the--?

Do you have any idea how long I've been looking for you?

What the heck are you sleeping down here for?

I was starting to think that you'd drowned!

Dad?

Were you expecting someone else?

Jeez.

Come on, let's head back to Grandma's.

Dad, wait!

But I did drown! I mean, I was drowning.

And well, see, I was really far offshore.

Are you serious? You were drowning and the

tide reversed and washed you up here on the rocks?

No, there was somebody, or maybe something, out there.

Something, you say?

You know what it was?

You probably got saved by a mermaid.

A mermaid?

I was being sarcastic, son.

You were just dreaming. Let's go.

I don't wanna catch a cold on our vacation.

Hey! Dad!

I'm not making this up! I really did drown!

I'm being serious here! Hey, Dad!

C'mon! Listen to me!

So Nagasumi.

Ya got saved by a pretty little mermaid, did ya?

It's true, Grandma! I saw her!

Will you give it a rest already?

You're embarrassing me! How did you end up like this?

I don't know, but I blame my parents.

I guess there aren't any mermaids in Saitama, are there?

That's sweet, but you don't

have to humor him, Grandma.

I swear to you that I'm not making this up!

I can't count the legends I've heard

about mermaids in the Seto Inland Sea.

People are always claiming to see them in these parts.

Do they really?

And ya just better hope the legends aren't true.

Or else you're gonna be in a whole heap of trouble.

What do you mean by trouble?

C'mon, mom.

He was just dreaming. I found him asleep on the beach.

It wasn't a dream!

I don't know where he gets this stuff from.

You raised me, didn't you?

Just let me describe her for you, okay?

She had this long,

-- Uh, hello. Good evening. --pretty auburn hair,

--Who's this? --and she just looked..

--It's a little late for guests, --like a mermaid, y'know?

--isn't it? --like a mermaid, y'know?

She was actually really cute.

Yeah! Like this girl!

She looked like this.

Shut up!

Well now. There somethin' we can do for ya, young lady?

Yes, thank you.

Well, uh, see my name is Sun Seto.

Sun Seto, huh?

--Mermaid! Mermaid...! --So then, are you a

--Mermaid! Mermaid...! --friend of Nagasumi's?

-- Snap out of it! --I'm pretty sure he doesn't

-- Snap out of it! --know anybody that

here in Kagawa.

Nagasumi? That's you?

That's me.

Okay. Well.

Will you please. Will you...

Will you please take me as your bride!

Please take me as your bride!

Ya see. I know this is kinda

sudden and you must be surprised, but, well.

I need you to take responsibility for

what happened between us this afternoon.

Responsibility for what happened.

What do you mean?

What the hell have you done, you little fappy bastard?

How could you?

And right behind your dear ol' dad's back?

You just had to go and make me bust

out my left hook--didn't you?

All I did was drown, I swear!