Sayonara Lara

Completed - 9.80 LIVE FOR LOVE, NOT FOR THE LAWS. Goodbye, Lara might be the closest thing to a modern fairy tale masterpiece, and easily my Summer 2026 Anime of the Season. What sets it apart is the refreshing lens through which it approaches slice-of-life romance—occasionally echoing familiar genre tropes, though never relying on the genre's cliches, instead discovering something newly enchanting within its own fantasy—and its world keeps its spell unbroken from the first episode to the last. On the surface, Goodbye, Lara is conceptually inspired by The Little Mermaid fairy tale—the spark that sets everything in motion—however, Anna Kawahara reworks it into something darker, yet just as serene, reimagined for a modern Japanese setting. Nothing about this experience seems rushed; right from the start, Goodbye, Lara draws you into both its submerged fantasy and surfaced reality—a balance owed almost entirely to its structural quality. At first it appears frenzied, rebellious, almost suffocating, but with each beat it layers more of what's driving that tension, until it finally exhales and reveals the emotional depth underlying the noise—beneath it all is a coming-of-age romance set against two worlds colliding. Goodbye, Lara treats its mystery with clear control—every arc holds something unresolved, keeping both audience and characters under constant unease, terrified of a world neither of them really comprehends. These emotions never stop feeling fragile against Lara’s inner world; the series draws vivid parallels between her reality and the overarching fantasy thread that never stops threatening to break her. Throughout the show, there are many episodes that take a step back to explore the mundanity of everyday life, newly formed relationships, and most importantly the pursuit of love—though, even as these moments take precedence, they are still quietly observing Lara’s individuality, her past trauma, and the discomfort of never quite belonging—those insecurities accumulate over the season, pushing Lara to confront her own impatience, even as time continues to work against her. Much of that emotional weight is supported by Kinema Citrus’ visual composition, which does as much storytelling as the writing itself. Few series this season are as atmospherically absorbing as Goodbye, Lara—colors selected with clear intent, carrying the show’s modern retelling forward, reinforcing the emotional effect of nearly every scene, while still making room for its darker, more suffocating moments. Though, none of these would be possible without Yuma Yamaguchi’s contributions to the musical set pieces throughout, as well as Tatiana Parra’s superb vocal performances—the most impressive original soundtrack anime has produced this year. It’s rare to run into a series like Goodbye, Lara, where everyone involved refused every shortcut available to them—every step of this tale carries the mark of a genuine passion project—a masterpiece across the board, a modern reinterpretation unlike anything else out there.

Goodbye Lara takes the Little Mermaid story, but after some events she reincarnates in 2026 in Japan. The core message is about letting go of the past, accepting your feelings, and moving toward a new future. Both the main story and the side stories converge on this idea (except the epilogue, because it feels disconnected from the rest of the story). First of all, the animation is great. I love it. You can feel that every frame of the anime was created with love and passion; all the frames could be wallpapers, and the microexpressions of the characters were great. It’s one of the best animations of the summer season 2026. The character designs were inspired by 90s anime style; they are simple but sophisticated. The script is almost solid overall, though it leaves a loose ends. The pacing is good; the story never feels rushed or too slow. The anime makes good use of its main characters (Lara and Mari) and also expands the world through secondary characters like Grace and Lisa. Lara and Mari’s character development is consistent and genuinely moving. P.D.1: the epilogue divides the community (either you like it or you hate it). P.D.2:Personally, I love when Lara works in the Bakery

8.5/10 Goodbye, Lara is not for the faint of heart—it’s more than just a fairy tale romance between two people. It defies genre conventions to ask broader questions about self discovery in addition to the pursuit of love. Taking inspiration from the no-nonsense fairy tale of the Little Mermaid, the setting is whimsical, mystifying, and romantic, even hinting at the acquisition of physical love. In the end, the answer may not be what we want to hear, or expect. Just what is true love, and how do we discover it? If we don’t know ourselves, can we truly acquire it? Studio Kinema Citrus have truly created a beautiful work of art for those brave enough to look. Goodbye Lara’s animation and score are exceptional, rivaling Studio Ghibli. The direction is also unique in the sense we are told the story through the art and setting itself, rather than the dialogue. Unfortunately that in of itself creates a massive problem: several plot points are left unresolved and the finale is extremely divisive as a result. While it can be applauding for attempting to make sense of a broad theme, Goodbye Lara’s ultimate resolution feels extremely confusing and hallow. As a tale of self-discovery, Goodbye Lara is excellent; as a romantic tale, it’s disappointing. With an incredible beginning, middle, and climax but a terribly rushed (yet painfully realistic) ending, it’s easy to feel cheated and confused. Yet that is perhaps Goodbye Lara’s point: true love can mean many things; the story is not about acquiring physical love, per se, but how Lara—and perhaps the viewer—can learn to discover herself through its pursuit, breaking away from general conventions of what love should be. +Beautiful, thought provoking story of a girl’s path to self discovery +Defies genre conventions and challenges themes of who we should love and how we should love +Excellent animation, score, and direction; dialogue isn’t spoon-fed and director uses setting to tell story effectively -Suffers from poor pacing; horribly rushed ending that doesn’t wrap up character arcs organically; too much focus on supporting cast

Many of us know the story of The Little Mermaid; a mermaid princess rescues and falls in love with a human prince, is given human legs by a sea witch in exchange for her voice, and is turned into sea foam after failing to win the prince's heart. If you're confused by that last part, it might be because you only know of Disney's version of The Little Mermaid, which has a significantly happier ending; the original Hans Christian Andersen story ends in a way that many may consider a tragedy - one where the little mermaid is unable to find true love with her prince. There are plenty of fish in the sea, however, so wouldn't it be nice for the little mermaid to have been given a second chance at love? "Sayonara Lara" - an original anime that is Kinema Citrus's most recent project - uses that second chance to explore love in a few different ways and tells a compelling story in the process. Sayonara Lara, known in English as "Goodbye, Lara", begins in 1777, when mermaid princess Lara is born. Even as a child, she is fascinated by humans, and fifteen years later, she even rescues one from drowning. She is soon approached by the sea witch Grace, who gives her a potion that turns her into a human in exchange for her voice; once she is human, Lara is able to meet her prince. In the end, however, she is unable to truly be with him and vanishes into sea foam. It's a familiar story up until this point, but the story doesn't end there in this anime. You see, Lara wakes up in Lake Biwa over 200 years later to find that because of her failure, her kingdom's light is fading, and her family has been put into a deep slumber. To save her kingdom and her family, Lara undergoes a trial from Grace where she must find true love with a human. Love is an important theme for Sayonara Lara. Love between family members, love between friends, unrequited love.... Different kinds of love, really. There are even some queer undertones involving Lara and the first human she meets during her second time on land, Mari Otsu; I'm not sure if I fully bought the way their relationship went for reasons I'll explain later, yet I did like their bond quite a bit. There are also good lessons to be taught here, like how you can't rush love or that your feelings for someone may not be romantic, even if you try to convince yourself they are. I don't know how I can really describe it, but Lara's journey is quite heartwarming yet heartbreaking at the same time; there are elements of tragedy to it, yet one may consider the ending of the anime to be happier than the original fairy tale. Lara herself may not be the most fascinating character out there, but she's a strong protagonist who went through a believable journey throughout the series. I thought Mari was a relatively cool character, too, especially at the beginning and ending of the anime. However, around the halfway point, Mari doesn't receive as much focus as the anime shifts towards the relationship between Lara and another character named Luca; her own relationship with Lara isn't developed as much during that time, which is what makes it hard for me to fully buy the direction their relationship went. Luca is definitely an important character for exploring the anime's themes, though, so it's hard to say that his inclusion was detrimental; plus, he's an amusing character in his own way. The two most fascinating characters in Sayonara Lara have got to be Grace and Lisa; although I had difficulties fully understanding their motivations until late into the series, their backstories make them both very sympathetic. I don't think there's a single Kinema Citrus production I've seen with bad animation, even though I don't really like every anime they've worked on - looking at you, Kuma Miko - and it's no different with Sayonara Lara. In fact, the folks at Kinema Citrus went out of their way to give Sayonara Lara a unique-compared-to-their-other-anime look that may remind one of some old-school shoujo manga; with that and some genuinely breathtaking animation sequences in mind, I can't say I have any complaints about the animation. (I also find the choice in Lara's character design to have a scar on her tongue to be a nice bit of attention to detail.) Sayonara Lara is fantastic sound-wise, too; all of the voice actors did pretty good jobs at their roles. That includes Nana Kawaishi, Mari's voice actress, who hasn't had a named role until now; I also think that it's cool that she's actually from Shiga Prefecture, where the anime primarily takes place. The opening and ending themes - "Sayonara Lara" by Ikimongakari and "Hearts Glow" by Hana Hope, respectively - are both beautiful songs that fit the mood of the anime perfectly. I may have had as hard of a time conveying what makes Sayonara Lara so good as anyone might have finding their own true love, but I can say that I highly recommend it to those who want a new take on The Little Mermaid. I also want to say to those who are looking for love to not give up; it's a hard road, but eventually, love may come for you. In the meantime, perhaps Sayonara Lara will be an anime that you will come to love, too.

There is a lot to talk about this original anime: the story, the technical and literary details: the type of flowers, the dagger, the scars... the opening. There is a lot of love for the original work and a vindication with the author. For me, this anime is one of the essentials of this Summer 2026 season. ————- Hay Mucho que hablar de este animé: la historia, los detalles tanto técnicos como literarios: el tipo de flores, la daga, las cicatrices… el opening. Se nota mucho amor a la obra original y una reivindicación con el autor. Para mí, este animé es uno de los imprescindibles de esta temporada Verano 2026.

I heard a lot of good things about this anime while it was airing, and then I heard all the wrong things about it's ending. So now that I finally have some free time I had finished the anime in a few days and... I got Mass Effect 3 flashbacks. Those who were there in 2013 should know what I am talking about. I will explain more in it in the story part of review but for now all you have to know is that that majority of people are agreeing that the show is amazing up to the last 6 minutes. Which is a shame as this is supposed to be "Little Mermaid" the japanese version and it works so well that it is a shame how it will be remembered... Animation and music: truly great. Animation felt like I was watching future length movie and not standard anime series. It is fluent and full of colors and has that old 90's anime feel. I truly enjoyed it. Music is also good, no notable tracks but what we got is really good and it enhances the experience a lot. Overall - animation and music are great, one of the main reasons to check out this show. Characters: Lara is the main heroine of this series, a little mermaid who went to the surface in order to meet the love of her life. Of course this is based on Andersen little mermaid and not Disney one. Which means it is tragic and depressing as hell, and such is Lara's life from the moment she was rejected by prince and had to go over everything yet again. But then we meet Mari, who is second main character in this anime. She is young and ambitious, strong and kind person. She is the one that finds Lara and offers her help and compassion, and helps her to get her way in this new world. The dynamic and bond that is slowly being created between them is what makes this show work, it is very emotional and exiting seeing their cute moments together as well as struggles they go trough. Beside them there are several more characters but they are minor and exists to purely move the plot forward. But I would also note few more characters of importance: Lisa, who is Lara's older sister and her story is also amazing. For me she is the most important character after Lara and Mari. And in the end we have Luca who is supposed to be main love interest but if you ask me his entire character was missed chance. He seems not that interesting and ends up looking more dull and incompetent than anything else. Overall - Mari and Lara dynamics are why you watch this show, it is the very core of it and works so well. Story: As I mentioned above this story is japanese take at Andersen's "Little Mermaid", they ever credit the original author in 1st episode. And they do not only cover the original story but they also expand on it as well, and in that to me they have done somewhat decent job. The parts with Lara, how she reacts to modern world and tried to adapt is great, not many people mentioned this but I am glad they cover this part as well as it really immerse you better into the entire thing. It is one of my favorite things, from seeing Lara reacting to automatic doors, elevators and cars to her stopping boxing match becasue she thought people were hurting themselves, it was precious. But the core of the story is Lara trying to find her true love and while it has its ups and downs it is still a good journey... up until the last 6 minutes. Now, I will not spoil the ending or any other major detail of the story but I will say this much - I understand what the authors was going for, but it was done in such a way and left so many unanswered questions that is is absurd. Nevermind that all the feeling we have build over the previous 11.5 episode was just... thrown into the trashcan. And that was after very emotional scene that happened just few minutes before that. Honestly, I can understand why everyone is pissed and this anime grade dropped everywhere, hell even for me it has gone down quite a bit. One more criticism I will have for this anime story is how poorly they set it up and Christianity. But since this goes into spoiler territory I will make a new forum thread if you want to see my points there. As for yuri part... I can definitely see it but I did not feel it that much. Despite this to me this is definitely yuri show that they decide to turn into yuribait despite what the last scenes before the ending were telling us in plain words. So as a yuri fan I am also a bit disappointed. Overall - the story, despite it's flaws here and there, is very emotional and actually great... until the last 6 minutes. Overall grade: 8 from me, which is very close to realistic grade as this anime sits somewhere between 7.5 and 8. Btw, my grade until the last 6 minutes was 10, I was really enjoyed it and then I was like... WTF... xD. Which is a real shame as this anime minus the ending is really good. Despite some flaws I like their take on little mermaid and how they wrote characters, their bonds and their struggles. It is very hard to recommend this show as I know how much people will enjoy it and how much they will hate last 6 minutes of it. So my suggestion is to watch it and disregard last 6 minutes entirely, after the last climax scene whatever you think happen should be your own cannon. The only thing to me that can fix this is if they either release an OVA or season 2. Which I doubt but giving how the story ended there is a chance for it. If that ever happens I will watch it for sure, to see if they are able to fix this mess.

Sayonara Lara is visually striking. Very Ghibli-coded, with a great reimagining of The Little Mermaid. I loved the art direction, the music, and the whole fairytale atmosphere. There’s something so charming about watching Lara slowly adjust to the human world and get attached to the life she finds there. What I loved most was how the idea of “true love” keeps changing throughout the story. Lara starts out thinking she needs to find it to survive, but the more time she spends with Mari and the Otsu family, the less important that idea becomes. I especially liked how meaningful her bond with Mari becomes without being defined by romance. Even when Lara tries to figure out what a “prince” actually is by watching Himeka and Ōji, it fits perfectly with what she’s trying to understand. She’s basically trying to understand love through the fairy-tale rules she already knows. The series is also great at building relationships through small, everyday moments. The cocoa Mari gives Lara, the way their friendship develops, the time they spend working at the bakery, and the whole Lisa and Kota storyline all make the show’s idea of love feel much broader than just romance. Grace is also a really interesting part of this. She sets Lara’s journey in motion, but she also makes the series’ ideas about love, rules, and freedom much more complicated. Then Luca enters the story, and Lara starts questioning some of the assumptions she’s carried with her from the beginning. The final stretch is where the series really clicked for me. Lara keeps trying to figure out what she actually wants while knowing she’s running out of time, and the pressure just keeps building. The later episodes take the idea of “true love” somewhere much darker and more complicated than I expected. I also liked how the series keeps mixing all that fantasy with really ordinary things like school, work, cake, boxing, smartphones, and everyday life. That contrast makes Lara’s attachment to the human world feel so natural. It’s one of the things that made the whole journey feel surprisingly grounded. My biggest issue was the ending, though. I get what it was going for, and I actually like the direction it took, but I just wish it had been a little more poetic and a little sadder. I wanted the final moments to hit harder. Still, I liked what the series was trying to do, and I’m glad it leaves the meaning of “true love” open instead of giving us a simple answer. 7.5/10

Gorgeously animated and beautiful story with some twists and turns that flesh out and modernize this fairy tale about love in sometimes surprising ways and mostly for the better. The first thing that stands out about this show is the visuals, the hand drawn animation and really beautiful shot compositions make this one of the best looking shows I've seen in the last year. There isn't a moment that doesn't look absolutely amazing, from the bright and glamorous mermaid kingdom to the dark portrayals of the witch and human world. The background art, the characters and lighting look simply gorgeous in every shot. The story is a very enjoyable exploration of love itself, and explores that topic very effectively through its fish out of water (hehe) protagonist looking for her "true love" and not quite understanding what that even means herself, allowing the show to ask very basic and yet important questions about love. It does a really good job talking about rejection and fear of showing your true self as well as trauma through the metaphor of mermaiddom. It culminates in a very daring subversion of the typical princess looking for her prince trope, which, despite its valiant effort to show that you don't need traditional notions of romantic love to be whole, ends up feeling a bit rushed due to being crammed into the very end of the last episode, which sadly causes the show to not quite stick the landing in my view as much as I agree with the sentiment it's trying to convey. The sound design and soundtrack also stuck out very positively to me, there are many really great uses of the score that complement scenes really well and I found the sound design in general to be fairly unique while still blending in nicely. Amazing love story that anyone who enjoys shoujo or romance or even just appreciates beautiful animation should watch despite the slightly rushed ending.

One of the most emotional modern anime I've seen in ages. It's a spin on a classic fairy tale, but somehow maintains loads of originality. Everything about it is so high quality, and you can seriously feel how passionate the crew was just from watching it. This is a show that truly cared about itself and it's themes. I seriously cannot praise this show enough. I won't go too far into detail, because I feel it's really worth experiencing without knowing what to expect, but every episode somehow manages to be more heart wrenching than the last. Every single character, even the ones that show up for one episode, are all so memorable. Every design, every voice, the world, the music, there's just so much personality put into everything here. It's like the spirit of 90s anime took over when they were making this. It has so much to say about love and family, and it's all so beautifully done. Everyone has their own "justifiable" motivation, in their own light, and it's really, really, interesting seeing how it all plays out by the end. I truly believe it's absolutely perfect up until the last five minutes. Not a "bad ending" but it's quite vague in it's resolution and only leaves you with more questions. Goodbye Lara is a show that is without a doubt limited by it's episode count, as it rushes itself far more often than it should have. It's somewhat disappointing to have to say, but there is a slimmer of hope that the upcoming manga could potentially elaborate more on the final episode. I love this show to death, as it's one of the more compelling anime romances I've seen, I just really wished we could have seen just a bit more of the characters before it was over. "Live for love, not for laws."

Trop Kawai-desu JAPAN. Joke on the side, there were any studies who showed that japanese animes had a better impact on childwood than disney movies, and this is clearly the proof of that. This is a readaptation of the original story of little mermaid but with a more interesting approach on the loving thematic. I find the research of ID of Lara very nice to follow. Best quality : visual. I love the old school style who gives much charme for the characters. And the anime installs his scenes in a cinematographic frame who makes any impacting scenes. There are also any good idea of realisation the meeting punch of Marin in the first ep. Bref, I recommend this anime who will make spend a good moment

Goodbye Lara is retelling of the little mermaid (Original story, not Disney movie) Only deconstructed. The tale is done, the mermaid turned to seafoam. So now lets resurrect her and try again in modern day Japan. The interesting thing about the show is how faithful it is to the original story, using a lot of the details and elements in it, but telling it's own story instead of the well known one. Mermaids live for 300 years, so the new story takes place exactly 300 years later. The Mermaid's sister get her a magical dagger to pierce the prince's heart to save herself, to return to the sea. Bring back the dagger and have it do exactly that but in a different way and so on. The 90s - early 2000s art style is very charming. Animation smooth Characters endearing and they act like real people which makes it easy to get invested in the show. Goodbye Lara is a beautiful show about finding your own light in life, having the courage to fight for it and how important it is to be surrounded by those that support and love you. Not for who you should or might be one day, but who you are right now. The one flaw it has is that the ending was a bit rushed. Also not so much an ending as the show suddenly stopping. (Justice for Grace!!!!) Highly recommend and might be one for the most memorable shows of 2026.

Fantastic series that shoots itself in the foot right near the end and leaves you wishing there was atleast another episode or two to properly wrap up the finale. I feel Lara's relationship with her family was not as well explored as I would've liked, as well as her relationship with Luka introduced mid-season being brushed over faster than I would've liked. Personally, I found the most enjoyable element the Slice Of Life. Definitely worth a watch, but there's a disconnect between the last episode and what you will have watched previously that might feel a tad jarring - although the animation is gorgeous throughout. Around 8-9 throughout and a 7ish for the finale sequence

[ES] Pienso que fue un buen anime en general con un comienzo increíble y algún que otro tropiezo entre medias. El final se pudo haber ejecutado mejor o incluso requerir de un 13vo capítulo. Tiene un hermoso apartado visual que me recuerda un poco a los años 80s/90s y un buen OP que me causa cierta alegría cada vez que lo escucho. [ENG] I think it was a good anime in general with an incredible start and some other stumbling between. The end could have been better executed or even required a 13th chapter. It has a beautiful visual section that reminds me a little of the 80s/90s and a good OP that causes me some joy every time I hear it

If there’s a short bored person who keeps a memento of a family member who left them behind, and lives with their father and grandparent and a pet, and has their life turned upside down when a strange person with weird colored hair comes to their small city, and there’s a giant monolith looming over the city that’s getting more threatening over time as the relationship between the two develops, and then once they reach an understanding one of them up and leaves the other, whose life goes back to normal but with a renewed sense of purpose... Honey, that’s not Goodbye Lara, that’s FLCL. I see people saying this would have been better if it were longer. No. Go the FLCL route and make this 4 to 8 episodes. Trim the family (like all the sisters who don’t do anything), trim the part time job stuff, have one fewer instance of the protagonist being separated from the cast only to return. Maybe say the words “love” and “light” about 800 fewer times. Then you can focus on the stuff that matters… whatever that is.

I honestly don't know what I just watched - this show is all over the place with the overarching theme being "finding the light to save the kingdom!" but everything is executed in a half assed fashion. Case in point: the villain is not as evil as Ursula from Disney's The Little Mermaid and from start to finish I still don't know what makes Lara so special; she's more like an indecisive version of Ariel who dated a weaker/femboy version of Eric and ends up liking her female friend (but their relationship isn't convincing either; she seems more like a newly hatched chick who latches onto the first human that was nice to her). This anime is basically the shoujo version of Seraph of the End where the characters keep repeating the same goal of saving the world/kingdom over and over to instill in your brain that they are doing something but in actuality nothing is happening for the majority of the series and then the story just ends abruptly. I wasn't planning on watching this show in the beginning because I had a hunch that this would be a letdown but was once again bamboozled by the false hype and high ratings. Moral of the story: trust your gut and don't waste your time.