From the monster girls in Monster Musume and Interviews with Monster girls to the more recent Centaur no Nayami which is currently airing this anime season, there has been a recent resurgence in the popularity of anime involving demi-human characters and the genres of yaoi and boys love is of no exception to this growing trend. From looking at a manga like Selfish Mr. Mermaid and the anime This Boy Caught a Merman it becomes pretty obvious which demi human species is popular amongst the fujoshi fandom, that being the character of the merman. I find myself wondering if this love may stem from the mermaid arch type of character many young girls love as children seen in stories like The Little Mermaid and Peter Pan. In this review, I will be writing about one series that focuses on a demi-human, fish out of water story with some hilarious comedy.
Orenchi no Furo Jijou is a short form anime from 2014 with 13 episodes with each episode lasting a little over 4 minutes. The series tells the story of Tatsumi, a boy who lives on his own who one day while on the way home from school finds a man washed up on the shore of a river near his home. He decides to help the man but upon helping him finds out he is a merman. What follows is an amusing slice of life series about Tatsumi trying to figure out what exactly to do with the merman Wakasa who now squats in his bathtub and the merman’s various friends who come to visit the two of them.
Tatsumi’s deadpan reactions to the merman and his various friends that include an octopus, a jellyfish, and a sea snail (yes I said sea snail) are what make the comedy of this series for me. There are also quite a few lewd innuendoes in the conversations between the characters that will have any hardcore fujoshi laughing. This makes for an anime that is good quick fix when you are having a bad day which is why I love these short run time anime so much. Also if you enjoy the anime you should definitely check out the manga it is based on which introduces even more characters to Tatsumi’s already packed bathtub!
Do you have a favorite anime featuring demi-human characters? What do you think of this modern trend? Let me know in the comments down below!
Yaoi Playground 
I’m somewhat in between really. I loved Rosario to Vampire as that was the first ever anime with demi-human characters I saw. It was refreshing and new to me then. I’ve seen the recent titles such as Gate:Jieitai Kanochi nite Kaku Tatakaeri, Demi-chan wa Kataritai and Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon. I don’t watch much of it since it’s got the harem tag and I’m not that into harem. (except for OHHC, Vampire Knight and Rosario to Vampire as they’re the first I saw and the classics)
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I’m not a huge fan of harem anime myself with a very, very small group of select anime and the mention of Vampire Knight brought back so many memories I have not re watched that series in ages. I use to love it so much when it first came out.
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I love this anime/manga. Maybe because I spend so much time in the bath? Haha. I agree with you–it’s a great kind of “pick me up” story and because of the short form doesn’t require a lot of investment. One of my favorite things about the anime was the opening theme and how intense and dramatic it came across and yet the show itself is just fluffy and ridiculous.
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Haha I thought it was a funny cute anime
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it most definitely is
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