Seto no Hanayome - Anime - AniDB (2025)

Note: This review applies to both Seto no Hanayome and its OVA. Also it is based on first half Ayako and second half YaMom fansubs. Anyway, I can only offer my condolences to the poor guys who had enough resolve to translate this dialect heavy show. Though Ayako fansubs have their translation rough and sometimes don't translate more complex dialect words their subs are understandable and follow the anime's original script well... What I can't say about YaMom fansubs which create their own text according to random guesses it seems. I have watched two last episodes with subtitles turned off because YaMom's subs were only distracting me from what the characters were really saying. Anyway, though Ayako is recommended, you'd do better if you avoided YaMom's subs.

Originally created by Kimura Tahiko (Yo no na wa Zushio) and directed by Kishi Seiji (Ragnarok the Animation) Seto no Hanayome[/b] looks like your everyday lame harem show from the first glance. It has a wimpy male lead placed in a setting full of mermaids who start falling for him for no apparent reason at all. Add the fact that due to some "circumstances" he gets engaged with one of the hottest mermaids around in the first episode and, well, you get the premonition of what might not be exactly the greatest show ever. However, despite the atrocious first impression I did indeed enjoy this show a great deal and can safely claim, that though it's indeed pure blood harem, it's best of its kind. There are two very simple reasons why Seto no Hanayome, despite seemingly following all the possible cliches and pitfalls, manages to be entertaining even for people who have already taken their toll on anime and graduated from puberty. First is that it approaches its story with an attitude of - So what if I'm a harem, that doesn't stop me from dancing on my arms naked on the roof of your house and second is that it spurts main heroine which simply shatters all the stereotypes other harems had put up before. San is schizophrenic, has strong values and is strong willed, yet is not stuck up or a tsundere, seems clumsy, but does important things with precision, has a tendency to moe, but never exhibits it to others, cares for the main character with respect and not with an exaggerated affection. So, yeah, Seto no Hanayome is indeed a harem to the bone, however, its wacky presentation, good sense of humor and marvelous main heroine makes it stand above all the harems I have seen to this date yet.

Animation: 6/10

The first thing that comes to mind when getting a glance of Seto no Hanayome's animation done by AIC (Kiddy Grade, Rosario + Vampire) is that it has low production values. Both backgrounds and character designs lack detail and are mostly bland, there are lots of still frames and work on in-betweens is barely noticeable. Your average harem with a below average animation as usual, those were the first words that popped to my mind when watching the first episode. And though indeed production values are below average by today's standards, what gives this show credit for animation is its good use of comedic deformation design. Main character has around twenty different faces, all done in different art style to suit the parody of things and I think that's a feat to be commended. When characters freak out or go into their usual schizophrenic spasms their deformations are done so well it adds quite a lot to the comedy. I must admit I even laughed out loud when I've seen the face of one particular character meeting her father who wore a sailor school uniform. That expression was priceless, not very human-like, but priceless. Also, though most of the guys look generic and majority of girls are either bland or unattractive, San has a pretty good and peculiar design. For me she always stood out as the only one having a beautiful shape in the middle of, well, second rate products. So at least they put some work into drawing their main heroine and I must say she has all the rights to look the best out of the bunch. In the end, low production values and good use of deformation techniques kind of weigh each other down and animation stands there in the middle, not good, but not bad either.

Sound: 7/10

Though music composed by Takanashi Yasuharu (Gantz, Naruto Shipuuden, Ikkitousen) lacks originality, it fits all the scenes in the show so well I can do nothing else but to call it good. Not great, but good. It spurts enough emotion in sad or serious scenes and fits the comedy as well when it needs to. I must say I particularly enjoyed those light hearted melancholic tunes, even at times when they were only there to induce comedy out of nonsensical situations, heh. There is also this song which always plays when San goes into her schizophrenic chivalry mode and I must say it's a pretty good and catchy piece. For the whole later half of the show I was actually looking forward to in what part of episode would San finally get into that state so that cool music and cheesy, but good lines would be said.

OP Romantic summer by is also pretty good, actually among the better I've seen in any anime. It seems a generic pop song at the start but suddenly becomes upbeat like some disco music and all the characters start dancing or doing weird tricks in the background. It really sets the right mood for the show and it is definitely pleasant to listen to. I haven't skipped it once and that's quite rare, especially for harem shows. This show has two different EDs, but neither of them picked up my attention, second one was more energetic than the first, but that's pretty much all I can say. I've been skipping them most of the time.

Now the most delicious part in this show - voiceacting. The first thing I would like to note is that this show packs a tremendous amount of weird Japanese dialects and words. For an aspiring Japanese student like me it was like paradise catching all those weird phrases and pronunciations. So, voice-acting is fresh, very fresh. I don't think I have ever heard anyone speak in a dialect like San does before, I wonder which part of Japan it derived from, sounds like a variation of Kansai-ben, but which one I cannot imagine. Anyway, seiyuu work itself though is not as brilliant as their script is, everyone except from San and Masa sound generic and not particularly distinctive... so let's ignore them. Anyway, I should write a line about the awesome San's seiyuu Momoi Haruko (Tales of the Abyss as Anise Tatlin) who managed to derive four different sounding voices for all the schizophrenic San's outbursts. What's more is that all, be it either cool mature, childish kind, confused clumsy or pissed off mobster like voices, all of them sound good and add even more to the San's character. This is by far the best role Momoi Haruko has ever acted and I hope she gets to voice more San's type of characters in the future. There are two very good and famous seiyuu voicing side characters as well, but since they have very few lines it's not really worth mentioning them. Anyway, Momoi Haruko dominates the voice-acting scene in Seto no Hanayome.

Story: 6/10

The first thing you can notice in Seto no Hanayome is that setting is built of cake and is waiting to melt down any minute rain pours down. Seriously, if you think too much about it, it completely stops making sense whatsoever. But so what, I say. Harem genre doesn't try to make sense anyway and it's comedy so let's just laugh at all the idiocy. Mermaids who transforms into humans and live in human societies anyway, mermaids who act like cyborgs, mermaid royalty introduced in the last few episodes completely out of nowhere and guy who travels with submarines underground. I was kind of terrified at the beginning since it was clear the setting would fall apart really soon, but once I realized the show was funny I kind of seen the humor in fragile setting and forgave. Yeah, it makes no sense, but it's funny so it's alright. At least it beats boring in my book.

Plot itself follows the romantic relationship of the generic main character Nagasumi and his mermaid bride San who in turn is a great character. So since the main guy is not really annoying, just generic and the main heroine is attractive, all the inner workings of their relationship is, though not awesome, interesting to observe. I must say I even found it slightly dramatic in the end. When plot is not concentrated on Nagasumi and San, it tells various side stories using side cast as backbone and comedy as substance. I must say I've nearly died from laugh in the episode where gang leaders were cosplaying as moe girls from eroge. That was really, really sick, and cool. Joke about "the first kiss" is also, though gross, extremely entertaining. Anyway, though the plot is slightly disjointed and sometimes it's hard to understand if what you observe is the main story or a filler, it never ceases to be entertaining, because it's funny. It doesn't exceed in anything, nor break any laws set by anime before it, but it's funny and entertaining to watch. Though the ending is slightly inconclusive and there are those two non relevant to plot OVA episodes, I must say I was satisfied with this show. It didn't open my mind to new pleasures, but it was fun, what I can't say about most of the other harems out here. Comedy and characters are actually good enough I could digest another three seasons of this show with ease. It's not intelligent, but it doesn't melt your brain either, it's just guilty fun you want to have when you want to relax after getting tired from work, studying or watching dementia anime.

Character: 7/10

Strongest part of Seto no Hanayome is definitely its characters. Though many of the girls follow the usual harem stereotypes - we have sadistic tsundere, stuck up rules fanatic, cool strong-willed girl and a shy unsociable girl, we also have San who is too schizophrenic to fall into any stereotypes. I must say I myself in the course of the show was kind of converted into San's fan before I knew it. She isn't particularly deep, but she has so many different personality traits that she never gets boring. It's been awhile since I had such a hard time defining character's personality and I must say I loved doing it. Some of her serious lines, especially the ones about being a good wife even made me emotional to some extent. Anyway, since the main character is generic, it's easy to tune with him and since the main heroine is cool, you'll want to tune with him.

This show spurts some very interesting side characters as well. Two overprotective fathers, one of whom acts like a Terminator, macho gangster who is so cool even boys melt before him, millionaire who has open space phobia and has a crush on San, guy who looks and acts like a monkey.. perverted monkey and main character's parents who are so realistic they kind of feel... pathetic next to all the cool mermans who overshadow them. That's actually a good trait since the show takes its time to make fun out of the generic father of the generic main character because of his genericness. Side characters aren't particularly deep, but they have a full fledged personality and are entertaining, so what more is there to ask? On the other hand, there were some annoying characters, like sea-shell Maki, but she got her screen time cut in the second half, so it's not a tragedy.

Myers-Briggs personality type indicator:

Value: 7/10

Though the romance loses its novelty the second time around, some comedy elements make this show compelling to re-watch. I might indeed re-watch it one day and I will definitely repeat some parts I've found funny many times in the future. So though not a diamond, Seto no Hanayome is a valuable addition to my collection. It's also one of the best harems I have ever watched.

1. Conclusion[/u]:[/b] Suited for anyone who is above 13 years old of age Seto no Hanayome is one of the best harems around. It's funny, it has good characters and though it doesn't offer anything new to the genre it's entertaining. If you have hots for harem genre, then it's a must-watch, if you, like me, have "meh" attitude to the genre, you might still want to check it out when you feel too tired to think. It's not intelligent, but it's entertaining, so as long as you are in the mood - it will make your day. Other harems I have also relatively enjoyed are Green Green TV and Love Hina. So check them out if you are a fan of the genre. Those who are not - don't expect too much.