I remember when I first heard about Walt Disney's take on "The Little Mermaid" from 1989. Years earlier, I'd seen a televised animated version of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale which didn't pull any punches about the mermaid's ultimate fate. Well, that was bittersweet, I thought. Of course, Ariel in Disney's take had a happier ending, and for the first time in many years, a Disney animated musical actually became a hit once more.
Even since 1989, there have been other incarnations of "The Little Mermaid", including a live-action version that came out this year. It looks like even the music unit Suiyoubi no Campanella（水曜日のカンパネラ）has just taken a shot at it as well. Their 11th and latest digital single is "Mermaid" which came out in July. Band songwriter Hidefumi Kenmochi（ケンモチヒデフミ）takes a pretty sharp right angle at his approach by bringing in some beats, reggae and rap. Meanwhile, vocalist Utaha（詩羽）sounds even more mature and richer as she sings about this mermaid who gains her legs in Japan and takes in a summer matsuri.
I do watch a fair number of food-based programming on NHK, so there will be the frequent visit to the port from which the fishing boats set sail for their daily catch. I don't think I've ever seen such colourful displays at the harbour as I've seen in the "Mermaid" video. By the way, the song has also been used for the latest Coca-Cola commercials in Japan.
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