Mahou no Mako-chan

English Title: Maco, the Mermaid
Mangaka: Uragawa Shinobu
Pub. Date: ?
# of Vols.: ?

TV Series: 1970 (48 Episodes)
2 Movies in 1971

The series is loosely based off Hans Christian Anderson's Little Mermaid. The start of the story (which will give serious deja vu to anyone who's seen the first episode of the more recent Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch, as the latter is probably influenced and a bit of an update of this series in some ways) has Mako the mermaid rescueing a young man on a cruise ship from drowning when he's swept overboard. Of course she's now fallen in love with him and wants to trade her fins for legs. Thus begins her life as a human student with a far-away love for a man she doesn't often run into.

The design of Mako and the colors *really* made me think of the colors and design Disney chose for their version of The Little Mermaid, though since this series is so old and little known in North America I'm going to lean towards coincidence. Some notable touches unlike any other version of The Little Mermaid I've watched or read, the sea witch isn't evil. Instead, she's a kind of helpful witch or guide to Mako. Perhaps she's both sorceress and "grandmother"/crone? At least the latter idea arises since sometimes a grandmother is the mermaid's guide. Another interesting note is that her father frequently shows up on land to help her out. His true identity is the Dragon King of the ocean (this is of course Japanese sea mythology at play as a dragon is thought to rule the oceans), but he'll make appearances to human Mako as a business-suited father. She carries a pendant that holds the mermaid's life force, so this magic sustains her life on land, and every now and then comes in handy when she needs to work a mini-miracle to help out someone. Though the magic/life force of course is tied to her, so too much use and it drains her considerably.

The pendant was a gift from her father after being strangled by a couple who'd kidnapped her in ep. 2. To save his daughter he gives her the pendant filled with the life force of the mermaid. Perhaps this is the first time the theme of rebirth appears in mahou shoujo, being used later in series like Minky Momo and Sailor Moon.

The episodes are pretty much self-contained. There's some focus on a main storyline but not a considerable bit. The series is inline with the witch-come-to-earth type magical girl stories (though an obvious variation).

Magical Items
Pearl-Mako-chan's own tear forms a pearl from which she transforms herself into a human
Tear of the Mermaid or Life of the Mermaid-pendant holding the life-force of the mermaid, given to our heroine by her parents; Mako-chan can use this to do magic and to sustain her life as a human