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The story
The live-discussion thread for the original anime Goodbye, Lara was buzzing. Based on The Little Mermaid, the show has drawn attention for the “yuri”-tinged relationship between the mermaid Lara and the human girl Mari, but once again this episode offered no clear-cut moment — like a kiss — leaving some fans frustrated. Meanwhile, the reason the other mermaid, Grace, cut out Lara’s tongue was never made clear, sparking a theory-crafting battle in the thread over what really happened. Opinions also split on several other points, including doubts about the producers’ decision to screen the finale early, and questions about why Lake Biwa in Shiga Prefecture was chosen as the setting.
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Lara, a mermaid princess, longed for love with a human.
But——that wish never came true, and she vanished into the sea as foam.
Source: goodbyelara.com / original article here
What people said
But if they're not going to kiss, it's still queerbaiting either way.
They at least attempted something with Luka and the prince, even if it didn't happen.
If they're going to drag it out this long, just show us the GL (girls' love) already.
Apparently she does at least talk to Luka, though.
What happened to 'true love isn't romantic love'? Way to go, witch, lol
I really can't understand why they did an early screening of the finale for an original anime.
If it had been a Japan-only event with strict ID verification, I could at least see the logic.
Yeah, focusing on Mari would've been better.
She takes in Gon, her mom dies, then she meets a mermaid — that's more dramatic than Lara's arc.
'The special princess seemed to be Rigmor, but was actually Grace.'
If it had gone that way, a lot of things would make sense — but that's not what happened, right? The special princess really is just Rigmor, right?
Since they're twin mermaids, I took it as both of them being the special princess.
Expanding on this episode's ending and making that the main story would've been more interesting, with Grace watching over Mari as she grows up.
That version would've made it easier to portray love too, lol
He's placed so meaningfully in the key visual and the Blu-ray box art — it'd be hilarious if he really was just a plot device after all.
To see the free, new world of the surface with their own eyes.
Also, what was up with 'a careless word can be fatal, so I'm cutting out your tongue'? What actually went wrong wasn't a careless word — it was a lack of communication. Just use your words!
Grace: 'A careless word can be fatal, so I'm cutting out your tongue, lol (that's how it goes in the original fairy tale, but it makes no sense within Goodbye Lara's own story)'
Lara: 'GYAAH' *snip*
↓
Lara: 'Guess I'm turning into foam and disappearing…'
Grace: 'Huh, she didn't kill the prince. Interesting.'
Grace: 'Might as well sew her tongue back on while I'm reviving her (makes no sense)'
Huh???
The 'wisdom' of someone who casually drops spoilers, huh.
If nobody's going to rebut Re: #75, that means I'm right — everyone okay with that?
Actually, I thought the original Little Mermaid was a story about breaking free from that kind of infatuation, so if the show still fixates on having 'a partner,' isn't it not really any different? That's what I think.
When Grace tried to explain herself after turning back into a mermaid, she was told, 'Don't use human speech, you hideous monster' — and that's what drove her to stab the prince to death.
So maybe Lara regretted not being able to get her feelings across, while Grace regretted having said something she shouldn't have.
If she'd just explained things before turning back, she might've avoided the whole kill-or-not situation afterward — so why cut out the tongue at all?
Or, going by the old woman's line in episode 11, maybe it was some kind of experiment — like, 'If I seal off words as a way to express love, Lara will be forced to convey love through light instead, and maybe that way, true love could still reach a human even in mermaid form.'
What exactly was Grace's past failure?
And why would that be a reason to cut out someone's tongue?
Background and Key Points of This Discussion
Goodbye, Lara is an original anime based on Andersen’s The Little Mermaid, and ever since it began airing, viewers have been split over whether the relationship between the mermaid and the human girl is meant to be read as friendship or romance. The term “queerbaiting,” which came up repeatedly in the thread, is a piece of critical vocabulary imported from overseas referring to a storytelling technique that hints at a same-sex relationship while avoiding any explicit depiction of it, and in recent years it has also been used to criticize anime works. The point of sharpest disagreement in the thread was the divide between fans who want to enjoy the two characters’ relationship as yuri and those who view it skeptically — though both sides shared the same frustration that neither got a decisive, explicit scene. Meanwhile, the reason Grace cut out Lara’s tongue is never made clear from the main story alone, leaving multiple interpretations coexisting among viewers. It’s worth noting that there’s no official explanation for this — it remains purely fan speculation.
*This article is composed from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (anime board) thread “Goodbye, Lara #14.”
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