The Little Mermaid is not the only mute heroine in all of Andersen. She is joined by Elisa, the heroine of The Wild Swans, who, to save her brothers, transformed into swans by evil magic, must not utter a sound until she has finished handweaving them shirts from nettles. Like the Mermaid, Elisa is burdened with unspeakable pain throughout her journey – if you’ve ever brushed a stinging nettle, you can imagine how horrible it must have been for her to pick, spin, and weave with them. You may also notice that Elisa’s name is remarkably similar to that of Lara’s sister, Lisa – both, in fact, come from the root name Elizabeth. I do not think this similarity is a coincidence.

This week we finally learn Lisa’s story, and while Lara’s hasn’t been sweetness and light – her time in the 18th century was a tragedy, after all – Lisa’s has been worse. Lara was already gone when the undersea kingdom began to fall, but Lisa had to witness it. In her attempt to save herself and her family, she was separated from them, captured by humans, and spent at least one hundred years as a circus freak, doubtless a reference to the infamous Fiji (or Feejee) Mermaid. Lara’s encounter with the worst of humanity was personalized, a bad ending to a story. Lisa’s was enduring, a century of torment as she was kept in a tank and treated like an object, gawked at and made fun of for someone else’s profit. We see Lisa grow more and more despondent the longer she is imprisoned, watching her turn into Elisa before our eyes. Her voice is silenced, and her hope of saving her family slips away.

Lara’s original story is sad. Lisa’s is desperate, and unlike her youngest sister, she’s never gotten the chance to stop moving forward. Lara spent two hundred years resting before returning to life, but Lisa has been fighting for the entire time. This, too, is symbolic of the difference between the Mermaid and Elisa: yes, the Mermaid feels she’s walking on knives with every step, but she can sit down. She can make the pain stop. Elisa can never stop her work if she wants to save her six brothers, and so her pain is constant, and she can’t even complain about it, because if she opens her mouth, it will all be for naught. If Lisa has come across as cruel, sending Kota (thankfully not dead) to kill Mari and her family, it’s because she’s been forced into that role. If you’re in pain long enough, the pain overwhelms you until it becomes all that you can think about. If not for Kota’s presence, it would be all that Lisa has.

It’s at this point that I begin to wonder about Grace’s directives to Lara. According to the Sea Witch, Lara must find true love to save herself and her family. This is the same warning she was given in the late 18th century, and we saw her turn to sea foam when she failed. But is that different for each merperson or fishfolk who drinks the potion? Because I’d argue that Lisa already knows true love, as does Kota. Their feelings for each other, whether platonic, familial, or romantic, are clearly true love. Kota would never have come to find Lisa if they weren’t. Arguably, Lisa’s drive to save her family is also true love, because she’s putting it above everything else in her life, and not because she feels she must – it’s because she wants to. Yes, rage at Grace is also a motivating factor, but does the existence of anger invalidate feelings of love? I suppose it’s possible, because both Kota and Lisa begin to bubble foam upon their skin multiple times in this episode. And after all, even if Lisa is Andersen’s third mermaid, the most adventurous of the Little Mermaid’s sisters, she’s more properly Elisa of The Wild Swans, and the parameters of her quest are different from the Mermaid’s.

Both do, however, involve true love. And both Elisa and the Mermaid are rewarded (the latter in very Andersenian fashion). But I’m beginning to wonder if Goodbye, Lara is asking us whether the pain is worth the price.

Grace has never stopped watching Lisa through her mirrors, equating her with not only the witches of both The Little Mermaid and The Wild Swans, but also the Snow Queen herself. Mirrors feature prominently in many cultures’ folklore (Japan’s absolutely included), and they play a variety of roles, from granting wishes to reflecting what you least want to see to transformation. What does Lisa see in the mirror? What does a reflection do to Grace’s perception of Lisa’s actions? And will the mirrors ever just reflect the light the merfolk so desperately need?

Maybe. But the prince has just returned to the story, and if anyone’s going to throw things for a loop, it’s him.

Rating:

Recommended Reading: The Wild Swans by Peg Kerr. Alternating between 17th-century Europe and 1981 New York City, Kerr’s fantasy novel uses Andersen’s fairy tale to explore themes of love, loss, and the AIDS crisis. This book still haunts me.

Goodbye, Lara is currently streaming on
Crunchyroll.

AI localization company Orange Inc. announced on Friday that its emaqi e-bookstore service is adding seven exclusive new titles this month. Six of the new titles will be available through its “emaqi Premium” monthly subscription service. Additionally, the service has added 18 Viz Media titles to its “emaqi Premium” subscription last Friday, including Komi Can’t Communicate, Ranma 1/2, Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead, Fly Me to the Moon, and more.

emaqi‘s exclusive new titles are:

Title: Ironfist Chinmi (vol. 1)

Author: Takeshi Maekawa

Release Date: August 21

Synopsis: Legends say that 100 years after the founding of the Dalin Temple, the Chosen One of Kung Fu will appear! Sharp-witted and handsome! His fists shall be as steel, and his kicks shall shatter boulders! Enter Chinmi, the young Kung Fu Boy from Sichuan Province, raised at the wellspring of the mighty Yangtze River. Full of vigor and ambition, he sets out on the long journey to become worthy of being the Chosen One…

Title: She’s Out of My League: Takane no Hana-san (vols. 1-3)

Author: Koji Murata

Release Date: August 21 (emaqi Premium)

Synopsis: Love Level: 5th Grade ☆ A high-powered office beauty’s heart-fluttering gap romcom!】Hana Takamine (27) is the superstar ace of the product planning department at Mitsubachi Confectionery… Every product she plans is a runaway hit! Flawless, gorgeous, and utterly untouchable, she shoots down every advance from the men around her—earning her the nickname “Takane no Hana,” the unreachable bloom atop a lofty peak, and sparking rumors that she “must be seeing some incredible guy.” But here’s the twist! On the inside, her romance level is that of a fifth grader!! She’s really just a pure-hearted, hopelessly clumsy girl, head over heels for her junior coworker, Yowaki!!! Will love finally blossom for our Hana? The smiles keep coming, the blushing never ends—a youth-packed office romcom, now beginning!!!

Title: Searching for Skeletons (vols. 1-2)

Author: Hosui Yamazaki

Release Date: August 14 (emaqi Premium)

Synopsis: Boy x One Summer x Adventure = Boy Meets Crime!!  A shocking, youth suspense thriller! One day during summer vacation, a boy called Isshin, real name Kazuma Inui, meets up with some friends from his junior high and sets off on a journey… A journey to reunite with “that girl,” who disappeared several years ago. But the truth behind it all is tied to a string of child abductions gripping the local area.From Hosui Yamazaki, the acclaimed artist of the suspense-occult manga series, “The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service,” comes a vivid portrayal of youth and the darkness of society!

Title: Devil of a Saint (vol. 1)

Author: Ai Sakai

Release Date: Available now (emaqi Premium)

Synopsis: Akuno the devil is a commander in the Demon Lord’s army. After being defeated and knocked unconscious by the hero, she wakes up to find herself in some village in the human realm. There, in a strange twist of fate, she’s mistaken for being a saint, and so begins this devil’s struggle to really become a true saint!!

Title: Black Terror (vol. 1)
Author: MATSURI MIDO
Release Date: August 14 (emaqi Premium)
Synopsis: An anthology brought to you by the talented artist taking the manga world by storm, Matsuri Mido. A farce masked behind tragedy. Horror that appears to be humor. A comedy of terrors. An extravagant collection of 10 stories, as well as the acclaimed tale “Living Dead Baby,” guaranteed to bring you thrills, chills, laughs, and even a touching scene or two.

Title: Climax Necromance (vols. 1-3)
Authors: Satoshi Mizukami (story), Ichiri Seto (art)
Release Date: August 14 (emaqi Premium)
Synopsis: Just before the final dungeon… a battlefield rages as human soldiers and a skeleton army engage in fierce combat. Scattering surrounding enemies as they advance, the necromancer Azlaira and the dark knight Wraith, who follows close by like a shadow, finally face off against their longtime nemesis, Paraizo! It’s on this battlefield where Ichika, a messy-haired woman in a sailor uniform that doesn’t match her age, is suddenly summoned! Thus begins an isekai summoning battle from the team-up of Satoshi Mizukami and his protege, Ichiri Seto!

Title: Plus-sized Love (vols. 1-2)
Authors: Koji Murata
Release Date: August 21 (emaqi Premium)
Synopsis: Chubby office lady Ann Maruyama has decided to go on a diet for love! But she just can’t resist delicious foods…!? Pizza, yakiniku, sweets, ramen to close, etc… One temptation after another comes her way… Her complicated maiden’s heart wavers between appetite and romance…!! Will she be able to slim down and find true love!?A chubby girl’s loving diet struggle that sparked a storm of sympathy among certain readers!! The supremely cute romantic comedy that was a huge hit in the magazine is finally available as a volume!!!

Orange Inc. was founded in April 2021, and announced in July 2023 it had raised US$1.8 million. The company established its headquarters in the U.S. in March 2024.

Orange Inc. launched the app version of emaqi in May 2025.

The emaqi Premium monthly subscription launched on July 1.

Source: Email correspondence