Goodbye, Lara

Plot

Lara, a mermaid princess who is beloved by her father, the Sea King, and her sisters, enters into a forbidden love with a human prince and aspires to live with him on land. She drinks a potion created by Grace to become a human and lives with the prince, while being warned the potion expires if she fails to experience true love. However, the prince rejects Lara after learning she is a mermaid, and she vanishes into foam due to the potion's effects and discovers her kingdom has collapsed. Lara is resurrected in Lake Biwa two hundred years later under a trial set by Grace, and she sets out to find true love again and rescue her kingdom.

Characters

Lara (ララ, Rara)

Voiced by: Hana Hishikawa (Japanese); Brianna Knickerbocker (English)

A mermaid princess who is resurrected two hundred years later in Lake Biwa as part of a trial set by Grace to find true love again to restore her fallen kingdom. Like "The Little Mermaid", Lara rescues and falls in love with a human prince, which leads her making a deal with a sea witch to become a human in exchange for her voice, with the price that she will vanish into foam if she fails to make the prince return her love. Unlike its ending, the anime provides an original continuation.

Mari Otsu (大津 茉里, Ōtsu Mari)

Voiced by: Nana Kawaishi (Japanese); Anairis Quiñones (English)

A high school girl who lives in Ōtsu and is a national-level boxer. She lost her mother at a young age and allows Lara to live in her home. While Mari seems not to care about Lara at first, Mari comes to understand Lara's upbringing as a mermaid and transformation into a human. She teaches Lara how to live as one in the modern world's environment.

Grace (グレイス, Gureisu)

Voiced by: Rica Fukami, Yui Ogura (young) (Japanese); Tiana Camacho (English)

A sea witch banished by Rowan and Lara's aunt. She challenges her in a trial to find true love and has a hatred for authority. In the modern world, Grace has taken the form of a fish owned by Mari and is named "Gon-chan". Like Lara, Grace held a fascination towards the human world, only for it to lead to the deaths of the prince she loved and her twin sister Rigmor. Grace discreetly supported Lara and Mari's relationship, hoping they can break the long-held belief of the incompatibility between humans and merfolk.

Lisa (リサ, Risa)

Voiced by: Minami Tsuda (Japanese); Cat Protano (English)

Production and release

Goodbye, Lara is directed by Takushi Koide with series composition by Anna Kawahara, Shiori Tani designing the characters and Yuma Yamaguchi composing the music. The series aired from July 6 to September 21, 2026, on Tokyo MX and other networks. Shiga Prefecture was used as the basis of the anime's modern day setting, which is Koide's hometown. Koide said that the anime's story was based on "The Little Mermaid". During his talk at Anime Expo 2026, he mentioned that Goodbye, Lara was an original project that he wanted to do. The opening theme song is "Sayonara Lara" (さよならララ), performed by Ikimonogakari, while the ending theme song is "Hearts Glow", performed by Hana Hope. Portions of the opening were drawn using traditional cel animation. Crunchyroll is streaming the series.

Screening

The first episode was shown in a special screening event at Otsu City Hall on June 30, 2026. The episode was also shown at Anime Expo 2026.

Casting

During a talk after the screening at Otsu City Hall on June 30, 2026, the casting of Nana Kawaishi as Mari was done to select potential voice actresses who are from the prefecture. This was done to represent Shiga in daily life, including the use of local dialects in the anime.

Other media

Light novel

A light novel adaptation, written by Chihiro Haruna and illustrated by Yū Kuroto, was published under ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Bunko imprint on October 9, 2026.

Manga

A manga adaptation, illustrated by Saburouta, began serialization on Kadokawa Shoten's KadoComi website on October 23, 2026.