> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://aftermath.site/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Goodbye, Lara Isn't 'Losing Chess To A Dog' Levels Of Queerbaiting, But It Is Just As Disappointing - URL: https://aftermath.site/goodbye-lara-yuri-anime-finale-queerbaiting/ - Published: 2026-09-22T19:17:31.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-22T19:31:26.000Z - Description: Kinema Citrus' reimagining of The Little Mermaid is your typical queer anime - Author: Isaiah Colbert - Tags: Anime, Goodbye, Lara, yuri [*Goodbye, Lara*](https://gizmodo.com/goodbye-lara-crunchyroll-the-little-mermaid-anime-2000785941?ref=aftermath.site)is a beautiful anime reimagining of *The Little Mermaid* that's easily one of the most enchanting [anime of the Summer of 2026](https://gizmodo.com/anime-streaming-guide-new-returning-series-summer-2026-2000766985?ref=aftermath.site). Much of its acclaim comes from Kinema Citrus' stunning animation and the show's queer themes. Unfortunately, despite its stated intention to avoid telling a typical yuri story, its finale pulls its punches in an unremarkably routine fashion. The series follows Lara, a naïve mermaid princess burdened with the gargantuan responsibility to provide life-giving light to her people by finding her true love. To her father, King Rowan's, horror Lara falls for a "disgusting" human prince after her nefarious aunt Grace gives her a potion that lets her walk on land. Up to that point, the story colors neatly within the lines of Hans [Christian Andersen's allegorical queer fairy tale](https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/02/25/hans-christian-andersen-gay-little-mermaid-lgbtq/?ref=aftermath.site) in the early moments of its first episode before veering sharply off script into meta-narrative territory. In what was meant to be the catharsis of Lara and the prince sharing their first kiss, her legs grotesquely revert back to her fish form, the prince recoils, draws his sword in disgust, and she dies—dissolving into sea foam. Snap forward 200 years: Lara is reincarnated into modern-day Japan, once again saddled with the same burden of finding her prince. Only this time, her plight has the fate of the entire mermaid species hanging in the balance. There's one crucial wrinkle in Lara's second chance at love: instead of meeting her prince, Lara crashes into the life of Mari Otsu, a tomboy who literally punches her out of the sky with boxing gloves. From that moment on, *Goodbye, Lara* became an episodic battleground for its fandom, where viewers debated whether the show would finally deliver an unabashedly queer romance between Mari and Lara or leave them hanging in disappointment. A popular meme in queer anime circles compares the Sisyphean experience of falling for stories with the faintest hint of queer themes—only to get queerbaited—to losing a chess match against a dog. After initially getting excited about a show that seems like it might be queer, it turns into a cynical ritual of voluntary humiliation and perennial disappointment. This phenomenon usually ends in one of two ways: either the show [outright denies its character's queerness despite all evidence pointing to yes](https://kotaku.com/gundam-witch-from-mercury-characters-lesbian-anime-1850707971?ref=aftermath.site), or it stops just short of hard confirmation, leaving fans to over-interpret ambiguity and cling to headcanon as proof. The whole song and dance becomes all the more grating when put against hetero romance shows that rarely ask their audience to put up with the same level of truncated catharsis. To *Goodbye, Lara*'s credit, the anime isn't queerbaiting. It is, however, extremely cowardly. Throughout *Goodbye, Lara*'s 12-episode run, the anime makes it clear, if not equivocally, that Mari and Lara dig each other. Fans saw it in the anime's Blu-ray illustration of Mari cupping Lara's face in her hands. > ˚🐚⁺‧┈ [#さよならララ](https://x.com/hashtag/%E3%81%95%E3%82%88%E3%81%AA%E3%82%89%E3%83%A9%E3%83%A9?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=aftermath.site) Blu-ray＆DVD情報┈‧⁺ 🧜‍♀️˚. > > 早期予約キャンペーンのアニメ描き下ろしイラストを公開❣ > ララと茉里の2人が描かれた、美麗な描き下ろしイラストです✨ > > Blu-ray＆DVD BOX… [pic.twitter.com/gnoN3EXBEJ](https://t.co/gnoN3EXBEJ?ref=aftermath.site) > > — TVアニメ『さよならララ』公式✨2026年7月より放送・配信中！ (@Goodbye\_Lara) [July 21, 2026](https://x.com/Goodbye%5FLara/status/2079373087062319609?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=aftermath.site) Even more eagle-eyed fans like me saw it in the symbolism of Lara's declaring she'll make Mari a [baumkuchen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baumkuchen?ref=aftermath.site#Baumkuchen%5Fin%5FJapan) cake—a popular ring-shaped cake used for weddings. One signifier is the visual motif of a sparkle of light that grows and dims as Lara's heart stirs. When Mari says she digs losers like Lara, that damn sparkle nearly takes up the entire screen, underscored by a giant tokusatsu explosion behind Lara. When a new beau who's the spitting image of her prince says, "Let's date," that same sparkle is a pitiful spec. > Lara with Mari vs with Luca[#goodbyelara](https://x.com/hashtag/goodbyelara?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=aftermath.site) [pic.twitter.com/NUFLnvmrmF](https://t.co/NUFLnvmrmF?ref=aftermath.site) > > — ver🌹 laramari pilled (@\_veroons\_) [August 30, 2026](https://x.com/%5Fveroons%5F/status/2094176831419175322?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=aftermath.site) But Mari and Lara share a similar nonchalance in their opposites-attract romance with [*Witch Hat Atelier*](https://aftermath.site/witch-hat-atelier-manga-anime-kodansha-kamome-shirihama-magic-school/)'s [Coco and Agott](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8WOTOCt%5FD8&pp=ygUUc3VmZmVyZW50cyB3aXRjaCBoYXQ%3D&ref=aftermath.site), needing external factors to pull them out of their heads and confess their feelings. The would-be couple got that and then some in its penultimate episode. ## SPOILERS! You've been aptly warned. The final stretch of *Goodbye, Lara* takes its queer undertones to their most extreme. Here, we see Lara confront her father, who forces her to transform back into her human form, calling it ugly for the umpteenth time. Meanwhile, the giant fish-shaped Sword of Damocles, suspended over the city as the symbol of Lara's heart, looms over the town, ready to pierce the heart of Lara's lover and consume them should her love be unrequited. Elsewhere, we see Mari experience Grace's backstory. Despite being positioned as the show's Ursula, Grace takes the drag queen visage of the Disney fairy tale character to its natural conclusion as the closest thing the show has to a trans allegory. Like her niece, Grace fell in love with a prince. Her prince, too, drew a sword on her when her fish form revealed itself, believing she'd deceived him the whole time by hiding who she really was. The show is very on the nose here. The whole debacle leads to Grace's sister, Lara's mother, sacrificing herself to save Grace from attackers, and to Grace sequestering herself as a witch in the mermaid kingdom. When history seems about to repeat itself, with Lara's father and elder sister forbidding her from falling in love with a human, Grace beseeches the young ladies with an empowering queer message before her death in both subs and dubs. > **"Lara. Mari. Live for love, not for the laws.''** > **"Don't live by the rules. Live for love."** For many fans, this felt like confirmation of how the series would go: Mari would save Lara by declaring her love, and the two would end up together. And for the most part, the show plays out how fans hoped it would, until it doesn't. The final two episodes of *Goodbye, Lara* have been aptly compared to the fellow yuri anime [*Revolutionary Girl Utena*](https://gizmodo.com/revolutionary-girl-utena-is-as-lynchian-as-shojo-anime-has-ever-been-2000566141?ref=aftermath.site). Both shows depict their heroines sacrificing themselves to save the person they love. In Lara's case, after admitting she loves Mari within moments of Mari telling her they both deserve to be loved, her sword pierces Mari's heart and kills her. It's a huge shocker, made even more poignant by the mixed metaphor of it snapping Mari's crucifix keepsake from her mother, which some have interpreted as a conservative symbol against queerness. > And another one[#goodbyelara](https://x.com/hashtag/goodbyelara?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=aftermath.site) [pic.twitter.com/3XwIs3ihvg](https://t.co/3XwIs3ihvg?ref=aftermath.site) > > — ver🌹 laramari pilled (@\_veroons\_) [September 20, 2026](https://x.com/%5Fveroons%5F/status/2101787015096521007?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=aftermath.site) > ok. [pic.twitter.com/faiuV19RwF](https://t.co/faiuV19RwF?ref=aftermath.site) > > — sarah ⚢ (@lesbicot) [September 20, 2026](https://x.com/lesbicot/status/2101720276601852377?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=aftermath.site) > sayolara making a direct reference to the swords of hatred scene in revolutionary girl utena. [pic.twitter.com/b0jG1QPC4r](https://t.co/b0jG1QPC4r?ref=aftermath.site) > > — cat (@dollshojo) [September 20, 2026](https://x.com/dollshojo/status/2101720659130778055?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=aftermath.site) Afterward, Lara takes the light from Mari and uses it as bait to get swallowed by the swordfish and rescue her. In her struggle, Lara admits she doesn't want to live for true love the way her family has forced her to. She just wants to live in a world where Mari exists. They embrace and plummet back to earth. It's really sweet. The show then flashes forward six months, and Lara prepares to leave on a train and discover the human world on her own. It's a bittersweet moment that makes a lot of sense, on paper, on the whole love-yourself front. For the entire story, Lara has been traumatized by love. She was traumatized by the pressure her family put on her shoulders to find a partner against a ticking time clock. Love was a responsibility that traumatized her to the point where she could only feel empty at the prospect of getting a boyfriend. All she knew was that she loved the human world and its people; her family outwardly rejected her, and she wanted to be part of that world without feeling ashamed. On all accounts, Lara being free to stand on her own feet and explore the world for herself without feeling pressured to find solace in another relationship is a good ending. Still, it's hard not to feel disappointed by how weirdly the whole thing was framed, turning its queer catharsis into bittersweet subtext. > promoveram esse gin pra gente afogar as mágoas já entendi tudo [https://t.co/a9nv3cqB26](https://t.co/a9nv3cqB26?ref=aftermath.site) > > — isa the creator charlie brown da silva (@tomalfodase) [September 20, 2026](https://x.com/tomalfodase/status/2101809609283395971?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=aftermath.site) Throughout the final moments of the anime, we never see shots of Lara's face. We don't see her expression when she apologizes to her ex-boyfriend, who admonishes her for being flaky about them, nor do we see her reaction to Mari telling her outright that she'll be lonely without her while holding back tears. The girls already admitted to each other that they want to live together but, before that can happen, Lara wants to live on her own and discover the world for herself. How a 16-year-old can feasibly manage that is beyond me, but the sentiment makes some sense. In a scene reminiscent of [*Butt Attack Punisher Girl Gautaman R*](https://x.com/Yuri%5FSRL3/status/2101753791141814389?s=20&ref=aftermath.site), Mari runs after Lara as she departs on her train and smiles at the thought that they might one day meet again. Fin. It's a good climax nestled in an utterly cowardly ending. > OTSU MARI THEY CALL YOU THE STRONGEST TO EVER DO IT!!!! 💥🥊 > \[ [#さよならララ](https://x.com/hashtag/%E3%81%95%E3%82%88%E3%81%AA%E3%82%89%E3%83%A9%E3%83%A9?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=aftermath.site) [#GoodbyeLara](https://x.com/hashtag/GoodbyeLara?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=aftermath.site) \] [pic.twitter.com/KkMwM7vkpg](https://t.co/KkMwM7vkpg?ref=aftermath.site) > > — ROMAN 🎗 (@alienssstufff) [September 21, 2026](https://x.com/alienssstufff/status/2102002476471996846?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=aftermath.site) > Cuando dejas que te metan un puñal en el corazón pero ella se va en tren a otra ciudad [pic.twitter.com/bXLV4cD33R](https://t.co/bXLV4cD33R?ref=aftermath.site) > > — Trent (@Panatrent2) [September 20, 2026](https://x.com/Panatrent2/status/2101743430283964578?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=aftermath.site) > a mari no último ep [pic.twitter.com/wRPyvX5wA3](https://t.co/wRPyvX5wA3?ref=aftermath.site) > > — ⚢ (@qifreympreg) [September 20, 2026](https://x.com/qifreympreg/status/2101726425711579359?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=aftermath.site) > // Goodbye Lara spoilers // > > I LOVED THE FINALE so sad it stopped early at 18:20 minutes 😔💦 [pic.twitter.com/ZGD5i9tEit](https://t.co/ZGD5i9tEit?ref=aftermath.site) > > — 🍉Milky🍉 (@milkytrickster) [September 20, 2026](https://x.com/milkytrickster/status/2101764793644331028?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=aftermath.site) > Sabe os héteros JAMAIS seriam obrigados a engolir uma migalha dessas [https://t.co/4K8QQPsLfX](https://t.co/4K8QQPsLfX?ref=aftermath.site) > > — Juicy gay broom ⚢︎ 🏳️‍🌈 (@UtenaParabolica) [September 21, 2026](https://x.com/UtenaParabolica/status/2101825683445952994?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=aftermath.site) While plenty of *Goodbye, Lara* fans' vitriol for the show's ending has been characterized as the fandom being upset it didn't end in a kiss, I'd argue the fandom's gripe runs deeper. The anime ultimately confines its queerness to subtext, just like so many before it. In any other show with a heterosexual couple, an audience is never told, "Actually, they don't end up together; be satisfied with nothing." Yet, that's par for the course with queer anime, where viewers are expected to treat absence as intention. It's a disappointing ending, made all the more pointed by the wasted potential the show had to bring to life the [real queer yearning the original fairy-tale](https://lithub.com/dear-internet-the-little-mermaid-also-happens-to-be-queer-allegory/?ref=aftermath.site). Hans Christian Anderson yearned for for his married best friend, and *The Little Mermaid* can be read as a reimagining of his own tale where he worked through his own turmoil. Despite director Takushi Koide telling [Newtype magazine](https://x.com/Sayngelic/status/2077800468693065760?s=20&ref=aftermath.site) they endeavored not to tell a "[typical yuri story](https://x.com/Sayngelic/status/2077800457569710113?s=20&ref=aftermath.site)," that's exactly what they did. Kimeta Circus left its queerness locked behind subtext and post‑show illustrations, forcing Mari and Lara’s romance to live everywhere except in the story itself—in headcanons, fanfiction, and the spaces queer fans are often called on to fill. > 📷⁺‧┈ > [#さよならララ](https://x.com/hashtag/%E3%81%95%E3%82%88%E3%81%AA%E3%82%89%E3%83%A9%E3%83%A9?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=aftermath.site) > メモリアルビジュアル > ┈‧⁺ ✨˚ > > 最終話までご覧いただき、 > 本当にありがとうございました🧜‍♀️ [pic.twitter.com/zShNF3kpsV](https://t.co/zShNF3kpsV?ref=aftermath.site) > > — TVアニメ『さよならララ』公式✨2026年7月より放送・配信中！ (@Goodbye\_Lara) [September 22, 2026](https://x.com/Goodbye%5FLara/status/2102306915950715212?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=aftermath.site)