MerMay is quite a popular art challenge in May, almost as trendy as Inktober. The premise is to draw (or make art of, which is not limited to drawing) merfolk or water creatures during the whole month.
You could create original characters, or fan-art… But what media feature (fantasy) water creatures?
Here’s part 4 of my “merfolk & water creatures in media” series: characters. = Only a few characters of the whole cast are merfolk/water creatures. (They may be part of the main cast, but if not, make more appearances throughout the series and aren’t the center of the plot to be listed under “episodes”.)
Part 1 was literature (books & comics), Part 2 movies and tv shows and Part 3 episodes.
Ps. This list only includes:
- Have seen myself (= I’ve seen the entire show/franchise.)
- Am familiar with (= I’ve seen a few episodes or know about it because of popularity.)
- Haven’t seen (= I’ve not seen anything from these franchises. All info is from my own research.)
There are many, many more than that.
(The links are anchor links and will lead you directly to the paragraph.)
Count:
- TV shows: 23
- Movies: 8
- Games: 6
- Books: 3
Have seen:
Mia and me
- water unicorn
The series is about Mia, a teenage girl whose parents have died in a car accident, which is why she has to go to a boarding school. Her parents left her a gift though: a magic book and a magic bracelet, with which she can travel to Centopia, a unicorn and elven world that she loved reading as a kid. Over there, she can talk to unicorns, which helps her defeating the villains.
Childhood! (Well, teenhood, but I’m counting that time to childhood too.)
I’ve always loved the way it combines live action and animation! And, of course, the idea to be able to travel into your favorite book. *-*
The water unicorn is part of the main plot in in s1 ep5, but also makes occasional appearances throughout the rest of the seasons, albeit minor ones.
Frozen
- Nokken
In Disney’s Frozen 2, there’s a water horse, called The Nokken. Inspired by Ireland’s Kelpie.
Barbie
- Mariposa: Anemone, Coral
- Secret Door: Romy
Barbie also has movies that are only about mermaids, which I’ve introduced in Part 2 of my Merfolk series. Mariposa and Secret Door aren’t about a merfolk, but have minor mermaid characters.
Mariposa is about the butterfly fairy, Mariposa, who goes on a journey with two other butterfly fairies to find a cure to save their Queen.
In Barbie and the secret door, Barbie’s character, Alexa, finds a secret door that leads to a fairytale world with fantastical creatures such as unicorns, fairies, mermaids, … and villains, who want to take over the land.
Monster university / Monsters, Inc. (Pixar)
- Randall Boggs (chameleon/gecko)
- Henry Waternoose (crab)
- Celia Mae (gorgon/cyclops)
- Claws ward (crocodile)
- Thaddeus Phlegm Bile (shark-Kraken)
It started with Monsters, Inc. in 2001 and has gotten a prequel, Monster University, in 2013. There’s also a tv show from 2021, Monsters at work, which is set after the end of the first movie, and some short films as well as mini comic series.
It follows Mike and Sully, two monsters, who’s job is to scare children, because their screams keep the monster world alive.
I’ve only seen the movies, but the tv show definitely is on my list.
Monsters vs. aliens
- Link (aquatic ape)
- Vornicarn (quadrupedal reptile)
- B.O.B. (gelatinous mass)
A movie by DreamWorks from 2009. It’s about Susan, a normal woman, who is turned into a giant after a meteorite strikes her during her wedding. She gets captured by a facility that houses monsters, whom she befriends and ends up saving the world with them.
There’s also a tv show from 2013, which I haven’t seen yet, as I didn’t know it existed, and two short films.
Am familiar with:
Monster High
- Lagoona Blue, Kelpie Blue, Wade Blue
- Gillington
- Lorna McNessie
- Bay Tidechaser (water-centaur hybrid)
- Grimmily Anne
- Sea mares (Vampire, Kraken, skeleton)
- Sirena von Boo
The franchise is about the descendants of “monsters”, like Frankenstein, Dracula, Zombies, etc. going to a high-school.
I’ve seen a lot of episodes of the 2D version (Gen1-2?), but don’t remember much and haven’t followed the newer (3D) generations. Love 2D’s artstyle the most, but the designs of the newest generation (G3 I think?) are also cool.
Ever After High
- Meeshell mermaid
A spin-off of the above, but with descendants from Disney Princesses and their villains alike. Together they go to a high-school, but everyone’s destined to follow their parent’s storyline, which the villains’ kids don’t agree with and start a movement against the storybook.
MH and EAH are parallel worlds, kind of. They are connected by a portal and a few characters make cameos in each show, but otherwise don’t have much to do with each other.
Here too I’ve seen some episodes, but there’s still lots of clips I’m missing from the storyline. And wasn’t the show cancelled?
Cookie Run
- cookies: Sorbet shark, Sea fairy, Candy diver, Squid ink, Ariel, Frost queen, Captain ice, Soda, Lobster, Lotus dragon
- pets: Eerie anglerfish, Octo wasabi, Paper boat sailor, Inktopus, Wave drop, Boatswain anchor, Lantern jellyfish, Lotus polliwog, Ocean dragon
As said in Part 3 of my Merfolk series, I haven’t played CR but I’ve read a lot of the lore and am mostly here for the art.
Some characters and pets might be only from CRK, some only from CR.
Percy Jackson
- Poseidon
- Hippocampus
- Hydra
Well, I’m familiar with greek mythology and I do know most of the plot, due to popularity, I’ve just never seen the movies/show or read the books.
LEGO Ninjago
- water elemental dragon
The only LEGO series I’ve actually seen is Chima – very recommendable btw! –, but for some reason never clicked with the other shows. Not that they’re bad. Just based on the clips I’ve seen, it didn’t give me much of a reason to pursue it further. But after finding out that Ninjago has dragons, I might watch it after all. XP
She-Ra
- Mermista
I’m only familiar with DreamWorks’ adaptation of She-Ra, not the anime. While I haven’t watched it, I’ve seen some clips and know the ending as well. I love the queer rep mostly! But the animation is also cute. Has been on my watchlist since 2018.
The fairly odd parents
- H2Olga (water-meta human)
I’ve mentioned the show in Part 3 as well.
H2Olga is part of the Crimson Chin’s enemies and makes a few appearances, though minor ones.
Dragon Ball
- Oceanus Shenron
I’ve seen some episodes as a kid, but apart from the powers, the plot hasn’t really clicked with me.
Lalaloopsy
- main characters:
Cloud E. Sky, Storm E. Sky, Coral Sea Shells, Ivory Ice Crystals, Laguna Sea Splash, Ocean Seabreeze, Pearly Seafoam, Sand E. Starfish, Water Mellie Seeds, Winter Snowflake - minis:
June Seashore, Sweater Snowstorm - littles:
Rain E. Sky - mermaids:
Anemone, Fin, Gilly, Kelp, Opal, Tadpole, Treasure, Water Lily - sea horses:
Brittlestar, Dottyback, Sea squirt, Sunstar - pets:
whale, penguin, duck, swan, ice cream cat, ice bunny, watermelon bear, gumdrop cat, ice cream kitten, puffed fish, crab, octopus, jellyfish, frog, turtle, polar bear, seal, toy crocodile, water-blue dragon
I’ve seen a few clips on YouTube, but otherwise know nothing. I do love the designs, the art-style of the cartoon and the idea that the characters are dolls, sewn from various things!
Toilet-bound Hanako-kun
- Nene
- mermaid kingdom
I’ve only read Volume 1-19 of the Manga, and kinda dropped it after reading everything that was published at that time (February 2022). I hate the plot and characters for the most part, but I’m absolutely in love with the art-style and lore, which made me want to continue… But after putting it aside, I don’t really miss it. While the anime is on my watchlist, I’m not sure whether I’ll ever watch it. Currently and probably for the rest of the year, I don’t really have the needed energy for it.
Anyways; as for the water creatures, there’s Nene, the protagonist, who transforms into a fish, when touching water. And the mermaid kingdom with a creepy mermaid, who wants to catch Nene and turn her into one of her fish servants. The mermaid doesn’t have many appearances, though, it’s just a silly little sub-plot.
Adventures of the Gummi bears
- Aquarianne
A children’s TV series by Disney from 1985. It plays in a fantasy world set in medieval time. Humans and Gummi bears – anthropormorphic bears – have once lived in peace together, but with time, humans grew hostile of them. They flew to safer lands across the sea, making humans forget about them. 500 years later, a small group of Gummi bears encounter 2 young humans, befriend them and go on many adventures together.
Nostalgia!
I mostly remember the “Gummiberry juice”, which grants them powers to bounce and become elusive. XD
Care Bears
- sea friend bear
The Care Bears live in a faraway place called Care-a-Lot. Each bear has a different symbol on their belly, which is what they care about the most. They all go on missions around the world to thwart the evil plans of Professor Coldheart.
Such a cute premise! I’ve only seen a few episodes from the old tv series (from the 1980s), but I definitely need to check out the newer series too!
Identity V
- characters:
Naiad Grace (fisherwoman), Luchino Diruse (evil reptilian) - costumes:
anemone fish, aquamarine Aladdin, blue jellyfish, clownfish, deep sea turtle, dreamlike frog, golden sea monster, golden tentacle, ice blue, manga ray mate, ocean, ocean blue, ocean witch, Poseidon, Poseidon’s crown, prince on ice, rainmaker, re-swim, refrigerator, sharkbite, sea salt mocktail, seaweed green, silver carp, silver shell, siren, twin lakes, water mirage, waterless stream, white tentacle
I’ve mentioned the game in Part 3 already.
During events, characters get costumes. These are all the water-themed I could find. Which was a lot to go through, as there are tons of costumes by now! (They are worn by mostly non-water creatures, though.)
Harley Quinn
- shark family: King shark, Tabitha, Shark god, Prince shark
- Mister freeze
- Aquaman
- Starro
- Ocean master
- Mirielle Borgman
- Mephitic
- Killer frost
- Killer croc
I’ve only seen the movie Suicide Squad and a few clips of the tv show (especially moments between Ivy and Harley), but not yet the whole thing. Though it’s definitely on my watchlist!
Haven’t seen:
League of Legends
- Fizz: the tidal trickster
- Tahm Kench: the river king
- Pyke: the bloodharbor ripper
- Nami: the tidecaller
- Illaoi: the kraken priestess
There are probably more, but these are the ones I could find.
All I know about LoL is that it’s a team-based game with champions. I’ve listened to some songs and seen some artwork.
Charmed
- water demon
I’ve shortly heard about the show when watching Pretty Little Liars (one of the secondary actresses plays in both shows), and then also when searching for water creatures last year. But apart from the main characters being a witch circle set in our world, I don’t really know any of the plot.
Zig & Sharko
- Marina the mermaid
- Sharko, the shark
The premise is that Zig, a hyena, would really like to eat Marina, the mermaid. But Sharko, her best friend and protector, makes sure that doesn’t happen.
Popeye
- the sea hag
A muscular sailor in search for his long-lost father.
While I am familiar with the titular character and have read a few comic strips of him, I haven’t actually seen any episodes.
Cuphead
- Cala Maria
Cuphead and his brother Mugman travel through the Inkwell islands and are looking for adventures.
To the abandoned sacred beasts (Katsute Kami Datta Kemono-tachi e)
- Beatrice
To win the war, a group of people created these sacred beasts – experimental, biological weapons of destruction. However, it has an unknown downside and now that the war is over, the monster-like super-soldiers need to find a way to integrate into a peaceful society. Based on a Manga. (Source: Anisearch)
Santiago of the seas
- Bonnie Bones
- Lorelai
- Anani
- Violet & Teal
An 8-year old pirate, Santiago, goes on many adventures with his friends.
Sailor’s Delight
- Circe (mermaid)
A short film. Watch it here:
Xiaolin Showdown
- Dyris
An american kids tv series by WB, set in a world where martial arts and eastern magic are part of the characters’ daily lives.
Monster girl doctor
- Lulula Heine
A slice of life anime, based on a light novel series. Doctor Glenn runs a hospital for monster girls. (Harem and Ecchi genre.)
Grojband
- nameless mermaids
A canadian cartoon about an indie rock garage band of the same name, formed by four best friends, who try to make it international.
Magic Wonderland
- Ocean
A CGI animated movie and series from China, about Ocean, a young girl who lives on an idyllic island. She can transform into a mermaid, although she can already breathe underwater in her human form.
Cyberchase
- binary
Three kids are sent into a digital universe to protect it from the evil “hacker”.
Castle cats
- Sandra (beach)
- Clarkii (clownfish)
- Lagoon (deep water)
- Peter (fintastic)
- Jack (flask)
- Leesi (ice dragon)
- Eych Tu-o (ice)
- Keiko (saved orca)
- Thessie (Sky & sea)
- Frosty (snow)
- Crabina (sunken treasure)
- Zelda (swamp)
- Harbour (shark)
- Mequa (sea guardian)
An idle mobile phone game by Pocapp studios, released in 2017, where you can collect and build your own cat army.
Dungeon Dogs
- Judy (diver)
- Marie (fish cookie)
- Kell (Frost)
- Uniwah (narwhal)
- Eventide (poetic ocean)
- Seamus (seal)
- Bouli (snow)
- Shaggy (Surfer)
- Atmos (Water Drake)
- Axel (underwater hunter)
- Pearl (Water dance choreographer)
- Niles (swamp guardian)
- Cordelia (aquatic artificier)
Basically the same as the above, but with dogs. Released in 2020.
Shantae
- Giga (mermaid)
A video game, where Shantae, a half-genie, protects Scuttle Town from various threats. The gameplay involves collecting new powers and items, to strengthen Shantae and unlock new areas. (Source: Shantae Wiki)
Not as much as last time, but only because I decided to make two parts out of the “characters” category. Next half, Part 5 of the whole series, will be uploaded on the 25th May 2024! Feel free to comment any other merfolk characters you may know, which I haven’t mentioned here.
~Arden Skye
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