#(a bunch of mismatched outliers that don't fit in the world but fit each other and the dog they adopted)

[slutforchocorobos]

Since it's still mermay, H2O verse mermaid tail ranking:

(idk how this came to be so long, so it under a read more)

out of any music videos, commercials, TV shows, movies, H2O verse tails are still miles, MILES ahead in terms of construction and quality than almost any other production. (psh psh shoutout to JMB FX Studio) BUT i will blabber opinions bc i can

ON WITH THE RANKING:

#4 Mako Mermaids mermaid tails

Jonathan decided to expand everything: lore, universe, cast (so many tails and tops you guys, if I was the one in charge of gluing all those scales I would've killed myself on the spot) but his budget obviously wore thin.

so weak, so flimsy, need milk

These make me sigh to no end, why whyyy the same design as h2o when they have NO budget to afford the same tails.

Look at how they murdered my girls, the tails can no longer stand on its own, they look so sad. THE TAIL PHOTO IS PART OF THE ESSENCE OF H2O,THE MAIN DRAW OF A MERMAID SHOW. They really had to photoshop the tails on later seasons 😔. Tragic.

i appreciate that each tail has a fun unique pattern kinda animal inspired under the scales. it gives the tails an opportunity to blend with the characters and their personalities. also them tails still hit my little nostalgia bones.

#3: Mako Mermaids Merman tails

The addition of mermen was so good and the production fucked up the overall design of the mermen (no upper body fish details? for real? it really bothers me).

this tail wouldn't be so low in the list if it wasn't in the h2o verse. it's clearly the most creative design of the bunch (again getting killed by the lack of structure) but there's an established look to the tails, getting 3 similar designs with a realistic approach and a blue fantasy outlier???, not a fan of the color but I get why it happened, the shape tho????.

poor mako mermaids 😔 the tails don't have the same structural strength and intense detailing as the h2o ones. BUT COMMON ZAC IS THE MAIN CHARACTER (and on s1 the only merman). Mah boi Chai is too strong for these tails😭 look at how it bends at the ankles.

#2 H2O season 3 mermaid tails.

these have the opposite problem. these are so thick lol why do these weight 40 kilos lmao.

these look different from s1, not a problem. they look yellower and lighter in color. the fish detailing is thicker. the tail has glitter in it now?? this simplified design helped me understand the anatomy of the tail, so my art skills owe to this design a lil bit lol, and it looks pretty underwater tbh.

I don't get the change tho, the show has a darker plot, the characters have grown up but the tails have a more kid friendly look??? I don't remember toys of them.

why make a whole new set of tails when the new mermaid got transformed on the opposite side of the world and the other two already had tails

sidenote: these ruined all fan edits that wanted all 4 mermaids together (5 if you include Charlotte) bc they had to edit either Emma or Bella with the other tail and it looked weird and mismatched.

Honorable mention: H2O Season 1 Miriam costume contest tail

this one is so funny, it mocks the practicality of mermaid costumes. it looks opposite of what our "real" mermaids look like. all colorful and shiny and over the top. Also this look gives miriam a good amount of karma thanks to kim lol.

#1 H2O season 1 mermaid tails

LOOK AT THEMMMM. 2006, the start of the gritty realistic aesthetic in TV and movies, and those mermaid tails fit so beautifully in that era. the bright campy 2000s beach fashion + dark "realistic" fantasy is such a *chef kiss* combination.

the tails are designed to look as real as possible, a tail for an animal that big needs muscles, the tails need to look strong enough to push the mermaid and flexible enough to believe the fluke is still a movable body part.

The brown-orange kinda fits into the realistic fish colors plus those naturally occuring in human skin + hair. also the top gives a unified whole bodyness to the transformation 💕

THE TEXTURE, oh god those scales were glued with love istg and that fluke was carved with so much detail and care.

these tails oof they invented mermaids istg any future mermaid media owes them BIG TIME. if it's cgi the tail needs to look strong, integrated into the body, and affect the movement accordingly, if it's practical effect they need to hide them knees and ankles!!, those breaks ruin the illusion of flow and hydrodynamics while swimming ( + recognizing a human body underneath kinda breaks the immersion).

h2o season 4 when 😔😔😔

#h2o just add water #do i tag mako mermaids? i dont hate the show but uhhh this list isnt kind to them :T #@ gifmakers i owe u my life #mermaid #mermaids #h2o jaw #Johnathan M Shiff #costume design #mermay