Goodbye, Lara Anime Reveals Cel-Animated Opening Sequence

Kinema Citrus goes hand-drawn for the opening

Kadokawa Anime has released the full opening sequence for Goodbye, Lara, and it is drawing attention to how the sequence was made. In a post on July 15, the official Kadokawa Anime channel confirmed that parts of the opening were produced using traditional cel animation, the hand-painted technique that has largely disappeared from television anime since the early 2000s.

The result is a deliberately nostalgic look. The cel work is meant to give the sequence a soft, gentle quality that only hand-drawn frames provide, and the staff credits are handwritten rather than typeset. Reporting from Anime News Network describes the effect as reminiscent of early 1990s anime, with a home camcorder warmth that suits the show's gentle tone.

What Goodbye, Lara is

Goodbye, Lara is an original television anime from studio Kinema Citrus that premiered in July 2026 and runs for 12 episodes. It is a loose reimagining of Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid. The story follows a mermaid, Lara, who makes a forbidden wish to be loved by a human. After her death she is reborn 200 years later in modern day Japan, near Lake Biwa, where she has to find her footing in the human world. The series leans into fantasy and romance, and Crunchyroll is streaming it. Reporting on the project frames it as a 15th anniversary original from Kinema Citrus, an in-house story rather than an adaptation.

Inside the opening

The opening was directed by series director Takushi Koide, who storyboarded and unit directed the sequence. Its theme song, "Sayonara Lara," is performed by Ikimonogakari, as shown in the official clip, while reporting on the series lists the ending theme "Hearts Glow" by Hana Hope. The cel animated cuts are brief, but they are the centerpiece of the sequence and the reason the studio chose to give the opening a standalone release rather than let it sit inside the streaming episodes.

Why it matters