The lyrics of “The Mermaid Princess’s Song” describe a fairy-tale kind of love, but skewed as obsessive and deadly. The sounds of the song are (mostly) presented as something excessively sweet and poppy. That contrast makes it a perfect fit for a video that borrows inspiration from the visual novel Doki Doki Literature Club.
For those who have no idea what I’m talking about, here’s some brief background information.
Phantom Siita is a Japanese idol group formed in 2024. They have a horror theme which they infuse into their videos, lyrics, and performances along with a more bubbly pop-idol girl group aesthetic and sound.
Doki Doki Literature Club is a video game released in 2017. It’s a visual novel that starts out like a standard dating sim, but the game takes some very hard turns into horror. Its fourth-wall-breaking nature combined with some extremely dark horror made the game extremely popular online.
Also, it’s worth noting that mermaids in Japanese folklore also have a dark connotation. You’re just as (or more) likely to find horror in Japanese mermaid stories as you are to find romance.
Phantom Siita’s video for “The Mermaid Princess’s Song” combines all of these influences and adds a little more to the mix. The video starts out with four female friends in high school who each have a crush on the same boy. The days go by and their resentment for each other grows, culminating in stylized and bloody violence with a twist ending. Interspersed throughout the video are images from a visual novel dating sim featuring the four members of the group (Mona, Miu, Rinka, and Moka) as their personalities gradually transform from sweet to sinister.
The video is great fun. Check it out below, and head to Phantom Siita’s YouTube channel for lots more!
