The long and short is maybe.
It started when Nagasumi nearly drowned on Seto Island. A mermaid, Sun, decided to save him. But under mermaid rules, she has to die because being seen by humans in mermaid form is unforgivable. Nagasumi also has to die.
The alternative is for Nagasumi to marry Sun. Nagasumi decided to take this option, and the rest was one hilarious ride.
Just by watching the first episode, you will notice that San's family, the Seto clan, is a parody of a yakuza family. A lot of stuff from well-known Western movies is parodied. There's also stuff that's only well-known in Japan (provided by the translator's notes) that is parodied as well. So everything here is a parody, and a huge part of its humour relies on your knowledge of the original.
Its style is said to be modelled from Urusei Yatsura, an anime I have yet to see, but I'm aware that coming from the writer of Ranma 1/2, it must be funny too.
Anyway, upon the start of my rewatch, I can't help but feel that it is dated. In the anime, it refers to being modern as being part of the then-current Heisei era under the rule of Emperor Akihito, which ended in 2019, and currently in the Reiwa era ruled by Emperor Naruhito. This further reinforces the feeling of it being dated apart from its dated humour.
It relies too much on the threat of 'killing Nagasumi.' In other words, it is slapstick, absurd, and ridiculous. It is not meant to be realistic.
e.g. Who would believe that a house can be damaged or destroyed in an episode and can be rebuilt quickly in the next episode?
I might have enjoyed it years ago, but I found the initial episodes hard to rewatch. After some time, I got back into it and reacquainted with some of the characters I liked. Not a belly laugh as some might have experienced but just good enough for me to chuckle.
On the other hand, there are some elements that I now appreciate as someone studying Japanese. There are some puns here that add some spice to this anime. Most notably, when Sun is in chivalry mode. She will often note that the word for mermaid 人魚 (ningyo) sounds similar to chivalric spirit 任侠 (ninkyou).
As stated above, there are numerous translation notes of cultural references. Perhaps, if only I were intimately familiar with them, the jokes would have landed better.
Even if this anime is not as enjoyable today as when I first watched it, I appreciate the density of cultural references this anime contains. It's not something I would give a high score, but I will still recommend that people watch it. Some episodes can at least make you smile. You might enjoy it. Your mileage may vary.
