Ningyo Series

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Alternative Titles

Synonyms: Mermaid Forest, Mermaid's Gaze, Mermaid's Scar, Ningyo no Mori, Mermaid Saga

Japanese: 人魚シリーズ

Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 3

Chapters: 16

Status: Finished

Published: Aug 1984 to Feb 1994

Genres: Horror, Romance, Supernatural

Demographic: Shounen

Serialization: Shounen Sunday Super

Authors: Takahashi, Rumiko (Story & Art)

Statistics

Score: 7.41¹ (scored by 3,013 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #3739²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #2620

Members: 7,774

Favorites: 97

Resources

Wikipedia

7.41

Ranked #3739Popularity #2620Members 7,774

MangaShounen Sunday SuperTakahashi, Rumiko (Story & Art)

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Volumes: /3

Chapters: /16

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Synopsis

There is a legend that says if someone eats the flesh of a mermaid, they will attain immortality; but this myth contains a darker side, in that the devourer may die or become a monster.

The youthful Yuta has been wandering Japan in search of mermaids not to become immortal, but to break his curse of eternal life. Over five hundred years ago, he ate a mermaid; now, Yuta is in search of a cure, hoping the mermaids know the secret. When he stumbles upon a hidden village, he quickly learns that it is full of mermaids that live in an underground society centered around the murder and cultivation of young human women to maintain their own youth and immortality.

Their most recent victim, Mana, is given the flesh of a mermaid to eat in order to fulfill the recipe toward being a perfect candidate to be eaten. Yuta helps her escape, and they find themselves on a journey to live their lives as normal as they can.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Ningyo Series began publication in Shounen Sunday Zoukan and later moved to Weekly Shounen Sunday. It was published sporadically during its serialization. The original Japanese release was two wideband volumes and was incomplete; the second was complete in three small size volumes.

The series was first published in English in the 1993 March issue of Animerica—Anime & Manga Monthly, a magazine published by VIZ Media. This magazine printed the first two story arcs of the first volume in Japanese. The remaining stories were subsequently published in comic book format by VIZ Select Comics, with 4 issues to each part, titled Mermaid Forest, Mermaid's Dream, Mermaid's Promise, Mermaid's Scar, Mermaid's Gaze and Mermaid's Mask, published from 1993 to 1995. The series was additionally printed in standard tankoubon format by VIZ Graphic Novels, who printed the series in three volumes, titled Mermaid Forest, Mermaid's Scar and Mermaid's Gaze, from December 6, 1994 to March 8, 1997. VIZ Media re-published the title as a four-volume series, this time as Mermaid Saga from July 14, 2004 to December 22, 2004, in the original right-to-left order. The series was also published in Argentina by LARP Editores as Cuentos de Sirenas from November 2008 to April 2009.

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Related Manga

Adaptation:

Ningyo no Mori, Ningyo no Kizu, Takahashi Rumiko Gekijou Ningyo no Mori

More characters
Characters

Mana

Main

Yuta

Main

Big Eyes

Supporting

Rin

Supporting

Kannagi, Towa

Supporting

Masato

Supporting

Rin's Father

Supporting

Misa

Supporting

Natsume's Father

Supporting

Kiryu, Akiko

Supporting

Reviews

Nov 4, 2020

isahbellah

Recommended

Honestly, all of these short stories are interesting and could be very promising, but... they never amounted to anything.

It's kind of that formula "monster of the week" (which in this version it's like "villain of the week"), but without a bigger villain or bigger... plot?

The MCs don't have a common goal, in fact, they don't have a goal at all. Mana and Yuta teamed up because, well, she had nowhere to go and apparently neither did he? But like... they have nothing in common. And this could've been better explored, but oh well... no time for character development when we have to create a brand ...

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Mar 4, 2020

whylime

Recommended

TL;DR: the Ningyo series doesn't necessarily offer anything particularly new or exciting, but is still a series that I really really enjoyed.

L;DR:
I've been a fan of Rumiko Takahashi for a while and I decided to read her mermaid series which I had heard so much on. It seems to have a pretty interesting reputation, with people either disliking it greatly or liking it a lot. After the first few chapters it was clear to me that I fell on the "like" side of the spectrum, so here's my review!

I can understand why Mermaid Saga is not one of Takahashi's more acclaimed works. It definitely has ... flaws, yes. But for some reason, I'm really quite attached to it. It's not particularly strong in any one area. Like, the characters. There isn't that much to say about the characters. Yuta is... a guy. And apparently a girl magnet too because holy crap homeboy has had a lot of side flings. Mana is... a girl. The side characters don't stay long enough to matter. But the characters are good enough, and what made me like this manga so much wasn't the characters, but the story itself.

It's not supremely original, or the most action-busting series out there. But it really has its moments. I found myself getting deeply attached to each of the stories in the Mermaid Saga, with a few almost making me cry. Takahashi takes the basic premise and manages to create interesting, haunting mini-stories with fair amounts of intrigue to keep my attention. There's also just enough suspense to make even these immortal characters seem like they are in danger.

I binged the entire series in about one sitting because I couldn't put it down. Oh, I wish there was more to Mermaid Saga than these few chapters. With more time, I think Takahashi could have built up the characters more and given the whole thing an overarching plot with a more conclusive ending. But, maybe it is for the best that it is as short as it is. Mermaid saga is short, sweet, and much more concise than Inuyasha ever was.

For the art, it's some of the more classic Rumiko Takahashi art. It reminds me of her art style in Ranma 1/2, which was my favorite era for her anyway. I also thought there were some really excellent character designs in here. Okay, Yuta and Mana were nothing special, but I liked the design of the Lost Souls as well as some side characters that appear (especially Shingo).

Should you read it? That's a tough question. If you're really a Rumiko Takahashi fan, I think you would find some merit out of this and perhaps enjoy it as much as I did. Or, if you're just looking for a short series to fill in the gaps of your long-running Shōnen, Mermaid saga is a good choice. You definitely don't need to binge it, each story is a few chapters and fits nicely in between arcs of other manga (I assume, at least. Like I said... I binged it!). I may not have come out of this experience as a new, enlightened being, but I certainly did enjoy my time with Mermaid Saga, and maybe you will, too.

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May 5, 2015

Ryagan

Mixed Feelings

Mermaid Saga is one of Rumiko Takahashi's earlier works that has been forgotten as the years go by. When you go back and read it, it's kind of easy to see why it was forgotten. It's not a particularly bad manga, but it's not particularly good either.

This manga doesn't have much in the way of a plot. It centers around two people who are cursed to live forever, and that's really all there is to the main plot. The meat of the manga doesn't come from its main story, but rather its short story arcs, which all together make up a "saga," so to speak. ...

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Poll: Ningyo Series Chapter 16 Discussion animefan8800 - Dec 31, 2023	0 replies	by animefan8800 »» Dec 31, 2023 12:45 AM
Poll: Ningyo Series Chapter 12 Discussion lighthalzen-kun - Aug 1, 2017	0 replies	by lighthalzen-kun »» Aug 1, 2017 12:00 PM
Aren't there more chapters? -Kazu - Oct 19, 2012	3 replies	by AllenVonStein »» Mar 7, 2017 8:57 PM

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