Mermaid Saga

Mermaid Saga(Japanese:人魚シリーズ,Hepburn:Ningyo Shirīzu)is a Japanesemangaseries written and illustrated byRumiko Takahashi. It consists of nine stories told in 16 chapters irregularly published inShogakukan'sShōnen Sunday ZōkanandWeekly Shōnen Sundayfrom 1984 to 1994.
Two of the stories from the series,Mermaid's ForestandMermaid's Scar, were adapted asoriginal video animations(OVAs) in 1991 and 1993, respectively. All of the tales, except one, were later adapted as ananimetelevision series in 2003. In North America, the manga has been licensed byViz Media, while the first OVA was released byUS Manga Corpsin 1993 and the second OVA by Viz Media in 1995. The anime television series was licensed byGeneon Entertainment.
In 1989,Mermaid Sagareceived the 20thSeiun Awardfor the Best Comic.
According to an ancient Japanese legend, anyone who consumes the flesh of amermaidhas a small chance of gainingimmortality. However, there is a much greater chance that consumption will lead to death or transformation into a damned creature known as a Lost Soul (Deformed Ones in the English dub).Mermaid Sagatells the tale of Yuta, an immortal young man who has been alive for 500 years after eating mermaid flesh. Over the years, he is grown tired of eternal life and throughout the series, he wanders across Japan searching for a mermaid who may be able to turn him back into a normal human being. He encounters Mana, a young woman who is about to be sacrificed. She has been forced to eat mermaid flesh so that after she is killed, her flesh can be used to rejuvenate a village of ageing immortal women. Yuta rescues her and they travel on together while Yuta pursues his quest to become mortal again.
Note: In some cases a character is portrayed by a differentvoice actorin theOVAs. These voice actors are also added.
The stories ofMermaid Saga, written and illustrated byRumiko Takahashi, were irregularly serialized inShogakukan'sShōnen Sunday ZōkanandWeekly Shōnen Sundayfrom August 1984 to February 1994.In total there are nine stories told in 16 chapters. The firstwidebanvolume released by Shogakukan wasMermaid's Forest, named after the third story within it and published on April 25, 1988.The secondwideban,Mermaid's Scar, was released on December 19, 1992,without two stories (four chapters): "Eye of the Demon" and "The Last Face". These stories were not yet released when the book came out. The series was re-released inshinsōbanformat in 2003, in three volumes with all the stories.
In North America,Mermaid Forestbegan serialization byViz MediainAnimerica's first issue in November 1992.Rachel Matt Thornprovided the translation.It was published in the first nine issues, and then the rest was published in the comic book format from December 1993 to September 1995.The manga was later released in three graphic novel volumes,Mermaid Forest,Mermaid's ScarandMermaid's Gaze, from November 1, 1994, to March 8, 1997.In 2004, it was released in four books, simply titledMermaid Saga, from July 14 to December 22, 2004.In February 2020, Viz Media announced a 2-volume new edition of the manga,Mermaid Saga Collector's Edition.The first volume was published on November 17, 2020, and the second was published on February 16, 2021.
In a 2009 interview, Takahashi stated that she does not consider the series completed and plans to revisit it at some point in the future.
The firstoriginal video animation(OVA),Mermaid Forest, by studio Pastel, was released in Japan in August 1991. A subtitled Laserdisc and VHS tape were released in North America byUS Manga Corpson March 3, 1993.It was marketed as one of theRumic Worldanime (along withMaris the Chojo,Fire Tripper, andLaughing Target).
The second OVA,Mermaid's Scar, made byMadhouse, was released in Japan on VHS andLaserdiscon September 24, 1993.Viz Mediapublished a dubbed release on VHS on November 21, 1995.
In 2003, the animation companyTokyo Movie Shinshaproduced a 13-episode TV series based onMermaid Sagaas part of theRumic Theaterseries and it was broadcast onTV Tokyofrom October 4 to December 20, 2003.All but theEye of the Demontwo-parter were animated. While closely following the story of the original manga (more so than the OVA versions), many of the violent aspects of the stories were toned down. Only eleven episodes were shown on Japanese TV, with the final two episodes (Mermaid's Scar) released direct to video, allegedly because this particular story was too violent for TV. It was released in North America byGeneon.
Mermaid Sagawas awarded the 20thSeiun Awardfor the Best Comic category in 1989.