Mermaid Saga

**Mermaid Saga** (人魚シリーズ, *Ningyo Shirīzu*) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi. Although not the first horror story she created, it was her first horror serial.

## Plot

*See Also: List of Characters*

According to an ancient Japanese legend, mermaid flesh is the elixir of immortality. However, it is so powerful that it is extremely poisonous to ordinary humans who are more likely to die or transform into a damned creature by consuming it. One man named Yūta, once a humble fisherman, unwittingly succeeded in becoming an immortal by eating mermaid flesh and has been traveling alone across Japan without aging and with his wounds always healing miraculously, in the search of a mermaid in hope of learning a way to become mortal again, as he doesn’t consider his immortality to be a blessing. After 500 years, he meets a girl named Mana, who was fed mermaid flesh and survived its brutal effects like he has, and she becomes his traveling companion which makes his immortality less of a burden. Together, they continue to come across other people whose lives were affected by the mermaid’s legend.

## Media

### Manga

*See Also: List of Chapters*/*List of Published Media*

The manga was published sporadically in Shōnen Sunday Zōkan at first and then Weekly Shōnen Sunday from 1984 to 1994. In total there are 9 stories told in 16 chapters. The first tankōbon volume was Mermaid's Forest, named after the third story within it and published on April 25, 1988. The second tankōbon, Mermaid's Scar, was released on December 19, 1992, without the two remaining stories (4 chapters) as they had not yet been released when the book came out. The series was re-released in shinsoban format in 2003, in three volumes with all the stories.

In North America, it began serialization by Viz Media in Animerica's first issue, with Rachel Matt Thorn providing the translation. It was first released in three volumes, Mermaid Forest, Mermaid's Scar and Mermaid's Gaze, from November 11, 1994 to March 8, 1997. Later it was released in four books, simply named Mermaid 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.

### OVAs & TV series

*See Also: List of Animated Media*

Two of the stories from the series, Mermaid's Forest and Mermaid's Scar, have been adapted as OVAs (original video animation) in 1991 and 1993.

The first one, Mermaid's Forest, was produced by OB Planning Co. Ltd. Directed by Takaya Mizutani, it was released in August 1991 and was distributed in the United States by US Manga Corps (division of Central Park Media) in 1993, marketed as one of the Rumic World anime (along with Fire Tripper, Maris the Chojo and The Laughing Target). Its soundtrack was released in July 21, 1991.

The second one, Mermaid's Scar, was produced by Madhouse. Directed by Morio Asaka, it was released in September 1993 and was distributed in the United States by Viz Media in 1995. Its soundtrack was released in September 22, 1993.

Later in 2003, the animation company Tokyo Movie Shinsha produced a 13 episodes TV series named “Mermaid Forest” as part of the Rumic Theater series, which was broadcast on TV Tokyo on Saturday nights at 11:55 from October 4 to December 20, 2003. Nearly the entire manga series was animated with the exception of the intensely violent Eye of the Demon story. While closely following the 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 released direct to video on May 19, 2004, allegedly because the story (Mermaid's Scar) was too violent for TV. It was released in North America by Geneon. A CD containing most of its music together with music from the Rumic Theater was released in December 3, 2003.