Mermaid Saga is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi. It consists in 9 stories told in 16 chapters. It was first published in 1984 in Shōnen Sunday Zōkan and later in Weekly Shōnen Sunday. Two of the stories from the series, Mermaid's Forest and Mermaid's Scar, have been adapted as original video animations in 1991 and 1993. All of the tales, except one, were later adapted as an anime television series in 2003. In North America, the manga has been licensed by Viz Media, while the first OVA was released by US Manga Corps in 1993 and the second OVA by Viz Media in 1995. The anime television series was licensed by Geneon Entertainment.
Plot
According to an ancient Japanese legend, mermaid flesh may grant immortality if eaten. However, there is a much greater chance that consumption will lead to death or transformation into a damned creature known as a Lost Soul. Mermaid Saga tells the tale of Yuta, an immortal who has been alive for five hundred years after eating mermaid flesh. However, he is tired of his immortality and throughout the series, he wanders across Japan searching for a mermaid who may be able to turn him back into a normal human. 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 human again.
Characters
Note: In some cases a character is portrayed by a different voice actor in the OVAs. These voice actors are also added.
The original manga was serialized in Shōnen Sunday Zōkan and 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 two stories : "Eye of the Demon" and "The Last Face". These stories were not yet 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, Mermaid Forest began serialization by Viz Media in Animerica's first issue in November 1992. Rachel Matt Thorn provided 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 released in three volumes, Mermaid Forest, Mermaid's Scar and Mermaid's Gaze, from November 1994 to March 8, 1997. Later it was released in four books, simply named Mermaid Saga, from July 14, 2004 to December 22, 2004. In February 2020, Viz Media announced a new three volume release of the manga as Mermaid Saga Collector's Edition. The first volume will be published on November 17, 2020.
The first original video animation, Mermaid Forest, by studio Pastel, was released in Japan in August 1991. A subtitled Laserdisc and VHS tape were released in North America by US Manga Corps on March 3, 1993. It was marketed as one of the Rumic World anime. The second OVA, Mermaid's Scar, made by Madhouse, was released in Japan on VHS and Laserdisc on September 24, 1993. Viz Media published a dubbed release on VHS on November 21, 1995.
Anime television series
In 2003 the animation company Tokyo Movie Shinsha produced a 13episodes TV series based on Takahashi's short stories as part of the Rumic Theater series and it was broadcast on TV Tokyo from October 4 to December 20, 2003. All but Mermaid's Gaze were animated. While closely following the story of the original manga, 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, allegedly because this particular story was too violent for TV. It was released in North America by Geneon.
