What do you think?
Rate this book
Mermaid Saga, Vol. 4
Eating the flesh of a mermaid grants eternal life. But living forever can be a blessing or a curse. Immortal lovers Yuta and Mana are relatively lucky... others who partake of the mermaid's flesh are transformed into savage lost souls!
Yuta must confront his past when he and Mana discover the horrifying secret of the Kiryu mansion. Later, when the couple befriends a young boy, they become embroiled in a bizarre child custody fight.
Yuta must confront his past when he and Mana discover the horrifying secret of the Kiryu mansion. Later, when the couple befriends a young boy, they become embroiled in a bizarre child custody fight.
192 pages, Paperback
Published December 22, 2004
1 person is currently reading
78 people want to read
About the author
Rumiko Takahashi
1,596 books2,162 followersRumiko Takahashi (高橋留美子) was born in Niigata, Japan. She is not only one of the richest women in Japan but also one of the top paid manga artists. She is also the most successful female comic artist in history. She has been writing manga non-stop for 31 years.
Rumiko Takahashi is one of the wealthiest women in Japan. The manga she creates (and its anime adaptations) are very popular in the United States and Europe where they have been released as both manga and anime in English translation. Her works are relatively famous worldwide, and many of her series were some of the forerunners of early English language manga to be released in the nineties. Takahashi is also the best selling female comics artist in history; well over 100 million copies of her various works have been sold.
Though she was said to occasionally doodle in the margins of her papers while attending Niigata Chūō High School, Takahashi's interest in manga did not come until later. During her college years, she enrolled in Gekiga Sonjuku, a manga school founded by Kazuo Koike, mangaka of Crying Freeman and Lone Wolf and Cub. Under his guidance Rumiko Takahashi began to publish her first doujinshi creations in 1975, such as Bye-Bye Road and Star of Futile Dust. Kozue Koike often urged his students to create well-thought out, interesting characters, and this influence would greatly impact Rumiko Takahashi's works throughout her career.
Career and major works:
Takahashi's professional career began in 1978. Her first published story was Those Selfish Aliens, a comedic science fiction story. During the same year, she published Time Warp Trouble, Shake Your Buddha, and the Golden Gods of Poverty in Shōnen Sunday, which would remain the home to most of her major works for the next twenty years. Later that year, Rumiko attempted her first full-length series, Urusei Yatsura. Though it had a rocky start due to publishing difficulties, Urusei Yatsura would become one of the most beloved anime and manga comedies in Japan.
In 1980, Rumiko Takahashi found her niche and began to publish with regularity. At this time she started her second major series, Maison Ikkoku, in Big Comic Spirits. Written for an older audience, Maison Ikkoku is often considered to be one of the all-time best romance manga. Takahashi managed to work on Maison Ikkoku on and off simultaneously with Urusei Yatsura. She concluded both series in 1987, with Urusei Yatsura ending at 34 volumes, and Maison Ikkoku being 15.
During the 1980s, Takahashi became a prolific writer of short story manga, which is surprising considering the massive lengths of most of her works. Her stories The Laughing Target, Maris the Chojo, and Fire Tripper all were adapted into original video animations (OVAs). In 1984, after the end of Urusei Yatsura and Maison Ikkoku, Takahashi took a different approach to storytelling and began the dark, macabre Mermaid Saga. This series of short segments was published sporadically until 1994, with the final story being Mermaid's Mask. Many fans contend that this work remains unfinished by Takahashi, since the final story does not end on a conclusive note.
Another short work left untouched is One-Pound Gospel, which, like Mermaid Saga, was published erratically. The last story to be drawn was published in 2001, however just recently she wrote one final chapter concluding the series
Later in 1987, Takahashi began her third major series, Ranma ½. Following the late 80s and early 90s trend of shōnen martial arts manga, Ranma ½ features a gender-bending twist. The series continued for nearly a decade until 1996, when it ended at 38 volumes. Ranma ½ is one of Rumiko Takahashi's most popular series with the Western world.
During the later half of the 1990s, Rumiko Takahashi continued with short stories and her installments of Mermaid Saga and One-Pound Gospel until beginning her fourth major work, InuYasha. While Ran
Rumiko Takahashi is one of the wealthiest women in Japan. The manga she creates (and its anime adaptations) are very popular in the United States and Europe where they have been released as both manga and anime in English translation. Her works are relatively famous worldwide, and many of her series were some of the forerunners of early English language manga to be released in the nineties. Takahashi is also the best selling female comics artist in history; well over 100 million copies of her various works have been sold.
Though she was said to occasionally doodle in the margins of her papers while attending Niigata Chūō High School, Takahashi's interest in manga did not come until later. During her college years, she enrolled in Gekiga Sonjuku, a manga school founded by Kazuo Koike, mangaka of Crying Freeman and Lone Wolf and Cub. Under his guidance Rumiko Takahashi began to publish her first doujinshi creations in 1975, such as Bye-Bye Road and Star of Futile Dust. Kozue Koike often urged his students to create well-thought out, interesting characters, and this influence would greatly impact Rumiko Takahashi's works throughout her career.
Career and major works:
Takahashi's professional career began in 1978. Her first published story was Those Selfish Aliens, a comedic science fiction story. During the same year, she published Time Warp Trouble, Shake Your Buddha, and the Golden Gods of Poverty in Shōnen Sunday, which would remain the home to most of her major works for the next twenty years. Later that year, Rumiko attempted her first full-length series, Urusei Yatsura. Though it had a rocky start due to publishing difficulties, Urusei Yatsura would become one of the most beloved anime and manga comedies in Japan.
In 1980, Rumiko Takahashi found her niche and began to publish with regularity. At this time she started her second major series, Maison Ikkoku, in Big Comic Spirits. Written for an older audience, Maison Ikkoku is often considered to be one of the all-time best romance manga. Takahashi managed to work on Maison Ikkoku on and off simultaneously with Urusei Yatsura. She concluded both series in 1987, with Urusei Yatsura ending at 34 volumes, and Maison Ikkoku being 15.
During the 1980s, Takahashi became a prolific writer of short story manga, which is surprising considering the massive lengths of most of her works. Her stories The Laughing Target, Maris the Chojo, and Fire Tripper all were adapted into original video animations (OVAs). In 1984, after the end of Urusei Yatsura and Maison Ikkoku, Takahashi took a different approach to storytelling and began the dark, macabre Mermaid Saga. This series of short segments was published sporadically until 1994, with the final story being Mermaid's Mask. Many fans contend that this work remains unfinished by Takahashi, since the final story does not end on a conclusive note.
Another short work left untouched is One-Pound Gospel, which, like Mermaid Saga, was published erratically. The last story to be drawn was published in 2001, however just recently she wrote one final chapter concluding the series
Later in 1987, Takahashi began her third major series, Ranma ½. Following the late 80s and early 90s trend of shōnen martial arts manga, Ranma ½ features a gender-bending twist. The series continued for nearly a decade until 1996, when it ended at 38 volumes. Ranma ½ is one of Rumiko Takahashi's most popular series with the Western world.
During the later half of the 1990s, Rumiko Takahashi continued with short stories and her installments of Mermaid Saga and One-Pound Gospel until beginning her fourth major work, InuYasha. While Ran
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
June 19, 2020
A refreshing yet disturbing different take from Rumiko Takahashi's usual style. Not only is the tone much, much darker, but the short length as a whole and the vignette storytelling is a stark contrast from her long, drawn-out, sitcom giant manga series. Inuyasha was published after Mermaid Saga, and clearly took a lot of inspiration from the latter, while still implementing some of comedy and characterization from Ranma 1/2.
Mermaid Saga does not hold back on disturbing, terrifying imagery, so be warned. It addresses the concept of immortality, and shows how Yuta and Mana are the only immortals who don't descend into madness or meet a terrible end. The flesh of a mermaid grants immortality, but only to those who are lucky enough to survive its poison. There's also various other methods of consuming mermaids that lead to awful fates: a mermaid's liver, in which the only way to survive is to constantly kill animals and humans and consume their livers; a mermaid's ashes, which can resurrect the dead, but at the price of them losing their soul; or even a mermaid's flesh, leaving them just as immortal as Yuta and Mana, but with no regard for human life or morality.
I'm curious if the anime holds up with this dark series...
Mermaid Saga does not hold back on disturbing, terrifying imagery, so be warned. It addresses the concept of immortality, and shows how Yuta and Mana are the only immortals who don't descend into madness or meet a terrible end. The flesh of a mermaid grants immortality, but only to those who are lucky enough to survive its poison. There's also various other methods of consuming mermaids that lead to awful fates: a mermaid's liver, in which the only way to survive is to constantly kill animals and humans and consume their livers; a mermaid's ashes, which can resurrect the dead, but at the price of them losing their soul; or even a mermaid's flesh, leaving them just as immortal as Yuta and Mana, but with no regard for human life or morality.
I'm curious if the anime holds up with this dark series...
September 24, 2014
Well... the series was interesting. Not anything amazing. I do wonder why Takahashi-san decided to stop at 4 volumes. It just seemed like sort of an abrupt way to end the series. Despite the fact that it was sort of a short story collection about Yuta, I was hoping for a bit more closure in the last volume. But it ended like all the others - not really hinting to an end but that more adventures were to come for Yuta and Mana.
As I said in the last volume review, for such a short series things became very repetitive. It was the same thing over and over - Yuta and Mana find person who has eaten mermaid flesh, fights ensue and mermaid-flesh-eating party tries to kill Yuta/Mana... the formula just kept repeating itself. So that was kind of a bummer. But I do like that this short series was more serious and dark than some of Takahashi-san's other popular works.
As I said in the last volume review, for such a short series things became very repetitive. It was the same thing over and over - Yuta and Mana find person who has eaten mermaid flesh, fights ensue and mermaid-flesh-eating party tries to kill Yuta/Mana... the formula just kept repeating itself. So that was kind of a bummer. But I do like that this short series was more serious and dark than some of Takahashi-san's other popular works.
November 4, 2020
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 new villain every week, huh? lol
No wonder this was "cancelled". But really, if Rumiko wanted to, she could've made this into a GREAT story.
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 new villain every week, huh? lol
No wonder this was "cancelled". But really, if Rumiko wanted to, she could've made this into a GREAT story.
February 3, 2020
My favorite mythological creature is a mermaid, so when I heard of a mermaid manga I jumped on it. In this comic, the lore is that eating the flesh of a mermaid causes you to either die, become a fish monster, or be immortal. Our hero eats the flesh with his friends. They all die around him, but he was lucky and is immortal. His life long quest is to travel the world and figure out how to become a mortal man again so he can grow old and die peacefully. In his journey, his clue is to find the mermaid to figure out the key to mortality.
Alright, the quest is set. You would think that he would figure out his mortality issues and die a good death? Wrong. There is no ending to this story. It just a abruptly stops suddenly and we have no idea what happens to him. I believe this was done so that his story seems never ending due to his immortal nature. For the reader, it’s feels dissatisfying and the story feels unfinished.
What is satisfying is all the messed up ways the author used the mermaid body to mess with human beings. Mermaid ashes? Yup, that fucks someone up! Mermaid liver? Also fucks someone up! Anything mermaid is fucked. It was fun to read all the cursed ways mermaid body parts ruined the lives of everyone involved.
1 Star
Alright, the quest is set. You would think that he would figure out his mortality issues and die a good death? Wrong. There is no ending to this story. It just a abruptly stops suddenly and we have no idea what happens to him. I believe this was done so that his story seems never ending due to his immortal nature. For the reader, it’s feels dissatisfying and the story feels unfinished.
What is satisfying is all the messed up ways the author used the mermaid body to mess with human beings. Mermaid ashes? Yup, that fucks someone up! Mermaid liver? Also fucks someone up! Anything mermaid is fucked. It was fun to read all the cursed ways mermaid body parts ruined the lives of everyone involved.
1 Star
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 10, 2021
Entire Series Review: 3.5 stars
These contained stories gave me serious Inuyasha vibes, and for that alone I was satisfied honestly. The stories did become a bit repetitive after a while, and there were some discrepancies and plot holes about the various effects of consuming the mermaid's flesh/ashes/liver (each story introduced a new effect that was fresh and new, but also a bit arbitrary); I just went along with whatever new rule about mermaid's flesh would be implemented in the next chapter and enjoyed these little vignettes for what they were. Takahashi's signature 80s-anime-esque art style is always a plus as well. The two main characters could have been more fleshed out and given a bit more personality; instead, the short story format primarily focused on each of the villains' circumstances. You can definitely see how Takahashi grew in her storytelling and character-building abilities with her later series like Ranma 1/2 and Inuyasha.
These contained stories gave me serious Inuyasha vibes, and for that alone I was satisfied honestly. The stories did become a bit repetitive after a while, and there were some discrepancies and plot holes about the various effects of consuming the mermaid's flesh/ashes/liver (each story introduced a new effect that was fresh and new, but also a bit arbitrary); I just went along with whatever new rule about mermaid's flesh would be implemented in the next chapter and enjoyed these little vignettes for what they were. Takahashi's signature 80s-anime-esque art style is always a plus as well. The two main characters could have been more fleshed out and given a bit more personality; instead, the short story format primarily focused on each of the villains' circumstances. You can definitely see how Takahashi grew in her storytelling and character-building abilities with her later series like Ranma 1/2 and Inuyasha.
November 18, 2024
Many good things about this volume ! This had so much action, we get to learn more about our main character, Yuta, the story of the mystery was enthralling! However, this was the last volume, and that's so sad!
This was a good manga. but I understand why they ended it so upbruptly. I mentioned before that there wasn't much a story pregression, the characters are the same, and it's like a mystery a day type of story line. I just wished there was a concrete ending.
This was a good manga. but I understand why they ended it so upbruptly. I mentioned before that there wasn't much a story pregression, the characters are the same, and it's like a mystery a day type of story line. I just wished there was a concrete ending.
December 12, 2020
The ending (if you call that an ending) was unsatisfying.
Maybe Takahashi never finished this? Or just gave it up? Or maybe that was the true ending??? Nothing is resolved for Yuta and Mana at the end.
Anyway, this series was okay. It wasn’t that scary to me. It was repetitive but honestly, most of Rumiko Takahashi’s work is repetitive.
Maybe Takahashi never finished this? Or just gave it up? Or maybe that was the true ending??? Nothing is resolved for Yuta and Mana at the end.
Anyway, this series was okay. It wasn’t that scary to me. It was repetitive but honestly, most of Rumiko Takahashi’s work is repetitive.
May 1, 2023
A nice conclusion to a great, albeit way too short, series. I don't mind the vague and open ending but I do wish . Vol. 2 & 3 are definitely the peak of this series, but a fantastic and fun read from beginning to end ~
May 7, 2020
Without a doubt Rumiko is a master. This series is so different from her usual formula and so fascinating. It’s deep and dark and haunting. so many stories in this collection are about loneliness. Once you lived long enough you grow truly lonely...
April 9, 2022
I absolutely loved this! It gave me Mushishi vibes except with mermaids.
November 30, 2009
Mermaid saga is series about immortality which is not good thing for humankind. These ones who ate mermaid´s flesh could not age and die. Hero of this cycle, handsome (immortal) young boy, look after cure of his immortality (which he despise). He finds a few another immortal ones who are similar unhappy (with one girl he fell in love and trevels then with her), but none cure... Every tale about him is very interesting, and art of this manga is very nice.
I love this manga! I only wish it would be longer...
I love this manga! I only wish it would be longer...
Read
June 8, 2009It turns out that this series is out of print. Which makes getting copies at stores a little more difficult. So I purchased this one, but cannot read it until I obtain the others. I will be looking through used books online as soon as I have money. hehehe.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews