"According to legend, eating the flesh of a mermaid grants eternal youth and life. But living forever can be a blessing or a curse. And as two immortal lovers travel through Japan-and the centuries-longing for a normal existence, they learn that they are the lucky ones. Others who partake of the mermaid's flesh are transformed into savage lost souls...!"
Mermaid Saga is one of my absolute favorite set of stories, seperated by time along a linear course (occasionally deviating), to an unseen conclusion... someday... sometime... Though what can you expect from a tale of two immortals?
Rumiko Takahashi, author/artist of such manga titles as Ranma 1/2, Maison Ikkoku, Lum * Urusei Yatsura, and InuYasha. She has proven to be a great asset to the industry in both her writing and artistry. She does not disappoint here. The pair; Mana and Yuta are both drawn in her recognizable style. Yuta appears to be a drawn as the kind, gentle sweater-wearing boyfriend for the more modern tales while taking on the look of the weathered samurai/fisherboy in the stories set in the deep past. Mana, the shackled maiden we meet in the first story, is drawn with an outer intensity from the first minute we meet her, screaming for the genocide of the poor animal population of the village, though her eyes almost always convey an inner sadness that is rightfully present in those of the damned/gifted. The "lost souls" are another of the art accomplishments I must speak of. While they are hideous, in no way do they ever get so grotesque that they are intollerable to even the weak-stomached of their target-rated audience of Older Teens. The english lettering, which isn't something one normally focuses on is crisp, and easy to read. There is a slight bit of upper-deck (read as busty, not top-quality) nudity, so mind the age rating.
Romance and tragedy are boring? Perish the thought. In this case, we begin the recognizable story with Yuta, walking down a beach on his quest for a way to return to normal, which is present in quite a few of Rumiko Takahashi's works (InuYasha and the Shikon no Tama, Ranma and the Spring-of-Drowned-Man to name a few). What does his quest bring? Adventure, love and death (unfortunately, not what he's looking for). Mana soon joins him, getting separated along the way a number of times, but always manages to find him, somehow. This is most probably inspired by the Japanese belief of the red thread of fate. An invisible red string tied to the little fingers of their left hand of you and your destined love. (This is not plainly stated, though beliefs seldom are) The series has it's share of comedic moments as well, for example, the aformentioned call for genocide upon a village's animal population because they are keeping Mana awake, and Yuta emerging from the grave a small fishing village buried him in and declaring, "Easy now!! I'm not some kind of suspicious character!!" to the shocked onlookers. Mana isn't just your little "Oh no, I'm in way over my head! Help me!" kind of female character. She can take care of herself (immortals in this universe follow the Highlander rules, no head and you're dead, so they can have quite the tolerance for pain, though they do enter a coma-like state after being 'killed'). She is resiliant and strikes while the iron is hot on a number of occasions. Yuta is a bit more experienced, and it shows though the 'Hob Gadling' rule is still in effect, and he retains enough naivity to keep him relatable. As the saying goes, "Everything changes, yet nothing is truly lost".
Though there is another set of these books out there that is out of print, the newest set of four by Viz is, by what I can tell, still being run through the presses. Though they seem to sell rather quickly by the statistics shown. You would most likely have equal luck picking them up at your local comic shop or bookstore or with using Amazon (granted that your local bookstore/comic shop stocks manga).
That's 9 complete stories in 4 volumes. At standard Viz manga volume price (9.99 each), this is rather a good deal.
