 Hey everybody, welcome back to a Wicked Geekdom Geo here, and today I am finally reading Mermaid Saga from Rumi-ko Takahashi. This is actually my first time reading anything from the famous mangaka. I've only done her work through her various anime adaptations, so this is really awesome that I finally get to read something from one of the famous creators of manga. I'm really excited about that, and I chose, as my first video, of course, Mermaid Saga. This is basically written in the mid-80s, if I remember correctly. It's a 16-chapter-long creature horror anthology series where you follow characters that are after Mermaid Flesh. In folklore, it's said that if you consume the Mermaid Flesh, you will either be cursed for eternity as this half-monster type creature thing, or gain immortality or longevity. But before we can get onto the review of Mermaid Saga, we gotta go back. We're gonna go hunting for mermaids. Yes, let's do it. Uh, no, actually, I'm being told that we're not doing on-field research for this one, so onto the next scene. The Ningyo is a fish-like creature from Japanese folklore. Anciently it was described with a monkey's mouth with small teeth like a fish shining golden scales and a quiet voice like a skylark or a flute. Its flesh is pleasant tasting, and anyone who eats it will attain remarkable longevity. However, catching one was believed to bring storms and misfortunes, so fishermen who caught these creatures were set to throw them back into the sea. Typically a Ningyo that would wash onto a beach was usually seen as an omen of war or calamity. But aside from that monkey description from long ago, they are very different from the mermaids of Western tradition. Ningyo more closely resemble fish than humans, with a varying level of human-like features, ranging from just an ugly, deformed fish-like face to an entire human torso with long, bony fingers and sharp claws. They can range in size from that of a human child to the size of a large seal, and unlike the mermaids of Atlantic and Mediterranean legends, Ningyo from the Pacific and the Sea of Japan are hideous to behold, resembling more of an otherworldly nightmare than that of a seductive siren. Ningyo sightings go back to the earliest Britain histories of Japan. The first recorded mermaid sightings are found in the Nihon Shoki, one of the oldest books of classic Japanese history, dating back to the year 619 Common Era. The flesh of a Ningyo is believed to grant eternal life and youth to those who eat it, and thus it is the subject of many folktales. One of the most famous stories concerning the Ningyo is called the Yau Bikuni, or Hapyaku Bikuni. The story tells how a fisherman who lived in the Wakasa province once caught an unusual fish. In all his years fishing, he had never seen anything like it, so he invited his friends over to sample its meat. One of the guests however peeked into the kitchen and noticed that the head of the fish had a very human looking face and warned the others to not eat it. So when the fisherman finished cooking and offered his guests the Ningyo's grilled flesh, they secretly wrapped it in paper and hid it so they could discard it on their way home. But one man drunk on sake forgot to throw the strange fish away. This man had a little daughter who demanded a present when her father arrived home. Carelessly he gave her the fish. And coming to his senses, he tried to stop her from eating it, fearing she would be poisoned. But he was too late and the girl had already swallowed it whole. But as nothing particularly bad seemed to happen to the girl afterwards, the man did not worry about it for long. Years passed and the girl grew and married. But after that, she did not age anymore. She kept the same youthful appearance while her husband grew old and died. After many years of perpetual youth and being widowed again and again, the woman became a nun and wandered through various countries. Finally, she returned to her hometown in Wokasa where she ended her life at an age of 800 years. So with that out of the way, you sort of have a, you sort of have context about folklore and all that fun stuff. We go into Mermaid Saga, this horrific anthology series from Rumi Gotakahashi. You have the main character of Yuta as he is seeking a way to end his longevity, his long life. He has been around for 500 plus years and, you know, there's it's called life because there's a beginning and an end and we see the value of life through its ending and its meaning. If not, it's just an aimless collection of memories walking around, right? And if you're the only one that's immortal and everybody's passing away, it can get, I would assume, it can get pretty boring and anxious as time goes on. So the character of Yuta has had enough of this, what he considers it a curse. And that's one of the funny things about the series. It's that you have these different short stories about these characters seeking a way to prolong their life, seeking immortality, where the main character already has it and can attest that it's not as great as it seems and he seeks a way to end it compared to the other people that for various reasons, they have gone through great lengths to search for the elusive mermaid flesh and all that stuff. Whether there are tales set in the past or the present, in the case of the book, in the mid-80s, all these characters will do whatever it takes, whether it's double-crossing people or committing acts of violence or just criminal activities in order to get that desired treasure, if you will. They seek that forbidden fruit, if you will. And Rumiiko Takahashi reminds us that it's not always about that and instead you're focusing on things that you can't obtain, whereas you should be focusing on love and friends, family, and just living life to the fullest and as well as you can. Instead, you have these characters that are kind of sick in the head chasing after an urban legend that may or may not be true. In the case of the book, we do know it's true because we see the actual mermaids, but still, that's sort of not the point of the story, right? But nonetheless, as I was mentioning earlier, Yuta, he is seeking a way to end this curse and he finds the character of Mana. Mana's a girl that was chained up in this abandoned house with these old ladies that happen to be mermaids as well. They live in this forest secluded from the rest of the town. Some hijinks ensue. I'm not going to spoil everything for this video. I want you guys to read it. And Yuta eventually escapes that scenario with Mana, frees her, and she's now traveling with him. They could or could not be an item. There's a chemistry that starts forming between each chapter as the two of them are seeking a way to end the curse, if you will, by trying to locate another mermaid for the curse to be lifted and all that stuff. And along the way, that's what you get in the chapter. You get different people, like I mentioned earlier, as they're trying to acquire the flesh. Obviously, sometimes it works. Other times it doesn't. We see that and we see that even if you do consume the flesh, it doesn't mean you're going to be a happy person and you're probably going to be stuck with a lot of grief and a lot of anger, resentment, and tragedy as you move forward because it's only affecting yourself and not the people around you. And sometimes it's at the cost of the loved ones that you're acquiring something that's supposed to be forbidden. So the stories sort of revolve around that for the most part. There are a couple of them that actually go back in time and we see Yuta at a earlier point in time, maybe like a few hundred years in, still doing the same thing. It's a very simplistic plot, but it works for what it is. It doesn't overstay. It's welcome and only 16 chapters. You go in, you get some nice spooky creature horror funfest and you go on to the next chapter. Actually, one of my favorite ones is chapters seven, I believe, where you have this Frankenstein's monster-esque character. He's misunderstood. He tried to consume the flesh of a mermaid and then it worked out as he planned and now he's turned into this monster-type fish variants and he's hiding away in the cave. At one point, he kidnaps Mana and there are some fantastic callbacks to classic universal monster movies which I really appreciated. That's one of my favorite things. I love those movies and the creature horror, if you will. I'm not a fan of the supernatural stuff or the paranormal hijinks and the serial killers. I prefer more like the aliens, creatures, werewolves type of thing. In this case, mutated fish, giant dudes. I don't know. I like that sort of thing. It's creepy and it's physical. It's something, it's a monster that's coming at you and you can fight it or you can run away. It's not an unseen force. So yeah, there are stories like that that you are, you take pity for characters like that that have been cursed other times. It's more like backlash between family members and how they stab one another in the back by trying to acquire the thing and turning into it mortals. A lot of family drama. It's interesting that it's a lot of mystery, noir inspired tales with horrific undertones. But I kind of preferred the past tales and the one with the giant and stuff like that. That's just my preferred style, I guess. But the narrative itself is, even though it's the same plot looped chapter after chapter, I would say the fault in it for me at least is that there is really no definitive ending to it. It just sort of ends and that's it. And I do understand. I get what the author was going for. You know, you have these characters that are essentially going on an endless quest to find a possible solution that may or may not happen. So the book sort of leaves that to your imagination if they're able to continue and finish their journey. If not, it's just going to be this long winding road of meeting people that are just unwell and are obsessed with the concept of immortality and reaching for that forbidden fruit. But as for the art itself, I gotta say, that's one of the best things about Mermaid Saga. The art is fantastic. I really do appreciate that Viz Media took their time to craft this beautiful book or these two beautiful volumes, I should say. And, you know, deluxe, signature-sized, oversized, compared to a regular Banga volume. And I do appreciate that it has a lot of colored pages and pinups that really do bring to life the wonderful art of Rumi go Takahashi. Even if it's black and white, seeing that stuff in color really does make you appreciate the story and just the 80s style in that. And, you know, with the hairstyles and the clothing and just the way everything's done, of course, that famous Rumi art style that everybody loves, whether you're watching anime or just reading the actual manga, you still appreciate that that is a Takahashi book, you know? But nonetheless, I really did enjoy Mermaid Saga. I wish it could have been longer. I wish the ending would have been a little meatier, a little bit different. But overall, the story's solid. You have fun with these two characters and just going over Japan hunting for mermaids. What could go wrong, right? But overall, just a really solid anthology series that I really enjoyed. How about yourselves? Did you read Mermaid Saga? Let me know in the comments section down below. And if you haven't, let me know what are some of your favorite monsters in anime or manga. Very interested in finding out. Guys, as always, thank you so much for liking, commenting, subscribing and just being a part of a week in Geek Tim. Thank you so much. If you're new here, I do content like this where I go over anime, comics, and manga, and of course, geeking out with all the polls and previews and first impressions, all that fun stuff. Thank you everybody for tuning in. God bless. Stay safe out there. I will catch all of you in our next video.