ne possible reason for Rumiko Takahashi's enduring success as a manga writer-artist is her penchant for unique and infinitely exploitable plotlines: the lengthy quest of InuYasha, the romantic stalemate at the heart of Ranma 1/2, the goofy character conflicts of Urusei Yatsura. Her characters are all quirky, but they tend to fit certain patterns; her twisty plots and clever premises are often more significant draws. But the episodic nature of her stories are just as important; any given Takahashi series generally has a lot of backstory and history between characters, but its central plot can easily be (and often is) summed up in a few sentences so new fans can jump in almost anywhere along the line.
Takahashi's Mermaid Saga is no exception. Takahashi's famous horror manga explores a world in which mermaid meat confers immortality—or, more often, hideous immediate death—upon anyone who eats it. The premise is bizarre but unique, and the episodic plotting makes it instantly accessible. Especially since that premise is repeated and re-explained in virtually every episode.
Part of Takahashi's Mermaid Saga manga was adapted into anime in the mid-'80s (in two volumes, Mermaid Forest and Mermaid's Scar), but a new 2003 TV run covered more of the same manga series, with 13 episodes appearing as part of an anthology show. (Other installments from that series are available on DVD as Rumiko Takahashi Anthology.) The TV episodes follow a young-looking man named Yuta who was a fisherman 500 years ago, before eating mermaid flesh. Now he wanders Japan, ageless, undying (or at least prone to being killed and then quickly returning from the dead, his wounds healed) and frustrated, following mermaid rumors and legends to find one who can tell him how to become mortal again. Unfortunately, mermaids are never pleasant and usually profoundly evil, and both their meat and the changes it brings on virtually always seem to make everything worse for everyone who seeks it.
Vivid story, flat execution
It'd be a shame to get too deeply into the story arcs of Mermaid Forest, since the most interesting thing about this series is its mysteries. As Yuta looks for mermaids, he tends to blunder in among other obsessives, many of whom have their own crafty agendas for seeking mermaid flesh: The question is generally who's manipulating events and why. These initial discs feature four full-story arcs, all featuring mermaids, mermaid chasers or mermaid-flesh after-effects. The main characters are simple—Yuta has a single obvious goal, and his companion Mana, introduced in the first episode, has little more in mind than following Yuta around and seeing more of the world than her cloistered upbringing permitted. They aren't much of a draw on their own, but the situations they uncover are.
They're certainly more of a draw than the flat animation. It's been 20 years since the first animated adaptation of Takahashi's Mermaid Saga, so it's a little surprising how little the visuals in this modern version of the same story have improved. The series designers seem to be going for an old-school feel, with very simple, stark character designs, scaled-back animation and simplified or limited motion. In particular, combat often consists of still images moving across the screen against abstract backgrounds, and important actions being shown several times in quick succession. Motion lines for emphasis are common. It's all very '80s, though it's smoother and better colored.
The writing isn't much more sophisticated—the plots are full of twists, but it's all presented mechanically in a straight-ahead charge, with a lot of sudden declarations of the "Here's the secret I've been withholding for decades!" variety. Still, Takahashi's many fans are used to her storytelling style: dogged, not-too-deep characters, deep and elaborate situations, sudden reversals, shocking revelations. It's a familiar formula, and one that has earned Takahashi an army of adherents. They might wish for more elaborate visuals, but they're likely to be happy to see this unusually dark and creepy corner of her work hitting the small screen at all.
It's often been pointed out that the Mermaid series is highly unusual for Takahashi because she doesn't normally do horror. I actually find it more of a departure because its central characters are a happy-together couple. Yuta and Mana don't hate each other, they haven't been forced together by family obligations or traditions, they look out for each other, and they even open and readily admit they care about each other. It's sweet, and a huge change of pace from Takahashi's usual fractious, jealous relationships.
— Tasha
Back to the top.
