Ningyo Series

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Excellent manga. Too bad it was discontinued. It lacks a clear goal or an evil antagonist, who needs to be taken down, which is why it has more of an episodic character.
The main characters are rather bland. Yuta is your average good guy, Mana is your average brat - which is surprising since they both have such dark and tragic pasts.
The episodes themselve though are incredibly well structured, engaging and gripping.

Mermaid Saga is one of Rumiko Takahashi's earlier works that has been forgotten as the years go by. When you go back and read it, it's kind of easy to see why it was forgotten. It's not a particularly bad manga, but it's not particularly good either.

This manga doesn't have much in the way of a plot. It centers around two people who are cursed to live forever, and that's really all there is to the main plot. The meat of the manga doesn't come from its main story, but rather its short story arcs, which all together make up a "saga," so to speak. ... Some of these arcs do have some interesting moments, but for the most part, they're forgettable, and some these arcs rely a lot on shock value.

I adore Rumiko Takahashi's art style. A large chunk of this manga came out early in Takahashi's career, and this was a time in which her style hadn't quite found its groove just yet. By the end of the manga, however, the art improves drastically. In fact, this is usually the case with most of Takahashi's older works, such as Maison Ikkoku and Urusei Yatsura. The improvement in the art isn't gradual like it is in the other series I just mentioned, however. This manga was on hiatus for a number of years, and when Takahashi finally finished it, the change in art was very sudden. It's difficult to judge the art because for most the manga, the artwork is only okay, and it's really only great for the last few chapters of the manga. The artwork is never unpleasant to look at, however, and it always carries the Takahashi charm.

This series only has two main characters, and neither of whom is very interesting. Both characters also seem to be lacking in the personality department. They aren't characters you're going to hate, but you also won't like them. You do see their relationship grow a bit, but you still don't get an emotional attachment. There are some semi-interesting characters among the story arcs, but they aren't really memorable either.

Overall, I enjoyed my time with Mermaid Saga. Kind of. It has some mildly entertaining moments, but it's never exciting, and there are some admittedly boring moments. It's not a bad manga, but it's not really a good manga. I personally wouldn't recommend this manga to anyone except for Rumiko Takahashi fans. Even then, I'd actually suggest watching the Mermaid Forest TV series over reading the manga. It tells the same story, but it's more entertaining in anime form. Really.

TL;DR: the Ningyo series doesn't necessarily offer anything particularly new or exciting, but is still a series that I really really enjoyed.

L;DR:
I've been a fan of Rumiko Takahashi for a while and I decided to read her mermaid series which I had heard so much on. It seems to have a pretty interesting reputation, with people either disliking it greatly or liking it a lot. After the first few chapters it was clear to me that I fell on the "like" side of the spectrum, so here's my review!

I can understand why Mermaid Saga is not one of Takahashi's more acclaimed works. It definitely has ... flaws, yes. But for some reason, I'm really quite attached to it. It's not particularly strong in any one area. Like, the characters. There isn't that much to say about the characters. Yuta is... a guy. And apparently a girl magnet too because holy crap homeboy has had a lot of side flings. Mana is... a girl. The side characters don't stay long enough to matter. But the characters are good enough, and what made me like this manga so much wasn't the characters, but the story itself.

It's not supremely original, or the most action-busting series out there. But it really has its moments. I found myself getting deeply attached to each of the stories in the Mermaid Saga, with a few almost making me cry. Takahashi takes the basic premise and manages to create interesting, haunting mini-stories with fair amounts of intrigue to keep my attention. There's also just enough suspense to make even these immortal characters seem like they are in danger.

I binged the entire series in about one sitting because I couldn't put it down. Oh, I wish there was more to Mermaid Saga than these few chapters. With more time, I think Takahashi could have built up the characters more and given the whole thing an overarching plot with a more conclusive ending. But, maybe it is for the best that it is as short as it is. Mermaid saga is short, sweet, and much more concise than Inuyasha ever was.

For the art, it's some of the more classic Rumiko Takahashi art. It reminds me of her art style in Ranma 1/2, which was my favorite era for her anyway. I also thought there were some really excellent character designs in here. Okay, Yuta and Mana were nothing special, but I liked the design of the Lost Souls as well as some side characters that appear (especially Shingo).

Should you read it? That's a tough question. If you're really a Rumiko Takahashi fan, I think you would find some merit out of this and perhaps enjoy it as much as I did. Or, if you're just looking for a short series to fill in the gaps of your long-running Shōnen, Mermaid saga is a good choice. You definitely don't need to binge it, each story is a few chapters and fits nicely in between arcs of other manga (I assume, at least. Like I said... I binged it!). I may not have come out of this experience as a new, enlightened being, but I certainly did enjoy my time with Mermaid Saga, and maybe you will, too.

Okay this was the first manga I bought and I can tell you it's not so bad. The story is well put and doesnt leave you into boredom although it does drif you away from the story one chapter and so forth on mostly the Main character Yuta's past than much on the current story with him and Mana characters are okay and the art is not bad. I guess if you want something to enjoy on a semi-long trip this one is alright to read it's an ok manga, but not as good as her others like InuYasha(even though I haven't read the manga ... verison)nor I don't know why she ended without no sense of giving it a proper way of conclusion.

Ah geez, I haven't read this manga in so long, but I feel like I need to write it a review, since it was one of my favorites. As a 10 year old, naïve child, I first discovered Mermaid Saga in a library and thought "the word 'mermaid' is in the title, it must be a cute mermaid shoujo story about cuteness and love and glitter with pretty flower patterns all over the pages". Well, I read it and NOPE. Instead it was quite the opposite and I was so disturbed by it, yet loved it so much that I bought the manga and re-read ... it 10 times over (although not recently...).

Well, that's enough of my life-story. Now onto the review!

Story: 7/10

The story takes unoriginal concepts (immortality, man-eating mermaids, crazy shotas, etc...) and puts them all together to create something very interesting and, strangely enough, original in its own way. Now, why I can't give this manga any rating higher than a 7.5 is not because it was mediocre, but as a big fan of this manga, I wanted more. The story was interesting enough to elaborate more on, yet the author chose to end the series prematurely and without resolve. The ending wasn't bad, but when I had reached it, I thought there was going to be more and I looked until I discovered that it really was finished. I really wanted to learn more about each character's past and especially their future. You never discover if they ever revert back to being normal human beings. For that, I can't say I am completely satisfied with this manga story-wise, yet what it does have to offer is very interesting short stories, which introduce new characters and overall do make the manga very enjoyable. I like that it's not just the flesh of a mermaid which can cause immortality, but other things too, such as; ashes and blood. So, overall the story was great, but I think if the mangaka continued, it could have been something amazing.

Art: 8/10

Rumiko Takahashi's style is somewhat old school and I love it for that. Yes, it may seem quite simple-looking at times, yet there is something just so beautiful about it. Mermaid Saga's art does surpass many of Takahashi's other series, yet it remains consistent to her style. I love the atmosphere her art gives off in this series. It's so elegant, but it manages to be eerie as well, which is perfect for this manga.

Character: 6/10

This is another area of the manga that could use some sprucing up. The characters in this manga are for the most part one dimensional and nothing particularly stands out about them. I did expect better in this area, looking at some of Takahashi's other works, like Ranma 1/2 and InuYasha which have characters that make both series come to life. Generally, I did not feel anything towards the cast of characters in this book. Infact, this manga may have some of the flattest characters that this author has ever created. Even though it is a very short series and character development is inevitably lacking because of that, it isn't impossible to make characters that are interesting or atleast have personalities. Still, they all weren't that bad, just not interesting.

Enjoyment: 10/10

As a kid, I loved this manga and as a young adult I still love it. I will probably reread it too very soon. Like I said before, what it does have to offer is a very interesting concept, which is definitely worth the read. It's short yet sweet. Although the ending is pretty bitter-sweet in my opinion, I still would highly recommend this manga. Even if horror isn't your cup of tea, Mana and Yuta have a pretty nice relationship going on (although, as I said before, if the story and characters were furthermore developed, then the romance part of the manga may become alittle more evident than it is).

Overall, I give this manga a score of 7.5/10 (curse MAL's inability to allow .5 scores). In my eyes it's obviously a 10/10, but looking at this manga from a more critical point, it does have many flaws, but it also has a great amount of charm and personality (although the characters lack that lol). The atmosphere is bang on and I think this could have been one of Takahashi's best works if she had decided to continue it.

Mermaid Saga – Spoiler Free – Mixed Feelings

TLDR
Overall: 5/10

Disclaimer: due to the nature of this work – a collection of short stories –, my normal parameters of Story, Art, Characters and Enjoyment with a weighted average won’t be applied. Instead, a global overview will be offered.

Mermaid Saga is a short manga – 3 volumes long – about mermaids and the power that they hold, for they are immortal; moreover, consuming mermaid flesh also makes others immortal as well. This is basically a collection of short stories about this topic, with two fixed main characters – Yuta and Mana – who have become immortal due to ... the consumption of the mermaid's flesh.
Although the premise isn't all that bad, the execution is just absolutely average: most stories have the same exact tropes and can be reduced to a simple scheme: main characters arrive at a place, someone wants to consume a mermaid’s flesh or wants someone to consume it for them, the main characters warned them that the consumption of mermaid flesh only very rarely brings about immortality and in most cases you just become a monster called a “Lost Soul”, and they eat the flesh all the same.
As a result, the stories become uninteresting and quite dull, although they are not that bad.
Although the art style isn't that great and is somewhat outdated, it is nevertheless quite functional. Scenarios, backgrounds, and landscapes aren't his strongest suit, however. There are some gorish representations as well, but nothing too surreal.
The two main characters become somewhat annoying because their only actions are exactly the same throughout the several stories, which becomes quite boring. They don’t seem to have a personality of their own, with the exception of being immortal.
Mermaid Saga is a grim reminder that not all episodic stories are worth telling, especially if they are repetitive and dull. However, it is somewhat enjoyable – I repeat: somewhat – and a quick read. Because they aren’t bad, but because they aren’t good as well, they fit the mixed feelings stamp better.

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.