Maigo no Kemono-tachi

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i read this manga for the midsummer mermaids stack. it was a short read and rather pleasurable, though i must say that the plot isnt particularly endearing. the characters lack depth, and while you can argue that most one-shots lack in the lore department, just yesterday, i read a one-shot that was more insightful and profound than this.

where this manga prospered, was the last chapter which incorporated some comedy. okay, maybe the chapter wasnt exactly comedic, but it felt more fun and senseless. i liked this aspect of the last chapter, and i had the most fun reading it.

if youre bored or youre ... similarly participating in the 2022 midsummer mermaids, you can go ahead and read :)

Only the first three chapters contain the episodic adventures of Myuu and Jirou, while the final chapter is the one-shot that inspired its creation. It has a completely different premise that follows Princess Ruty's misadventure with a "magical mixer" and the ending is left open, not that I found myself needing more after I finished reading it. I did find the plot more fun to read and the characters had far more personality than Myuu and Jirou did. There's a certain energy to the story that allows me to overlook some of the faults in the storytelling.

In both stories, but especially in Myuu's and Jirou's, ... the development feels rushed and reliant on exposition dumps. It's played only a little bit better in Ruty's story due to its high-energy pacing, but the characters' relationships with each other don't get the proper build up they need, so there isn't much to get personally invested in.

In the first three chapters, there are some mildly uncomfortable scenes that read like sexual harassment/assault, but since this is a shoujo the nudity is at the very least censored and it's not exactly overt perv-bait like in a lot of grosser manga. It isn't great, but it's preferable to the more sexualized alternative, so keep that in mind before choosing to read.

The sudden religious imagery of the third chapter is jarring, to say the least, and it is the most bizarre out of all four chapters present in this volume. It's wild how the conclusion of Myuu's and Jirou's story is so heteronormative while simultaneously being so (accidentally?) queer coded. Overall, the worldbuilding is sparse, but there is a lot of potential for further exploration and I wish the story had really taken advantage of that instead of leaving it for the finale where it feels even more rushed than the romantic relationship itself. It comes across like the mangaka was trying to fit too much into too short a story.

If you have some time to spare and feel like reading a wild short story about mermaids and demons that doesn't ask for any personal investment or emotional commitment, you may enjoy this one. But if you're looking for a story with depth and interesting characters, then give it a pass.