The end of the month is almost here which means it’s time for another manga giveaway at Experiments in Manga! For this giveaway, participants will have the chance to win a copy of the first omnibus in Osamu Tezuka’s Triton of the Sea as published by Digital Manga. (The omnibus contains the first half of the series!) And, as always, the giveaway is open worldwide.
I think it was when I finished Satoshi Kon’s Tropic of the Sea that I realized just how many manga I had read that included merfolk of one sort or another. Triton of the Sea is just one of many. Every creator seems to have a slightly different take on mermaids and mermen, which I find to be particularly fascinating. Some draw upon Eastern traditions, some are influenced by Western legends, and some freely incorporate elements from a variety of different sources, including their own personal imaginings.
So, you may be wondering, how can you win a copy of Triton of the Sea, Omnibus 1?
1) In the comments below, tell me a little about the merfolk that you’ve encountered while reading manga. (Never come across mermaids or mermen in manga before? Simply mention that.)
2) If you’re on Twitter, you can earn a bonus entry by tweeting, or retweeting, about the contest. Make sure to include a link to this post and @PhoenixTerran (that’s me).
And there it is! Each person has one week to submit comments and can earn up to two entries for this giveaway. If necessary, entries can also be sent via e-mail to phoenixterran(at)gmail(dot)com which I will then post in your name. The giveaway winner will be randomly selected and announced on October 1, 2014. Good luck!
VERY IMPORTANT: Include some way that I can contact you. This can be an e-mail address in the comment form, a link to your website, Twitter username, or whatever. If I can’t figure out how to get a hold of you and you win, I’ll just draw another name.
Contest winner announced—Manga Giveaway: Triton of the Sea Giveaway Winner
i haven’t really read a manga with mermen or mermaids before. However, I do have tropic of the sea on my queue. So it shouldn’t be too long. More Tezuka never hurts!
Retweeted from my linked account.
I don’t think I’ve ever read any manga with merfolk — the closest I’ve ever come is Saint Seiya’s “Poseidon arc” in which Julian Solo, the reincarnation of Poseidon, marries the Saint Mermaid Thetis. I suppose the “marine shogun” could be considered merfolk, but iirc they, like Athena’s saints, are breathing underwater air rather than water.
1) One of my favorite titles with mermaids in it has to be Rumiko Takahashi’s “Mermaid Saga”. It’s interesting to see a story about mermaids where they’re not portrayed as the beautiful creatures we’re used to seeing most of the time.
2) RTed your tweet at my personal account @bunnycartoon ;D
I’ve never really read any manga about merfolk before, but I think it would be an interesting topic to read about.
Never read manga with mermaids or mermen before, although Tropic of the Sea, which you mentioned, has been on my wishlist. I hope I am lucky enough to win this way, which seems pretty cool.
http://twitter.com/kitsuneninko/status/515126104534028290 (retweeted)
Moon Child is clearly the strangest manga with merfolk I’ve read. They are from the moon, mate once and die, travel through space back to a mating ground every X number of years, and some can change sex like fish. Some seem to have some vague psychic powers on top of it. The main mermaid also appears to be related to The Little Mermaid (the Hans Christian Anderson version with death, not the Disney version). I’ve actually read or seen quite a few mermaid based manga/anime (Triton, Tropic, Mermaid Saga, +Anima (kind of), My Bride is a Mermaid, KO Beast, Blue Sub no 6) and this is clearly the strangest. Plum from Bravest Warriors is the next strangest mermaid around. I’m going off to play Zelda for some benevolent merfolk now.
Honestly I have never really read a manga that takes place underwater with mermaids but I think it be pretty cool to try this one out. =)
Does Children of the Sea count? They aren’t technically mermen. If not, I also read a bit of Moon Child back when it was in print, and I…may have once read Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch, a very long time ago. Maybe.
I like One Piece’s version of mermaids (and also fishmen). Like everything in One Piece, they’re fun, colorful, and each one is unique, but there’s also time devoted to explaining some of their genetics and the racism they are subjected to within the One Piece world.
I read a lot of the manga Pichi Pichi Pitch. There wasn’t any different portrayal about merfolk, but it was really cute. Then, there was this one manga about a merboy, and every time he went into the water or got splashed by water, his hair would turn to this beautiful rare silvery color only found among merfolk. To be honest though, that one was Shounen-Ai, so the merboy was just beautiful and majestically attractive when he was found by the pirate protagonist/love interest.
Since I tend to pay greater attention to anything Yuri-related, the mermaid series foremost in my mind at the moment is A Centaur’s Life by Murayama Kei. Unfortunately, in the first four volumes that have been released so far in English, the protagonist (Himeno) and her entourage have yet to really make friends with any of the merfolk. They visited their classroom and watched them gracefully jump out of the pool but that was about it. Since Murayama excels at world building, hopefully we’ll get the chance to see what merfolk’s life is like before too long.
p.s. Please don’t enter me in the contest.
Amusingly-enough, I just caught up on Centaur no Nayami, mentioned by Jocilyn in just the last comment. ^^ I thought it was interesting that the mermaids in Murayama-sama’s world don’t cover up their tops, but do for their bottoms! (Their leg-fins start somewhat lower than I’d normally see from mermaids.) There’s also a rather touching romance between a mermaid and a land-dweller — she has trouble walking on land, so he carries her around everywhere. ^^ There are ads for horse-like contraptions to enable mermaids to walk, but too expensive for the general Joe.