Our Mermaids Are Different: Difference between revisions

* ''[[Blue Submarine No. 6]]'' has a genetically engineered, evidently [[One-Gender Race|entirely female]], race of mermaids. Typically, they pilot underwater lobster-ish mecha as the front linefrontline troops offor the antagonist forces. While fittingthey fit the [[Cute Monster Girl]] trope in many ways, they are not your traditionaltypical style of mermaidmermaids, considering that they have a tendency [[Man Bites Man|to bite]].

* Sophia and Thethe Mermaid Tribe and The Merman TribeTribes in ''[[Doraemon]]''. The distinction is important, since the mermen are the bad guys.

* Usamaru Furuya's ''[[Short Cuts (manga)|Short Cuts]]'' has a mock poll about mermaids, asking which would you prefer, a regular (fish bottom) or reverse (fish top) mermaid. The final[[Space Whale Aesop|"moral"]] is that [[Fantastic Aesop|people liking regular mermaids is the reason the population is decreasing]]: Put up with your partner, [[What Measure Is a Non-Cute?|even if]] [[Butter Face|they have a fish face]].

* ''[[Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch]]'' involves mermaids who follow "The Splash Method";, though itthere alsoare hasalso elements offrom "''[[The Little Mermaid" in there]]''. If a mermaid tells a human her secret, it is said she'll turn into sea foam. (supposedly;{{spoiler|Supposedly. itIt's never tested, and the manga implies it mightmay just be a lie spread to keep up the [[The Masquerade]]).}} Additionally, hertheir human formforms is quiteare differentvisually lookingdistinct from hertheir mermaid formforms besides justbeyond the obvious lack of tail, [[Seashell Bra]], and [[Rapunzel Hair]]. The main character also sacrifices her voice -- but ''just'' her singing voice (she can sing beautifully as a mermaid, [[Cute but Cacophonic|not so much as a human]]). On top of all this, theythe aremain alsocast are [[Magical Girl]] [[Everything's Better with Princesses|princesses]] who [[Magical Girl Warrior|battle]] [[Magic Idol Singer|demons]] with [[Magic Music]].

* A one-shot manga tale by [[Rumiko Takahashi]] had a passionate romance between a human boy and a mermaid -- which ended as soon as they kissed. (Mermaid's breath tasted like rotten fish, and human breath tasted like rotting plants. [[Nausea Fuel|Yuck both ways.]])

** The mermaids from Takahashi's ''[[Mermaid Saga]]'' are vastly different thanfrom mostthose featured in popular culture, as they are monstrous, flesh-eating, and very hard to kill. Eating their flesh has a [[Million-to-One Chance]] (really[[Body Horror|literally]]) of granting immortality—and[[Immortality]] -- and otherwise, it kills you.

* The much older ''[[Mahou no Mako-chan|Mahou no Mako Chan]]'' shares some similarities with ''[[Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch|Pichi Pichi Pitch]]'', as they are both based loosely on ''[[The Little Mermaid]]''. The titular Mako-chan uses a magic pendant to transform and is more of a [[Cute Witch]].

* ''[[Seto no Hanayome|Seto no Hanayome's]]'''s mermaids can assume human form, but revert to their fishy one ifwhen [[WaterInvoluntary Induced TransformationShapeshifter|touchedwater bytouches watertheir skin]]. Adults grow out of this, and it is possible for younger mermaids to resist the change (albeit with limited success) if they are disciplined enough. Their songs can cause a variety of status effects. Otherwise nice people, aside from being [[Yakuza]]...

* ''[[Rave Master]]'' has Celia, a very beautiful mermaid who naturaly falls in love with [[The Hero|Haru]], much to [[Love Interest|Elie's]] displeasure. Her magic"Sea Magic" is strong, but useless in the absence of water. She is also the younger sister of the Queen of the mermaidsunderwater mermaid village Mildesta, which of course makes her a mermaid [[Everything's Better with Princesses|''princess'']].

* ''[[Rental Magica]]'' and ''[[Rosario + Vampire]]'' have both had the dangerous, flesh-eating kind of mermaid. Though ''[[Rosario + Vampire|Rosario]]'''s, remains true to its style, as they appeared asto abe [[Not-So-Harmless Villain|harmless]] [[Cute Monster Girl|Cute Monster Girls]] beforehandbefore brutally massacring everyone stupid enough to get in the water with them.

* Husky is a [[BishounenBishonen]] Mermanmerboy from the manga ''[[+Anima]]''. Like most +anima, he's the only one of his kind (the only one who is's fish -like, that is). His legs turn into a fish tail [[Voluntary Shapeshifting|at will]]. If he is aboutin todanger of drowndrowning, he'll [[Emergency Transformation|change in order to be able to breathe]]:; this is how he was forced to do itperform in the circus. It apparently takes him some effort to turnreturn intoto his human form., He'sand alsohe is perfectly amphibious as a fish-boy. AndNot to mention, he's probably the [[Dude Looks Like a Lady|prettiest]] mer-manmerman around. When he's introduced, he's performing in a circus as the Mermaid [[Attractive Bent Gender|''Princess'']].

* In the ''[[Slayers]]'' anime series, there's a mermaid that's a fish. Literally, just a fish... with tetrapod arms and legs. Not a reverse mermaid. A * ''whole fish*'' with legs, arms... oh, and [[Tertiary Sexual Characteristics|lipstick]]. There ''are'' other merfolk seen in the earlier (1st and 3rd) series; turns out they ''all'' look like fish with arms and legs.

** Their most amusing (and oddly touching) appearance is in a ''[[Slayers]] Try'' episode: a young fishgirl and the shipwrecked sailor she saved are in love with each other, and they use a spell that will allow a fishperson to be with a human [[The Power of Love|if they truly love one another]]. The spell actually works, and she changestransforms into a beautiful human girl... {{spoiler|and he turns into a fishman!}}

* A similar type of [[Fish People|Fish Person]] is found in ''[[Papuwa]],'', examplfiedexemplified by Tanno, the cross-dressingcrossdressing fish identified as such by his [[Tertiary Sexual Characteristics|lipstick]] and his feminine legs clad appropriately in [[Incredibly Lame Pun|fishnet stockings]].

* In ''[[One Piece]]'', Mer-peoplethe merpeople come in two flavors: Merfolk and [[Fish People|Fishmen]]. Fishmen are humanoid fish that are ten times stronger than humans on land and twenty times understronger waterunderwater. MerfolksMerfolk are the ''[[Little Mermaid]]'' typevariety. At the age of 30, their tails '''''split''''' and maycan be used as legs. Even so, they are the fastest swimmers in the world. In both cases, the typesspecies of fish they're similarmost toresemble, and thus their physical features, greatly vary greatly. Merfolk and Fishmen can intermarry, but insteadrather ofthan being[[Nonhuman Humanoid Hybrid|hybrids]], each child can be either a mermaid/man or a fish(wo)man.

* ''[[Moribito Guardian of the Spirit]]'' features the Water Folk, a mysterious, barely glimpsed race of ''[[Creature from the Black Lagoon]]''-style [[Fish People|amphibious humanoids]].

* Mei Mah / Mei Mer of ''[[Ko Beast]]'' changes into a mermaid when wet, or when something makes her cry. Her tears become pearls.

* Hayame from ''[[Hell Teacher Nube]]'' has it easier than most. Aside from being a very likeable [[The Ditz|goof]] and a powerful ally, she can [[Good Thing You Can Heal|regenerate from ''anything'']] (even being reduced to a dessicateddesiccated corpse for centuries or cutting out her own liver,), her [[Magic Music|singing voice]] can compel anyone in earshot to act out the emotions in her songs, she can [[Voluntary ShapeshifterShapeshifting|change back and forth from mermaid to human at will]] (though [[Naked People Are Funny|her methods]] leave [[Innocent Fanservice Girl|something to be desired]],), and consuming her flesh and/or blood can grant [[Immortality]]/[[Good Thing You CanHealing HealFactor|hyper-accelerated healing]] to ''anyone'' who consumes them. In her natural form, she's a [[Cute Monster Girl]] with webbed hands, long and [[Pointy Ears|pointy]] fins insteadin place of ears, highly-visible gills over her ribcage, and [[Godiva Hair]] to cover her bare [[Non-Mammal Mammaries]].

* In the short horror manga ''[[School Mermaid]],'', the mermaids actually look like schoolgirls in bathing suits, [[Dissonant Serenity|with an ever-present creepy smile on their facesmiles]], [[Intangible Man|the ability to swim through solid matter like it was's water,]] and([[Super Speed|at top speed at that]]), [[Nocturnal Mooks|only come out at night]], and can only make [[Squee|screeching sounds]]. Oh, and {{spoiler|if a human girl who's hunting them is unable to kill and eat a mermaid by sunrise, they'll all rise up, drag her down into the floor, and [[And Then John Was a Zombie|turn her into a mermaid herself]].}}

* InThe noel mermaids of ''[[07-Ghost]]'' noel mermaids have furry ringsfur around their necknecks and waistwaists, and the ability to change the appearance of their face at will. TheyAlso, alsothey can only express themselves in melody and are otherwise [[Cute Mute|mute]].

* The sea people from ''[[Umi Monogatari]]'' resemble humans exactly (not counting their [[Pointy Ears]], which [[Unusually Uninteresting Sight|nobody seems to notice]]) except for the need to breathe underwater, though they also have magic rings that can solve that problem. They also tend towardto wear skimpier clothing than most humans, something that is noticed when they go on land.

* In ''[[Ponyo]]'', the mermaid equivalents are magical goldfish-sized creatures with protohuman faces and powerful magic who can turn [[Humanity Ensues|shapeshift]] [[Blood Magic|if they taste human blood]]. Oh, and they appear to be the [[Half-Human Hybrid|result of breeding]] between [[A Wizard Did It|a no-longer-human wizard]] and [[Physical God|the goddess of the ocean]].

* [[The Smurfette Principle|Blue]][[Token Mini-Moe|Bluebellbell]] from ''[[Katekyo Hitman Reborn]]'' has a box weapon which turns her into a [[wikipedia:Shonisaurus|shonisaurus]]/[[Half-Human Hybrid|human hybrid]] that resembles a mermaid. However, she doesn't seem to have heard of [[Seashell Bra]]s, and is instead covered up by [[Godiva Hair|her hair]] ([[Pettanko|not that there is's much to cover up]]).

* ''[[Digimon Frontier]]'': One of the antagonists, [http://dma.wtw-x.net/dexrana.shtml Ranamon], is a humanHuman hybridHybrid fairyFairy digimonDigimon with [[Making a Splash|control over water]]. Despite not havingdisplaying the typical mermaid traits (human upper bodytorso and fish tail), she definitely constitutes being a mermaid. She ishas a biglarge fanfanbase among many digimonDigimon due to her attractive appearance, but this changes when she [[Evolution Power-Up|digivolves]] into her hideous, tentacled beast form, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-3oc1mNUnc Calmaramon]. Her benevolent megaMega form, Ancientmermaimon, is [http://dma.wtw-x.net/dexancientmermai.shtml more typical of a mermaid].

* ''[[Level E]]'' has mermaids with the rather unusual power to [[Living Lie Detector|detect any attempt to lie to them]]... by their tongue involuntarily shooting out and stabbing the liar to death. {{spoiler|Unfortunately, it doesn't stop them from being sold into sex slavery and pretty much wiped out, because a loophole is found to evade the ability, but the mermaids don't realize it.}}

* Isma from ''[[Berserk]]'' is introduced as a lonely, [[Genki Girl|genki]] fisher -girl whose lack of nudity taboostaboo borders on [[Innocent Fanservice Girl]] category,. unlikeUnlike athe typical Mermaidmermaid, Isma appears unaware of the fact that she isn't human and claims that she isn't even sure that Mermaidsmermaids exist, though readers thoughcatch geton fairly quickly ato the ''subtle'' hint that suggest [http://manga.animea.net/berserk-chapter-312-page-21page21.html something else is going on in anthe ominous style true to this series]. {{spoiler|Later, it turns out that she didn't lie about being unaware of what she is,. whatWhat's more, her cheerful and kind behaviourself really iswas her true personality, which is quite a surprise [[Dark Fantasy|considering]] [[It Got Worse|the]] [[Crapsack World|setting]].}}

* ''[[Hekikai no AiON]]'': The mermaids need to satisfastsate themselfthemselves with psique, thatwhich is only obtaintedobtained by killing people with tsunamis or earthshakesearthquakes. [[In-universeUniverse]], they're responsablesresponsible for the sinking of Atlantis, Mu and the destruction of Pompeii, and they are the primal prey of the protagonist. Also, apparently, one of the mermaids can followuse "the Splash Method" and can haveto legswalk aton land, andhaving a fish tail atin the water.

* The titular 'mermaids' of ''[[Kaizoku to Ningyou]]'', which are actually a race of demihumans whose hair appears white on land and only reverts to its true color when doused with seawater. They are extraordinarily rare [[In-Universe]] and are frequently targetted for human trafficking on the black market. However, aside from their hair, there is very little separating them from humanity. Not to mention, the only member of this rare subspecies we have've met so far is ''male''.