Is it odd to license a sequel manga when the original has been out of print for years and its anime adaptation has never been licensed? There’s no doubt about it, especially since the first Mermaid Melody: Pichi Pichi Pitch from 2003 wasn’t well received by critics when it was published in English by Del Rey. We could argue that catnip-filled titles aimed at children are rarely loved by critics (and with the mix of mermaids, magical girls, and pop idols, it certainly is tune of The Little Mermaid: Pichi Pichi Pitch), and maybe just enough fans of this movie. The first series remains to make this an under-the-radar hit.
Of course, the big question is whether you need to read the first series or not. The answer is”maybe?”– Mermaid Tone: Pichi Pichi Pitch: Aqua follows the original heroine’s daughter Lucia and her romance Kaito, and includes a one-shot summary. page of the first series, complete with brief introductions to the seven mermaid princesses. Lucia and Kaito, as well as some mermaids, are all here, so you’ll definitely understand the volume a little better if you’re familiar with them. But the plot is largely its own thing, with danger in the form of the mermaid Laurent arriving in the world’s oceans and new heroine Lukia needing to step up and face them.
Which means, of course, that Lukia needs to first realize that she’s a mermaid and the new Princess of the North Pacific. Her parents had kept this information private from her, but now that she was seventeen, they had moved back to Kaito’s coastal hometown, presumably to learn about their daughter’s legacy. Before they can do that, Lukia discovers handsome surfer Kurosuna being swept up in a wave of rogues. She jumped in to save him, but to her annoyance, he assumed a mermaid did it. What Lukia doesn’t realize is that she is actually a girl, and probably someone he played with as a child. The immersion in the water seems to have activated her transformation, and now, when she gets wet, she loses her legs and gains fins, long hair, and a scalloped bikini.
This is also the point where logic more or less flies out the window. Lukia can swim completely in the ocean, but getting wet (or at least completely wet the first time around) is what makes her a mermaid. Does this mean she knows how to swim without having to go into the water? Has she never bathed? And how is it that she was a little mermaid before but didn’t know what it was like to be in the water as a teenager? Maybe it doesn’t matter too much to the story, but it’s an odd little problem and a symptom of larger problems with the book. Author Pink Hanamori (who was just an artist on the first series and is now both an author and an illustrator) seems to enjoy cramming the book with pretty girls, hot boys, and a desirable plot. It’s better to tell a coherent story, and while that may work for some readers, that’s not the mark of a well-written book. There is little information leading up to Laurent, no explanation as to why he wants to do evil, and Lukia and Kurosuna’s relationship goes from negative to one hundred very quickly. Is it fun? Sure. But it hasn’t been done well.
The art style is also another hurdle to overcome. Lucia and Kaito both still look like teenagers, and Hanamori even notes that Lukia in her mermaid form looks exactly like Lucia, to the point where you can’t tell if you’re looking at mother or daughter without context clues. Mermaids don’t look like organic creatures but are instead human girls wearing cloth fins that can see thighs, knees, and calves to create the illusion. (Mermen, somehow, cost better.) The art is also rigid, with little sense of movement and the body is often drawn in a skewed perspective, with the legs and head bouncing around in a voluminous way. strange. (In one image, Kaito appears to be missing his entire thigh.) There are some nice details, such as the pearl anklets worn by the mermaids, but mostly just feels out of place. It’s also a bit more fan-service-oriented than you might expect from a Nakayoshi series, though honestly, it’s more of a way to excite young readers with kabe -dons and gentle kisses.
Although it sounds depressing. it, this is still an interesting enough book. Mermaid Melody: Pichi Pichi Pitch: Aqua may not be a work of highbrow literature or even a particularly great manga, but it is exactly what it sets out to be: a Fun, somewhat racy (in the middle-grade sense) story about a mermaid and a handsome boy. It’s very different and at times a complete remake of its original series, but it also doesn’t try to be anything else. If you liked the first series, you’ll definitely enjoy – or at least get hooked on – this sequel. I’m not sure it will appeal much to older readers who haven’t experienced the original, but younger readers will still find much to enjoy. It’s average, but the right kind of average, and there’s something to be said for that.