History Manga / SchoolMermaid

* KnifeNut: Toshiko came CrazyPrepared with a whole variety of knives.

* CuteMute: All the mermaids. Obviously cute, and can only make screech sounds. [[spoiler:Subverted, they can talk if only in parrot like fashion when they feel their pursuers are mocking them i.e dressing like them.]]

[[caption-width-right:320:To find your true love, you must kill!]]

* DidntThinkThisThrough: Reiko ropes a girl named Asami into the hunt and has her dress like a mermaid into order to slip in with them and pull a sneak attack. It didn't seem to occur to Reiko after running into Yui and Saori that that would put Asami in danger of being mistaken for a real mermaid and be hunted. [[spoiler:Sure enough that indeed is what happens. But the tragedy comes when the mermaids reveal they don't like fakers.]]

* LighterAndSofter: Well, as Lighter and Softer as you can get in a horror anthology manga. The only mermaid killed is done so offscreen, and it reveals several things about the mermaids, such as the fact that the mermaids can retain aspects of their original selves, can interact with objects in the real world, are treated as missing in the real world, don't actually taste like human flesh, but fish, and can display affection for each other. However, it also reveals that the mermaid spell works outside of the original school...

* RomanticTwoGirlFriendship: Shouko and Nanae were best friends as students, with the implication of [[AmbiguouslyGay deeper feelings]] on Shouko's end. Shouko is implied to have become the first mermaid out of despair and jealousy over Nanae seemingly abandoning her for her new boyfriend, and while Nanae does use the mermaid curse to ensnare men and stay youthful and has petty reasons for trying to turn Hidemi and Shinobu into mermaids, her lust for Taizou and her revenge have always come second to reuniting with Shouko.

* AmbiguouslyGay: [[spoiler:Shouko]] was deeply attached to her best friend, Nanae, wanting to spend all their time together and becoming jealous when Nanae got a boyfriend. It's implied that she [[spoiler:became the first mermaid out of despair due to believing that Nanae didn't treasure their relationship as much as she did]].
* AndTheAdventureContinues: [[spoiler:Shinobu travels to Shouko's hometown to try to learn more about her and the mermaid curse. Meanwhile, the curse continues with two more girls casting it.]]
* AttemptedRape: Because of the effects of the spell on him, [[spoiler:Takaaki ignores Saya's pleas to stop, reasoning that she must be willing after going to such lengths to gain his love]].
* {{Brainwashed}}: A successful spell cast on a boy works this way, as [[spoiler:Takaaki is aware on some level that he loves Saya ''only'' because of the mermaid spell.]]
* CameBackWrong: It's possible for a mermaid to come back to the human world [[spoiler:if she eats the flesh of her love interest]] but she'll be LockedIntoStrangeness for the rest of her life. [[spoiler:The way to come back right is to eat the flesh of a mermaid whose letter is immediately after theirs.]]
* ChekhovsSkill: Shinobu discovers early on that she doesn't need to eat the flesh of a mermaid to avoid becoming one, she just needs to drink their blood. [[spoiler:This is how she avoids killing the Q Mermaid.]]
* ContinuityNod: Since this is a continuation after a long hiatus, it goes through the usual lists of the original series to remind the audience of the rules of the curse: the spell, summoning the mermaids, seeing how fast they are, needing to catch the mermaid with a certain letter if you want the spell to work, [[spoiler:the threat of turning into a mermaid if they fail to catch one by dawn and the mermaids turning feral if they sense that a girl's love is requited.]]

* CrazyPrepared: Shinobu studies the notebook thoroughly and makes sure she and Sakura have the rules down pat before chanting the spell. When they begin the hunt, she makes sure to target any of the mermaids so if they don't catch the intended mermaid, they would at least have a mermaid to feed on [[spoiler:so they won't turn into mermaids if the time runs out]]. That said, [[spoiler:[[DidntSeeThatComing she's caught off guard when the mermaids turn feral]] because the notebook didn't have any information on that. However, Sakura was completely aware of this fact along with the knowledge that it's the mermaids' jealousy that triggers the transformation, and uses this to confirm that Shinobu likes the same boy she does]]. However, [[spoiler:it turns out Sakura is the mermaids' true target and her love ''is'' requited, and she gets turned into a mermaid]].
* DarkestHour: Shinobu and Saya Part 3 for Shinobu. [[spoiler:Saya ''succeeds'' in stealing Takaaki away from Shinobu, the Q Mermaid appears and tells Shinobu never to come back, and Hidemi also plans to make Shinobu promise not to come back in exchange for everything she knows about mermaids.]]
* DestinationDefenestration: Shouta's shoved out a window by a mermaid when he reveals to Shinobu what he found out about [[spoiler:Kuji Shouko]] and warns her that no one survives meeting the Q Mermaid twice.
* DressingAsTheEnemy: Shinobu tries this to move among the mermaids undetected. Unfortunately, not only is the Q Mermaid not fooled by it, [[spoiler:it alerts her to the fact that Shinobu would be an R Mermaid, which she needs to eat to be brought back to normal.]]
* EasyAmnesia: [[spoiler:Sakura remembers nothing about being a mermaid or hunting them. Takaaki also doesn't remember being bewitched into loving Saya.]]

* FromNobodyToNightmare: The mermaid legend started with [[spoiler:Nanae's classmate Kuji Shouko]], who became the Q mermaid.
* GenderBender: [[spoiler:When [[UsefulNotes/{{Transgender}} Shuutarou]] turns into a mermaid, she also gets the feminine body she wanted.]]
* GlasgowGrin: Nanae's is finally seen when [[spoiler:she eats the flesh of Hayashi after casting the spell for eternal youth. In the present day she reveals she's eaten enough youth-giving mermaid flesh to heal said grin.]]
* InMediasRes: Shinobu and Shuutarou Part 1 begins with Shinobu and her classmate Shuutarou just having chanted the spell, and Shinobu [[spoiler:(unaware of [[UsefulNotes/{{Transgender}} Shuutarou's]] gender identity)]] asking if Shuutarou can really see the mermaids since the spell only works for girls. The story then goes back twelve hours showing what happened earlier in the day.
* InTheBlood: It's strongly implied that the reason [[spoiler:Shouko]] was able to make the mermaid curse real [[spoiler:was because she was descended from an ''actual'' mermaid.]]
* LikeMotherLikeDaughter: Just like [[spoiler:Hidemi]], Shinobu can't bring herself to kill mermaids or eat their flesh, nor does she need to as the boy she loves returns her feelings.
* LockedIntoStrangeness: Despite [[spoiler:Sakura]] coming back, she still speaks in a peculiar tone, still has the speed of a mermaid, and generally still acts like a mermaid.

* NightmareFace: [[spoiler:The grin Saya gives Shinobu after stealing Takaaki away.]]
* {{Revenge}}: [[spoiler:It's eventually revealed that Shinobu is the daughter of Hidemi from the end of the first series and Nanae is trying to get her to invoke the mermaid curse as revenge for Hidemi slitting her mouth in the struggle. Yes, Nanae is ''still'' trying to enact her petty little plan after all these years.]]
* RomanticTwoGirlFriendship: [[spoiler:Shouko]] and Nanae were best friends as students, with the implication of [[AmbiguouslyGay deeper feelings]] on [[spoiler:Shouko's]] end. [[spoiler:Shouko is implied to have become the first mermaid out of despair and jealousy over Nanae seemingly abandoning her for her new boyfriend, and while Nanae does use the mermaid curse to ensnare men and stay youthful and has petty reasons for trying to turn Hidemi and Shinobu into mermaids, her lust for Taizou and her revenge have always come second to reuniting with Shouko.]]
* SequelHook: At the end, the curse isn't still completely over [[spoiler:and Shinobu has traveled to Shouko's hometown to try to learn more about it.]] The author acknowledges this in the notes that the series got revived before.
* SupernaturallyValidatedTransPerson: [[spoiler:Shuutarou is elated at being able to see the mermaids, not just because it means the love spell will work but because it also proves she has a 'woman's heart'.]]
* TakeAThirdOption: The Q Mermaid gives Shinobu two options: kill the Q Mermaid and undo the curse altogether, or let herself become a mermaid so the Q Mermaid can kill ''her'' and become human again, also undoing the curse. [[spoiler:Shinobu drinks the Q Mermaid's blood instead, which does have the effect of undoing the spells on Sakura and Takaaki, but doesn't eliminate the curse altogether.]]

** Condition to Return: [[spoiler:''Sakura came back''.]] This was previously thought impossible.
** Shinobu and Saya Part 3: [[spoiler:Shinobu's the daughter of Hidemi Raikou and Taizou from the first series.]]
** Morning of Despair: [[spoiler:Saya ''succeeds'' in stealing Takaaki from Shinobu.]]
** The R Mermaid: [[spoiler:It turns out Nanae's plan to get an R Mermaid isn't to steal someone, but to try to bring the Q Mermaid—Nanae's high school friend Kuji Shouko and the creator of the mermaid legend—back to normal, as the only way for a mermaid to return to humanity is to eat the flesh of a mermaid whose letter comes after theirs.]]

* YouAreTooLate: Nanae tries one last time to cast the second spell on Sakura. [[spoiler:Shinobu had broken the curse by then, so Sakura doesn't turn into a tailed mermaid, and pushes Nanae down the stairs.]]
* YourMindMakesItReal: Somehow, [[spoiler:Shouko]] was able to make the mermaid legend come to life from a play she wrote.

No, really. That's the premise. Okay, yeah a bit far-fetched, here's some more detail.

Around a few Japanese high schools, an old worn out notebook is passed around detailing a certain spell that, when chanted at a certain time at night, will cause human looking mermaids to appear before the user. These mermaids wear Japanese style swimsuits with a letter on their chest. If the mermaid with the first letter of the boy you love is caught and killed, all you have to do is eat the flesh of it while thinking of your true love and, presto, instant boyfriend. However the mermaids won't be caught so easily since they can swim through the walls and floors like water and are extremely fast to boot.

* GenderBender: [[spoiler:When [[{{Transgender}} Shuutarou]] turns into a mermaid, she also gets the feminine body she wanted.]]

* InMediasRes: Shinobu and Shuutarou Part 1 begins with Shinobu and her classmate Shuutarou just having chanted the spell, and Shinobu [[spoiler:(unaware of [[{{Transgender}} Shuutarou's]] gender identity)]] asking if Shuutarou can really see the mermaids since the spell only works for girls. The story then goes back twelve hours showing what happened earlier in the day.

* {{Transgender}}: [[spoiler:Shuutarou is revealed to be a trans girl, which is why the mermaid spell works for her. When she fails and is [[GenderBender turned into a mermaid]], Shinobu thinks that at the very least, she finally got the body she wanted.]]

** What happens to the men who are the recipients of the spell. They immediately fall in love with the girl no matter if they were in love with someone before. As [[spoiler: Taakaki]], shows it twists the man into a shell of himself.

** Mariko and Kaori from chapter 9 make a cameo appearance in chapter 31, seen among a group of mermaids and still together after all this time.

* GenderFlip: [[spoiler:When [[{{Transgender}} Shuutarou]] turns into a mermaid, she also gets the feminine body she wanted.]]

* {{Jerkass}}: Naomi practically forces herself into Toshiko's mermaid hurt after hearing Naomi likes the same boy she does. What's more she actively hurts Toshiko to get an early lead.

* DoubleStandardRapeSciFi: The story takes a long while to explore the MindRape of forcing a man to fall in love. Previously it was related to the ending and the one time we see the effect [[spoiler: on Toashiko and Naomi]] it's played completely straight. ([[spoiler: Though their fate is partly karmic.]])

* LoveMartyr: Kaori [[spoiler: loves Mariko despite her breaking up with her and her insulting her constantly. She even kills a mermaid so Mariko can be with the one she loves and even after being turned into a mermaid loves her enough to offer her own flesh. Mariko lampshades how Kaori is always looking after her.]]

* {{Brainwashed}}: Whatever the spell does to the girls after they turn into mermaids, it strips them of their personality and makes them akin to mindless dolphin like creatures whose only instinct is to try to avoid being killed by their pursuers. A recent tale actually revealed that some of the more prominent personality traits can survive mermaid-ification, especially if a mermaid has a strong connection with a potential pursuer.

* BiTheWay: [[spoiler:With the sun coming up, having killed an S mermaid and Naomi on the verge of either killing her or waiting out the clock for her to become a mermaid. Toshiko can't think of anyone else to use the spell on until she remembers that Naomi's surname starts with an S, and so thinks of her while eating the mermaid flesh, figuring that Naomi will stop trying to kill her if she falls in love with her. Naomi then eats some of the mermaid flesh herself to avoid turning into a mermaid while thinking of Toshiko (whose surname is also revealed to start with an S) and as a result, the two fall in love. Umm...yay? Happy ending?]]

* TeacherStudentRomance: A very disturbing reversal of this [[spoiler:it's the teacher who wants the student in this case.]] The end of the story reveals that [[Misaki's real plan was to make a middle-aged married teacher fall in love with her... and considering that the mermaids went feral and attacked her, this implies that Misaki's feelings were reciprocated all along.]]

* TeacherStudentRomance: A very disturbing reversal of this [[spoiler:it's the teacher who wants the student in this case. The end of the story reveals that this was Misaki's plan as well.]]

* ImAHumanitarian: Anyone who eats mermaid flesh, since mermaids are magically transformed humans. And you ''must'' do so , not only to get your wish for whom you want to love you. But if you don't, ''you'' get transformed into a mermaid immediately afterwards. Somewhat subverted, as one tale shows that mermaid flesh tastes like fish

* NightmareFace: You think those mermaids are just cute bubbly creatures? Some nights they made not be in the mood to be playful, leading to [[http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rM11fbcyphk/VRqvNAU5qAI/AAAAAAAB0Pc/4JF3f62F5Pw/007.png?imgmax=3000 this happening]].

* {{Squee}}: Creepy mermaid sound. In fact it's all they can say [[spoiler:especially when one turns into a mermaid if they don't eat mermaid flesh by sunrise. However, ones that retain some of their mental faculties, like Kaori, are still able to display affection through tactile means.]]

* SpitTrailKiss:[[spoiler:Toshiko and Naomi's]] first kiss has a pretty impressive trail between the two. Surprisingly it doesn't have any of the blood that is in their mouths.

!!! First Volume

!!! Second Volume

* LikeMotherLikeDaughter: Just like [[spoiler:Hidemi]], Shinobu can't bring herself to kill mermaids or eat their flesh, and neither does she need to as the boy she loves returns her feelings.

* {{Revenge}}: [[spoiler:It's eventually revealed that Shinobu is the daughter of Hidemi from the end of the first series and Nanae is trying to get her to invoke the mermaid curse as revenge for Hidemi sliting her mouth in the struggle. Yes, Nanae is ''still'' trying to enact her petty little plan after all these years.]]

* ClothingDamage: During mermaid-ification, the clothes they were wearing as humans were explicitly destroyed during the transformation.[[spoiler: Naturally, they're naked when after they perform the BloodBath to become human again.]]
* CuteMute: All the mermaids. Obviously cute, and can only make screech sounds. [[spoiler: Subverted, they can talk if only in parrot like fashion when they feel their pursuers are mocking them i.e dressing like them.]]
* DissonantSerenity: The mermaids don't seem the least bit bothered by being stalked by girls trying to kill them, [[spoiler: until one gets brought down]]. Also seen when [[spoiler:Haruko watches them drag Yoshiko away]].

* OurMermaidsAreDifferent: Most obviously, they look like schoolgirls in swimsuits, able to "swim" through walls like they were water. [[spoiler: Though when they go on the attack, they start looking more like the mermaids from old tales i.e their skin becomes more scaly, they gain fins on their hands, their nose disappears and they suddenly sprout fangs.]]

* TheBadGuyWins: [[spoiler: Haruko wins, but the ending brings up the possibility that one day she will screw up and lose in the worst possible way]].

* DoubleKnockout: A magical version of this trope. [[spoiler: Both girls cast a love spell on each other for selfish reasons and end up becoming a couple in spite of their mutual hatred.]]

* KarmaHoudini: Despite being a complete and total bitch, [[spoiler: Naomi gets away with everything and even gains a lover.]]

* HappyEnding: [[spoiler: Arguably the most uplifting ending of the entire series, as even the final story ends on Namae still being at large and preying on other girls. Toshiko and Naomi end up happily together, and they don't seem to be traumatized by the event at all. Though the ending still shows the notebook getting passed on to another girl, the way the two lovebirds giddily give it away together is just too damn adorable.]]
* LaughingMad: Toshiko gives one when [[spoiler: she decides to make Naomi loves her to save herself.]]
* OhCrap: Toshiko gives a very mild one in her head when she realizes that [[spoiler: Naomi has also made her her lover in turn.]]

* SpitTrailKiss:[[spoiler: Toshiko and Naomi's]] first kiss has a pretty impressive trail between the two. Surprisingly it doesn't have any of the blood that is in their mouths.

** Also Kaori [[spoiler: didn't need to get a G mermaid for Mariko as the one she cared about was Kaori herself. If Mariko could've explained or confessed her feelings, none of the plot would have happened]]
* SurprisinglyHappyEnding: [[spoiler:We learn a lot more about the mermaids through Kaori and Mariko's adventures, and while it may also classify as a BittersweetEnding due to both of them being mermaids, they are together, presumably forever...until one of them is hunted down and killed...]]

* HeelRealization: As Saori continues to hunt mermaids, she thinks back on Yui's comments to her and starts to wonder why she's even helping such a horrible friend. [[spoiler: And has an [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone even more major one]] after the whole ordeal and the boy's confession to her.]]

* DrivenByEnvy: It's revealed here that the mermaids turn feral [[spoiler: if they sense a girl honestly does like a boy and doesn't truly need mermaid flesh (i.e: the feelings are mutual from the boy) to get them to fall in love.]]

* AttemptedRape: Because of the effects of the spell on him, [[spoiler:Taakaki ignores Saya's pleas to stop because 'she wanted him to love her'.]]
* {{Brainwashed}}: A successful spell cast on a boy works this way, as [[spoiler:Taakaki is aware on some level that he loves Saya ''only'' because of the mermaid spell.]]
* CameBackWrong: It's possible for a mermaid to come back to the human world [[spoiler:if she eats the flesh of her love interest]] but she'll be LockedIntoStrangeness for the rest of her life. [[spoiler:The way to come back right is to eat the flesh of a mermaid whose letter is after theirs.]]
* CheckhovsSkill: Shinobu discovers early on that she doesn't even need to eat the flesh of a mermaid to avoid being turned into a mermaid, she just needs to drink their blood. [[spoiler:This is how she avoids killing the Q Mermaid.]]
* ContinuityNod: Since this is continuation after a long hiatus, it goes through the usual lists of the original series on the mermaids to remind the audience the rules of the series. The spell, summoning the mermaids, seeing how fast they are, needing to catch the mermaid with a certain letter if you want the spell to work, [[spoiler:the threat of turning into a mermaid if they fail to catch one by dawn and the mermaids turning feral of they feel true love on a girl.]]
* CrazyPrepared: Shinobu studies the notebook thoroughly and make sure the two have the rules down pat before chanting the spell. When they begin the hunt, she makes sure to target any of the mermaids so if they don't catch the intended mermaid, they would at least have a mermaid to feed on [[spoiler:so they won't turn into mermaids if the time runs out]]. That said [[spoiler: [[DidntSeeThatComing she's caught off guard when the mermaids turn feral]] because the notebook didn't have any information on that. However, Sakura was completely aware of this fact along with the knowledge that it's the mermaids jealously that triggers the transformation, and uses this to confirm that Shinobu likes the same boy she does]], However [[spoiler:it turns the boy Sakura likes did love her back and she gets turned into a mermaid]].
* DarkestHour: Shinobu and Saya Part 3 for Shinobu. [[spoiler: Saya ''succeeds'' in stealing Takaaki away from Shinobu, the Q Mermaid appears and tells Shinobu never to come back, and Raikou also plans to make Shinobu promise not to come back in exchange for everything she knows about mermaids.]]

* FountainOfYouth: it turns out there's a second spell that can be cast, only with mermaids that eat the flesh of the one they love, that grants this.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: The mermaid legend started from [[spoiler:Nanae's classmate Kuji Shouko]], who became the Q mermaid.
* GayOption: Shuutarou is able to cast the spell and see the mermaids despite being biologically male. He does say that he has 'a woman's heart', though whether that's because of his crush on another boy or possibly because he's trans, it's not clear.
* GenderFlip: [[spoiler:When Shuutarou turns into a mermaid, he's also turned into a girl.]]

* InMediasRes: Shinobu and Shuutarou Part 1 begins with Shinobu and her classmate Shuutarou just having chanted the spell, and Shinobu asking if Shuutarou can really see the mermaids since the spell only works for girls. The story then goes back twelve hours showing what happened earlier in the day.
* InTheBlood: It was strongly implied that the reason [[spoiler:Shouko]] was able to make the mermaid curse real [[spoiler:was because she was descended from an ''actual'' mermaid.]]
* LockedIntoStrangeness: Despite [[spoiler:Sakura]] coming back, she still speaks in a peculiar tone, still has the speed of a mermaid, and generally still acts like a mermaid.

** Raikou's role in "Another Mermaid Legend" is explaining to Shouta and Shinobu what she knows about the mermaid legend, including the previously unknown parts about the ''second'' spell.

* {{Revenge}}: [[spoiler: It's eventually revealed that Shinobu is the daughter of Hidemi from the end of the first series and Nanae is trying to get her to invoke the mermaid curse as revenge for for Hidemi sliting her mouth in the struggle. Yes, Nanae is ''still'' trying to enact her petty little plan after all these years.]]

* WhamEpisode:
** Condition to Return: [[spoiler: ''Sakura came back''.]] This was previously thought impossible.
** Shinobu and Saya Part 3: [[spoiler: Shinobu's the daughter of Hidemi Raikou and Taizou from the first series.]]
** Morning of Despair: [[spoiler:Saya ''succeeds'' in stealing Taakaki from Shinobu.]]
** The R Mermaid: [[spoiler:It turns out Nanae's plan to get an R Mermaid isn't to steal someone, but to try to bring the Q Mermaid-Nanae's high school friend Kuji Shouko and the creator of the mermaid legend-back to normal, as the only way for a mermaid to return to humanity is to eat the flesh of a mermaid whose letter comes after theirs.]]

* YourMindMakesItReal: Somehow, [[spoiler: Shouko]] was able to make the mermaid legend come to life from a play she wrote.