🧜‍♂️ A collection of three short stories, each connected by the feeling of "being out of place."

🧜‍♂️ Odd one out. The MC of the first story is perceived as the weird kid in class, and she's close friends with a peppy girl. When her friend starts dating, their friendship ends. To make matters worse, the timing coincides with the girl being groped on her way to school by some nasty middle-aged guy. She is enraged, of course. But being on her own, she tries to navigate the situation in her own way. This story kind of annoyed me, though. I didn't like how she suddenly ended up doing a one night stand with her close friend's ex (to be honest, it looked more like rape to me, but alas).

🧜‍♂️ Kindness or no kindness? The second story left me a little bit confused. I figured the duo was some sort of fantastic creature, and I was right, but what got me confused was how random the whole story was. It was too passive for my taste and unclear. I mean, okay, the duo was in the library, the young woman let them stay, then... nothing.

🧜‍♂️ Mermaid of true wishes. The last story is about a boy who is being bullied at school and his incipient interest in mermaids. After he spends the night at her friend's place, he learns about a mermaid who can grant wishes. He visits the mermaid after his brother in law goes missing.

🧜‍♂️ Same face syndrome. The artwork is nice, overall, but the characters looked a bit too similar to one another, which originally made me confused. I only realized there were actually three different stories once I got to the Mermaid Prince.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

I will not be giving a full review as I could not finish this manga. I really did not enjoy what I did read and could not foresee myself finishing it or coming to enjoy it enough to want to. Thank you for the opportunity!

I liked this a lot! This was a compilation of shorter stories, with the third one being my favorite. I've read the author's previous work and so I'm a bit familiar with their writing style, but still found myself pleasantly surprised by how much I liked some of these stories. Some I definitely liked more than others by a long shot, which is why this gets a 3 star, I wish the quality of each story was a bit more balanced.

This is a lovely manga volume of short stories. The story telling is enhanced by the artwork. I think some of the stories could be described as magical realism in manga format and each story carries a whimsical and magical element which I enjoyed. I am not going to summarise each story because the blurb for the book does that, I just want to say that I enjoyed this volume so much that I have bought my own copy and I also need to explore other books by this author. Definitely one for my bookshelf.

Copy provided by Kodansha Comics in exchange for an unbiased review.

I appreciate getting a chance to read this book. But it was not for me. The third story (which was the mermaid prince) was by far the best of the three, but the second one was kind of bland and didn’t explain the “twist” at the end, and I truly have no idea what to say about the first story; several of the decisions in that story made me uncomfortable and could really upset people.

Two coming-of-age stories (and one little fantasy sequel), with tough feelings and lots of teen awkwardness. The first story, “Ametsukigahara,” starts with friends Fumika and Akari going ona small trip to the seaside, discovering that their once-strong bond is easily shattered. The focus goes to Akari, who deals with apathy over her future, the aftermath of an assault on the train, and social isolation, before eventually managing to have an emotional breakthrough.

The title story, “Mermaid Prince,” is about a boy who has moved to an island with his sister and her new husband, who feels like a third-wheel in the new family. One of his classmates grows interested in him, and the two bond, eventually going on an adventure to ask a wish of a mermaid.

My favorite story actually comes in the middle, and is a small sequel to “Ametsukigahara.” Akari, now a librarian, spends a day reading to a homeless child and his father, though the pair are more than they appear.

I don’t think I’d go out of my way for this book, but it would make a nice enough library pickup. It’s good if you want just a touch of fantasy. Not quite magical realism, but just a shade or two beyond.

Advanced reader copy provided by the publisher.

This is a collection of short stories in manga form. I found each of them interesting and compelling in their own way. The first story in particular was moving to me, as the girl went through a trauma and her reaction to it wasn't huge but accepting and moving on. I related to it. I wondered if each of the stories told by the author were connected in some way.

This time Ozaki brings us an anthology of shorter works, but no less emotional than her other works. The short stories are full of the delicate and difficult parts of being human and growing up. I definitely recommend treading lightly in the first story if consent issues/SA are a trigger for you.

Thank you to NetGalley for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this graphic novel collection from Kaori Ozaki!

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ | 3/5

A graphic novel with stunning art. and three short stories (with the title story have two parts), this graphic novel depicts of various themes of high school versus our understanding of what it means to like someone, family, and overall believing in someone else.

That being said...this was not my favorite. I was unsure at first if the stories inside were interconnected - to which I don't think they were - and then even when I had begun to understand what was going on, the story ended. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Mermaid Prince was my favorite. I feel like if this had ONLY been mermaid prince, and perhaps fleshed out a bit more, I feel I would have enjoyed it more. Additionally, some of the things that happened in the first story felt was too abrupt and then brushed over...it was rather jarring at times and then not getting an explanation or further context as to why it was necessary to include did not feel rewarding as a reader.

Overall though it was a fast read, and the art was really pretty! Probably would not read again, but it was an okay read the first time!

while this book was an interesting concept with great illustrations, it was difficult to follow and the story was disjointed. I spent most of it confused and wondering what on earth the second story has to do with the first.

First many thanks to NetGalley, the Author and the Publisher for this ARC.

The cover and the title were the main reason why I found myself being intrigued by it.
I didn't really understand how the story worked. I felt like I had missed something somewhere, at first I thought that the short stories where a build up to something bigger but that never happened, or I really did miss something.
The "main" story itself was short, sweet, hopeful and interesting in general, I thought that this was going to be a part of several volumes. Turns out it was just a one story, with a happy ending. Although I was left with some questions, but nothing major.

Overall, I enjoyed reading Mermaid Prince.

Thanks NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for this arc

2/5 stars

This was a lot darker than I expected, especially with how young the main characters were. I couldn't really get into it, it just gave me the big ick, this collection sadly was not for mmmeeeeeee

Thank you to Kodansha Comics and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this manga. This has three stories that are not related to each other, but they were still great on their own. Personally, the middle story didn’t make sense to me. Overall though I am curious to try more from this mangaka. 3.5 out of 5 stars

This was more mature than I thought it'd be based on the characters ages, but I do think a lot of our teen manga readers will actually appreciate that. Love the art and stories, just wish they skewed a little younger so I could use this in schools!

Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha for the e-book copy!

I was not anticipating this to be a short story collection but that could be an error on my part. I wasn't mad at this because this author has put short stories at the end of their other series that were equally compelling. This collection had three stories and I would say the one I liked the most was the first one. I felt like it could have gone further but as is it was well rounded. I felt like the overall theme for this collection would be friendship as each story had some form of it and its complexities. If you haven't read Kaori Ozaki before, I would recommend starting with this collection as it will give you insight into their writing style and themes. If you are a fan already, this is a nice addition to the collection and worth the read.

Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!
2-stars

I won't be marking the actual rating I have on the book because I don't want to bring down the rating for something that is MY FAULT. I don't know if I didn't read the summary carefully enough or if I just misunderstood, but I didn't expect three entirely separate stories and was entirely focused on the Mermaid Prince storyline, so when it starts out with a strange young girl having a falling out with her friend and then later a very quick sex scene, I was just very ??? Where is the mermaid prince??? What is happening here??? Why does this cutesy looking shoujo manga have a random sex scene??

The first two stories didn't really do anything for me (with one of them being a single chapter long), but I did really like the last one. I'd have enjoyed that being the entirety of the manga, but alas xD It's my fault for not reading well enough.

There's definitely a bit of a "classic lit fiction" feel to the first tale, so if that's your type of thing, you'd likely enjoy it! That's just not my type of thing.

So I definitely say to decide more for yourself your feelings on this, because my opinion probably isn't the best to take on it xD

Just as The Gods Lie was a particular reading that at times left me bewildered and with a bitter taste, Mermaid Prince has achieved the same thing.

Here we find three different stories, the main and longest being, Mermaid Prince.

All stories have something to tell us, brief or longer, and many times the feelings that these stories transmit to us are... like a void, a pressure in the chest. Kaori Ozaki manages to convey very well what she wants to show us sometimes, and sometimes not. And one is left a little confused about what one is really reading and what the mangaka would like to tell us.

I don't understand why this manga has these little short stories, which I feel don't connect at all with the main story and what happens, I don't feel like they are linked or that they could happen at the same time or anything... I don't know what the reason is. line that they have wanted to follow, or if they simply wanted to compile some stories and that's it.

Thank you Kodansha Comics for the ARC I read through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Firstly, there isn't only the main story, but also some short stories at the beginning. The themes were really unexpected and mature, while the characters are really young which was unsettling.

The drawing style was pleasant, the stories were not that bad, but the themes really made me uncomfortable, especially at the beginning.

I absolutely loved The Golden Sheep so I was excited to see more manga by the same author. This one did not disappoint! Just as cute and I’m excited to read the rest of the series!

I don’t know the age range of this manga but I’m praying because they are high schoolers that it doesn’t get inappropriate but I’m happy that NetGalley sent me this 😭❤️
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Thanks to NetGalley for sending me the E-arc of this
Wth 😳 this is so confusing it’s like to deferent stories in the same book and it jumps from past to present and why are they banging in a YA book and what in gods name is this just no I’ll give it 2 just because I finished it in less than an hour but absolutely would not recommend .