This a hard one to review. The artwork was stunning and Kaori Ozaki is without doubt a talent, however I had a hard time getting into a flow and found the stories to be a little incohesive. I was intrigued for sure but wasn't moved as much as I hoped to be. Still a solid work for manga fans.

Beautiful artwork! I wasn't expecting this to be a collection of short stories. It wasn't as supernatural as I had hoped, but I wasn't disappointed at least!

Okay...this was definitely a weird one. This manga volume features a couple of short stories before you get to the "Mermaid Prince" portion. I don't think any of the stories mesh well with each other. The "Mermaid Prince" story was okay. I was most impressed by the art.

NetGalley thank you for this arc!

So I like a lot of reviewers made the mistake of not realising the first two short stories were not linked to the titular story. I only realised a few pages into the second story, I thought at first it was a time skip of the character from the previous story now working as a librarian. They were all kind of sad “slice of life” stories, the final story didn’t have enough mermaids for my liking (which was honestly the reason I picked up this book in the first place.) All three stories cover hard topics of abandonment, jealousy,loss, grief, endangerment, sa, suicidal ideations. The art style is very beautiful however, I think the first story was probably the hardest read because of the age of the character and the sexual connotations and what I read as on page assault. I really liked the depiction of the mermaid and wish she wasn’t such a fleeting part of the story, but I understand the reason behind it and the ending was bittersweet.
#ad I received this manga as an arc but the opinions are my own.

Before I give my review on this book, I would like to said thank you Netgalley for allow me to read this cute comic/manga book. It was a short about 233 pages and I like it. The end of the story makes me want to know what happens to Matori's mom.

My rate is 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Mermaid Prince is a collection of shorter works by Kaori Ozaki and actually I really liked all of them. I think from the rounder art style someone goes in expecting just whatever slice of life teenage love stories but they're much more serious and at times darker than one would expect judging an art style on its face alone, and I really appreciated that. There's a lot to think about when it comes to each story -- how people grow when they need to split from their friends at a necessary time in their teenage development, how the changing of a family situation means the changing of a self too...

Thank you to Kodansha and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for review!

This book was somewhat confusing and I’m having a hard time putting my finger on what exactly made it that way. There were two stories – supposedly they were linked – but really, were they?
The art style was REALLY good though!

Two tales, neither I expected.

First one about a girl who's life through school changes when her best friend starts dating. She feels jaded, and wronged, and is sexually assaulted (maybe twice?) and learns who she is and what she's capable of. Not sure if this is the author's story herself, as it feels very autobiography. But overall a solid tale.

The second is about a boy who hates where he lives and that his sister is dating a guy he likes but also hates. And when the guy goes missing he goes in search of a mermaid to rescue him. Sounds weird? It is, but somehow touching.

Overall around a 3.5 but I'll bump it to a 4 for the art alone.

I don't really get it... That wasn't clear to me... The first part did not felt linked to the rest of the story... I liked the end though but I did not understood the first half of the book realated to the second one.

3.5. I think it was 3 stories on one volume? It had me a tad confused. I loved the art style and it was keeping me engaged and entertained. It has an HEA and I actually loved the ending and the mermaids! Thank you netgally for this arc!

Mermaid Prince is a manga that presents three short stories, each offering a glimpse into the complexities of human emotions. Although brief, the collection captures a sense of longing and introspection.

The first story, "Ametsukigahara," deals with two friends who grow distant as they face the pressures of growing up. It’s a tale that addresses the difficulties of meeting societal expectations, though its abrupt ending might leave you wanting more.

In "A Day of Snow," we follow a librarian who encounters two homeless people, leading her to question her assumptions about others. This story is both tender and reflective, exploring themes of kindness and hidden struggles.

The titular story, "Mermaid Prince," centers on Mugi, a newcomer to a coastal town, and Matori, a classmate who sees him as her savior. Together, they explore a local legend about a mermaid who grants wishes. This story, though a bit longer, captures the wonder and melancholy of childhood, yet also ends on an open note.

While Kaori Ozaki’s stories may feel too brief, Mermaid Prince offers a reading experience for those who appreciate subtle and evocative storytelling.

"I'm complete as i am, so why would I need to add another person to my life?"

Mermaid Prince - Kaori Ozaki
Pub date: Jun 25, 2024
★★★☆☆

(Thank you to Netgalley for the free copy in exhange for an honest review!)

One word for this: comforting. Mermaid Prince is an anthology contains several stories that is totally different to one another. This manga in particular is hard on philosophy, not only intrigue within one person but also the connection between them and their surrounding people mainly in coming of age period especially in Ametsukigahara and Mermaid Prince itself. Some contains magic while some of the other is just an ordinary slice of life. Last but not least, i would recommend this to people who's in searching for meaning in their life. Reading this would be a nice little rest and reassurement.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this arc.

When reading it I didn’t realize it was short stories at first. So I was super confused when I went into the second story. My thoughts on the first story was it was okay. I didn’t enjoy it as much as the other two stories. The second story I found super sweet. Working in a library found myself connecting most with it. The third story was super cute. I had so much fun reading it. I loved the illustrations and really liked seeing the pictures in color.

Overall, this was a great read!

I got an ARC from NETGALLEY, however this is my honest review.

This really wasn't for me. I thought this was a short story--not a collection of short stories. And not all the stories were about mermaid--only the last one. I didn't really like the first story, it was to depressing and dark. However the message overall was positive at the end. My favorite story was actually the middle one. Even though it was kind of sad too .

I just wish there were more mermaids.

A cute manga that involves several real life issues. Sometimes it was a bit confusing but very cute.

Heads up this is a short story collection (which initially I didn't realise), I picked this up because the cover and title sounded cute I saw the words "slice of life" and "manga" and thought sure I rarely read slice of life manga. The 3 stories individually were super cute but I would've preferred that all 2 be separate longer mangas so that definitely affects my rating but it still gets a 4 which isn't bad at all. So needless to say I'd recommend it it was super cute!

This book contained 3 short stories. The last one though, the mermaid prince was my favorite. It was about a boy coming to terms with his situation and moving through his grief to acceptance.

I really liked the artwork in this book, and the storytelling made this a quick read. It flowed, was not choppy, and the artwork really helped the tell the short stories. The expressions were clear and understandable.

I would say, if looking for a short manga read that also ends up with 3 happy endings, grab this one for sure!

I received an ARC of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is actually two unrelated stories published together under the title of the second. I didn't love the first one. I'm not really sure what the plot was. But the second story, Mermaid Prince, was charming. This is a manga so you have to read from right to left, which threw me for a second. I've never really become adept at reading them. I enjoyed the few colored pages distributed throughout.

There is some nudity and a few non-graphic intimate situations, particularly in the first story.
Three stars because I truly did not care for the first story.

This is a compilation of three stories, of which Mermaid Prince is last. In the first, a teenage girl struggles with growth pains and life in general by acting up any way she can to feel alive. It shows the everyday reality of Japanese school girls in a way that isn’t manga cutesy.

The other two are more magical realism. A librarian is nice to a homeless father and son, only for them to (maybe) turn out to be wild boars in human shape. And in the last story, a teenage boy has to move to a remote island to live with his sister and brother-in-law. He hates everything, especially his BIL, but when accident strikes, he’s willing to risk his life to ask a mermaid to help his BIL.

All stories were good but sad, with hopeful endings. Illustrations were good, but characters in all stories looked so alike that I thought the first two stories were about the same person.

First story: has elements that I would describe as potentially depressed of our main female character. I’ll be honest, I’m not sure I got it. The MFC was kind of cruel to her friend, a risk taker, and then an odd hook up scene.

Second story: I liked this one it follows a librarian who has empathy for people and a tale of wild boars.

Third story: this is our mermaid story. Our MMC again is Showing signs of depression and taking unnecessary risk but I liked this one the most. It has a happy ending.

The art was very pretty but I think I would have been okay only reading the last story. Thank you, NetGalley for the opportunity to read this story.