Título: Mermaid's Scar
Autor: Rumiko Takahashi
Sinopse: Rumiko Takahashi is better known for her romantic comedies than for dark fantasies. But her brief Mermaid series is an excellent display of Takahashi s dark side, in a world where a handful of humans who eat mermaid flesh become immortal, and the rest turn into fishlike, monstrous creatures called "lost souls." Like the other two collections of Mermaid stories, "Mermaid s Scar" focuses on the immortal duo Mana and Yuta. In "Dream s End," Mana encounters a lost soul who has somehow retained his human soul, turning him into a tormented monster. "Mermaid s Promise" brings Yuta back to where he once met a young girl who fell in love with him -- and who has somehow been brought back to life as a soulless creature. "Mermaid s Scar" brings Mana and Yuta to a town where a woman somehow recovered from deadly burns -- and discovers an immortal boy with a horrifying secret. "The Ash Princess" goes back to 17th-century Japan, when Yuta was still wandering alone. Here, he finds a travelling old man and his young daughter -- a girl brought to life with a mermaid s liver. Perhaps the most common comparison to the Mermaid series is the action/fantasy/romance series "Inuyasha." However, the Mermaid stories have none of the humor and goofiness that pop up in "Inuyasha" (although the story of the undead, tormented ex-girlfriend is quite familiar). The tone is melancholy, sometimes outright macabre, with a few sweet scenes of romance between the two immortals. Perhaps the best scene is the hauntingly lovely last moments with Nae and Yuta. The relationship between Yuta and Mana is pure Takahashi -- they love each other but somehow won t admit it (and Mana gets pretty jealous at times). They stick with one another through thick and thin, and occasionally show little indications of how they actually feel. ("It sounds like you ve fallen for me," Yuta says half-jokingly at one point) Takahashi s dark "Mermaid s Scar" is a fantastic mixture of dark fantasy and gently understated romance. Sweet, terrifying and deeply satisfying.
Contexto da obra
Quando a classificação é mais ampla, o contexto do livro costuma depender ainda mais de autoria, tema e edição. “Mermaid’s Scar”, de Rumiko Takahashi, publicado pela editora VIZ Media, em 1996 e com 304 páginas, integra a categoria Livros Variados. Por isso, autoria, edição e tema acabam tendo ainda mais peso na forma de apresentar o livro.
Editora: VIZ Media
Páginas: 304
Ano: 1996
Edição:
Linguagem: inglês
ISBN: 1569310831
ISBN13: 9781569310830
Sobre a editora
Os livros da editora Viz Media costumam transportar o leitor para universos densos e multifacetados, onde o ritmo varia entre o tenso e o contemplativo. As narrativas frequentemente exploram conflitos pessoais e sociais, como a busca pela identidade, dilemas morais e relações humanas complexas, muitas vezes ambientadas em cenários que vão do cotidiano escolar a mundos fantásticos ou futuristas. O catálogo sugere uma predominância de histórias em quadrinhos e mangás, com personagens que enfrentam desafios tanto internos quanto externos, seja em investigações, batalhas sobrenaturais ou dramas românticos. O tom pode oscilar entre o sombrio e o bem-humorado, com obras que apresentam desde tramas de suspense e mistério até comédias românticas e aventuras épicas.
