School Ningyo

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Des alternatives: Synonyms: School Mermaid
Japanese: スクール人魚
Auteur: Yoshitomi, Akihito
Taper: Manga
Volumes: 5
Chapitres: 32
Statut: Finished
Publier: 2006-10-26 to 2017-12-19
Sérialisation: Champion RED

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4.0
(4 Votes)
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Des alternatives: Synonyms: School Mermaid
Japanese: スクール人魚
Auteur: Yoshitomi, Akihito
Taper: Manga
Volumes: 5
Chapitres: 32
Statut: Finished
Publier: 2006-10-26 to 2017-12-19
Sérialisation: Champion RED
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4.0
4 Votes
0.00%
100.00%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
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0 Lis
Sommaire
Compilation of short stories, each about two girls hunting for mermaids to win their true love.
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School Ningyo review
par
Mr_NoName4
Apr 09, 2021
"We had a rumor at our school... At night, in the school's pool, mermaids would appear..."

Yoshitomi Akihito is an author with a diverse body of work, ranging from cute girls love oneshots to medical dramas to shounen sci-fi stories. For a horror series to pop up on such an eclectic resume isn't all that unusual, but beyond being unique among his works its subject matter and distinct method of storytelling stands out as memorable even among similar series in the same genre. Although its brief duration limits the overall impact of the delivery, School Ningyo is a delightfully creepy story that knows just when and how to deliver the final blow to the reader.

The story of School Ningyo initially presents as offbeat but simple enough; in fact, its greatest strength is likely how convincingly the premise is established and how long it goes before hints of the story's true darkness begin to seep through and command attention. Earlier foreshadowing is enough to provide the reader with a flash of insight into the continuity of the overarching timeline and details of the mermaid hunt itself, but does not go so far as to give away the darkness lurking just under the surface. It's just enough to hint that there's more than the reader is initially told, only to be inevitably forgotten as the plot moves along -- until the payoff, at least.

Although far from bad, the art is probably the weak point of the series. The girls -- both the heroines and the mermaids -- resemble each other so strongly that it can be tricky to tell them apart without other clues present, and at times even difficult to follow the action. For anyone familiar with a handful of Yoshitomi's other works, the designs' similarities to those that turn up in his girls love works may also be offputting, and even those who aren't may find the generic cute factor out of place in a horror story. Nonetheless the artwork is not bad by any means and does convey the story; the cuteness suits the characters themselves well enough and even provides an eerie dissonance once things start getting creepy.

As expected from a story limited to three chapters, characterization is decent but not exactly elaborate. For the bulk of the story Haruko and Yoshiko's personalities are painted in such broad strokes that they can come off as relatively generic and even interchangeable. Nonetheless toward the ending there is sufficient development to provide Yoshiko with palpable depth, and the suddenness of the personal revelations only serve to heighten the impact of the series' true horror elements. By comparison Haruka's characterization seems underdeveloped, but as the narrative focus shifts from her to Yoshiko this works subtly to impart Yoshiko's view of Haruka; simple, slow, and ultimately uninteresting, just as she is shown to the reader.

School Ningyo is the kind of series that can appeal to a wide range of audiences. Although its primary audience is that of horror fans, it lack of overtly frightening imagery and its gradually developed creepy aspects can lend appeal to those who don't normally seek out horror, or even those who spook easily but want a beginner's horror story to test the waters with. And while its small chapter count does impart limitations on the story overall, it's really the perfect length to draw in anyone who wants to take a stab at a story that's quirky and creepy in just the right ways.