This anime is based on the Mermaid Forest story line found in the graphic novel by the same name. Mana and Yuta are drawn into the world of the Kannagi Family, owners of Mermaid Forest. Only two of the Kannagi clan remain - an old women and a young girl with hair as white as snow. What is the secret of these two women? And what is the secret of Mermaid Forest? Is there really a mermaid buried somewhere in the hills......a mermaid that could help Yuta return to normal? 
(Source: AniDB)

Legend has it that when you eat the flesh of a mermaid, you would live forever. Yuta and Mana are living proof of this... Together, they journey to various places trying to find meaning for their existence, or perhaps even a "cure" for their situation. One day, Yuta and Mana meet Masato, a little boy who seems terrified of his mother Misa. It seems to Yuta and Mana that mother and son have a very unusual relationship. What happens when Yuta and Mana decide to discover the dark secret Masato and Misa are hiding? And what about those monster-like creatures that have been appearing? 
(Source: AniDB)

This is Rumiko Takahashi at her darkest, but her trademark humor and romance also pop up in this three-volume series. Legend has it that if a human eats a mermaid's flesh, they will be granted eternal life. But is that a blessing or a curse? Immortal lovers Yuta and Mana travel through Japan and the centuries longing for a normal life. On their journey, they meet others who have consumed the flesh of a mermaid in hope of becoming immortal. But the powerful substance affects each person differently. Yuta and Mana are two of the lucky ones. Others are fated to die or transform into a savage monster, a "lost soul."
 
(Source: Viz Media)
 
This is the first volume of the Mermaid Saga series from the original tankoubon release, which includes the two-chapter stories "A Mermaid Never Smiles" (人魚は笑わない, Ningyo wa Warawanai), "The Village of Fighting Fish" (闘魚の里, Tōgyo no Sato), and "Mermaid Forest" (人魚の森, Ningyo no Mori Zenpen).

According to an ancient legend, mermaid's flesh can grant immortality if eaten. 500 years ago, Yuta unknowingly ate a piece of mermaid's flesh. For centuries, he travels across Japan, hoping to find a mermaid, thinking she may be able to make him a normal human again. When he finally finds one, he discovers that she and her companions have been raising a girl to be their food so they can eat her and take on her youthful looks. That is how mermaids stay young. Yuta kills the mermaids and rescues her, but she has already eaten some of the mermaid's flesh. Although he had to kill the mermaids, Yuta isn't too disappointed. Yuta's once lonely existence is now over, as he has found a companion in Mana. And Mana, who had been trapped in a small hut her whole life, finds delight in even the simplest of things. Together, Yuta and Mana attempt to seek out more mermaids, trying to become normal humans again.
 
(Source: Anime News Network)

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