The Mermaid (人魚族, Ningyo-zoku), also known as Merfolk, is a humanoid liminal race with the upper body of a human and the tail of a fish as well as fin-like ears. The males of the race are called Mermen, and are notably just as attractive as the females.
Living beneath the sea, mermaids are protected from the interference of the other land-based races and as such have been free to establish their own civilization beneath the oceans of the world.
Culture[]
The mermaid civilization is one of the largest extraspecies civilizations, and would seem to be present throughout most of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, if not others. Given the sheer size of this range, mermaids are under a number of cooperative kingdoms, and not just a single monarchy, as confirmed by Mero in Chapter 35. Mermaids incorporate into their society many other marine extraspecies, the Fishfolk most notably. Little is known of the kingdoms themselves, the manga's main excursion into mermaid society featuring a visit to a land-based classy hotel ran by the royal family and accommodating to aquatic monsters.
In modern times, Mermaid society is supposedly dealing with an "elopement problem". As, due to the society's fascination with The Little Mermaid tale and "tragic romance" involving another species, the number of young mermaid women (and mermen for that matter) meeting humans by the seashore and eloping with them is rising dramatically; resulting in a dwindling population. Even the king of the nation eloped with a human woman.
As a result, Mermaid-Human relations have soured and driven at least some mermaid houses to seek isolation from the human world. In truth, however, the "elopement problem" turns out to have been exaggerated by the Mermaid Queen for the sake of creating the drama and tragedy that so many mermaids adore (and the king eloped because the queen herself had been cheating on him with a human). Once this is resolved the species become as free as any other in seeking relationships with humans.
The vast majority of Merfolk, like the Lamia race, tend to wear openly revealing clothing, often exposing the shoulders and midriffs; most standard mermaids wear what are essentially strapless bikini tops with skirts.
Physiological Attributes[]
- Respiratory system: Mermaids secrete a slippery slime to keep from drying out, as they can only function upon land if their gills remain adequately moist. These gills are located along the waist and are compatible with both fresh and salt water. In addition to gills, mermaids also have a humanoid respiratory system that allows vocalization and breathing through the mouth. This effectively makes them amphibious in the sense that they can breathe air as well.
- While Mermaids can breathe air, they can only do so as long as their gills are wet.
- Webbed: Mermaids have webbing between their fingers to aid in swimming and their pelvic fins (which appear to be closer in structure to an unfeathered bird's wing than any fish's hindfin) are the main modes of steering in the water, with propulsion achieved via the muscular tail, which has a horizontal fin at the end. This tail is not as long as that of an eel mermaid's or lamia's, and mermaids must either drag themselves with their arms and pelvic fins while on land or employ wheelchairs.
- Swim bladders: Mermaids, like most bony fish, have swim bladders to help control buoyancy. As Mero demonstrated during one of her mother's tragedy schemes in Chapter 37, Merfolk, if they choose to, can use the air inside their swim bladders to resuscitate a drowning person, though this comes at the cost of their ability to rise to the surface. This loss is not permanent, however, as Merfolk on land are able to refill their swim bladders with air through inhalation.
- Although Octo confirms that Mermaids have swim bladders, it is not known whether this also applies to Mermaid subspecies that have features of cartilaginous fish (which do not have swim bladders), such as Shark Mermaids and Lamprey Mermaids.
- Colours: Mermaids vary individually by colour of their tail and fins, the former of which commonly matches the individual's hair colour. These colours are often soft, flowery, and bright like that of tropical fish, as opposed to the more solid and hard colours of the fishfolk.
- Speed: Mermaids are said to be able to reach speeds of 50 km/h (31 mph) while swimming.
- Mermaids need to stay moist even on dry land, as they are more prone to dehydration than land creatures.
Subspecies[]
Eel Mermaid[]
Eel Mermaids (ウナギ系, Unagi-kei) are Mermaids with long lower bodies not too different from the lamia. Unlike most mermaids, they have no trouble living on land. This because they produce even more mucus than standard mermaids, though as a result, they have trouble wearing most clothing materials. Their massage techniques utilizing their mucus are highly advanced, and their mucus possesses cosmetic properties as well, making them popular among other mermaids. They have a tremendous amount of stamina and often stay up all night, consequently making them sleep-deprived most of the time.
Fresh Water Mermaid[]
Freshwater Mermaids (淡水種, Tansui-shu) are a subspecies of mermaids. Unlike standard mermaids, which reside in warm ocean waters, these mermaids regularly travel from rivers to oceans and back again. These stoic mermaids never give up their journey regardless of any fierce rapids or waterfalls that may stand in their way. Because of this, they have slim and fit bodies. Their colours are more muted than those of standard mermaids.
Shark Mermaid[]
Shark Mermaids (鮫系, Same-kei) are a mermaid subspecies armed with sharp teeth and having the tail of a shark. Shark mermaids are also entirely carnivorous, a rare trait among the predominantly omnivorous mermaids. Their personalities are wild and aggressive. In the past, they engaged in pirate-like activities, but more recently they have begun to abstain from piracy. Like sharks, the skeleton in the lower bodies is made of cartilage, making them very delicate. They are mentally weak, as well.
Even when flirting with their potential partners, they are sexually aggressive and straightforward.
Lamprey Mermaid[]
Lamprey Mermaids are a mermaid subspecies closely related to Eel Mermaids. While they are known for their preferred diet of suckling blood from other beings, Lamprey Mermaids can subsist on the same diet as conventional mermaids.
In Japanese folklore, lampreys are called "Yatsume-unagi" (八つ目鰻, "eight-eyed eels"). The name is derived from the seven external gill slits which line each side of a lamprey's head section which, along with their actual eye, makes it look like they have eight eyes on each side of their face. Folklore in some other countries include the lamprey's nostrils in the count, calling them "Nine-eyed Eels" instead.
Yatsume is a Lamprey Mermaid.
Tropical Mermaid[]
Tropical Mermaids are a rare subspecies of Mermaid found within tropical waters, usually near or within coral reefs. Capable of living in both fresh and salt waters, Tropical Mermaids are a minority race among the Mer-races but are widely famed for their beauty. The majority seem to lead pampered lifestyles because of this.
Rui is a Tropical Mermaid.
Siren[]
Sirens (セイレーン, Seirēn) are a subspecies of mermaids. They originate from Greek mythology and are widely known for being capable of singing songs so enchanting, that it could lure sailors to their deaths. They are also notable for having two fish tails as opposed to one.
The original Sirens were women with the lower half of a chicken who lived by the sea, luring sailors ships into the rocks surrounding their home.
Sein is a Siren.
Members[]
In the Manga[]
- Meroune Lorelei (Mermaid)
- Meroune's Mother (Mermaid)
- Yatsume (Lamprey Mermaid)
In the Game[]
Gallery[]
Shark Mermaid[]
Trivia[]
- One of The Eight Brothers is dating a Mermaid girl.
- Contrary to popular belief, Mermaids have no problem with the consumption of fish and naturally eat them as well. Meroune compares this to how humans eat other mammals, like cows and pigs.
- Interestingly, all Mermaids and their subspecies can live in both salt and fresh water without any problems, suggesting that, similar to fishes such as bull sharks, they have physical adaptation mechanisms to cope with changing salinity.
- Mermaids have been known to trade for jewellery with land-based civilizations.
- Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid is popular among young mermaids, about a mermaid's doomed love. Influenced by this story, more than a few mermaids nurture a powerful yearning to fall in love with a human man like the mermaid in the story.
- Water with chlorine, like in a public swimming pool, is toxic to merfolk if they breath it in long enough. The effects can be reversed with time spent rinsing themselves with clean water.
- While merfolk naturally live at cold ocean depths, they are also perfectly fine in warm water.
- That being said, if Merfolk are exposed to cold weather without proper clothing, their slime coating will cause them to become quickly chilled.
- According to an ancient Japanese legend, mermaid flesh may grant immortality if eaten. That's because there is a Yokai of Japanese myth who was the original Ningyo that is unrelated to the traditional half-human/half fish mermaid.
- Mermaids, along with Slimes and Centaurs, currently have the most subspecies of a liminal race, with 6 subspecies.
- According to Mero in the semi-canonical adaptation Monster Musume: I Love Monster Girls, Mermaids used to wear "seashell bikinis" like in most mermaid movies. But this practice was abandoned due being not fashionable and very impractical, because the bikinis always fell off immediatelly (probably because of the slippery skins of the Mermaids). She claims that the latest fashion is to wear actual starfish on their breasts.
- Logically, Lamprey Mermaids should either be an outgroup or be close relatives of shark mermaids.
- Because of their fish half from waist down, mermaids require special apparatuses such as wheelchairs when moving on land with the exception of those with snake-like bodies. In a pinch regular mermaids can crawl forward using their arms or use their tail to leap.
- It's unknown whether the siren subspecies are able to move around on dry land wthout any difficulties but given that they're the only ones to have two tails, they probably needed special apparatuses too.
- Given how they're able to prop themselves up with their pelvic fins, it might also be possible for them to hop around on dry land.
- Despite being called freshwater mermaids, their namesake contradicts their ability to survive in both freshwater and seawater.
- The Merfolk having a rather peaceful working relationship with the Fishfolk is similar to their counterparts from the manga/anime, One Piece with the Fish-men.
- While standard mermaids are shown to have an interest in practicing tragic romances as part of their culture due to the Little Mermaid story and living in a kingdom ruled by a monarch, this isn't featured or at least not indicated in their subspecies. It's likely that some of them like the Eel and Lamprey varieties have different passions (the former are professionals in giving massages which they enjoy doing so and the latter love having a blood rich diet as it's part of their biology), while others such as the Freshwater and Shark varieties lead a nomadic lifestyle (the former have the habit of migrating from freshwater environments to saltwater ones and vice versa while the latter have a history of plundering in the seven seas which they stopped doing so probably due to the extraspecies law).
- As revealed by Mero in Chapter 35, the Mermaid kingdom is just "a small kingdom in a sea of many", which means that, presumably due to the sheer size of the oceans, the Merfolk are not united under a single monarchy but are divited into many smaller kingdoms, and there is no single ruler who can claim the right to rule over the entire Merfolk.
- Compared to the males of other liminal species with animalistic features such as Centaurs and Minotaurs, Mermen look more human-like with handsome appearances.
- This contradicts how they're usually shown in mythologies, although there are several depictions of human-like Mermen in the contemporary literature.
- So far, none of them are shown with facial hair too.