Mermaid Syndrome

This is a collection of stories from various points in the author's career, so, by her own admission, the art tends to vary in style and quality between stories. The second and third stories in particular have a 90s shoujo look to them (which I didn't find too appealing), whereas the first and fourth look more in line with what you'd expect from a 2000s manga.

The characters are...unremarkable; if it weren't for what they did in their stories, I wouldn't remember them for their traits. And since each story gets one chapter, the characters are only developed as much as the plot requests it.

Speaking of the plot, there is something remarkable about each story: the first story has a twist on the classic Little Mermaid fairytale (nothing special on its own but saved by the funny ending); the second...I'm still not quite sure what happens there, but I can't say I've seen it before; the third is a take on "AI being better human than humans"; and the fourth is a cute allegory for a couple learning to accept themselves and each other, presented as a fairytale.

Overall it's a mixed bag. Out of the four stories, my favorite is probably the last, followed by the second, first, and third. There's some drama (Dr. Ashley from the first story is very extra), some humor, and some headscratching (with the second story). Nothing groundbreaking, but it was a nice read nonetheless.

Story: 7 | Art: 6 | Characters: 7 | Enjoyment: 8 | Overall: 7/10