月光迷情 3

月の子 / Moon Child #3

by Reiko Shimizu, 楊鈴蘭 (translator)

The mystery heats up as Jimmy learns his secret destiny! The mer-people know that Earth's only hope is for the daughter of the original "Little Mermaid" to fall in love with Shona and bear his eggs. What they don't all believe is that Jimmy, a 12-year-old amnesiac, is that girl. After all, Shona was the only witness to Jimmy's startling transformation into the girl of his dreams, and he's decided to let the boy make his own choices. But not everyone is willing to take that chance#133;because if Jimmy picks his human best friend Art, the world is doomed!

Genres: Manga, Shojo, Comics, Science Fiction

188 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1989

About the author

See also 清水玲子.

Reiko Shimizu (清水玲子 Shimizu Reiko, born March 26, 1963 in Tokyo, Japan) is a Japanese shōjo manga writer and illustrator. She made her professional debut in 1983 with Sansaro Monogatari in LaLa, and has written primarily for the publisher Hakusensha. She is noted for her works of science fiction and her art style, and is also known for her illustrations of tarot cards called the Miracle Tarot deck.

She received the 2002 Shogakukan Manga Award for shōjo for Kaguyahime.[1] Her Himitsu - Top Secret has been recommended twice by the Japan Media Arts Festival jury in 2007 and 2008.[2][3] It has also been listed on the Tohan charts four times as of May 2009.[4] Her manga Moon Child is licensed in English by CMX Manga.

Reviews

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can feel the angst coming.

[Leila Anani · Rating 4 out of 5]

This 3rd instalment of this 13 volume sci-fi mermaid saga draws together some very interesting ideas: we have the springboard of The Little Mermaid, The idea about fish changing sex to spawn, The threat of Armaggeddon from Revelation, the Chernobyl disaster (which in terms of the story hasn't happened yet)mixed in with two love triangles and a sci-fi plot about the possible extinction of the mermaid race. Can I just say WOW. I am deeply impressed how this story weaves together so many different threads and manages to sustain my interest.

Benjamin (going by the name of Jimmy) is one of three sons of renegade mermaid Seira. By the spring of next year he has to become a woman mate and save the mermaid race. His destined mate is a merman called Shonach, the son of the guy Seira should have married instead of falling in love with a human.

Although Jimmy likes Shonach, he adores cantankerous Russian dancer Art who is still hung up on his bitchy ex Holly. Shonach has a love interest too in mermaid Noera who wants him to forget Benjamin and mate with her.

In the background are twins Teruto and Seth come to earth to protect Benjamin. If he dies one of them can turn into a female and spawn in his stead, but only if Benjamin dies. If he choses Art there's nothing the twins can do and the mermaid population will be doomed. Benjamin keeps having Biblical apocalyptic visions about the star of wormwood falling and a factory burning. He's stunned when Art tells him Wormwood is Chernobyl in Russian and an actual place....

As a reader of course we know what will happen and that there is no escape from this fate. There's also a supernatural threat hovering - the sea witch who preys on weak mermaids, and probably had a hand in poor Seira's fate (just like in Anderson's Little mermaid story).

At the end of this volume, Seth is struck down and Teruto will do anything to save him including it seems brave the sea witch. So it may be Teruto and not Benjamin who will damn the mermaid population!


This is an absolutely riveting tale with plenty of angst, drama and twists and turns. The artwork is beautiful, although there isn't much mermaid action in this particular volume. Hopefully there will be more fish tails in the next instalment.