Get ready to go to the beach in this emotionally affecting, short josei series. Mermaid Scales and the Town of Sand by Yoko Komori follows Tokiko, a sixth grader whose parents are recently separated; as a result, she moves with her dad from Tokyo to the small beach town where her mother grew up where legends of merfolk are still honored. As she grapples with her new normal, Tokiko is also looking for a particular merman for saving her from drowning. Shojo & Tell host Ashley and her husband Asher dive deep into Tokiko's family dynamics, whether or not one citizen of the town is actually real, and the consequences of pathological lying. 

REFERENCES

• Buy Mermaid Scales and the Town of Sand from MangaMart, a family-run manga store offering some of the most competitive prices around (affiliate link)
• Mermaid Scales and the Town of Sand is published by Viz Media's Signature line
• Other manga/anime mentioned
  • Horimiya
• Outro: "Tokimeki no Doukasen" (Fushigi Yuugi ending theme) + Fruits Basket (2019) episode 3 dialogue

CONTACT US

• Shojo & Tell on Bluesky, Tumblr, Instagram, and Twitter
• Ashley on Bluesky