Gourmet manga takes beautiful mermaid and transforms her into semi-cannibalistic fish eater

This mermaid princess apparently forgot the adage “Fish are friends, not food.”

Manga is a great form of storytelling because not only are there an endless number of stories that can be told, but also because sometimes adults just want to read something with pictures too. With the rise of foodies, manga that showcase food and cooking have been on the rise as people love to share the way they enjoy edibles.

A new manga appearing in anthology Big Comics Spirits focuses solely on one of Japan’s most famous foods: sushi! Plus, it’s probably the first that features some light cannibalism.

▼ Our main character appears!

In the first chapter of the series, the beautiful and beloved Princess Ella is saddened by the loss of her fish friend, Katsuo. This young fish has unfortunately been captured by the cruel and uncivilized humans and there will be no one to mourn his passing. Thus, the young princess takes it upon herself to travel to the human world to pay her respects to Katsuo and ends up at a sushi restaurant. While pensively murmuring the name of her friend, she’s overheard by a waiter, which produces some surprising results, because, as those savvy about sushi might know, “katsuo” translates to bonito, a well-liked type of fish for sushi and sashimi.

▼ That is an extremely dazzling plate of fish.

Princess Ella tries to turn away, but is guilted into eating the dish by her neighbor at the sushi counter because the fish’s spirit won’t be able to rest in peace without being eaten. When she finally takes a bite of her fishy friend…it turns out to be the most delicious bite she’s ever had and eats the entire plate.

▼ Crying because the food is so good.

When she returns to her world under the sea, Princess Ella can’t even look at her other fish friends without thinking about all the wonderful dishes they could be turned into.

The officialEnglish title of this new manga is Forbidden Fish is Sweeeetest while the Japanese title goes for a more subtle Ningyo-hime no Gomen-ne Gohan, which translates to “The Regrettable Food of the Mermaid Princess”.

▼ Yep, that’s a fried shrimp in her mouth. Possibly a friend…

We all know how much people around the world love sushi, so a manga that glorifies and celebrates the dish will probably have a long life ahead of it, at least longer than the pieces of sushi in front of Princess Ella. If seeing beautifully drawn sushi makes you incredibly hungry, we have plenty of recommendations for where you can grab a bite (no human meat, of course!)

Source: Big Comics Spirits via Otakomu
Images: Big Comics Spirits

Credit: