Asana Amamizu, a student at Yotsuru Girls' Academy, has been bullied by her family ever since a red mark appeared on her wrist. So even when the school is abuzz with news about a handsome new Japanese teacher, Asana keeps her distance. That is, until an unexpected marriage proposal comes her way!

The Bubble Love of the Mermaid has a story by Akumi Agitogi and art by Kei Tamura. The English translation is by Nicole Wilder, and the lettering is by Oliva Osanz. Published by Yen Press (July 28, 2026). Rated T.

Bolts
Rating:

Reading this volume felt like watching a new student struggle to explain the concept of their story. There are certainly elements in here that I like, and there is some decent foreshadowing for how things will play out. However, I think the problem with this volume is that there is a lot of meandering here that doesn't lead to a strong, emotional hook, even when the pieces are all there. I can't tell if that's because the story is too concerned with setting up these ideas than actually disclosing anything impactful, or if that's because what is ultimately here just isn't as interesting as the story thinks that it is.

This is a tragic heroine's tale about a woman abused by her family to maintain their company. As another means of gaining influence, they try to marry her off to somebody, but it turns out that the person she is said to be married to is the one person from her past who actually made her feel like a human being. It's implied that this woman is not normal and that her body fluids are actually the real source of her family's success. There are a lot of dark implications regarding what is actually done to her, but it seems to be tied to a mark she was born with. Sometimes that vagueness can generate intrigue, but this volume really likes to drag out its mystery.

It never feels like things happen organically, but rather because either I am not allowed to know certain things at certain times or because two characters aren't allowed to talk about things to draw out misunderstandings or a lack of emotional closure. The two main leads, Asana and Sakuya, spend the entire volume speculating whether they are the people they met in a past encounter, yet despite meeting multiple times, they never have any meaningful conversation that builds on that idea or their relationship. So why should I care about their romance?

Then, just as I'm finally starting to wrap my head around certain plot points that the story is taking forever to get to, it dares to introduce other supernatural elements before ending the book on a vague cliffhanger. I feel like this story was jerking me around when most others would've wrapped up some of these plot points in the span of one volume. What are these mysterious marks? What's this police investigation into Asana's family company? Why is Asana's friend staring at Sakuya? I do feel bad about the circumstances of Asana and Sakuya in the story because they are young adults trapped by their families, but that was more of a base-level reaction to the tragedies that they need to go through. Outside of that, this wasn't as engaging as the synopsis would lead you to believe.