History Headscratchers / SchoolMermaid

** It's the opposite. The girls who cast the spell are shown to be selfish and cowardly and it's implied for many that their love is ultimately shallow. After all, the are willing to kill someone in order to get their love (which is selfish) but not properly confess to their crush and work towards a real relationship (which is cowardly). The few times we see a mermaid keep their personality, it's due to a real selfless love/friendship.

* Why do certain mermaids show humanity when others don't? Everyone who performed the ritual was arguably brave enough to do so and their strong desires partially lead to them discovering the journal explaining it. You'd think all of them would express certain aspects of their formal selves. Does the transformation just brainwash everyone completely?

** Maybe the mermaids only attack if the person you're ''casting the mermaid love spell on'' loves you back. If that's why, Mariko wasn't casting the spell on ''Kaori'', she was casting it on some boy, so the mermaids wouldn't have attacked. As for why Mariko became a mermaid, maybe the escape clause only works if your love isn't a mermaid, unlike Mariko, who I think was ''willing'' to transform if it meant she could stay with Kaori.

** Maybe the mermaids only attack if the person you're ''casting the mermaid love spell on'' loves you back. If that's why, Mariko wasn't casting the spell on ''Kaori'', she was casting it on some boy, so the mermaids wouldn't have attacked. As for why Mariko became a mermaid, maybe the escape clause only works if your love isn't a mermaid, unlike Mariko, who I think ''wanted'' to transform and stay with Kaori.

** Maybe the mermaids only attack if the person you're ''casting the mermaid love spell on'' loves you back. If that's why, Mariko wasn't casting the spell on ''Kaori'', she was casting it on some boy, so the mermaids wouldn't have attacked. As for why Mariko became a mermaid, I don't think either of them knew how to turn back-as far as they knew, Maori was stuck as a mermaid. Maybe the escape clause only works if your love isn't a mermaid, unlike Mariko, who I think ''wanted'' to transform and stay with Kaori.

** Maybe the mermaids only attack if the person you're "casting the mermaid love spell on" loves you back. If that's why, Mariko wasn't casting the spell on "Kaori", she was casting it on some boy, so the mermaids wouldn't have attacked. As for why Mariko became a mermaid, I don't think either of them knew how to turn back-as far as they knew, Maori was stuck as a mermaid. Maybe the escape clause only works if your love isn't a mermaid, unlike Mariko, who I think "wanted" to transform and stay with Kaori.

* Mariko and Kaori's story is confusing when considered against the established lore. It's stated that mermaids will attack someone whose love is reciprocated. But Kaori loves Mariko who loves her back. So how was she able to kill a mermaid without being attacked? And how did she turn into a mermaid when Hidemi didn't? How does Mariko turn into a mermaid as well when it's shown that Kaori still loves her?

* Mariko and Kaori's story as bittersweet as the ending is confusing when considered against the established lore. It's stated that mermaids will attack someone whose love is reciprocated. But Kaori loves Mariko who loves her back. So how was she able to kill a mermaid without being attacked? And how did she turn into a mermaid when Hidemi didn't? How does Mariko turn into a mermaid as well when it's shown that Kaori still loves her?

** For Mariko and Kaori, [[spoiler: the strongest aspect and the part that gets carried over is their genuine and reciprocated love for each other. As already shown, mermaids are weak to real love. They hate it and someone who loves and is loved in return cannot turn into a mermaid. It might be that their love is exempt from the brainwashing as it is for all rules.]]

** For Mariko and Kaori, [[spoiler: the strongest aspect and the part that gets carried over is their genuine and reciprocated love for each other. As already shown, mermaids are weak to real love. They hate it and someone who loves and is loved in return cannot turn into a mermaid. It might be that their love is exempt from the brainwashing as it is for all rules.]]

** For Mariko and Kaori, the strongest aspect and the part that gets carried over is their genuine and reciprocated love for each other. As already shown, mermaids are weak to real love. They hate it and someone who loves and is loved in return cannot turn into a mermaid. It might be that their love is exempt from the brainwashing as it is for all rule.

** For Mariko and Kaori, the strongest aspect and the part that gets carried over is their genuine and reciprocated love for each other. As already shown, mermaids are weak to real love. They hate it and someone who loves and is loved in return cannot turn into a mermaid. It might be that their love is exempt from the brainwashing.

* Why do certain mermaids show humanity when others don't? Everyone who performed the ritual was arguably brave enough to do so and their strong desires partially lead to them discovering the journal explaining it. You'd think all of them would express certain aspects of their formal selves. Does the transformation just brainwash everyone completely?

** One of the chapters of ''School Mermaid 2'' gives us the answer to this one. The chapter "Shinobu and Shuutarou" parts one and two has Shinobu cast the spell with her classmate Shuutarou, who is implied to be a closeted trans girl. The spell is said to not work for boys, but it does work for Shuutarou, who is elated over the spell recognizing her heart as a woman's. However, it doesn't end so well for her, since she ultimately fails to eat the flesh or drink the blood of one of the mermaids she was targetting, leading to Shuutarou becoming a mermaid herself. So, this chapter clarifies there are no mermen as the spell doesn't work for boys. It also shows that if a trans girl uses the spell and fails, the transformation into a mermaid [[GenderBender also modifies their bodies into a female form.]]

** One of the chapters of ''School Mermaid 2'' seems to answer this one, suggesting the spell simply doesn't work for boys.
** One of the most recent releases (chapter 17) actually answers this question. Shuutaro, the secondary protagonist, is male and has a crush on Nishimura, his childhood friend who is the same gender. After discovering the ritual, Shuutaro works with Shinobu- the protagonist- in order to perform it. They end up succeeding and he acknowledges it as the mermaids "acknowledging his heart as a woman's", meaning homosexual male students are permitted as an exception. It's revealed what happens to boys who are unable to complete the ritual when [[spoiler: ultimately, Shuutaro fails to eat flesh or drink blood, leading to him becoming one of them himself. [[GenderBender Guess what that comes with.]] So yes: there ''are'' mermen, technically, but their gender is forceably changed once it happens. Also, the original mermaids which you have to catch are all female.]]

** One of the most recent releases (chapter 17) actually answers this question. Shuutaro, the secondary protagonist, is male and has a crush on Nishimura, his childhood friend who is the same gender. After discovering the ritual, Shuutaro works with Shinobu- the protagonist- in order to perform it. They end up succeeding and he acknowledges it as the mermaids "acknowledging his heart as a woman's", meaning homosexual male students are permitted as an exception. It's revealed what happens to boys who are unable to complete the ritual when [[spoiler: ultimately, Shuutaro fails to eat mermaid flesh, leading to him becoming one of them himself. So yes: there ''are'' mermen, technically, but their gender is forceably changed once it happens.]]

* Why do certain mermaids show humanity when others don't? Everyone who performed the ritual was arguably brave enough to do so and their strong desires partially lead to them discovering the journal explaining it. You'd think all of them would express certain aspects of their formal selves. Does the transformation just brainwash everyone?

** One of the most recent releases (chapter 17) actually answers this question. Shuutaro, the secondary protagonist, is male and has a crush on Nishimura, his childhood friend who is the same gender. After discovering the ritual, Shuutaro works with Shinobu- the protagonist- in order to perform it. They end up succeeding and he acknowledges it as the mermaids "acknowledging his heart as a woman's", meaning homosexual male students are permitted as an exception. It's revealed what happens to boys who are unable to complete the ritual when [[spoiler: ultimately, Shuutaro fails to eat mermaid flesh, leading to him becoming one of them himself. So yes: there ''are'' mermen/boys, technically, but their gender is forceably changed once it happens.]]

** One of the most recent releases (chapter 17) actually answers this question. Shuutaro, the secondary protagonist, is male and has a crush on Nishimura, his childhood friend who is the same gender. After discovering the ritual, Shuutaro works with Shinobu- the protagonist- in order to perform it. It works, and he acknowledges it as the mermaids "acknowledging his heart as a woman's", meaning homosexual male students are permitted as an exception. It's revealed what happens to boys who are unable to complete the ritual when [[spoiler: ultimately, Shuutaro fails to eat mermaid flesh, leading to him becoming one of them himself. So yes: there ''are'' mermen/boys, technically, but their gender is forceably changed once it happens.]]

* If the mermaids are capable of floating and passing through walls, why don't they just hide on the exterior of the school, along the upper floors, away from any windows? It would be hard for anyone to notice them, and even if they did, they would probably have to climb along the exterior and risk their own deaths to get at the mermaids.

* It's pretty nitpicky of this troper, but are there really ''no'' mer''men?'' It seems unlikely that ''only'' girls would be desperate enough to try this...

** It's possible the spell couses a GenderBender for males that use it and fail.

** Or maybe boys simply weren't desperate enough to try some voodoo hax instead of simply trying to be with girls normally.

** It's possible the spell couses a GenderBender for males that use it and fail.

** Maybe there's an alternate equivalent spell for guys. The incantation specifically summoned mermaids.

** Maybe there's an alternate equivalent spell for guys.

* It's pretty nitpicky of this troper, but are there really ''no'' mer''men?'' It seems unlikely that ''only'' girls would be desperate enough to try this...