Yūta (湧太, Yuuta) is the main character of Mermaid Saga.
Biography[]
Yūta’s life began in the late 1400's as an ordinary fisherman. About 480 years ago, a strange piece of meat was found by a fellow fisherman, which was believed to be the flesh of a mermaid said to grant eternal youth and longevity, and together with another companion, the three of them ate it out of curiosity. Instantly after, one of his friends transformed into a horrible monster referred as a deformed one, and the next day, his other friend spat up blood and died. Consequently, Yuta suffered a period of fear, but nothing eventually happens to him.
He went on with his life and got married, but 20 years later, his wife confessed that she was afraid of him because he doesn't age at all despite the years, while she gets older. And much later, having realized that the mermaid's flesh he ate actually had an effect on him, Yūta admits even he is terrified of himself, as on top of remaining young, any injury he gets heals quickly, and is told that a mermaid could perhaps do something to help him. And so he sets on a journey to find a mermaid in the hopes of becoming mortal again.
Toba Island[]
Natsume[]
Early 1900s[]
Mana[]
Mermaid Forest[]
Dream's End[]
Eye of the Demon[]
The Last Face[]
Promised Tomorrow[]
Mermaid Scar[]
Appearance[]
Yūta is a Japanese man who looks about in his twenties.
He usually wears simple, sturdy clothes appropriate to the era. His constant wandering means that his clothes can get pretty filthy until he can find somewhere to wash them.
His face at rest usually carries a weary expression, even when smiling.
Personality[]
Yūta is a very nice, kind-hearted guy, who’s rather tired of his long life.
He's a matter-of-fact, even somewhat wary, about his abilities. One can imagine that the wonder of immortality wore off years ago. As tired as he is of life, however, he has no desire to be killed, instead wishing to cure his immortality and live as a normal person, and also to die of old age.
He doesn't want to involve innocent people in his quest, and always tries to warn them of the dangers of the mermaid's curse. He also seems to feel an obligation to end the lives of immortals who are dangerous, or who are suffering because of their immortality.
He seems to feel an obligation to end the lives of immortals who are dangerous (such as the aforementioned serial killer), or who are suffering because of their immortality (such as the serial killer's sister).
He also does whatever he can to keep others from eating mermaid's flesh.
Relationship[]
Yūta's bond to Mana isn't romantic or brotherly, but in fact goes far deeper than that. After many centuries in loneliness, she is the only one he's found who's just like him. She makes his immortality less of a burden, and understandably, he is extremely protective of her.
Trivia[]
- In the first episode, Yūta told that he was 500-year-old. In the seventh episode's flashback to 1600, the first year of the Tokugawa shogunate, he was 120 years old. So, he was born in 1480 and met Mana in 1980.
- His Japanese voice actor provided the voice of Ryoga Hibiki, Jusenkyo Guide from Ranma ½.
- His fourth English voice actor provided the voice of Yūsaku Godai from Maison Ikkoku for the first 40 episodes.