Finished
“Yosuke's family must protect a mermaid's egg every 60 years, but modernization threatens their ancient promise.”
Tropic of the Sea
海帰線
6.72
14,352 rank · 12,037 readers · 35 favorites
Seinen
Fantasy
Mystery
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Based on your preference for character-driven stories with layered emotional arcs, this title's exploration of identity and belonging would deeply resonate. The pacing mirrors series you've rated highly, and its thematic depth aligns with your appreciation for nuanced storytelling...
However, the slow initial episodes might test your patience given your history of dropping shows that don't hook you early. The art style shift in the middle arc could also be a concern...
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Synopsis
Yosuke's family must protect a mermaid's egg every 60 years, but modernization threatens their ancient promise.
Yosuke Yashiro's family has a strange, unique tradition—once every 60 years, they receive an egg from a mermaid where it sits protected in a shrine. After the egg matures, the family dutifully returns it to the sea, and the process is repeated. In exchange for this favor, the merpeople bless their coastal town with bountiful catches of fish and calm seas. However, commercial developers encroach on the sleepy seaside hamlet and Yosuke's father is lured away from tradition toward modern prosperity, turning the mermaid's egg into a tourist trap. What will happen to the promise their family made to the mermaids all those years ago? Included one-shot: Volume 1: Summer of Tension
What people say
Community consensus
Derived from 9 sampled reviews
7.4
/10
What 9 readers settled on.
100%
recommend
Score distribution
median 7
mode 6
σ 1.57
Agreement
Mostly aligned
σ 1.57 · some divergence
The polarity gap
—
Not enough recommend signal yet
Score over time
↓ 1.56
Running avg · Nov 2012 → Apr 2025
Snap verdicts
· shortest highly-rated reviews
- 9 “I thoroughly enjoyed this engaging story, which features well-designed artwork and a consistently appealing narrative. While the experience was fun, the ending felt predictable and the story...”
- 10 “This masterpiece masterfully explores complex themes like tradition versus progression and nature versus man through a compelling, myth-driven narrative. While the slow, gradual pacing might deter...”
- 7 “This manga features great, detailed art and a compelling protagonist in Yosuke, whose personal growth is genuinely satisfying to witness. While the core plot feels somewhat unoriginal and the...”
Verbosity
Short · 22%
Medium · 44%
Long · 33%
Read Order & Related
A self-contained story.
No sequels, spin-offs or alternate tellings — Tropic of the Sea begins and ends here.
Cast
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A Manga Publication
- Format 7 × 1 ch × vol
- Total read 0h 56m approx
- Published Mar 1990 – Jun 1990
- Source Manga media type
- Ref. BS-M4333 catalog