Crybaby Mermaid

The Crybaby Mermaid: An Illustrated Memoir of Yumi Uotani is about the quiet difficulty of continuing when doubt never fully disappears. It follows Yumi Uotani, a professional mahjong player, through the uncertain early years of a public career, where each setback lingers, each success feels temporary, and the question of whether she truly belongs never quite goes away. Rather than a story of sudden breakthrough, the story focuses on the emotional weight of performance: the pressure of expectations, the anxiety that follows setbacks, and the quiet effort required to continue despite uncertainty. Uotani's progress unfolds through everyday moments of practice, reflection, and gradual change, presenting achievement as something built over time rather than defined by sudden success. Rendered in a restrained visual style that lingers on expression and silence, this is a portrait of a working life built in increments, and of the fragile, ongoing work of learning to stand in a role that still feels uncertain. Together, Suda and Junta create a character-driven account of how confidence develops slowly, and how a professional identity emerges through endurance, self-awareness, and time.

Pages: 212, Paperback, Mahjong Pros