Character Information:
1st Arc Villains
Gakuto | 
or 
Gakuto is the flamboyant king of the Panthalassa clan, and the leader of the villains trying to take over the ocean kingdoms. Like the mermaid princesses, his main offensive magic is the power of his singing voice. Gakuto is handsome, self-confident, and knows full well how much he is adored by his female underlings. Gakuto also seems to think that the most effective way to go about being a villain is to dress in fur coats, lounge around fountains, drink lots of wine, and make sure that he is always holding a rose in his hand. He also seems fond of exposing his bare chest. A lot.
Although he is not a mermaid, Gakuto has no trouble breathing or walking underwater. He resembles a normal human being, physically at least. (He takes advantage of this fact on more than one occasion, in order to appear in the human world.) Gakuto's face also eerily resembles that of a certain Doumoto Kaito...
Although Gakuto usually enjoys being fawned over by the Dark Lovers, his true heart belongs to one person, and to one person alone: his own princess, Sara. Everything that Gakuto does, he does for the sake of fulfilling Sara's wishes.
As the king of the Panthalassa, Gakuto exhibits many superhuman powers (not the least of which is the ability to live underwater). Even after the end of the first story arc in the manga, when he is sealed into the bottom of the ocean by Aqua Regina, Gakuto continues to exist as a powerful spiritual presence that benevolently watches over the Panthalassa clan. He can even channel himself through (read: "temporarily possess") those of Panthalassa blood, including Rihito and Kaito. He can also appear to Kaito in dreams, and can even manifest himself as a solid, physical presence. For example, in chapter 23 of the manga, Gakuto's "ghost" physically grabs Kaito and drags him away from Lanhua's dimension beneath the ocean. Towards the end of the manga, Gakuto demonstrates the full extent of his still formidable powers, when he transforms Yuuri back into her human form, breaks the seal binding her to the ocean floor, and sends her to dry land for one night of reunion with Hippo. On that same night, Gakuto also creates a shower of falling stars that gives any watching lovers a glimpse of their future together.
Name Notes: "Gakuto" is usually written in katakana characters, but the kanji characters in his name are revealed in chapter eighteen. is also the way that the famous J-pop star, Gackt, writes his name in katakana. In the Pichi Pichi Pitch anime, Gakuto's name was changed to "Gaito" (
). This was done either to further emphasize the connection between him and Kaito... Or perhaps because the *real* Gackt finally filed a lawsuit.
Name Notes, Again: In Del Rey's English adaptation of the manga, Gakuto's name is written as "Gackto," further emphasizing the fact that he parodies Japanese pop star Gackt.
Sara's story can be read here. Beware of tons of spoilers!
Izuuru | 
Izuuru is one of the Dark Lovers, one of Gakuto's female servants. Her upper half is that of a beautiful woman, but her lower half is some sort of sea monster. Hence, she looks like a twisted, evil version of a mermaid. Her magical powers include the ability to control the ocean's waves, the ability to summon storms, the ability to control various ocean beasts, and the ability to summon dragons made of water. Izuuru is steadfast in her love for Gakuto, and only goes after the mermaid princesses because she wants to improve her standing in Gakuto's eyes.
In chapter 20, it is revealed that Izuuru was originally a shark. When Gakuto's spell is broken, Izuuru turns back into a shark.
Name Notes: Izuuru's name is formed from the combination of syllables from the names of two of the three editors of the manga. According to Yokote Michiko's margin notes from tankouban 1, that is.
Eriru | 
Eriru is one of the Dark Lovers, one of Gakuto's female servants. She also apparently has multiple personality disorder. Most of the time, she wears a cute face, but when threatened, her eyes glow yellow and her voice changes. In her "cute" phase, Eriru constantly sings and dances. She never speaks a word of normal spoken speech, and she never stands still for a single moment. All of her word bubbles are sung, and if she can't muster up the creativity to do any real dancing, she'll actually settle for just spinning herself in circles. In her "evil" phase, however, Eriru is much more dangerous.
Eriru has a pair of cat-like ears, that she she keeps hidden beneath the rag that she wears over her hair. She also has a pair of small, black wings, that only appear rarely in the manga.
In chapter 20, it is revealed that Eriru was originally a manta ray. When Gakuto's spell is broken, Eriru turns back into a manta ray.
Name Notes: "Eriru" is named after Hanamori Pink's older sister, Eriko.
Yuuri | 
Yuuri is one of the Dark Lovers, one of Gakuto's female servants. She plays the piano, and her most powerful magic comes from the music that she creates on her keyboard.
Yuuri seems to be just a child, but her attraction to Gakuto is very adult-like in nature. Still, when all is said and done, Yuuri is just a child, albeit a precocious one. She pouts and cries and schmoozes with Gakuto in ways that only a little girl could get away with. However, because she is just a child, Yuuri is not as set in her ways as the other Dark Lovers are. She does begin to question her loyalty later in the series, especially after Hippo (in his human form) shows her a bit of kindness.
Despite the fact that she cares for Hippo, Yuuri ultimately chooses to remain loyal to Gakuto. In chapter 20, it is revealed that Yuuri was originally some sort of tropical fish, and when Gakuto's spell is broken, Yuuri turns back into a fish.
However, that is not the end of Yuuri's story. Even sealed beneath the ocean, Gakuto takes pity upon Yuuri and Hippo, and promises to expend his power turning Yuuri back into her semi-human form for one night only. On that night, Gakuto breaks the seal binding Yuuri just long enough to let her meet Hippo in the human world. Hippo and Yuuri share a bittersweet moment together, and Hippo promises to visit Yuuri, wherever she is, again someday.
Maria | 
Maria is one of the Dark Lovers, one of Gakuto's female servants. She seems to be the closest to Gakuto, romantically speaking. The other three are definitely jealous of her intimacy with Gakuto. She is the most beautiful of the Dark Lovers, but also the most heartless. While the other three seem to genuinely love Gakuto, Maria may only see him as her (very nice-looking) boy toy. But then again, that may be exactly the reason why Gakuto is also attracted to Maria in return. Her love is cruel and covetous.
Maria is associated with ice. When she touches one of Gakuto's roses, it freezes over. Her main offensive attack is a barrage of flying icicles. In addition, Maria also has the power to control wind.
In chapter 20, it is revealed that Maria was originally an eel. When Gakuto's spell is broken, Maria turns back into an eel.
Black Beauty Sisters | 
The Black Beauty Sisters are Gakuto's most powerful servants. They do not seem to be included under the group name "Dark Lovers," and thus are distinct from the other four. The elder sister is Sheshe (
, with the ponytail and one horn), and the younger sister is Mimi (
, with the short hair and two horns). The Black Beauty Sisters attack the mermaid princesses by singing their song, and their song is so powerful that the mermaid princesses can hardly stand up to it. In fact, not once do the mermaid princesses ever actually succeed in facing down the Sisters - instead, they are always saved by someone or something else! (Well, at least until the second story arc of the manga, that is...)
Unlike the Dark Lovers, Sheshe and Mimi do not seem to be in love with Gakuto, nor do they show any real loyalty to him. In chapter 17, their own personal ambitions are pretty clearly revealed, although at the same time, they realize that in order to reach their goals, they do have to align themselves with Gakuto. And, it would seem, Gakuto also holds their continued existence in his hands. In chapter 18, when the Black Beauty Sisters steal two of Gakuto's pearls and then still fail to capture the mermaid princesses, Gakuto turns them back into their original forms, a pair of deep sea anglerfish (specifically the species linophryne densiramus, according to Del Rey).
The Black Beauty Sisters are sort of like mercenaries - they'll work for whoever, they don't care, as long as there's something in it for them. In the second story arc of the manga, the Black Beauty Sisters are returned to their humanoid forms by Michel, and in return agree to work as his servants. Although it at first appears as though the Black Beauty Sisters ultimately meet their doom at Michel's treacherous hands, the truth is that they, too, finally have a moment of rebirth and redemption, in chapter 30 of the manga.