Title: MeruPuri
Original Title: MeruPuri: Märchen Prince
Author: Matsuri Hino
Volumes Reviewed: 4 (complete)
Publisher: VIZ Media (Shojo Beat)
Release Date: July 5, 2005 - April 4, 2006
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Fantasy Romance
Content Rating: Older Teen (sensuality*, magical violence)
Format Read: Paperback (own)
Find On: Goodreads
Purchase: Azon | B&N | BookDepo | Indiebound
Summary for Volume 1:
All high school freshman Airi Hoshina ever wanted was to someday live in a cozy home with a loving husband, and find joy in the little things in life. As a result, she makes it her daily mission to get to school on time because school legend has it that the longer one's non-tardy streak is, the better boyfriend one will find. But just when her daily routine is working like clockwork, an occurrence of falrytale proportions threatens to disrupt her grand plan.
On the way to school one morning, Airi loses her mirror - one that had been passed down to her through generations - and suddenly finds herself in a bizarre situation. Never in her wildest dreams did she expect Aram, a little boy from a magical kingdom, to have emerged from the mirror in the short time it took her to track it down!
* * *
MeruPuri is a romantic four-volume contemporary fantasy series of love, magic, family, and age fluidity from the creator of the uber-popular Vampire Knight. Cursed by his brother to bodily age up from 7 to 17 when plunged into darkness, Aram finds refuge in another world with 15 year-old traitor descendant Arai and they fall in love despite great opposition and an 8-year age gap.
The artwork is young but strong with some great snapshots and swoony moments, and there is no want for beautiful people or fantastical settings in magic kingdom Astale. The story covers many of the classic romance plots including amusement park dates, jealous fiancees and other romantic interests, kidnappings, memory loss, and Romeo & Juliet-esque forbidden love, but also offers plenty of royal action with magical battles and diabolical schemes. At only four volumes the full story feels a little rushed at times and the last volume is more a collection of quick aging snippets, but overall it's a fun and magical tale with a playful cast and a sweet happy ending. Highly recommend for fantasy manga lovers.
*A Note on Content: Some Americans may be a little uncomfortable with the 7/15 age difference of the romance (it seems to be a relatively common Japanese trope, especially in the form of children falling for their teachers), but there are only a few brief sensual-ish moments and almost all of them are when he is bodily 17.
MeruPuri is a romantic four-volume contemporary fantasy series of love, magic, family, and age fluidity from the creator of the uber-popular Vampire Knight. Cursed by his brother to bodily age up from 7 to 17 when plunged into darkness, Aram finds refuge in another world with 15 year-old traitor descendant Arai and they fall in love despite great opposition and an 8-year age gap.
The artwork is young but strong with some great snapshots and swoony moments, and there is no want for beautiful people or fantastical settings in magic kingdom Astale. The story covers many of the classic romance plots including amusement park dates, jealous fiancees and other romantic interests, kidnappings, memory loss, and Romeo & Juliet-esque forbidden love, but also offers plenty of royal action with magical battles and diabolical schemes. At only four volumes the full story feels a little rushed at times and the last volume is more a collection of quick aging snippets, but overall it's a fun and magical tale with a playful cast and a sweet happy ending. Highly recommend for fantasy manga lovers.
*A Note on Content: Some Americans may be a little uncomfortable with the 7/15 age difference of the romance (it seems to be a relatively common Japanese trope, especially in the form of children falling for their teachers), but there are only a few brief sensual-ish moments and almost all of them are when he is bodily 17.
Scribble Rating:
4 of 5 Scribbles
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