Merupuri, Vol. 1

I was given this 4 volume set by a 15 yro friend, I am 31. She said I would like it. AND I DO! - to the point that I wish there was an after story or even a movie. A movie off this book would be good. Story is good; makes one want to turn the page. Characters are good. Illustrations are good.

Let me start off by saying that "MeruPuri" is one of the best manga I have ever read. I read the first volume at Borders several months ago and loved it, but I did not want to start buying a new series. Recently though, I found out that it was only four volumes long, so I immediately went out and bought it. And I'm really glad I did. "MeruPuri" is a story about a girl named Airi who dreams of finding her soul mate and living a simple life with him, raising a family and appreciating the simple things in life. Things are going well, and Airi has found a boy named Nakaoji whom she thinks would be a perfect match for her. But things are about to change. One day, much to her chagrin, Airi's plans are disrupted when a little boy named Aram, who claims to be from the magical kingdom of Astale, appears from her heirloom mirror. He is rude and a little annoying, but cute, and he and Airi quickly become friends. The next day, Airi is shocked to find that a spell has transformed Aram into a handsome young man, and worse, he says that she is his "favorite", and only her kiss can return him to his original self. And it just gets better from there. I absolutely fell in love with this series, mostly because of the characters and their relationships. Airi is a well-balanced heroine. She is not too whiny or perfect or unbelievably strong like the girls in a lot of the manga I read. I can easily relate to her. And you can't help but love Aram. He's a prince in every way, courageous and fair, but he's still acts childish. The romance between Airi and Aram is really sweet, it really has me hooked. The supporting characters all have personalities of their own and contribute to the story well. This is also a pretty funny manga, especially when Aram looks like a teenager but acts like a child. Airi too, is humorous in her obsessive quest to find the perfect man. The art is beautiful, and the story is very interesting and creative. I love all the fantasy elements. It's a bit of a cliched subject, but Matsuri uses original and fresh concepts. I cannot reccommend "MeruPuri" strongly enough. Everything about it is absolutely wonderful. But don't take my word for it, read it for yourself! You won't be disappointed!

At a recent bookfair that my school had I was able to pick up one volume of 4 different series of manga but this one stuck out the most I think after reading them all. There's just something about it. When I put it down I instantly wanted to pick it up and read it all over again. I would say I didn't know why only...well...I do. There are so many reasons. To start out, Aram, the young prince from a magical kingdom that appears out of Airi's mirror is one of the most interesting characters. Within the first volume of this manga he is a young kid, then turns into a hot older guy, then young again, then older...etc. Throughout the whole thing, he begins to realize (even though in actuality he's really only about 7 years old or so) that he really likes the Heroine of the tale, Airi. At first he acts rude towards her but mostly because he doesn't know her and he's used to being treated as royalty. To say the least, his little "child moments" are the cutest (and most hilarious) things in this whole volume. The fact that he doesn't understand much about Airi's world except that when you go to carnivals you get floaty round things (balloons) and you watch 'Sparkle Rangers' on the Telly vishion (TV)is what keeps you laughing. Anyway, besides the comedy, the art in this book is amazing. You can tell that Matsuri Hino put a lot of time into it and it makes it just THAT much more enjoyable to read. I can tell that this series is going to become one of my very favorites so I would recommend it most definately!

At first glance this looks like a magical girl type story--but it's not! It's a great magical romantic story with quite a few funny moments! From just the first volume I fell in love with the characters; even the heroine. She's not whiny, tries her best at everything, and is strong emotionally, but she's still just a regular teenage girl. The characters are my favorite part of any story (and what makes a story feel alive), this manga creates great characters in this first volume and keeps on putting them in interesting situations (especially in volume 2). The plot starts off with a bang; Aram (a young prince with magical powers) has been transported to Airi's (our) world. His brother put a spell on him-which didn't turn out right-and now he turns older whenever he's in the dark. The only way to change him back is for Airi to kiss him. This has funny outcomes and results in Aram starting to see things and people in a more grown-up/teenagy way...if you know what I mean. He still has many funny child-like tendencies and thoughts, though. One example is his new love for the Sparkle Rangers (think power rangers). Bottom line: I loved this series from the first volume and recommend it to anyone that loves romance, great characters, and a little bit of fantasy...oh and comedy too! Also, this series is only 4 volumes, so you won't be investing in anything too long (unfortunately).

Merupuri is really an interesting manga! It's about a regular high school girl named Airi Hoshina whose only dream is to get married to a great guy and raise a secure normal family. Wow, what she doesn't know is that "normal" isn't in the picture. Airi has a special mirror shaped like a star passed down from her great great great great grandmother. Actually that the mirror is a portal to another world! In reality it's an escape route for the royal family in case of an emergency. Suddenly, that mirror is put into use when a real live little boy named Aram comes out of the mirror and lands right next to Airi. Aram escaped through the mirror to get away from his half-brother Jeile. His evil half-brother beforehand cast a spell on Aram so that whenever he goes in the dark he is suppose to age rapidly. The spell was SUPPOSE to make Aram age so rapidly that he becomes the oldest man on earth when left in the dark. Fortunately, Jeile's spell just grazed Aram so he becomes a young man (about Airi's age) when left in the dark. While Airi is struggling with the fact that Aram is a kid in a teenager's body Aram is just being a lucky-go kid watching "sparkle rangers"(I guess it's another form of "power rangers"?). Not to mention that Aram's 1/2 brother, Jeile also starts to like Airi and insists that he make her his wife. Airi on the other hand has no lack of suitors. Nakaouji, a fellow classmate, works with Airi on the class committee and represents Airi's ideal boyfriend. It was so funny when Aram came visiting and when he held on to Airi's hand and said "mine" Nakaouji just looked amuse. After Airi stuffed him in a DARK closet and he came out again and said "mine" the results weren't the same. Airi's alibi of Aram being her younger brother don't really seem the same... Did I mention that the only way for the spell to be broken temporarly (temporarly as in till the next time Aram goes in the dark) is for Airi to give Aram a "maiden's kiss"? Can Airi and Aram actually be feeling something more for each other? If you like Merupuri be sure to check out hana-kimi, pretear, marmalade boy, tokyo mew mew, and/or zodiac p.i. if you're looking for another series. ^_^ The world needs more manga! *lol*