| Type: | manga |
| Author: | Matsuri Hino |
| Publisher: | Hakusensha |
| Demographic: | Shōjo |
| Magazine: | LaLa |
| First: | August 2002 |
| Last: | September 2004 |
| Volumes: | 4 |
MeruPuri, originally titled, is a Japanese manga series by written and illustrated by Matsuri Hino. MeruPuri was serialized in Japan in LaLa magazine, and was published in English by Viz Media.
High school freshman Airi Hoshina's only ambition in life is to someday live in a cozy home with a loving husband and find joy in the little things in life. She revolves all her activities and hobbies around this concept including getting to school on time every day because the school legend says that the longer one's non-tardy streak is, the better boyfriend one will find.
However, her perfectly mapped out life ambition is derailed when she drops a small mirror that has been passed down in her family for generations on her way to school. Upon returning to retrieve the trinket she discovers it in the possession a cheeky, strangely dressed 7 year-old. She at first fails to retrieve the mirror by rushing off when the first bell rings so she doesn't break her no tardy rule. When she returns and finds the boy still waiting in the same spot with the mirror, he introduces himself as Aram and says he came through the mirror and is waiting for his companion to contact him. Realizing he is alone and thinking he is a foreigner from the embassy, Airi invites him to wait for his companion at her house so he isn't by himself in the city. She welcomes the company since her parents have been traveling abroad for several years and her grandparents often vacation leaving her living in her house alone the majority of the time.
The two develop a friendship quickly as Aram likes that she treats him like any other person, and he stays the night in Airi's room since his companion has yet to contact him. Airi wakes up the next morning to the surprise of her life when she finds Aram has turned into a 17-year-old overnight. Aram's companion Lei finally appears through Airi's mirror and explains that Aram is actually the youngest prince of a magic kingdom called Astale. He reveals that she is actually a descendant of Princess Chrisnele, who is considered a traitor for abandoning her kingdom for love in Airi's world. The mirror was a portal that belonged to her. Aram fled through a separate portal to her world because his older brother Jeile attempted to place a curse on him that would age him into an old man and seal off his magic when he is engulfed in darkness. Aram was slow to escape the spell, and a partial amount of it still took effect aging him into a teenager and making his magic exceptionally difficult to control. Lei declares that the only thing that can restore Aram to his true form is the kiss of one's most beloved maiden. As Aram is too young to have such a woman he declares that Airi, the closest thing he has had to a female friend, is his most beloved maiden. Airi is against the idea as she wants to save her first kiss for her soul mate leaving her and Aram stuck together until he turns back into his true form and can use magic again.
Airi's first impression of Aram is that he is a cute little boy, but he quickly comes to stand in the way of her plans of living a normal life. Her dreams of a normal marriage disappear when she unwittingly performs marriage vows with him. Because of the vows, she and Aram both now have matching insignias on their chests. If any man aside from Aram kisses the symbol, then her heart will stop beating. However, she slowly becomes fond of Aram and finally realizes her feelings during their high school summer trip to the beach, where Raz tries to kill her by kissing the symbol on her chest. After that, she was completely devoted to Aram.
Although, encounters with Aram's former fiance Mariabel causes problems when she removes Aram's memories and feelings for Airi by the help of Raz. Airi can't let Aram go as she constantly tries to get him to remember her.
Ten years after, on Aram's 17th birthday, at the ceremony of coming of age, they officially get married when she is at the age of 25. (ch 22)
When Aram had his memories removed by the box Raz gave Mariabel, he becomes aloof and indifferent towards Airi, However, he feels slightly disturbed around her and doesn't know why. But then he kisses Airi once more and returns to his original form, confirming Airi's love for him and she is his most beloved.
Occasionally, Aram enjoys teasing Airi, for instance when Airi touched Aram's body while he was sleeping when he was actually awake, telling her she could do anything to him if she wanted to.
In some ways Aram is a typical little boy, and he develops a fondness for things like super sentai shows (especially The Sparkle Rangers) and rice omelettes, but he also has an exceedingly regal bearing and often seems twice his real age. Although formally engaged to Mariabel, Aram makes Airi perform Astale's traditional marriage vows with him in order to save her from going to the Eternal Prison. At first, their marriage is not recognized by anyone in Astale until volume 4 where Aram officially places their marriage into the "Book of Oaths". However, their official wedding is not until Aram comes of age 10 years later (when he is 17), in chapter 22. At this time Jeile performs a reversal spell on him, causing him to turn into a little kid when it goes dark.
When Aram loses his memory, he helps Airi and even assists her on being by her side while she is in their realm.
Jeile has a bit of a masochistic streak; he becomes smitten with Airi after she slaps him, and tries to get her to become his first wife. He calls Airi his Mountain Lily Maiden and tries to be happy for her after she becomes Aram's fiance. When Aram turns 17 he reverses the spell so Aram turns into a child in the dark after hearing Airi complain about never being able to see him little again.
When he was about twelve years old, his first love was Lei (he did not know that Lei was a boy at the time due to Lei's long hair and rather feminine appearance). His fiancé is Lei's sister, Nei. When Jeile meets her, he can't bear to see her face because it is identical to Lei's. However, five years later when Jeile is King of Astale (after the former king and queen retired) he accepts Nei and they even have two children, whose names are not revealed.
On Anime News Network, Zac Bertschy gave volume 1 a grade of C+ for the story and B+ for the art.[2]