I am bit by the manga bug: MeruPuri
I am taking a day or so break from Saiyuki. I love the show, but I watched 25 episodes in a week or so, and while this isn't the most I've ever done by any stretch of the imagination, since this show isn't strongly arced, this concentration is getting a bit too much. This said, the latest ep I watched was excellent (when isn't it), involving Gojyo helping out a woman who's had a half-human/half-demon child. I like Gojyo, and he is probably the best adjusted of the group, but perhaps because of that, he is the least interesting, still the ep was fun. I do wonder why the half-breeds are viewed as such a curse. The baby doesn't appear to be able to twist its head 360 degrees, and Gojyo himself is a sweet guy.
Anyway, on to the topic of this post. I've been bit by a manga bug. I've found a manga I can read and like. The manga in question? MeruPuri. This isn't the first manga I've read (I've read all of the giddy angstiness of Mars long before I discovered a hidden anime nut, and I've recently read and enjoyed Alice 19th because I could follow Yuu Watase's style after watching Fushigi Yuugi, as well as reading all of the FY: Genbu Kaiden translated so far), but it's certainly a rare occasion for me, because I find mangas of stories that I haven't seen in anime form first, hard to follow. I am not used to graphic novels and my eyes jump first to the words and try to see the pictures as secondary, and it's not something you can do with manga. I have to force myself to slow down, and look at pictures and read the words at the same time, and to look at pictures carefully. Usually I find it very hard and just give up (e.g. Saiyuki manga is gorgeous, but I can't follow the fights at all).
(Aram and Airi)
But MeruPuri? Is very pretty, the flowery (and appropriate for this type of fairy tale) style of the fictional magic kingdom reminding me of Louis XV (and not just because of Jeile's outfits). It's funny, and light, and a bit mushy. Airi, the heroine, is rather fun, and Aram (the hero) is certainly a bit unusual (is he a 12 year old? A 12 year old trapped in a young man's body? A young man? Both? Neither?). And the men are certainly awfully pretty. It is also short, only four volumes. I started reading it and really wanted to finish it and had to buy it.
(Aram and Jeile)
Plot: Airi is a high school student, a bit too obsessed with normal life and finding a perfectly normal man to marry and have a family with. Unfortunately for her, one morning on the way to school, she has a 12 year old kid called "Aram" appear out of her odd, heirloom mirror. Aram insists he is a prince of a magical kingdom Astale, and has been banished as a result of a spell by his older half-brother Jeile. He is very cute, even if rude and a bit odd, so while Airi disregards his story, she does take him in to at least feed him. Airi lets the kid stay overnight, but in the morning she discovers that the spell has transformed Aram into a young man, because he ages when he is in the dark. And he tells her that only her kiss can return him to his original self (though if he get stuck in the dark, the whole cycle will have to be repeated). And it goes on from there.
And to steal an idea from crumpeteer, I have a Quote of the Day, and this time it's from MeruPuri.
Aram: Don't say I am cute. It's like saying "He can breathe without planning ahead."
Aram:
And more Aram. Why do magic hotties never show up in MY house? (Oh yeah, I am married. Right.)
Jeile:
Grown-up and child versions of Aram, with Airi in a bizarre sandwich:
Beefcake. Get your beefcake here. Aram is with Airi and Jeile is the left-most guy:
Airi and kid-Aram:
Airi:
Pretty:
Hey girl, I feel your pain. You fell asleep with a kid to comfort him and wake up in a hot guy's arms. Yeah. Horrible. Dreadful. Move over. (Also, maybe you should meet up with Takiko from FY: Genbu Kaiden. She thought hers was a girl):
A bigger Aram and Jeile pic. Could those pants be any lower?
Airi and Jeile. I keep wanting to spell it 'jelly:'
More pretty:
Victoriana run amuck. Airi and kid Aram:
Anyway, on to the topic of this post. I've been bit by a manga bug. I've found a manga I can read and like. The manga in question? MeruPuri. This isn't the first manga I've read (I've read all of the giddy angstiness of Mars long before I discovered a hidden anime nut, and I've recently read and enjoyed Alice 19th because I could follow Yuu Watase's style after watching Fushigi Yuugi, as well as reading all of the FY: Genbu Kaiden translated so far), but it's certainly a rare occasion for me, because I find mangas of stories that I haven't seen in anime form first, hard to follow. I am not used to graphic novels and my eyes jump first to the words and try to see the pictures as secondary, and it's not something you can do with manga. I have to force myself to slow down, and look at pictures and read the words at the same time, and to look at pictures carefully. Usually I find it very hard and just give up (e.g. Saiyuki manga is gorgeous, but I can't follow the fights at all).
(Aram and Airi)
But MeruPuri? Is very pretty, the flowery (and appropriate for this type of fairy tale) style of the fictional magic kingdom reminding me of Louis XV (and not just because of Jeile's outfits). It's funny, and light, and a bit mushy. Airi, the heroine, is rather fun, and Aram (the hero) is certainly a bit unusual (is he a 12 year old? A 12 year old trapped in a young man's body? A young man? Both? Neither?). And the men are certainly awfully pretty. It is also short, only four volumes. I started reading it and really wanted to finish it and had to buy it.
(Aram and Jeile)
Plot: Airi is a high school student, a bit too obsessed with normal life and finding a perfectly normal man to marry and have a family with. Unfortunately for her, one morning on the way to school, she has a 12 year old kid called "Aram" appear out of her odd, heirloom mirror. Aram insists he is a prince of a magical kingdom Astale, and has been banished as a result of a spell by his older half-brother Jeile. He is very cute, even if rude and a bit odd, so while Airi disregards his story, she does take him in to at least feed him. Airi lets the kid stay overnight, but in the morning she discovers that the spell has transformed Aram into a young man, because he ages when he is in the dark. And he tells her that only her kiss can return him to his original self (though if he get stuck in the dark, the whole cycle will have to be repeated). And it goes on from there.
And to steal an idea from crumpeteer, I have a Quote of the Day, and this time it's from MeruPuri.
Aram: Don't say I am cute. It's like saying "He can breathe without planning ahead."
Aram:
And more Aram. Why do magic hotties never show up in MY house? (Oh yeah, I am married. Right.)
Jeile:
Grown-up and child versions of Aram, with Airi in a bizarre sandwich:
Beefcake. Get your beefcake here. Aram is with Airi and Jeile is the left-most guy:
Airi and kid-Aram:
Airi:
Pretty:
Hey girl, I feel your pain. You fell asleep with a kid to comfort him and wake up in a hot guy's arms. Yeah. Horrible. Dreadful. Move over. (Also, maybe you should meet up with Takiko from FY: Genbu Kaiden. She thought hers was a girl):
A bigger Aram and Jeile pic. Could those pants be any lower?
Airi and Jeile. I keep wanting to spell it 'jelly:'
More pretty:
Victoriana run amuck. Airi and kid Aram: