Dream Eater Merry

Yumekui Merry
Cover of the first volume of Yumekui Merry featuring Merry Nightmare.
夢喰いメリー (Yumekui Merī)
Genre	Action, Fantasy
Manga
Written by	Ushiki Yoshitaka
Published by	Houbunsha
Magazine	Manga Time Kirara Forward
Demographic	Seinen
Original run	August 10, 2008 – present
Volumes	7
Anime television series
Directed by	Shigeyasu Yamauchi
Produced by	Hideki Shirane
Written by	Ushiki Yoshitaka
Music by	Keiichi Oku
Studio	J.C. Staff
Original network	MBS, TBS
Original run	January 7, 2011 – April 8, 2011
Episodes	13

Dream Eater Merry (夢喰いメリー, Yumekui Merī) is a Japanese action fantasy manga series written and illustrated by Ushiki Yoshitaka. The series is serialized in Houbunsha's seinen manga magazine Manga Time Kirara Forward. The manga was adapted into an anime television series by J.C. Staff which aired in Japan between January 7, 2011 and April 8, 2011.

Plot

Yumeji Fujiwara, a young male student like any other, gained the power to see the aura of other people's dreams, and is able to predict what kind of dream they will have next, after an event that occurred 10 years ago. Since then, he started to have weird dreams with cats following him for an unknown reason, where he learns thanks to the boss of the cat army, John Doe, that his body is needed to access the real world. One day, as he was about to come back home after his errands, a mysterious girl falls on top of him. This girl, called Merry Nightmare, is actually a dream demon (夢魔, muma), who's searching for a way to come back in her world. As Yumeji decides to help her, the gate to the world of dreams opens again, this time in full daylight. She appears in the daydream world and wards off the Dream Demon "Chaser John Doe" looking for an answer to how to get back to her world. It seems as if John Doe knows something about Merry. Meanwhile, an evil dream demon named Pharos Hercules is leading other dream demons to make humans into their vessels in order to raise an army, killing those that oppose him which causes humans to lose sight of their goals and ambitions.

Characters

Protagonists

Merry Nightmare (メリー・ナイトメア, Merī Naitomea)

Voiced by: Ayane Sakura

The main female protagonist. A dream demon from the dreamworld, who allegedly came into the real world 10 years ago without any memory. Unlike the other dream demons, she doesn't need to possess a human to enter the real world, as she has her own body. Searching for a door to come back to the Dreamworld, she falls on Yumeji one day, who wants to help her to find her way back home. At first reluctant, when a daydream occurs and when she saves Yumeji's life, she accepts his help. She is able to break the daydreams in order to get back in the real world. She can't eat spicy food or drink carbonated soda, but she loves doughnuts above everything and likes video games a lot. She currently works at the Tachibana restaurant. Merry's distinct features include horizontal slit-shaped pupils similar to that of sheep and a scar on her right arm, in the same place where Yumeji used to have his.

Yumeji Fujiwara (藤原 夢路, Fujiwara Yumeji)

Voiced by: Nobuhiko Okamoto

The main male protagonist. 10 years ago he received the ability to perceive the aura of people's dreams, which allows him to predict what kind of dreams they are going to have. Though his normal predictions are hazy at best, he can clearly identify when someone is destined to have a nightmare. He is a lazy, yet strong-willed and determined person with a heart of gold, who is always ready to help others. He is also a member of a writing club at his high school, and is a big fan of the superhero called Guricho. Information about his family is unknown, but it has been said that his parents are away due to work and is currently under the care of Isana's family until they get back. It is also interesting to note that he had a scar in the same place as one Merry has on her arm, although this is not alluded to in the anime.

Isana Tachibana (橘 勇魚, Tachibana Isana)

Voiced by: Ai Kayano

Isana is Yumeji's childhood friend, who Yumeji has been living with for a while. Daughter of the cook of a restaurant in the city, she's a kind and quite shy girl who works with her father. Yumeji saved her as she was about to fall from a playground when she was young. She also commented once that she has a feeling that she had met Merry before but shook the idea off as her imagination. She's in love with Yumeji and asks Merry what kind of feeling she has for the boy. After being targeted by Legion, Yumeji and Merry tell her the truth about dream demons.

Chaser John Doe (チェイサー ジョン・ドゥ, Cheisā Jon Du)

Voiced by: Jouji Nakata

A cat-like dream demon called who leads the cat army that appears in Yumeji's dreams. He was originally interested in Yumeji as a vessel to enter the real world, but he was defeated by Merry. After Yumeji's confrontation with Engi Threepiece, Chaser returns and heals the wounds on Yumeji's soul. Chaser informs Yumeji about Pharaos Hercules and that Hercules may have been responsible for Merry manifesting in the real world without a vessel. When asked if whether he was an enemy or an ally, Chaser responded that he was only collection information, however, he is "an ally of truth". Chaser occasionally helps Yumeji realize his potential to manipulate daydreams, such as manifesting weapons and connecting dream gardens together. He later uses a black cat as his vessel which stays at Yumeji's house, though becomes curious about how Yumeji is able to enter daydreams without him, wondering if he is even human.

Yui Kōnagi (光凪 由衣, Kōnagi Yui)

Voiced by: Tomoko Akiya

Yui is a young girl whom Yumeji meets in a supermarket. She has a strong interest in collecting dolls and keychains, particularly unique looking ones, and she is a terrible cook. She's the voluntary vessel of another dream demon, Engi Threepiece, after she decided to help her.

Engi Threepiece (エンギ・スリーピース, Engi Surīpīsu)

Voiced by: Aya Endo

Engi is a dream demon like Merry, who however needs a vessel to access the real world. She wants to avenge her older sister, Patti, who was tricked into going to the real world and ended up being killed there. Engi thus asked Yui's help to search from a nightmare named Pharaos Hercules, who she believes is responsible for Patti's death. Although she can only physically appear during daydreams, she can possess Yui's body in order to speak with others. Due to her fuzzy purple collar, she is often nicknamed "Nasu-onna" (meaning "Eggplant-lady") by Merry.

Antagonists

Pharos Hercules (ファロス エルクレス, Farosu Erukuresu)

Voiced by: Kenta Miyake

The main antagonist, a Dream Demon who looks like a knight wearing armor and a helmet, and is attempting to lead a group of other Dream Demons to the real world so they can replace humanity by possessing humans. During Hercules' fight with Engi he uses an over-sized axe, and demonstrates the ability to take over dream worlds.

Chain Noir (チェイン ノワール, Chein Nowāru)

A busty Dream Demon serving under Hercules, who uses chains to trap her enemies. She uses a small girl as her vessel. Noir, along with Landsbourough, attacks Merry and Yumeji, however she is defeated after Yumeji takes over her dream world. Merry sends her and Landsbourough back to the dream world, claiming that they will not be able to return.

Maze Landsbourough (ランズボロー, Ranzuborō)

Voiced by: Hiroyuki Yoshino

A clown like Dream Demon in service of Hercules who possesses a man as his vessel. His daydream world is a huge circus-like maze, and he constantly uses his wily words to psyche out his opponents. Merry sends him and Noir back to the dream world, claiming that they will not be able to return.

Sonar Clione (クリオネ, Kurione)

A female dream demon forced to serve Hercules. She has a built in sonar that can detect other dream demons, but only those that she has met before.

Familiar Legion (レギオン, Region)

A spectral dream demon that has several shadows. If his main body is able to acquire its desired vessels, its shadows can possess several other vessels who have experienced the same nightmare. He also has the ability to manipulate gravity by rotating his face. Legion targets a group of students in Yumeji's school, targeting Isana to make her his main vessel. Merry manages to send it back thanks to the cooperation of Yumeji and the other classmates.

Other characters

Mei Hoshino (星野 鳴, Hoshino Mei)

Voiced by: Natsumi Takamori

Another friend of Yumeji, and leader of the writing club. A kind and soft-spoken girl with green hair and glasses, she ends up being the victim of a dream demon called Chris Evergreen.

Takateru Akiyanagi (秋柳 貴照, Akiyanagi Takateru)

Voiced by: Shinnosuke Tachibana

Another friend of Yumeji, and member of the writing club. He loves writing haikus and is often seen with a pen and a piece of paper to write on it. He has a younger sister who inspired him to write haiku.

Saki Kirishima (霧島 咲, Kirishima Saki)

Voiced by: Mariya Ise

Another friend of Yumeji, and member of the writing club. Quite tomboyish, she's fascinated by Yumeji's ability to see the aura of dreams. It is hinted she may have feelings for Takateru.

Kyō Shiragi (白儀 響, Shiragi Kyō)

A boy who transfers into Yumeji's class. He is very excited to find out that Isana is in the same class as him, as he feels gratitude towards her for helping him out. He appears to excel in both sports and academics.

Old Man Tachibana (橘のおやっさん, Tachibana no Oyassan)

Voiced by: Keiji Fujiwara

Isana's father who runs the Tachibana family restaurant, which is also home to both Yumeji and, more recently, Merry. He tends to have some rather perverted hobbies, but always acts cool and collected.

Miyuki Akiyanagi (秋柳 瑞貴, Akiyanagi Miyuki)

Takateru's younger sister who used to be rather sickly when she was younger. However, she has recovered much of her health as of present. She apparently is the only person amused by Takateru's haiku. She apparently has a brother complex and is shown to be fiercely (and comically) overprotective of her brother. She is hostile towards Saki because she believes she is acting too close towards her brother (by calling him Taka, a shortened version of his name, which would indicate intimacy of certain level) and that she has been causing trouble for him by picking fights with him.

Anime original

Chizuru Kawanami (河浪 千鶴, Kawanami Chizuru)

Voiced by: Kana Ueda

Chizuru is a mysterious transfer student who Isana tries to make friends with. Having been orphaned at a young age, Chizuru had cast away her emotions and become the vessel of the dream demon, Lestion. However, she has started to open up towards Isana and wants to protect her from Mystletainn after she is forced to become a vessel and is targeted. She ends up firing Lestion's gun at Mystletainn, which shatters her dreams and soul, though Isana still stays friends with her, hoping she can start over again.

Lestion (レスティオン, Resution)

Voiced by: Takaya Kuroda

Chizuru's dream demon, who paired up with her for the sake of carrying out his revenge against Mystletainn. He owns a gun that uses the despair from vessels having their dream demons being killed as ammo, and requires his own life to fire it, choosing Chizuru as her vessel as she had allegedly given up her emotions. During the battle against Mystletainn, he sacrifices himself in order to complete the bullet needed for the gun.

Ryōta Ijima (飯島 良太, Ijima Ryōta)

Voiced by: Kenichi Suzumura

Ijima is a guidance counselor who talks to students about their dreams. He appears friendly and helpful to students in achieving their dreams. In reality however, he is the vessel for the dream demon, Mystletainn, who forces his students to become vessels for dream demons so that Mystletainn can kill them, robbing the humans of their goals. When Mystletainn is defeated by Merry and Engi, he loses his dreams and quits his teaching position.

Mystletainn (ミストルティン, Misutorutin)

Voiced by: Sayuri Yahagi

An evil dream demon who appears in the anime. She has the power to force dream demons into human vessels, later targeting and killing them, resulting in the vessel losing all ambition in their goals. She is extremely strong, as it is noted that she is acknowledged by Pharos Hercules for her power. However, thanks to Yumeji's confidence, she is killed by Merry and Engi.

Parade (パレイド, Pareido)

Voiced by: Kimiko Koyama

A small dream demon that is forced by Mystletainn to make Isana her vessel so that she and Ijima can target both of them. Although he is taken hostage by Mystletainn, Merry manages to send her back home.

Media

Manga

The manga series by Ushiki Yoshitaka began serialization in Manga Time Kirara Forward magazine from August 10, 2008 and is still ongoing. Seven tankōbon volumes have been released so far, the first of which was released on October 27, 2008.

Anime

An anime television series based on the manga Yumekui Merry was announced in the September issue of Houbunsha's Manga Time Kirara Forward magazine. Produced by J.C. Staff, the anime series is directed and written by Hideki Shirane, and music composition by Keiichi Oku. The anime series aired in Japan on the Tokyo Broadcasting System between January 7, 2011 and April 8, 2011, later rebroadcast on the Mainichi Broadcasting System, Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting, RKK, and the satellite channel BS-TBS. The opening theme for the anime is "Daydream Syndrome" by Marina Fujiwara while the ending is "Yume to Kibou to Ashita no Atashi" (ユメとキボーとアシタのアタシ, "Dreams and Hopes and the Me of Tomorrow") by Ayane Sakura. Both artists belong to the Japanese musical ensemble and dōjin circle, IOSYS. The anime has been licensed in North America by Sentai Filmworks under the title Dream Eater Merry.

Episode list

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Reception

In their Winter 2011 Anime Preview Guide, the majority of Anime News Network's staff of reviewers gave modest ratings for the first episode. Theron Martin states the series is straddling the line between the typical and the really weird, but figuring out what's going should be half the fun. Hope Chapman comments that the first episode was unusual in that it was nicely paced and "goes down easy." Gia Manry compares Yumekui Merry to a poor man's Soul Eater with its definite sense of style over substance. However, Zac Bertschy was not impressed, stating that a YouTube video of a kitten playing in a soda box was more entertaining.

External links

• Yumekui Merry Official Website
• Yumekui Merry at Tokyo Broadcasting System
• Dream Eater Merry (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• Dream Eater Merry (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia