MÄR facts for kids

MÄR
North American cover of the first manga volume featuring Ginta Toramizu, Babbo, and Dorothy.
Quick facts for kids メル (Meru)
Genre	Comedy, supernatural
Manga
Written by	Nobuyuki Anzai
Published by	Shogakukan
English publisher	NA Viz Media
Demographic	Shōnen
Imprint	Shōnen Sunday Comics
Magazine	Weekly Shōnen Sunday
Original run	January 22, 2003 – July 19, 2006
Volumes	15 (List of volumes)
Anime television series
Directed by	Masaharu Okuwaki (#1–53) Keiichiro Kawaguchi (#54–102)
Produced by	Takeshi Sasamura Shunji Aoki Shin'ichi Iwata Naohiko Furuichi
Written by	Junki Takegami
Music by	Daisuke Ikeda
Studio	SynergySP
Licensed by	NA Viz Media
Network	TV Tokyo
English network	CA YTV US Cartoon Network
Original run	April 3, 2005 – March 25, 2007
Episodes	102 (List of episodes)
Manga
MÄR Omega
Written by	Nobuyuki Anzai
Illustrated by	Kōichirō Hoshino
Published by	Shogakukan
Demographic	Shōnen
Imprint	Shōnen Sunday Comics
Magazine	Weekly Shōnen Sunday
Original run	September 13, 2006 – June 27, 2007
Volumes	4 (List of volumes)

Märchen Awakens Romance, usually shortened to MÄR (メル, Meru), is a Japanese manga series. It was written and drawn by Nobuyuki Anzai. The story was published in Weekly Shōnen Sunday magazine from January 2003 to July 2006.

MÄR is about a 14-year-old middle school student named Ginta Toramizu. One day, he is suddenly taken to a magical world called MÄR-Heaven. As Ginta explores this new world, he meets both friends and enemies.

An anime TV show based on the manga, called MÄR Heaven, was shown in Japan. It aired on TV Tokyo from April 2005 to March 2007. In North America, Viz Media released both the MÄR manga and anime in English.

A sequel series, MÄR Omega, was also published. Nobuyuki Anzai wrote it, and Kōichirō Hoshino drew the pictures. It ran from September 2006 to June 2007.

Story of MÄR-Heaven

Ginta Toramizu is a 14-year-old student from Tokyo. He loves video games and fairy tales. One day, without warning, he finds himself in the mysterious world of MÄR-Heaven. This is a place he had only seen in his dreams and in his mother's books.

In this fairy tale world, Ginta's normal weaknesses disappear. He becomes super strong and can see perfectly without his glasses. He soon meets a mysterious 16-year-old witch named Dorothy.

Dorothy introduces Ginta to powerful magical items and weapons called "ÄRM" (pronounced air-um). Dorothy wants to steal a special ÄRM named Babbo from a hidden cave. She brings Ginta along because she is curious about his new strength.

Babbo turns out to be a very unique ÄRM. It can talk and has its own thoughts! Dorothy thinks Babbo is too clumsy, so she gives it to Ginta. She warns him that others will try to steal Babbo.

Ginta continues his adventure, enjoying this new world. He meets a farmer named Jack and his mother. They are having trouble with two werewolf brothers. Ginta starts to miss his real home. He decides to find a way back to his world. But first, he wants to enjoy MÄR-Heaven as much as he can with Jack.

Soon, Ginta learns that MÄR-Heaven is not as peaceful as it seems. He is attacked by thieves who want Babbo. He then meets Alviss, who explains everything. Alviss used an ÄRM called the Gate Keeper Clown to bring Ginta to MÄR-Heaven.

Alviss tells Ginta about the evil "Chess Pieces" group. They tried to take over MÄR-Heaven six years ago. Alviss brought Ginta to help in the upcoming war. He explains that Babbo used to belong to one of the Chess Pieces' knights.

Ginta gains new friends and makes enemies. He fights against the Chess Pieces, who are led by King Orb, Queen Diana, and their servant Phantom.

The Story of MÄR Omega

The story of MÄR Omega takes place six years after the second War Games. It follows a boy named Kai. Kai is the adopted son of an ÄRM maker in Harnau City. He looks up to Ginta and Babbo for defeating Phantom in the past.

Kai really wants a good ÄRM for himself. But people often make fun of him because he doesn't seem to have any magic power. This makes him sad. In MÄR-Heaven, ÄRMs are very common, especially new "fake ÄRMs" that don't need magic power. Kai has a magic stone from his parents, which hints that his family might be from the magic kingdom of Kaldea.

One day, while delivering ÄRMs, Kai is attacked by some leftover Chess Pieces. He jumps into a pond to hide and wakes up Babbo, who was sleeping underwater! Kai uses Babbo to defeat the Chess Piece. This is amazing because only legendary warriors like Ginta and Phantom could use Babbo before.

Kai and Babbo return to Kai's city. They find that Kai's friends, who use fake ÄRMs, are trying to take Babbo. They want to give Babbo to a mysterious bad guy. Kai has to act fast. He puts his magic stone into Babbo. This brings back a powerful Guardian called Gargoyle.

Gargoyle easily defeats the attackers. But then, Kai loses control of Babbo inside Gargoyle. The monster almost destroys the town! Luckily, Alviss arrives and uses his 13 Totem Poles attack to stop Gargoyle. This gives Kai time to regain control of Babbo.

A young warrior from the Cross Guard group arrives. He reveals a shocking truth: the fake ÄRMs don't use magic power. Instead, they drain the users' life energy! This also lets someone control their minds. The person controlling everyone tries to seal the town. Only Alviss, Kai, Babbo, and Kai's friend Elise escape.

They decide to go to Caldia, the home of all ÄRMs and magic users. In Caldia, Dorothy and a new character named Inga welcome them. They learn about a 300-year-old legend. The fake ÄRMs were made by a dark magician named Unwetter. Babbo, who was an Elder of Caldia back then, defeated Unwetter. Babbo then transferred his soul into the ÄRM and lost his memories of this event.

The Grand Elder of Caldia doesn't know why the fake ÄRMs are back or how Unwetter returned. He wants to keep Babbo safe, but Kai disagrees. The wizard agrees to let Kai keep Babbo if he can prove he is worthy. Kai trains with Dorothy and Inga. During training, Kai unleashes his hidden magic power. This shows he is related to the magic kingdom and possibly to Babbo himself!

Soon, the fake ÄRM users attack Caldia. They still want to take Babbo for Unwetter. Kai, Inga, and Elise fight them off. Inga is a descendant of Unwetter and must defeat him. Kai also learns he is a descendant of Babbo.

Kai, Inga, and Elise decide to find Babbo's magic stones. These stones will bring back Babbo's lost memories. They go to Luberia to start their quest. Dorothy says she will help them. Kai eventually defeats Atmos and saves MÄR-Heaven.

Media Information

Manga Series

The MÄR manga was written and drawn by Nobuyuki Anzai. It was published in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday magazine. The series ran from January 22, 2003, to July 19, 2006. All the chapters were collected into fifteen tankōbon volumes. These books were released by Shogakukan between May 17, 2003, and August 11, 2006.

In North America, Viz Media released the series in English. The first book came out on May 3, 2005. The last, fifteenth book was released on September 18, 2007.

A follow-up series called MÄR Omega was also published. Nobuyuki Anzai wrote it, and Kōichirō Hoshino drew the pictures. It was in Weekly Shōnen Sunday from September 13, 2006, to June 27, 2007. This sequel was collected into four tankōbon volumes.

Anime Series

An anime TV show called MÄR Heaven (メルヘヴン, Meru Hevun) was made by SynergySP. It first aired in Japan on TV Tokyo on April 3, 2005. The show had 102 episodes and finished on March 25, 2007.

In North America, Viz Media licensed the anime. It was shown online on Cartoon Network's Toonami Jetstream in July 2006. The TV show then premiered on Cartoon Network's Toonami block on December 23, 2006. It also started airing in Canada on the YTV channel on June 1, 2007.

Viz Media started releasing the series on DVD on June 12, 2007. Each DVD had four episodes. They released four volumes before stopping the series to focus on other titles. In June 2011, the first 52 episodes were available to stream on Netflix.

Video Games

Several video games based on MÄR Heaven were released in Japan.

See also

In Spanish: MÄR para niños