Көзікөлдің Сиқыры немесе Астарлы Әлемнің Шаһзадасы

Japanese manga series

MeruPuri, originally titled MeruPuri: Märchen Prince (めるぷり メルヘン☆プリンス), 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.

On Anime News Network, Zac Bertschy gave volume 1 a grade of C+ for the story and B+ for the art.