Märchen Awakens Romance (MÄR)

[thanonyx]

 

MÄR, which stands for "Märchen Awakens Romance", is a popular manga series created by mangaka Nobuyuki Anzai who also made Rocket Princess, Flame of Recca, and MiXiM 11. Ginta Toramizu is a 14-year-old junior high student who is portrayed as a typical video game geek and underachieving student who is a fan of fairy tales. One day and without warning, he finds himself summoned to the mysterious world of MÄR-Heaven which he has only seen before in his dreams and in his mother's books. In this fairy tale world, Ginta's physical weakness is replaced with superior physical strength, incredible stamina and endurance, and being able to see without his glasses. Upon meeting a mysterious witch named Dorothy, Ginta is introduced to the powerful magical accessories and weapons called "ÄRM" (pronounced air-um). Dorothy plans to steal the mysterious ÄRM Babbo from a trap-guarded cave, and brings Ginta along to assist her, intrigued by his unusual strength and abilities. Babbo is revealed to be an extremely special and unie ÄRM, as he possesses a will of his own and the ability to speak. Gaining both allies and enemies, the series follows Ginta as he opposes the Chess Pieces, a military faction which, over the 10 years, has established supremacy over MÄR-Heaven. The chess have a hierarchy based on actual chess pieces, from strongest to weakest the classes are King (only 1), Queen (only 1), Knight (only 13), Bishop, Rook, Pawn.

 

[spoiler=Main Characters]

[spoiler=Ginta Toramizu]

Ginta Toramizu

Ginta is the 14 year-old protagonist of MÄR (Märchen Awakens Romance), a fun-loving, friendly, care-free boy who uses Babbo as his ÄRM. He is in his 3rd year of middle school and lives in Tokyo with his mother. He daydreams a lot and sleeps a lot in class which is why is grades are so poor. His best friend is his class mate Koyuki, who is secretly crushing on him. One day he is mysteriously transported to the world in his dreams, MÄR-Heaven. When he arrives in MÄR-Heaven he notices he doesn't need his glasses anymore and he has superhuman strength. Ginta is always willing to put himself on the line for the sake of his friends and people who are in need.

[spoiler=Babbo]

Babbo

Babbo is Ginta Toramizu's ÄRM and the only ÄRM with a human soul and has the appearance of a giant metal kendama. Babbo is known for his oversized ego and love of himself, constantly referring to himself as an "elder" (in the English versions, a gentleman), comically in contrast to his typical shape. Babbo has various abilities such as growing to massive size (although no matter his size his weight stays the same), retaining souls (which is why he is sentient), and gaining more abilities by being outfitted with up to 8 magic stones.

[spoiler=Koyuki/Snow]

Koyuki/Snow

Koyuki is Ginta's best friend back in Tokyo, Japan, where she goes to Ginta's school. She is the only person who believed his stories about his dream actually existing. Snow is fun-loving and easy-going but can be serious in battle situations, and is notable for the fact that she looks and acts exactly like Koyuki, Ginta's crush in the real world. In fact, whenever Koyuki goes to sleep on Earth Snow awakens and vice virsa. Koyuki then tells Ginta's mother what happens in her "dreams" so that she knows Ginta is okay. Snow is the princess of the kingdom of Lestava but she's on the run with her servant, Edward the dog because her wicked stepmother, Queen Diana wants her captured. She is like Koyuki in every way, kind, smart, compassionate, gentle, brave, and they both love Ginta very much.

[spoiler=Jack]

Jack

Jack is a young farmer who lives with his mother and is the one who meets Ginta early in his adventure and after the boy helps him beat the Rugelu Brothers, a pair of werewolves that were terrorizing Jack's home to claim the farm's vegetables. Afterwards, he and Ginta become best friends. Althoug Jack can be loud-mouthed and clumsy he has the most heart of anyone in the whole show. Unfortunately Jack has a weakness for cute girls and develops almost instant crushes on any cute girl he sees, even if the treat him cruelly.

[spoiler=Dorothy]

Dorothy

Dorothy is a powerful witch from the magical nation of Kaldea who snatches up any uncommon or unusual ÄRM she can find, even if she has to steal it. She is the first person Ginta met in MÄR-Heaven and is the one who explained to him what MÄR-Heaven and ÄRM are. She originally was nice to him so he would help her steal Babbo but Ginta ended up with Babbo instead. Eventually Dorothy developed romantic feelings for Gint which is why she is at odds with Snow sometimes. She is very flirtatious and often uses her looks to get what she wants. She's also Queen Diana's little sister. Her fights often get really fanservicey.

 

 

[spoiler=Alan]

Alan

Alan was once a powerful warrior who fought is the group that previously battled the Chess Pieces, the Corss Guard. Alan was sealed inside the court guardian and custodian dog of princess Snow, Edward. In order to change back into Alan, Ed has to sleep three times, often forcibly knocking himself out, which is too risky and inconvenient for most situations. If Alan sleeps once, he becomes Ed again. Alan has a very serious personality though he can be rather overconfident, but this is rarely seen as a fault because of his power. Alan usually serves as a mentor figure for the rest of the group often training them in order to be stronger to fight the Chess Pieces.

 

 

[spoiler=Alviss]

Alviss

The cold figure of MÄR, Alviss is the one who brought Ginta into MÄR-Heaven. He was also in the Cross Guard about the same time as Alan despite being a child at the time. Unfortunately that's also when Phantom, the strongest knight of the Chess Pieces, gave him the cursed zombie tattoo which would eventually turned him into an immortal undead. When he first meets Ginta he distrusts him, however he slowly began to trust him and finally held him in high regard. He is the silent character, and he only talks whenever he needs to. Before he met Ginta his only true friend was his trvaeling companion, a fairy neamed Belle who harbors feelings for him.

 

 

[spoiler=Nanashi]

Nanashi

Nanashi is the leader of the bandit guild Lubelia and is a very happy, playful, optimistic, and is rarely ever seen without a smile on his face. He also prides himself on being a ladies man and is often seen hanging around cute girls. In battle, Nanashi is shown as a serious and strong-minded fighter, rarely letting his emotions get in the way of his battle, or rather, at least with male enemies. Nanashi, however, can still find enjoyment out of fighting. Nanashi's background is shrouded in mystery as he was just found in the middle of nowhere with a wound in his side by the previous leader of Luberia. He also has superhuman strength and, according to Babbo, the same scent as Ginta. It is hinted that Nanashi is really Joker, a character from Nobuyuki Anzai's previous work Flame of Recca as the both looke exactly the same and Joker was sucked into a black hole and his body was never found.

 

 

 

[spoiler=Main Villains]

[spoiler=King]

King

The mysterious leader of the Chess Pieces. If you want to know more watch/read Märchen Awakens Romance (MÄR).

 

 

[spoiler=Queen Diana]

Queen Diana

Diana is a witch from Kaldea and is Dorothy's older sister. One night Kaldea stole a dangerous and powerful artifact from the Kaldean elders and fled from the country. A couple of years later the king of Lestava, Snow's father, was searching for a new bride as the previous queen had died. Eventually he found Diana and married her, at first she was a kind and caring wife and stepmother but as time passed her true colors emerged. Diana is initially sinister, selfish, and uninterested in anything as long as those of a lower rank can do her biddings without fail. Since she is the Queen of the Chess Pieces that means the only person she answers to is the King but has command over all others.

 

 

[spoiler=Phantom]

Phantom

Phantom is the strongest knight in the Chess pieces and his held in high regard by them. He is also the originator of the Zombie Tattoo which makes him an immortal undead. Being the primary villain throughout most of the story, although he appears suave on the outside, Phantom is sadistic, callous and like other Chess Pieces, revels in bloodshed and destruction. As opposed to the main protagonists, who respect life and unite in their love for MÄR-Heaven, he considers humans vile, rotten and above all, seeks emancipation from their transient lifespan with its natural weaknesses by means of immortality . Despite this, he appreciates certain human values such as courage. Phantom was killed 6 years prior to the series by Ginta's father Danna but unfortunately Danna also perished as a result. However, this did not stop Phantom permenantly as he was revived by the Chess Pieces during the series to wage war on MÄR-Heaven once again. He was also the previous wielder of Babbo.

 

 

[spoiler=Ian]

Ian

On the surface, Ian appears to be a laid-back, jovial young man who is one of the few Chess Pieces to have the nerve to be blunt and disrespectful towards his superiors despite only being a rook. Once driven by determination he is relentless in his pursuit, be it a simple case of getting the fight he enjoys or the venture to eliminate a superior sworn enemy. Ian's tenacity is prone to lead him go against his orders, and Ian admits because of it, he is always mentally prepared for death penalty. Although his affiliation evidences the contrary, Ian is a man of high morals - in fact, it was his idealistic dream to purify the world instead of selfish desires like most other Chess Pieces that urged him to join it in the first place. His upright nature attracts great respect from his opponent, Ginta, and though the sympathy doesn't align their causes, it eventually manages to diminish their initial enmity.

 

 

 

 

 

[spoiler=Supporting Characters]

[spoiler=Mrs. Toramizu]

Mrs. Toramizu

Mrs Toramizu is Ginta's mom, who is an author of fantasy stories. She originally also saw visions of MAR Heaven, leading her to become an author. However, she herself did not believe in MAR Heaven. She scolded Danna whenever he told Ginta stories about MAR Heaven. After Ginta's disappearance, however, she rues this dearly, thinking it was her fault that her family's gone and as Koyuki narrates Ginta's journey in MÄR-Heaven, she starts viewing fantasized subjects in a different perspective.

[spoiler=Belle]

Belle

Belle is a tiny fairy seen most of the times at Alviss' side. Belle befriended Alviss in his earlier years while he was training under Gaira's supervision and from then on has cherished a passion for him, which borders on monopolising crush: she cares for him a great deal, and gets jealous of whomever Alviss so much as behaves intimately to (which ranges from girls to friends, e.g. Alan). Belle and Edward host extras at the end of each episode that sums up the plot of each episode and lists the ÄRMs used in that episode.

 

 

[spoiler=Edward the dog]

Edward the dog

Edward is a cowardly humanoid dog who is Princess Snow's companion. He and Alan are under a curse where they are essentialy one being. When Edward falls asleep 3 times he becomes Alan. But if Alan falls asleep once he turns back into Edward. Regardless of his situation or whatever danger he is faced with he's fiercly loyal to Snow and will do whatever it takes to keep her safe and happy.

 

 

[spoiler=Danna Toramizu]

Danna Toramizu

Ginta's father who disappeared 6 years prior to the series. He was transported to MÄR-Heaven in a similar manner to his son. While there he formed a group called the Cross Guard, of which both Alan and Alviss were members, to fight against the evil forces of the Chess Pieces. He is both courageous and a role-model, though he is also very stubborn. All of these traits are shared by his son, and it is commented upon several times in the series their remarkable resemblance. He managed to defeat and kill Phantom, the Chess Pieces strongest knight, which caused the Chess to retreat and go into hiding. Unfortunately Danna was also killed in the battle but was heralded as a great hero by the people of MÄR-Heaven. After learning it was Phantom who killed him Ginta promised to avenge his father by defeating Phantom even if it meant suffering the same fate. All the members of the Cross Guard called him Boss.

 

 

 

 

 

[spoiler=ÄRM]

ÄRMs are artifacts known to every residents born in the land of MÄR-Heaven and used by almost all for a variety of purposes, but for a while, their weaponry efficiency in warfare matters was introduced, and from then forth it's been popularized. ÄRM's creation originated in the magic kingdom Kaldea, along with its magical counterpart the magic stones. They were manufactured by the wizards through the use of special metallurgy, giving them extraordinary power in the form of normal accessories. An ÄRM can almost always be "upgraded" with magic stones. They contain the abilities of other ÄRMs as well as magical power to boost any ÄRM's abilities.

[spoiler=Classifications]

ÄRMs vary in strength and appearance and are classified into many kinds:

 

• Simple ÄRMs are little more than simple tools when active.
• Holy ÄRMs possess the power to heal and undo curses inflicted by Darkness ÄRMs. Known in the dub as Sacred ÄRMs.
• Weapon ÄRMs are used as weapons in battle.
• Darkness ÄRMs are powerful artifacts typically used to curse people usually at a cost to the user.
• Dimension ÄRMs can teleport anyone to different places, create pocket dimensions, and occasionally allow someone to watch scenes happening far away.
• Guardian ÄRMs summon a monster or a 'guardian' of some sort to protect the owner of the ÄRM. The drawback is that as long as the guardian is active the ÄRM user is unable to move from the spot he was when he summoned it.
• Nature ÄRMs are used for certain elemental attacks, or enhancing a body's physical performance.
• Ghost ÄRMs attach to the user's body and allows the user to use his or her body as a living weapon.
• Unique ÄRMs are any ÄRMs that can't be put into any of the other classes, such as Babbo.

 

 

 

 

 

That's as much as I can tell you about without getting too spoilery. If you want to know more, watch the anime or read the manga. The anime is 102 episodes ad the manga is 161 chapters.

[mitchermitcher]

Now this one is a real nostalgia train. I love MAR, it's why my primary online handle is 'danna'. It's my favorite work from that author, even though I'm also really fond of Flame of Recca.

 

Think I'mma go reread this for the nostalgic feels now, thanks for reminding me about this.

[DoctorMiracle]

Thank you for making me remember this! You have brought my childhood back and I can read it again.

[thanonyx]

OK, I added some charatcers, explained how the Chess Pieces are structured, and what ÄRMs are and what all the different kinds do. I hope this helps deepen your understanding of the setting. Don't forget, if it sounds interesting to you, give it a look. I promise this series does not disappoint in any way.