MÄR
Encyclopedia
, an acronym for Märchen Awakens Romance, is a manga
series written and illustrated by Nobuyuki Anzai
. The television anime
based on the series is titled and was originally broadcast in Japan on the TXN
station.
MÄR is characterised by fairy tale
motifs running throughout the series, Märchen being itself the German word for "fairy tale". VIZ Media
has acquired the North American rights to both the MÄR manga and anime and aired a dubbed
version of the series, first on Toonami Jetstream
, an online service from Cartoon Network
, and then on the network itself, as part of the Toonami
programming block. In June, Canadian youth network YTV broadcast MÄR.
A sequel to MÄR, entitled MÄR Omega
, was announced in September 2006. However, it is not being written and illustrated by Nobuyuki Anzai, but by Kōichiro Hoshino
.
Upon meeting a mysterious witch named Dorothy, Ginta is introduced to the powerful magical accessories and weapons called "ÄRM
" . 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 a extremely special and unique ÄRM, as he possesses a will of his own and the ability to speak. Displeased with what she has found, Dorothy gives Babbo to Ginta instead, departing with a warning that others will try to steal Babbo from him.
He continues on a journey of discovery, revelling in this new world. However, when he encounters the farmer Jack and his mother, who are troubled by two werewolf brothers, he finds that he misses the real world. Ginta resolves to find a way to reach home while enjoying as much of MÄR as he can along the way, Jack journeying with him.
However, it is not long before Ginta learns that the world of MÄR-Heaven is not as peaceful as it seems when he is attacked by thieves wishing to steal Babbo. Upon meeting Alviss, who summoned him to MÄR-Heaven using a ÄRM known as the Gate Keeper Clown, he learns of the sinister "Chess Pieces" and how, six years earlier, they had tried to take over MÄR-Heaven. Alviss reveals that he summoned Ginta in order to gain assistance from an "other-worlder" in the upcoming war, as was done previously, and that Babbo originally belonged to the leader of the Chess Pieces.
Gaining both allies and enemies, the series follows Ginta as he opposes the Chess Pieces and their undead leader Phantom.
, in North America in English by VIZ Media
, in France in French by Kana
, in Spain in Spanish by Ivrea
, in Singapore
in English and Simplified Chinese by Chuang Yi
, in Indonesia
by Elex Media Komputindo, and in Vietnam
in Vietnamese by Kim Dong Publishing House
.
produced an anime adaptation of the MÄR manga, which premiered in Japan on TV Tokyo
on April 3, 2005 where it ran for 102 episodes until its conclusion on March 25, 2007. It was released across 17 Region 2 DVDs in Japan by Shogakukan
, which each disc containing 3 episodes except the first and last which contained 2 episodes each.
The anime was licensed by Viz Media
and aired on Cartoon Network
's online broadband service Toonami Jetstream
and for a limited time on their television programming block Toonami
. On July 9, 2007, Toonami Jetstream restarted MAR from the beginning with episodes being broadcast biweekly, and "reruns" every other week. Viz Media began releasing the series to DVD on June 12, 2007, with each disc containing 4 episodes. Four volumes were released before Viz delisted the series in favor of other titles. The first two seasons were on Instant Netflix; the first was removed due to issues with the wrong audio being played for episodes, and the second also exhibited these issues. The audio has been fixed. Both seasons can be watched on Netflix, but with occasional slight timing issues with the subtitles.
gave MÄR a mostly negative review, stating that, while the series is not horrible, it is "like every other shōnen fighting manga you've exposed yourself to", and "is only for the absolute diehard shōnen fighting otaku".
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
series written and illustrated by Nobuyuki Anzai
Nobuyuki Anzai
is a Japanese manga artist. He was an assistant of Kazuhiro Fujita.-Works: ; English translation: * MÄR ; English translation:...
. The television anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
based on the series is titled and was originally broadcast in Japan on the TXN
TXN
- TV Tokyo Network stations :-External links:*...
station.
MÄR is characterised by fairy tale
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
motifs running throughout the series, Märchen being itself the German word for "fairy tale". VIZ Media
VIZ Media
VIZ Media, LLC, headquartered in San Francisco, is an anime, manga, and Japanese entertainment company. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ Media LLC, which is jointly owned by Japanese publishers Shogakukan and Shueisha, and...
has acquired the North American rights to both the MÄR manga and anime and aired a dubbed
Dubbing (filmmaking)
Dubbing is the post-production process of recording and replacing voices on a motion picture or television soundtrack subsequent to the original shooting. The term most commonly refers to the substitution of the voices of the actors shown on the screen by those of different performers, who may be...
version of the series, first on Toonami Jetstream
Toonami Jetstream
Toonami Jetstream was an ad-supported online broadband service and a remake of Toonami's previous video streaming service Toonami Reactor provided by Cartoon Network and Viz Media....
, an online service from Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
, and then on the network itself, as part of the Toonami
Toonami
Toonami was a registered trademark of Cartoon Network, used initially for action-oriented programming blocks on Cartoon Network television channels worldwide, mostly showing American cartoons and Japanese anime, originating in the United States on March 17, 1997 and ended on September 20, 2008.The...
programming block. In June, Canadian youth network YTV broadcast MÄR.
A sequel to MÄR, entitled MÄR Omega
MÄR Omega
is a sequel to MÄR, a popular manga series by Nobuyuki Anzai. The manga was drawn by Kōichirō Hoshino, an assistant of Nobuyuki Anzai. It was started in September 2006, several months after MÄR ended. It used to run in Shōnen Sunday in Japan, published by Shogakukan...
, was announced in September 2006. However, it is not being written and illustrated by Nobuyuki Anzai, but by Kōichiro Hoshino
Koichiro Hoshino
is a Japanese manga artist.-Works:*Kyuuketsuki *Bondo ga kiru!*Funafuto Fish Grapple*MÄR Omega*Popcorn Avatar-External links:***...
.
Plot
Ginta Toramizu is a 14-year old junior high student who is portrayed as a typical video game geek and underachieving student. 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 as well as incredible stamina and endurance.Upon meeting a mysterious witch named Dorothy, Ginta is introduced to the powerful magical accessories and weapons called "ÄRM
Arm
In human anatomy, the arm is the part of the upper limb between the shoulder and the elbow joints. In other animals, the term arm can also be used for analogous structures, such as one of the paired forelimbs of a four-legged animal or the arms of cephalopods...
" . 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 a extremely special and unique ÄRM, as he possesses a will of his own and the ability to speak. Displeased with what she has found, Dorothy gives Babbo to Ginta instead, departing with a warning that others will try to steal Babbo from him.
He continues on a journey of discovery, revelling in this new world. However, when he encounters the farmer Jack and his mother, who are troubled by two werewolf brothers, he finds that he misses the real world. Ginta resolves to find a way to reach home while enjoying as much of MÄR as he can along the way, Jack journeying with him.
However, it is not long before Ginta learns that the world of MÄR-Heaven is not as peaceful as it seems when he is attacked by thieves wishing to steal Babbo. Upon meeting Alviss, who summoned him to MÄR-Heaven using a ÄRM known as the Gate Keeper Clown, he learns of the sinister "Chess Pieces" and how, six years earlier, they had tried to take over MÄR-Heaven. Alviss reveals that he summoned Ginta in order to gain assistance from an "other-worlder" in the upcoming war, as was done previously, and that Babbo originally belonged to the leader of the Chess Pieces.
Gaining both allies and enemies, the series follows Ginta as he opposes the Chess Pieces and their undead leader Phantom.
Manga
The series was published in Japan by ShogakukanShogakukan
is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, manga, non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan.Shogakukan founded Shueisha which founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the Hitotsubashi Group, one of the largest publishing groups in Japan...
, in North America in English by VIZ Media
VIZ Media
VIZ Media, LLC, headquartered in San Francisco, is an anime, manga, and Japanese entertainment company. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ Media LLC, which is jointly owned by Japanese publishers Shogakukan and Shueisha, and...
, in France in French by Kana
Kana (publisher)
Kana is a French publisher affiliated with Les Éditions Dargaud. Kana was founded in 1996 by Yves Schlirf. The company publishes manga in French and Dutch. Its headquarters are in the Dargaud offices in the 18th arrondissement of Paris.-External links:*...
, in Spain in Spanish by Ivrea
Ivrea
Ivrea is a town and comune of the province of Turin in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy. Situated on the road leading to the Aosta Valley , it straddles the Dora Baltea and is regarded as the centre of the Canavese area. Ivrea lies in a basin that, in prehistoric times, formed a great lake...
, in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
in English and Simplified Chinese by Chuang Yi
Chuang Yi
Chuang Yi Publishing Pte Ltd. is a publishing company based in Singapore that specializes in producing domestic and imported comics and comics-related merchandise, in English and simplified Chinese. Chuang Yi distributes all or some of its products in Singapore, Malaysia, India, and the Philippines...
, in Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
by Elex Media Komputindo, and in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
in Vietnamese by Kim Dong Publishing House
Kim Dong Publishing House
Kim Đồng Publishing House is the largest book producer and publisher for Vietnamese children. With more than 1,000 titles of books published yearly, its books offered to children from toddlers to teenagers a wide ranges of collections and genres from literature, science, art, history to comics,...
.
Anime
SynergySPSynergySP
is a Japanese animation studio founded on May 1, 1998 which originally split off from Toei Animation. In 2005, the company became associated with Shogakukan Productions, a subsidiary of the Shogakukan publishing company.-Produced series:MÄR...
produced an anime adaptation of the MÄR manga, which premiered in Japan on TV Tokyo
TV Tokyo
is a television station headquartered in Toranomon, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Also known as , a blend of "terebi" and "Tokyo", it is the key station of TX Network. It is one of the major Tokyo television stations, particularly specializing in anime...
on April 3, 2005 where it ran for 102 episodes until its conclusion on March 25, 2007. It was released across 17 Region 2 DVDs in Japan by Shogakukan
Shogakukan
is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, manga, non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan.Shogakukan founded Shueisha which founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the Hitotsubashi Group, one of the largest publishing groups in Japan...
, which each disc containing 3 episodes except the first and last which contained 2 episodes each.
The anime was licensed by Viz Media
VIZ Media
VIZ Media, LLC, headquartered in San Francisco, is an anime, manga, and Japanese entertainment company. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ Media LLC, which is jointly owned by Japanese publishers Shogakukan and Shueisha, and...
and aired on Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
's online broadband service Toonami Jetstream
Toonami Jetstream
Toonami Jetstream was an ad-supported online broadband service and a remake of Toonami's previous video streaming service Toonami Reactor provided by Cartoon Network and Viz Media....
and for a limited time on their television programming block Toonami
Toonami
Toonami was a registered trademark of Cartoon Network, used initially for action-oriented programming blocks on Cartoon Network television channels worldwide, mostly showing American cartoons and Japanese anime, originating in the United States on March 17, 1997 and ended on September 20, 2008.The...
. On July 9, 2007, Toonami Jetstream restarted MAR from the beginning with episodes being broadcast biweekly, and "reruns" every other week. Viz Media began releasing the series to DVD on June 12, 2007, with each disc containing 4 episodes. Four volumes were released before Viz delisted the series in favor of other titles. The first two seasons were on Instant Netflix; the first was removed due to issues with the wrong audio being played for episodes, and the second also exhibited these issues. The audio has been fixed. Both seasons can be watched on Netflix, but with occasional slight timing issues with the subtitles.
Reception
IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
gave MÄR a mostly negative review, stating that, while the series is not horrible, it is "like every other shōnen fighting manga you've exposed yourself to", and "is only for the absolute diehard shōnen fighting otaku".