Dream Eater Merry

2011

Original language: Japanese

animation
comedy
action & adventure

The story

Yumeji has the ability to see the dreams of other people around him. When Yumeji meets Nightmare Merry, a dream demon seeking to return to her own world he uses his power to assist her.

What it’s like

Bright, saturated cel animation with clean linework and a dreamlike shift in palette whenever the story slips into someone's subconscious: pastel skies bleeding into inky purples, fluid frame-rate bursts in the sword fights. Sound leans on bouncy J-pop openings, playful incidental music that turns sharp and percussive for duels, and quiet, wistful strings during the melancholy beats. The mood swings between goofy slapstick and gentle sorrow, with a warm, low-key cozy feel in the everyday scenes and a sudden chill when nightmares take over. Pacing is brisk and episodic, with each encounter in someone's dreams giving the show room to breathe before the next scrap. Violence is frequent and stylized: swordplay with some bloodless but intense fights, moments of peril and cruelty, and a few heavier emotional beats. It suits a comfort-watch with an edge, the kind of anime you put on for an afternoon when you want humor and heart with some action. It is for viewers who enjoy coming-of-age character bonds, supernatural fantasy and martial arts, and who can handle a tonal shift from silly to sad.

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