Yumekui Merry

When Yumekui Merry started at the beginning of the Winter 11 season I felt it was going to be good show. It had an interesting art style, the characters were likable, and the production was done by JCStaff. An animation studio that I adore for making previous works such as Kaichou wa Maid-sama and the Index series. But something went wrong. Everything fell apart by the end. Plot holes, ruined characters, inconsistent art, and one of the worst finales I’ve seen in a long time. And, yes, I have seen a LOT of anime.

Animation wise, Yumekui Merry had an interesting approach during the dream ... segments for the first few episodes. I was really intrigued. The watercolor approach worked well for the series and the character designs were charming. The show was full of stills (meaning no movement or very minimal amounts kind of like a slideshow), but hey they were at least pretty stills. Sort of. Then the art lost all its style at the end. Gone were the interesting art choices and the art became inconsistent during the last few episodes. Misty’s face during the last episode comes to mind.

The OP/ED were good. The ED animations were nice. It had some dang midriff. I like me some midriff. The soundtrack was glaring. It was an awful strange choice to choose orchestra music for the more intense fight scenes. I don’t know... it felt really out of place. I mean come on. Why would you put bassoons in a fight scene? The voice acting was okay. Nothing to complain there. Merry's VA is totally new and it was her debut role. And Okamoto Nobuhiko always makes me go crazy as Yumeji. (Okamoto is personally one of my favorite voice actors, so I'm biased.)

The plot is where everything falls apart though. You’re lead into the first episode with a dream demon who can survive in the human world. Wonderful. Our main character has the power to see what people will be dreaming the next night by making a circle with his fingers. Uh weird, but uh interesting. Throughout the first half it was really formulaic. I mean it was basically fight dream demons and send them back to the dreammmm world. It gets boring. So the anime studio then decides that during the second half the plot gets more of a direction, but loses all plans to keep a coherent plot. The ending was awful. Things are developed, but never really mentioned again. Kawanami's character, John Doe, and that one dude that got possessed by a dream demon. And some nonsensical things happen as well. (Yui playing her invisible trumpet comes to mind. What the heck? Why? Did she bump her head? Did she suddenly decide that she was in a band? Is she the one playing the dang bassoon. Dang it Yui. Dang it.)

Mistletine was a good evil villain. Her back story was basically that she likes to be evil and does evil things. Alright, that’s fine. There’s just one thing I have on her. And that is that Misty (Mistletine) has a severe case of ADD. She's fighting the heroes of the anime and then she just gets up and leaves them, so she can enjoy them next episode? What? Why? That makes no sense? Did she get bored? Did she get tired? No, it looked like she had enough energy to insult them. Why? Oh yeah. It’s not the last episode. We can’t have you guys finish each other off till the last episode. Silly me. That’s a perfectly reasonable answer.

Also the teacher (Who I can’t remember his name for some reason. And all I remember about him was that he wears the ugliest striped pants I’ve ever seen.) was kind of bleh. I do like his facially expressions though. They were hawt. Kawanami was the worst character in the series. She felt soooo tacked on. Was her only purpose in the story was so Isana could make friends? Isana has plenty of friends. She has Merry and she has her brother. Well, I guess that isn't much, but still. Kawanami was an anime-original character (same with stripped pants sensei and Misty) but she felt like she had no purpose in the plot. JCSTAFF WE NEED SOME FOCUS IF YOU ARE GOING TO INTRODUCE ANIME-ORIGINAL CHARACTERS.

I mean having an anime-original plot is fine if you do a good job with it. Having anime-original character is fine if you develop them well, but JCStaff didn't. Did JCStaff suddenly decide that the manga wasn’t good enough? If it wasn’t good enough, then why did they choose to adapt this series? I like John Doe. (John Doooooo) I seriously do. I like his name. I especially love how the other characters call him John Dooooo when his named is spelled John Doe. He was cool. Too bad he like totally disappeared, so the anime-original characters can appear.

I feel like there is so much wasted potential here, plot holes, useless anime-original characters, inconsistent art, and Yui playing her imaginary trumpet. I do feel that there are a few good parts in this show, but there are far too few in a sea of bleh. As in my case it’s very hard to recommend this anime. It might be good, maybe, after in taking some alcohol. But whatever. It’s done. JCStaff please do a good job on your next series. I don’t want to see no anime-original characters or plot, unless you can develop them properly, and I definitely don’t want to see your next main character play an imaginary trumpet.

* Nothing is as frustrating as writing a review twice; due to my laptop crashing down right when I click submit. Review is also on AnimeNfo.com

The day after Yumekui Merry last episode was aired, the police received 3 simultaneous reports of "weird incidents". Those weird incidents seemed unrelated at first; different victims, different places, different circumstances… But deeper investigation proved they all had 1 thing in common. All the victims had watched all the episodes of “Yumekui Merry”. That’s why the incidents were ironically named "The Merry Incidents" by the internet user community.

These are the stories of the victims of this show, who are no longer among us to tell them.

Case 1: The Director
Story: 3
Fukuyama, Takumi was an independent film director who enjoyed watching films and anime full of meaning, ... with well articulated plots and interesting stories.
While looking at the Winter 2011 anime releases, there was one show that captured his attention, Yumekui Merry. He had dreamed about being a director since he was a young teenager and he was actually living his dream, so he felt that he would enjoy a story related to dreams. (Don’t worry about spoilers you won’t find any)
Episode 1: Boy meets supernatural girl, the dream world and Merry are surrounded by a shroud of mystery, Merry cries. Takumi is intrigued.
Episodes 2 – 3: Some side characters are introduced, not much about them is told and they relation with the plot is unclear, bad action scenes, the dreamworld is still a mystery, Merry cries. Takumi feels a little confused and disappointed, yet he pushes through and keeps watching the show, hoping to get some answers.
Episodes 4 – 6: The amount of side characters keeps growing just like the amount of unanswered questions about everything regarding the main plot. Every fiber in Takumi’s body is screaming “Drop this show before it’s too late!”, but he can’t. He feels like it wouldn’t be fair to judge a show that’s halfway through. Takumi notices that he is eating less than he normally does.
Episodes 7 - 8: Baffled by the lack of sense and poorly animated fight scenes, Takumi stood still for 3 days, unconsciously staring at the turned off screen. His body is slowly giving up.
Episodes 9 – 12: Takumi is deranged. He has no regard for personal hygiene anymore, he started peeing in empty bottles and taking dumps in the trash bin. He is starting to run out of bottles and the trash bin is almost full. Only a good final episode can save him now.
Episode 13: After finishing this episode, what was left of Takumi broke. He picked up the trash bin and started writing “It doesn’t make any sense” with feces, in his dining room walls. “I ran out of paint” muttered Takumi as he blankly stared the shit covered walls. “Ah… I have an idea” said with a bitter smile, after thinking for a few seconds.
A week later he was reported missing by one of his coworkers, the police broke into his apartment and found the body of Takumi laying in a pool of his own blood.
It didn’t take much time for the police to find out what had happened. Half of the walls were painted with shit, the other half… With blood.

Case 2: The Prodigy.
Art / Animation: 5
Nanaya Kenichi, was the perfect student. His stern father always pushed him to get straight A, saying that he would not accept to have a son who thinks that it’s not important to be the best That’s why Kenichi had been getting nothing but A in every subject for all his life, even in “Art and Expression” which was the hardest one for him.
One day he received an assignment in that subject that got him worried. “Present an animation about anything you want”. Certainly creativity wasn’t one if his virtues, he had great memory but low inventive.
He resorted to the Winter 2011 anime releases list to get inspiration, and decided to try his luck with “Yumekui Merry” since it had two interesting designed characters in the promotional image.
“Hmm, so this is how you do it” thought Kenichi after finishing the whole thing. He immediately started his animation, brimming with enthusiasm and confidence.
The next day he presented his animation in class. Link vs Megaman: Link and Megaman fight over the last “six-pack” at the Wallmart.
Kenichi got an “F”. But it wasn’t the ridiculous plot the issue, it’s just that he drew Megaman and Link in great detail while they were standing still, and then drew them all disfigured and half-assed while moving / fighting. Just as he had learned from watching Yumekui Merry.
Needless to say, his father didn’t take the news too well. Kenichi was kicked out of his own house and had to live in an orphanage. There, he was constantly bullied and eventually raped by his fellow orphans and wardens.
One night that Kenichi was crying his hearth out with his head buried in his pillow, he heard the gentle voice of a girl. “Come” said the voice, “Kenichi, come”, insisted.
Kenichi rose his head and saw Merry standing by the door and calling out to him. Dumb footed he stood up and quietly followed Merry to the orphanage rooftop.
“I need to tell you a secret, a very important secret” said Merry, standing at the edge of the 5 stories orphanage rooftop.
“What is it?” replied Kenichi, half curious, half scared about the answer.
“I need you to get closer, or else I can’t tell you” said Merry with a gentle smile.
“No, it’s dangerous… This is too weird, I’m going back to bed”. Said Kenichi as he turned around and headed for the door.
“Don’t you miss your old life Kenichi?, if you listen to what I have to say, you will get your life back. Your family, your home, even your dog”
Kenichi froze, he couldn’t take another step away from her. Instead, he slowly started walking towards her, as if someone else was moving his body.
When he was about to reach Merry, he tripped and fell over the edge, a cracking noise resounded in the orphanage on that silent winter night, Kenichi broke his neck as soon as he hit the ground and died instantly.
A warden came investigating the source of the noise. He found Kenichi’s dead body, and in his hands a drawing of a curious looking girl, the draw was titled “Merry”.

Case 3: The Dreamer
Character / Character Development: 3
Watanabe Hiroshi, 32 years old, married for 8 years and father of two. He had dreamed of being a mangaka when he was younger, he even came up with a pen-name: “Watahiro”. But life isn’t a fairy tale, soon financial pressure made him give up on his dream and take whatever job he could get, in order to support his family.
After 8 years working in the dull and meaningless job of selling insurance policies, he found an advertise of an important manga publisher that would change his life forever. “Manga contest: Wining prize 800.000 YEN (roughly under 10.000 USD) and a contract for 5 years”.
“This must be destiny”, thought Hiroshi. He knew that if he wanted to win, he would need to make something new, something fresh. The contest deadline was close so he didn’t had enough time to resort to manga for inspiration. Anime seemed like the most reasonable choice.
He had not watched any anime since 2003 so he needed to watch a new show to get a feeling of current trends. “This one looks interesting” said Hiroshi while reading Yumekui Merry synopsis.
After watching the entire show he secretly started working on his manga, based on what he had learned from Yumekui Merry. Working during the day and hiding the manga production from his family was extremely tiring. Hideoshi realized that he wouldn’t finish on time unless he could find more time to work on his manga. So he took a decision.
Hideoshi left his job and keep it a secret from his family. Everyday he would bathe and change for work, then he would go to a park near his former workplace, where he would draw, and return home by the time he would return from his job.
“They won’t understand if I tell them now. It’s for the best, once I win the contest I can explain, and finally do what I love for living. Yes everything will be ok”, said Hideoshi with a smile, while drawing at the park.
After a month of hard work he barely finished his manga the day of the deadline. He proudly sent it to the publishing house, and returned home full of expectation.
Intense traffic caused him to return 2 hours later than usual, when the family is having dinner. But to his surprise the house was empty. Worriedly he scouted the rooms, looking for any clues of his family location. “Maybe something happened to one of the kids and they had to rush to the hospital”, thought Hiroshi.
Eventually he went to the kitchen, where he found a letter that had been written by his wife that same day. The letter contents were as follows: “Today I used the credit card and it was rejected. I called to your job to talk to you about it and they told me you have quitted last month and they haven’t seen you since then.
You have been lying to me and your children for the past month, without even blinking. I don’t even care about what you have been doing until today, it’s inexcusable and unforgivable. I’ve taken the kids with me, I have already told the kids that you are dead, don’t try look for us or I swear I’ll kill you.
I’ll send you the divorce papers once I’ve settled down.”
Hiroshi cried for several days, but the possibility of wining the manga contest finally soothed him. “That’s right, after I win the contest I’ll get my family back. I’m sure I can explain it somehow. She must probably think I was having an affair or something, that’s why she got so mad.”
The days went by and the expected letter from the contest didn’t arrive, after countless days of waiting Hiroshi picked up the phone to call the publishing house but he had no line. “What?, I’ve paid last month, this is outrageous. He tried to turn on the computer but it didn’t respond. “Maybe there is no power… No it can’t be that, the lights in the kitchen and living room are on. It must be broken.”. Hiroshi checked his watch “eight o’clock, I guess I’ll be going to sleep early today.”.
The next day he woke up and checked the mail. “Still nothing” said disappointed, “well, the day is just starting, they can still deliver it in the afternoon. What time is it anyway?”. When he looked at his watch, a chill went down Hiroshi’s spine. “8:00 PM?... no this can’t be right I can’t have slept for 24 hours. My watch have stopped, that must be it.” after confirming that his watch had stopped, Hiroshi stepped outside the house to ask someone the time.
“How weird it’s already nighttime, I wonder what time it really is”, thought while walking. After a long walk he couldn’t find anybody, everywhere was deserted. After a while of aimlessly walking around the neighborhood, he returned home disturbed about the lack of people.
In front of his house, there stood a girl with a white dress; she had an air of purity.
“Finally someone!, do you know where is everybody?”, asked Hiroshi worriedly.
“Everybody is here, you just can’t see them”, answered the girl in a calm voice.
“What do you mean?... But why can’t I see them?”, as he asked, deep inside he felt like he already knew the answer to his question.
“Because you are dead” said the girl.
“You are lying that’s just stupid, I can’t be dead im standing right here”, he acted like he brushed away her answer, but somehow he felt very uneasy
“When was the last time you ate breakfast?. When was the last time you taked with anybody?. When was the last time you used the phone?”. The girl kept asking questions that would have been easy to answer by anyone, but for some reason Hiroshi couldn’t find the answer to any of those questions.
“I.. I… no this can’t be” said while covering his ears with his hands as if to “unhear” what he had just heard.
“Enter your house, you will find the truth inside” said the girl.
Hiroshi stepped into his house. The house looked nothing like how it was when he left a few hours ago. It looked like it had been abandoned for a while, the mailbox was full and a strong smell could be perceived. As he entered the living room he couldn’t believe his eyes.
He saw his dead body, in a sitting position with his back against the wall. Over the table there were two letters, one was the letter his wife had left, and the other was from the publisher. The letter from the publisher said: Mister Watanabe, we regret to tell you that your manga didn’t win the contest. The reason is that you introduced too many characters to the story, without giving the audience proper background to understand their behavior and make their motivations clear. Ultimately you could have resorted to pander the audience fetishes, but you didn’t even do that. You just had a bunch of random characters, doing unrelated events for entertainment sake. And it actually wasn’t entertaining at all. Just like that “Yumekui Merry” crappy show. Better luck next time.”
After he finished reading the letter, the girl stepped into the room.
“How did I die?”
“You thought the letter was a prank, and that the real one would eventually come. So you sit there waiting for a month until you starved to death. Your desire to receive that letter was so strong that your spirit neglected your death. And since then you have wandered this house oblivious of what happened.
But yesterday when you found certain inconsistencies yesterday the phone and the computer you started to get aware of your situation, and deep in your heart accepted it. That’s why I came, because I heard your calling.”
“For how long…?” he couldn’t even finish the sentence.
“One year”
“I see…. And now what?”
“Now we go, I’ll take you to where you belong now”
Resigned, Hiroshi took the girl’s hand and they disappeared into a white light.

So heed my advise. If you don’t want to experience a “Merry Incident” stay the fuck away from this show. I specially recommend people who have read the manga to stay the fucking fuck away from this, couse the original story gets butchered and anal-fisted in the anime. Courtesy of your usual J.C Staff “Story Re-Write”.
Seriously, this anime is pointless. Watch something else, It’s for your own good.

When you are looking for anime, the first episode is important. It is a matter of making or breaking it to an anime watcher, since no one will continue watching an anime that can't even start properly. This is how it is for me at least, and I do admit that I may have passed by some great anime with that philosophy. And at the same time, I admit that I have been utterly let down by that same philosophy. Yeah, I am talking to you Dreameater Merry.

Dreameater Merry started out, to me, immensely promising, with a cute heroin, a down to earth leading male, ... and cute girl characters throughout along with a dreamworld plot that I have always taken interest in. It introduces Merry, who is trying to get back to her world in any way she can, her way being defeating monsters from her world that come the real world and try to follow them back. The story progresses from that...kinda. The initial plot sounds great, and the first couple episodes had me. Then, I kept watching, and basically got a metaphorical fan-kick to the balls. I felt like I was watching 11 Eyes all over again. The pacing had picked up to a point where feeling rushed is an understatement, and it kinda felt like when your on the freeway and your gas pedal sticks. Your trying to figure out whats wrong and trying to stop it, but by the time you do, you crash to an unhappy ending (for the viewer).

The art was inconsistent, but at points I was actually quite impressed. It actually looked like it had a large production value at some parts, but then it would die down into what I like to call "filler art" mode, and merely makes it good enough to put on the air.

With the OP as good as it was, and I'm saying that with a ton of respect, the rest of the soundtrack barely kept my interest past the first couple of episodes. At first, with the bells in the first episode, I was quite excited, only to be let down.

Characters were plentiful, but lacked...well, character. There was alot of characters to work with, but all of their personalities are either boring or unoriginal (the only exception I could find would be Mistletine and John Doe).

Its hard to enjoy when everything else is so wrong. Needless to say, I was disappointed overall with this anime and wouldn't personally recommend it. However, if what I said you don't believe, go ahead and watch. But you have been warned.

"There really are no hopes or dreams."

The tagline is Merry Nightmare's famous catchphrase, and it hold true to the source material. In the world of Yumekui Merry, dreams and reality are one and the same. Originally created by a 東方Project dōjin artist (known for creating the somewhat-famous comic, "Advent Cirno"), the story has a fresh take on the Japanese lore of dream demons, known as muma (夢魔); and the trickling string of fate that ties them to the entire human race!

⚠️ This review has light spoilers ⚠️

—Story/Characters

This series starts off strong, with the introduction of Jōji Nakata's character, "Chaser" John Doe! This character is enigmatic ... and has the presence of a roaring lion. The introduction to him, using the dreamscape, is a running-start to the series. But, despite the intrigue and hype that this character creates, he is only shown briefly (very briefly, I may add) two other times in the series!

Part of me wonders what the point of even introducing the character was; wait, oh! I know, it's to lure the audience into a series that is as poorly thought-out as a 60 meter dive. Every character that gets a cameo from the source material is poorly rendered or built-up to be something (especially in the case of "Mystletainn," often translated as "※Mistilteinn"), but ideas are as adhesive as water in this disaster of a production!

※the literal translation is "Ocean of Trees"

The story starts out strong with a world set, on a stage full of colorful characters. The lead heroine, Merry Nightmare, is an ingénue, despite her goat eyes and gothic attire. The protagonist, Yumeiji Fujiwara, starts out the story by being a tactful guy, with other-worldly abilities. His insight into peoples' aura and dreams, gives him a metaphysical chessboard to solve issues both in the real world and the dream realm.

Yumeiji and Merry's blossoming relationship is genuinely captivating, but everything get capsized, as more and more characters get introduced. It would be impossible to tie together every loose-end, by the end of the single-cour TV series. Unless you were a savant at a making everything come together, in a way that appears to make sense, which Mr. Yamauchi was unable to do.

What made things worse is the increasing decline in quality, the visuals became absurdly bad in the final three or four episodes! It was hard to keep track of all of the intersecting side-plots, and Merry's significance is gradually outshined by Mistilteinn; a character that is played up to be horrendously over-powered, but then sinks as quickly as the Yamato battleship did, during World War II.

—Technical

Luna's Favorite Works by Each Respective Creator = ✅

Shigeyasu Yamauchi (director, episode director, storyboard), notable works:
* Casshern Sins
* Digimon Adventure 02 (Part 3, in the English version of the film) ✅
* Dr. Slump
* Dragon Ball Z (※eps 200-291)
* Dragon Fist
* Han yori Dango
* Inferious Wakusei Senshi Gaiden Condition Green
* Kimi no Iru Machi
* Kōchū Ōja Mushiking: Mori no Tami no Densetsu
* Magical★Tarurūto-kun Movie
* Motto! Ojamajo Doremi: Kaeru Ishi no Himitsu
* Ojamajo Doremi Sharp Movie
* Saint Seiya: Kamigami no Atsuki Tatakai (Movie #2)
* Saint Seiya: Saishū Seisen no Senshi-tachi
* Saint Seiya: Shinku no Shōnen Densetsu
* Saint Seiya: Tenkai-hen Josō - Overture
* Street Fighter Zero The Animation ("Street Fighter Alpha: The Movie")
* Xenosaga The Animation

※End of the World Tournament saga and the entire Majin Bū saga. He also directed many of the movies: #3, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, and #13. Along with the "Saiya-jin Zetsumetsu Keikaku" OVA.

Commentary: Not the biggest fan of Mr. Yamauchi's style. I am a fan of the Neo Human Casshern series; leading to me attempting to watch Sins and then dropping it several times, before trying to pick it back up again. And Yoshihiko Umakoshi's designs for that series are amazing; I mean, HeartCatch PreCure is still one of my favorite shows! I also was one of those children (back in the day) who watched Dragon Ball Z, loved the Cell saga, and then dropped off around the Majin Bū arc.

Someone close to me was upset with his handling of the adaptation of Kimi no Iru Machi, too; though, I've personally never read the manga and have only seen the first episode of the anime. I cry every time I watch the Digimon Adventure 02 movie, but I think that has more to do with the character writing, than the actual cinematography... I remember there being a few awkward moments in that film, despite the high budget and eye-catching scenic shots.

In the case of Yumekui Merry, the action scenes are barely animated. The visual direction more contorts the faces of the characters, rather than attempts to convey the illusion of two characters duking it out. Like Casshern Sins, the screen is darkened in the final few episodes and the character poses/movements are very uncomfortable to look at. They basically amble around—while loud, orchestral, bassoons blare in the background.

Mr. Yamauchi would later apologize for the sloppy animation and choreography, by stating that he "had a difficult time blending the moe style with action scenes." Gia Manry from Anime News Networks describes the series as a "poor man's Soul Eater with its definite sense of style over substance." That quote basically sums up how I've felt about Mr. Yamauchi's filmography, over the years.

Hideki Shirane (script, theme song lyrics, series compositions, screenplay), notable works:
* Android Ana Maico 2010
* Binzume Yōsei
* Boku no Kanojo ga Majimesugiru Sho-bitch na Ken ("My Girlfriend is Shobitch")
* Cross Game
* Date A Live ✅
* Date A Live III
* ※Dungeon ni Deai wo Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darō ka ("Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?")
* Futari wa Milky Holmes
* Hayate no Gotoku!!
* Hidan no Aria
* Hundred ✅
* Isekai no Seikishi Monogatari
* Kaitō Tenshi Twin Angel: Kyun Kyun☆Tokimeki Paradise!!
* Kill Me Baby
* Last Period: Owarinaki Rasen no Monogatari
* Maburaho
* Mameushi-kun
* Monster Musume no Oishasan
* Nozo x Kimi
* Ōkami-san to Shichinin no Nakama-tachi
* Ōkamikakushi
* Ōkiku Furikabutte ("Big Windup!")
* Queen's Blade OVA
* Doki Doki School Hours
* Shijō Saikyō no Deshi Ken'ichi ("Ken'ichi: The Mightiest Disciple")
* Tenchi Muyō! GXP
* Tenchi Muyō! Ryōōki 4th and 5th Seasons
* The iDOLM@STER ✅
* Yami to Bōshi to Hon no Tabibito
* Zettai Shōgeki: Platonic Heart

※Mr. Shirane also did the scripts and series composition for the OVA, Sword Oratoria, as well as for the second and third season of the series.

Commentary: This script writer is a hit or miss, but they mostly miss the trajectory entirely. The best work that they ever did was the four episodes they wrote for The iDOLM@STER series, their contribution to the Data A Live franchise, and their script for Hundred. It seems like they really didn't know how they wanted to adapt "Dream Eater Merry," they introduced so many characters, and yet not many of them (if any) got a meaningful conclusion. The screenplay in this anime is a really big head-scratcher, I mean, what was the purpose of having Yui play an imaginary trombone in the very last scene. Was it supposed to be a deep allusion to the interstice between reality and the world of dreams? You can't randomly try to make a series deep, if the rest of the cast isn't fully developed.

Ayane Sakura as Merry Nightmare (as well as performed the opening theme, "Daydream Syndrome"), notable roles:
* Yotsuba Nakano, 5-tōbun no Hanayome ("The Quintessential Quintuplets") ✅
* Rise, Alice or Alice
* Maia Tsukigane, Aquarion Logos
* Tomoka Kase, Asagao to Kase-san. ("Kase-san and Morning Glories") ✅
* Prinz Eugen, Azur Lane
* Shizuku Hanaoka, Ballroom e Yōkoso ("Welcome to the Ballroom") ✅
* Ran Mitake, BanG Dream ✅
* Subaru Wakaba, Battle Girl High School
* Ochako Uraraka, Boku no Hero Academia ✅
* Pheona, Chain Chronicle ✅
* Nao Tomori, Charlotte ✅
* 9'δ, Darling in the FranXX
* Dorothy, Glass no Hana to Kowasu Sekai ✅
* Kokoa Hoto, Gochūmon wa Usagi Desu ka? ("Is the Order a Rabbit?") ✅
* Tōka Shishigaya, Grisaia: Phantom Trigger ✅
* Akari Mamiya, Hidan no Aria AA
* Gasper Vladi, High School DxD ✅
* Hotaru Takegawa, Hotarubi no Mori e ✅
* Bort, Hōseki no Kuni ✅
* Marii Buratei, Joshiraku
* Niwatori, Jūni Taisen ✅
* Hina, Kamisama ni Natta Hi ("The Day I Became a God") ✅
* Shimakaze, Nagato, Sendai, Naka, Jintsū, Mutsu, Tama, and Kuma—Kantai Collection ("KanColle") ✅
* Asuka, Kimi no Iru Machi ("A Town Where You Live")
* Hasuki Komai, Kishuku Gakkō no Juliet ✅
* Miyabi Kannagi, Kono Naka ni Hitori, Imōto ga Iru! ("My Little Sister Is Among Them!")
* Shinji, LayerD Stories Zero
* Yuiko Enomoto, Love Lab
* Arisa Ayase, Love Live! ✅
* Felicia Mitsuki, Magia Record: Mahō Shōjo Madoka☆Magica Gaiden (TV)
* Sōta Kishibe ("La Pucelle"), Mahō Shōjo Ikusei Keikaku ("Magical Girl Raising Project") ✅
* Haruka, Military!
* Yū Mizue, Mō Hitotsu no Mirai wo.
* Rin Asano, Mugen no Jūnin: Immortal
* Gisele Adjani, Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse ✅
* Haru Onodera, Nisekoi ✅
* Natsumi Koshigaya, Non Non Biyori ✅
* Ryōka Narusawa, Occultic;Nine ✅
* Solution Epsilon, Overlord ✅
* Rinne Ibara, Pretty Rhythm
* Aina Ardebit, Promare
* Mika Shimotsuki, Psycho-Pass ✅
* Nagisa Nanami, Ragnastrike Angels
* Yū Ōsawa, Ramen Daisuki Koizumi-san ("Ms. Koizumi Loves Ramen Noodles") ✅
* Rena Asteria, Regalia: The Three Sacred Stars
* Hijiri Kuina, Rō-Kyū-Bu! ✅
* Ai Yashajin, Ryūō no Oshigoto! ✅
* Silvia Lautreamont, Seikoku no Dragonar
* Hikari Tsuneki, Seiren
* Yuzuki Kurebayashi, Selector Infected WIXOSS (series)
* Tsubaki Sawabe, Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso ("Your Lie in April")
* Sakura Amamiya, Shin Sakura Taisen the Animation
* Hayato Hayasugi, Shinkansen Henkei Robo Shinkalion the Animation
* Moa, Show By Rock!! ✅
* Nana Sunohara, Sunohara-sō no Kanrinin-san ✅
* Saiko Yonebayashi, Tokyo Ghoul:re
* Levi Kazama, Trinity Seven
* Ryōko Kaji, Tsurezure Children
* Kaisei Ebisugawa, Uchōten Kazoku ("The Eccentric Family") ✅
* Urūru and Saraana, Utawarerumono: Itsuwari no Kamen ("Utawarerumono: The False Faces") ✅
* Akane Isshiki, Vivired Operation ✅
* Iroha Isshiki, Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru ("My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU")

Commentary: Her role as Merry Nightmare is rumored to have been Ms. Sakura's break-out performance. Despite the clunky presentation, Ms. Sakura's role as Merry is very compelling. When Merry gets upset or is unable to convey her feelings to Yumeiji, it is clear how deeply it ails her, with just the subtle inflection or noise from the seiyū's mouth. It's kind of weird how much the camera pans over her midriff and belly button, throughout the span of the 13-episode series, but Merry is still the best girl because of Ms. Sakura's powerful performance!

Nobuhiko Okamoto as Yumeiji Fujiwara, notable roles:
* Io Otonashi, Acchi Kocchi (TV)
* Obi, Akagami no Shirayuki-hime ("Snow White with the Red Hair")
* Shin-ah, Akatsuki no Yona ✅
* Karma Akabane, Ansatsu Kyōshitsu ("Assassination Classroom")
* Rin Okumura, Ao no Exorcist ("Blue Exorcist")
* Gear, Aoi Sekai no Chūshin de
* Arata Hinohara, Arata Kangatari
* Yoichi Karasuma, Asu no Yoichi!
* Eiji Niizuma, Bakuman. ✅
* Kiyoharu Hyōdō, Ballroom e Yōkoso ("Welcome to the Ballroom") ✅
* Katsuki Bakugō, Boku no Hero Academia ✅
* Hikaru Asahina, Brothers Conflict
* Layfon Alseif, Chromed Shelled Regios
* Rei Ōgami, Code:Breaker
* Daichi Shijima, Devil Survivor 2 the Animation
* Ryōsuke Kominato, Diamond no Ace ("Ace of Diamond")
* Asagi, Double Circle
* Bete Loga, Dungeon ni Deai wo Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darō ka ("Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?")
* Mikoto Mikoshiba, Gekkan Shōjo Nozaki-kun ("Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun") ✅
* John Brown, Ghost Hunt
* Akatsuki Ōsawa, Hagure Yūsha no Aesthetica
* Yū Nishinoya, Haikyū!! ✅
* Murasama, Hakkenden: Tōhō Hakken Ibun
* Masasahi Miyanomori, Hanayaka Nari, Waga Ichizoku: Kinetograph
* Kotarō Izumi, Hybrid Child
* Jurai Andō, Inō-Battle wa Nichijō-kei no Naka de ("When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace") ✅
* Usagi, Jūni Taisen ✅
* Takumi Usui, Kaichō wa Maid-sama!
* Aguero Agnes Khun, Kami no Tō ("Tower of God")
* Mizuki, Kamisama Hajimemashita ("Kamisami Kiss") ✅
* Genya Shinazugawa, Kimetsu no Yaiba ✅
* Kaname Asagiri, Mahō Shōjo Site ✅
* Takumi Tsuzuki, Mayoi Neko Overrun!
* Kyōka Izumi, Meiji Tokyo Renka
* Zero Kurogane, Metal Fight Beyblade Zero G
* Shinya Momotsuki, Momokuri
* Ikta Solork, Nejimaki Seirei Senki: Tenkyōno Alderamin
* Yoichi Saotome, Owari no Seraph
* Shin Kanzato, Persona: Trinity Soul
* Gladion, Pokémon
* Takeru Fujiwara, Prince of Stride: Alternative
* Bernard Octavius, Ryū no Haisha
* Knight Kijima, Sacred Seven
* Isaac Foster, Satsuriku no Tenshi ✅
* Luke Ainsworth, Seiken no Blacksmith
* Shōta Kisa, Sekaiichi Hatsukoi ✅
* Ryō Kurokiba, Shokugeki no Sōma ✅
* Leicaster Maycraft, Shukufuku no Campanella
* Yorita Morimiya, Sola ✅
* Ivan Karelin, Tiger & Bunny ✅
* Accelerator, Toaru Majutsu no Index (series) ✅
* Dale, Uchi no Ko no Tame naraba, Ore wa Moshikashitara Maō mo Taoseru kamo Shirenai. ("If It's for My Daughter, I'd Even Defeat a Demon Lord")
* Josef Kou Hiraga, Vatican Kiseki Chōsakan
* Rindō Fuke, Wave!!: Surfing Yappe!!
* Nero, Yume Ōkoku to Nemureru 100-nin no Ōji-sama: Short Stories
* Makoto Kashino, Yume-iro Pâtissière
* Hizamaru, Tōken Ranbu ✅

Commentary: Mr. Okamoto is usually type-cast as either the romanticized bishōnen ("pretty boy") archetype or plays psychotic characters; no doubt, because of his memorable and bombastic role as Accelerator ("Toaru Majutsu no Index")! In this series, there's a slight harem dynamic, so his character is both "that" kind of character, while also kind of resembling an idyllic, shōnen protagonist. The character, Yumeiji, is shown to be both energetic and insightful. Though the character is very likable, I would say that Ayane Sakura still steals the show with her performance. But, of course, Merry Nightmare is the titular character of the series!

Ai Kayano as Isana Tachibana, notable roles:
* Akari Kawamoto, 3-Gatsu no Lion ✅
* Futaba Ōki, Amanchu! ✅
* Mikono Suzushiro, Aquarion Evol
* Anya Dostoyevskaya, Aria the Avvenire
* Kaga and Atago, Azur Lane
* Hana Mutō, Captain Earth
* Kanade Ōe, Chihayafuru ✅
* Ponoka, Choboraunyopomi Gekijō Ai Mai Mii ✅
* Anna Clément, Code Geass: Akito the Exiled ✅
* Mikan Tsumiki, Danganronpa 3
* Maihime Shirayuki, Dokyū Hentai HxEros
* Mimi, Flip Flappers ✅
* Megumi Sakura, Gakkōgurashi! ("School Live") ✅
* Saori Takebe, Girls und Panzer ✅
* Moka Hoto, Gochūmon wa Usagi Desu ka? ("Is the Order a Rabbit?") ✅
* Nana Hayashida, Golden Time ✅
* Inori Yuzuriha, Guilty Crown ✅
* Yuyuko Saigyōji, Hifū Katsudō Kiroku: The Sealed Esoteric History ✅
* Diamond, Hōseki no Kuni ✅
* Mayaka Ibara, Hyōka ✅
* Emi Kaidō, Infinti-T Force ✅
* Aoi Sakurada, Jōkamachi no Dandelion ✅
* Hibino Shiba, Kamisama Dolls ✅
* Akane Mahōgasawa, Kanojo ga Flag wo Oraretara ("If Her Flag Breaks")
* Kanae Kochō, Kimetsu no Yaiba ✅
* Juliet Persia, Kishuku Gakkō no Juliet ✅
* Lalatina Dustiness Ford, Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo! ("God's Blessing on This Wonderful World!")
* Millia il Velch Cutrettola Turan, Last Exile: Ginyoku no Fam ✅
* Mogana Kikaijima, Medaka Box ✅
* Zenna Zabi, Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin ✅
* Chisaki Hiradaira, Nagi no Asu kara ✅
* Shiro, No Game No Life ✅
* Ai Fuyūmi, Ore no Kanojo to Osananajimi ga Shuraba Sugiru ("Oreshura") ✅
* Erika, Pokémon Masters ✅
* Chizuru Hishiro, ReLIFE
* Muginami, Rinne no Lagrange
* Akane Kajiya, Romantica Clock
* Utaha Kasumigaoka, Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata ("How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend") ✅
* Kokomi Teruhashi, Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan ✅
* Mashiro Shiina, Sakura-sō no Pet na Kanojo ✅
* Leila, Sayonara no Asa ni Yakusoku no Hana wo Kazarō ("Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms") ✅
* Hitoe Uemura, Selector Infected WIXOSS
* Kirika Akatsuki, Senki Zesshō Symphogear ✅
* Yomi, Senran Kagura ✅
* Ruki, Senryū.
* Lucy Yagami, Servant x Service
* Meili Zhou, Shin Chūka Ichiban!
* Rinko Ogasawara, Shirobako ✅
* Ryōko Sakaki, Shokugeki no Sōma ✅
* Haru Estia, Soul Worker: Your Destiny Awaits
* Karila Hatsuse, Stella Jogakuin Kōtō-ka C³-bu
* Mei Tachibana, Sukitte Ii na yo. ("Say I Love You")
* Mako Saitō, Super Seishūn Brothers
* Alice Zuberg, Sword Art Online ✅
* Alisha Diphda, Tales of Zestiria ✅
* Kanae Mitani, Tamayura
* Yuyuko Saigyōji, 東方 Niji Sōsaku Dōjin Anime: Musō Kakyō ✅
* Mamako Ōsuki, Tsūjō Kōgeki ga Zentai Kōgeki de Ni-kai Kōgeki no Okaasan wa Suki Desu ka? ("Do You Love Your Mom and Her Two-Hit Multi-Target Attacks?") ✅
* Sumire Kisaragi, Twin Angel Break
* Kasumi Takamiya, Witch Craft Works
* Anna, Yakusoku no Neverland ("The Promised Neverland") ✅

Commentary: I don't usually say this about voice actors, but Ms. Kayano has an absolutely angelic voice and presence on-screen. Her casting as Isana is perfect in this series; the immutably, clear-hearted childhood friend. She was a really close second for best girl, I thought I would like Engi more, but Merry and Isana were (by far) the greatest characters! The context of their cute friendship/rivalry in this series is enhanced, when you realize that they both play Koko and Moka in Gochūmon wa Usagi Desu ka? ("Is the Order a Rabbit?")! Too cute!

Other notable seiyū roles include the legendary Jōji Nakata (as "John Doe"), Kana Ueda (as "Chizuru Kawanami"), Aya Endō (as "Engi Threepiece"), Rina Hidada (as "Minato Kisaragi"), etc.

In the end, I have rarely seen something with such a high potential to be good—blunder, in such terrible way! The series had me, I absolutely adored: the aesthetic, the character designs, the concept, the personalities, the seiyū talents! Everything about this series should have been great. Perhaps, everything would have come together better in a 26-episode series, rather than a story compressed into 13. Who can really say? Yumekui Merry gets a 3/10, while I shake my head, in the fashion of a disappointed old geezer.

—Side Note: I'm going to check out the manga, as well as the spin-off/prequel: "Kagefumi Merry." Despite the faults of the anime adaptation, I still find the world and the concept really interesting. And Merry is waifu material.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

The story drags itself. Characters that seem to be essential to the plot just disapear in the middle of the story, like Hunter John Doe and his cats and even the main vilain! The side stories of the suport characters are left mostly untouched and are boring. The main characters don't evolve, don't learn anything from previous encounters with other enemies, and at a certain point the heroin is able to performe a mysterious and awesome atack, only to have it never used or even mencioned again!

Also, the setting of a dream is poorly explored. The art of the characters are fine, but the background ... is inexpressive. They could have made it awesome and beautiful, even surreal. Instead, the scenery is static, mostly unchangeable, like a fighting game background.

It was an anime that got me really pumped up at first. The first few episodes are quite decent and somehow seem to suck you in. Despite this i would not recommend watching this anime unless you really have nothing else to watch.
The main reason, actually the only reason i say this is because of the horrible ending to the series.
The ending was a let down of let downs, it was literally as if the directed just added it to answer all the missing questions, nothing else at all, it was SHIT.
If you want to know the story then i recommend the ... Manga, it is more diverse. Despite the fact that its not much better, it is better.
Now this is my own PERSONAL review so if you must then eat ur

Story(4/10): The story gets rushed at the end and they throw in a throw away villain who's supposed to be "Omega Strong" and all but it fells like a rushed ending doesn't touch on the actual main antagonist at all except for a few scenes. Not only that but the anime suffers from the manga not being fully released so they suffer from filler at the end and little to no story told.

Art(4/10): They may have some cool screen shot moments but the animation didn't age well at all. With the interesting dream worlds and character designs the animation is very plain and doesn't ... look that good.

Sound(5/10): The music has its ups and downs and it overall just eh, while some of the sound design can get on your nerves.

Characters(4/10): Like I said the main villain at the end is pretty generic and was rushed in for filler, and we also don't see much of the main antagonist at all. The main characters don't have much character development mainly because of how little source material they had, also they explained none of the back story of the main characters.

Enjoyment(5/10): Its a eh experience overall, only reason I had some enjoyment was because I was a fan of the manga, those who didn't read the manga will like this series less and see it as generic trash.