Oreimo Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Stardust Witch Meruru - Stardust Witch Meruru OP - m00 s20

Title card for Stardust☆Witch Meruru.

Stardust☆Witch Meruru (星くず☆ういっちメルル, Hoshikuzu☆Uicchi Meruru?) is a mahou shoujo anime series which follows the story of Meruru, a young student-turned magical girl in various adventures.

It was broadcast on Thursdays at 5 PM, which puts it at the same timeslot as Maschera: Lament of a Fallen Beat. During the timeline of the first season of Oreimo, two seasons of the series were broadcast, the second of which was entitled Stardust☆Witch Meruru Double Heart. A third season, entitled Stardust☆Witch Meruru 3rd Impact, was  created and was also the final season of the series for ten years. 

Characters[]

Plot[]

The plot centers on Meru Akaboshi, a grade four, 10-year-old student who magically transforms into Stardust Witch Meruru, whose duty is to defeat the dark witches, led by Thanatos Eros and her Octopus sidekick.

Pretty Star and Evil Star, Comet-kun and Thantos Eros' homeworld respectively, has been in conflict for eons with Earth and Meruru being caught in the conflict. Dark Witches steals human bodies, especially those with innocent heart, as ideal vessels as they possess high levels of dark magic. This very reason is why they threaten to invade the Earth. Thanatos Eros chose a baby as her vessel knowing that a baby possesses a pure and innocent soul. Comet-kun made Meruru into a Stardust Witch to counter the Dark Witches threatening to invade the Earth. Meruru was chosen by Comet-kun due to the same reason why dark witches steal human bodies, that Meruru posseses an innocent heart.

Opening Theme Song Speculations[]

Meruru and Alpha Omega - S02E10 OP - m01 s26

Meruru and Alpha Omega duo

Although there is not much given away to the true plot of the storyline, the Stardust Witch Meruru opening, which was featured as an extra on the Light Novel Volume 07 disk, reveals a lot more in the lyrics and visuals.

In the lyrics, it tells of a shooting star and a girl that "fell from the Land of Magic". Therefore, an interpretation of Meruru's existence on Earth is that she fell from another world where magic is frequent by a shooting star. This would also explain why stars keep re-appearing—on her costume, on Comet-kun's forehead (her magic teacher), in her codename, etc.

Meru and Arufa - Stardust Witch Meruru OP - m00 s29

Meru and Arufa

The visuals reveal a lot more. In certain points of the opening, five rainbow orbs keep appearing over and over again. These may be the source of Meruru's powers, considering that they are also in her wand. Another less obvious interpretation is that Meruru's best friend Arufa Kurotsuki, shown with dark blue hair in the beginning, is her sidekick, Alpha Omega. The first indication is that Comet-kun appeared to both of them, not just Meru. Another indication is the similarities in eyes and hair. Both Alpha Omega and Arufa have two sidebangs split at the ends, a stray hair that flies off to the side, and droopy, almost shy looking eyes. They also both wear various shades of blue.

Third Season[]

Meruru season 3

Alpha and another fellow magical girl facing Dark Witch Meruru

By the third season of Stardust☆Witch Meruru, Meruru turns against Alpha Omega and transforms into Dark Meruru with the help of someone who resembles Comet-kun, although having a black coat instead of Comet-kun's pink. Dark Meruru then reveals her powers, which include her strongest ability Planet Buster, which unleashes a beam of energy so powerful that it destroyed Earth in a single shot.

Through the efforts of the Star Dust witches, starting with Alpha, Meruru is returned from being a dark witch. In the end, a black appeares on Meruru's stomach and Meruru splits into two, becoming regular Meruru and Dark Meruru. With the help of the other magical girls, Meruru defeats the Dark Meruru. She tells the audience "Until next time" and ends the series.

Remake[]

Ten years after the final episode of season three, the series is brought back. The episode starts off with "It's been so long! Everyone!", though it is unknown if this is a remake or a new season.

Interpretations[]

Comet-kun's first meeting with Meru and Arufa - Stardust Witch Meruru OP - m00 s36

Comet-kun's Arrival

There are many positive interpretations of Stardust☆Witch Meruru, but also some negative ones. The negative aspects of the opening suggests that Comet-san is perhaps an alien who wants to bring destruction to Earth, and that Meru is just a weapon for it, instead of the interpretation that Meru was already magical and just didn't know yet. The first sign that makes some viewers wonder is that the shooting star is shaped as a literal star, and that Comet-san, whom was inside of it, is shaped as a bunny.

Some people conclude that Comet-san wanted to seem innocent and cute so that he could manipulate Meru into being his sidekick to destroy Earth. Possible visual evidence of this is that Meruru is shown destroying a city. Some more negative thoughts on Stardust Witch Meruru are of that of Thanatos Eros, whose name is roughly broken down to Death Pervert. Thanatos Eros's sidekick is that of an Octopus, whom in one scene of the opening seemingly tries to wrap his tentacles around Meruru and up her skirt. The last evidence of the peversion interpretations of Stardust Witch Meruru is towards the end, when Thanatos Eros and her sidekick are side by side. Notice that the octopus is sweating heavily, which is a sign he is very hot. This could be something as innocent as the persuasion of Meruru's enemies being "gross" or "nasty". This concept is a little like Puella Magi Madoka Magica.

Despite all interpretations, Meruru is shown as a cute, innocent 10-year-old girl to a lot of the viewers. Stardust☆Witch Meruru is thought to be a very deep, revealing storyline underneath the typical, adorable magical girl style that Meruru harnesses.

Trivia[]

  • Oreimo Chapter 3 illustration Meruru

    Illustration in Chapter 3 about Meruru

    Stardust☆Witch Meruru
    may be based on the anime Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha due to various elements such as Meruru's overkill attacks (enough to level a city), similar to Nanoha's Starlight Breaker as well as having a wand that can turn into different things. Meruru herself is also played by Yukari Tamura, the voice actress of Nanoha. Actually, in one of the character songs, Yukari Tamura sings as Meruru, but messes up and says " Takamachi Nanoha desu " meaning " I'm Takamachi Nanoha ", confirming the fact that it is based on Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. She also says Nanoha's catchphrase, " Zenryoku zenkai"
  • Stardust Witch☆Meruru is also likely based off of HeartCatch PreCure! . The main resemblances can be found in Stardust Witch☆Meruru's logo when compared to HeartCatch PreCure's logo, the designs of the characters civilian forms, with Meruru herself sharing hairstyles and hair colors with Hanasaki Tsubomi, who is the main heroine of HeartCatch PreCure.
  • Comet-kun's design seems to be based on Mokona, a recurring animal sidekick character who appears in CLAMP mangas Magic Knight Rayearth, Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle, and xxxHolic.
Advertisement