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[[quoteright:249:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/YUMEKUIMERRY_7939.png]]Yumeji Fujiwara has a strange ability. He can see the aura of peoples' dreams. Around himself, there is a black aura. A nightmare. Though Yumeji lives a comfortable life with his childhood friend Isana and his school's [[JapaneseSchoolClub Literature Club]], he's had a recurring dream of cats. Multiple cats attacking him, trying to claim his body so they can cross over from the nightmare to our world.
There is another party involved. A girl in a strange set of clothes. She falls on top of Yumeji one day and, after getting her hat back, finds her way into his world. Her name is Merry Nightmare, a dream eater. She has no memories of from where or who she was and seeks to return to the world of dreams.
''Yumekui Merry'' (or ''Dream Eater Merry'' in English) is a manga by Yoshitake Ushiki, a ''Magazine/MangaTimeKirara Forward'' manga lasting from 2008 to 2020 with 24 volumes. It was adapted into an anime in the winter of 2011 by Creator/JCStaff. ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' fans may recognize the author from his doujinshi work ''[[FanficRecs/TouhouProject Advent Cirno]]'', and the people handling the music as Music/{{IOSYS}}.
It also has a SpinOff {{Prequel}} three chapter manga called ''Kagefumi Merry'' (English ''Shadow Stomper Merry'').
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!!Tropes in ''Yumekui Merry'' include:
* TwoDVisualsThreeDEffects: In the anime, giant fish bones, brought to you in CG glory.
* TheAce: [[spoiler:Shiragi Kyou transfers into their school and is a dedicated perfectionist, talented at everything he puts his hand to.]]
* ActionGirl: Merry and Engi.
* AllLoveIsUnrequited: Given his first line about the cruelty of meeting in a dream, Chris Evergreen seems to be a nightmare of this trope - a dream of meeting and falling in love only for it to collapse upon awakening, leaving nothing but a sense of unrequited longing when you remember the dream after. Though it's implied Chris felt something of the same thing in return for Mei. Fittingly, his appearance also prompts the collapse of Takateru and Yumeji's own unrequited crushes on Mei.
* AnimationBump: The Opening and Episode 1 are much better animated than the rest of the series.
* AwesomeMcCoolName: Merry Nightmare, "Chaser" John Doe, Engi Threepiece, "Pharos" Hercules, "Chain" Noir, "Familiar" Legion... Most of the nightmares, really, crossing over with MeaningfulName.
* BadassAdorable: Merry. If you get in her way? Prepare to be pummeled. You mess with her when she's enjoying her [[TrademarkFavoriteFood doughnuts]]? Run. Hurt her friends? She will break the fricking moon.
* BadassLongcoat: John Doe.
* {{Baku}}: Merry Nightmare has powers revolving around dreams and nightmares, and she has a strong baku motif.
* BarehandedBladeBlock: Merry performs one against [[MonsterOfTheWeek Engi]] in episode 5.
* BareYourMidriff: Merry. The animators seem to be actively ''trying'' to put in as many shots of Merry's bellybutton as they can.
* BathtubBonding: Isana and Merry get to know each other in the bath when [[AccidentalPervert Yumeji walks in]]. Isana notes this is the 15th time he's done that. [[spoiler:Later, John and Yumeji get in on this, only for Merry to walk in on him.]]
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: [[spoiler:Following Hercules's defeat, Shiragi Kyou has stepped forward as the new villain and deals primarily in this - he somehow fulfills the dreams of those who are hosting a Nightmare, but in the process slays the Dream Demon in question and yet somehow fixes the damage to one's dreams that this would normally cause. Those with shortsighted dreams, such as something that could be fulfilled by a singular event, seem to be almost as lost as people who lost their dreams entirely, as they now no longer have anything for which to strive. Others have come out of it surprisingly intact, but for the death of the Dream Demon.]]
* BetaCouple: Takateru and Saki look like they're shaping up to be this (with the Alpha Couple being Yumeji's [[{{UnwantedHarem}} harem]]).
* BeachEpisode: In chapter 11 (manga) and episode 7 (anime).
* BigDamnKiss: [[spoiler: Combined with FinalFirstKiss, Chapter 141 ends with Merry giving Yumeji a goodbye smooch before she returns to the dream world for the last time.]]
* BishieSparkle: In chapter 5, both Yumeji and Taka gave out some while convincing Mei to go to karaoke with them.
* BlackEyesOfEvil: Ichima [[spoiler:until her HeelFaceTurn.]]
** Subverted with Takateru, whose eyes are almost entirely black (with very thin slices of whites visible around them), only he's probably the nicest guy in the cast. [[spoiler:Played with. See, he's possessed by the Big Bad... but Taka really is that nice, normally.]]
* BreakTheCutie: See below. Also what happens to kids after their Dream Demons are killed.
* BreakingSpeech: [[spoiler:"Maze" Landsborough gives one to Engi. See HeroicBSOD]]
* BrokenBird: Chizuru.
* CatchPhrase: Merry's one is "There really are no hopes or dreams."
* CatsAreMean: They're the first [[MonsterOfTheWeek villains]] of the work, in fact.
* CatGirl: "Chaser" John Doe has some working for him.
** He later brings a whole army of them to help Merry and Yumeji. They can transform into cats, sans-clothing, in order to escape from being hurt then transform back again with clothing starting to form itself around them. Yes, they ''are'' made of {{fanservice}}, why do you ask?
** He also has cat boys.
* ChainedByFashion: Chizuru wears a very prominent handcuff bracelet.
* ClingyJealousGirl: To an extent, Isana. She's not really all that clingy, but she DOES get jealous when a girl she doesn't know shows up asking for Fujiwara. [[spoiler:It's Yui (and Engi) coming to train him and Merry.]] All considering, her jealousy may just be for RuleOfFunny.
* ClosingCredits: In the final chapter, scenes of the cast getting together and catching up are interspersed with staff credits.
* ClothingDamage:
** A non-{{fanservice}} type happens during Merry's fight with a Dream Demon in the 6th volume. Her opponent thinks that her coattails look like eels and he rips one of them off. Merry isn't amused.
** Other non-{{fanservice}} example is Yumeji, from Chapters 57 to 60, his ripped [[spoiler:and bloodied]] shirt [[spoiler:looks a lot like a dark version of Merry's coattails.]]
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Yui, with her penchant for concocting strange stories about the dolls she collects.
* ClubPresident: Mei, for the Literature Club.
* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: Yumeji can see what kind of dreams people will have from the color of their auras. Often he's wrong since most dreams are a confusing array of colors rather than anything stable and coherent, except for '''Black''': Is 100% nightmares and daydreams when a Dream Demon tries to take over a host or is already in one.
* CoolOldGuy: Isana's dad, who frequently dispenses random philosophy-cum-life-advice to those who happen to be passing. See also GoodScarsEvilScars.
* CompressedHair: Minato and "Sonar" Clione have hats that hide their long hair.
* CryCute:
** Merry, in her more vulnerable moments.
** [[spoiler:Isana in chapter 33.]]
* CuteLittleFangs: Merry
* CuteBruiser: Merry. "Chaser" John Doe notes how much strength Merry can invest in [[MusclesAreMeaningless those flimsy little arms.]] In the waking world, she's not quite as strong, but she's still pretty sturdy for her slender little frame.
* CuteClumsyGirl: VictimOfTheWeek Minato
** Ichima is also this once she manifests in reality.
* DarkIsNotEvil: Merry [[spoiler:and "Chaser" John Doe.]]
* DemonicPossession: What some Dream Demons attempt with their vessels.
* DreamLand: The Dream World which is comprised of multiple Dream Demon yards (Daydreams) which are worlds of their own.
** Besides his eye ability, Yumeji can also enter the dream world of others - which surprises Merry.
* DreamPeople: Dream Demons/Nightmares.
* DreamStealer
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: When John summons the cat girls to help with Yumeji's wound, look at the one holding the medicine. Is there any reason she has to hold it like that?
* DullEyesOfUnhappiness: The victims of Dream Loss Syndrome, who are not so much unhappy as ''unmotivated'', almost to the point of complete catatonia. [[spoiler:They were formerly symbiotes or possessed vessels of Dream Demons; when the demon's killed, all the dreams and ambitions of the human vessel die with it.]]
* EvilGloating: Hercules ''loves'' to do this since he's a LargeHam. It helps that he's strong enough to tank enemy attacks while barely breaking his train of thought. [[spoiler:John uses this against him in the big fight by baiting Hercules into gloating, then ending the daydream since it was in John's yard, to throw Hercules off mid-gloat.]]
* ExoticEyeDesigns: Most Dream Demons have unique-looking pupils. For example, Chukai has cross-shaped pupils, while Chris Evergreen has tilting H-shaped pupils.
* ExpressiveMask: "Chaser" John Doe. It's very subtle, but his otherwise motionless mask can change from a frown to a smile or vice versa between shots.
* {{Expy}}: Ryouta Ijima [[spoiler:is quite similar to [[VideoGame/{{Blazblue}} a certain smooth criminal/troll, Yuuki Terumi]], even has the same EvilLaugh.]]
* FingerGun: Chizuru does this a few times, saying "bang" as she does it.
* ForgottenFirstMeeting: [[spoiler:Between Yumeji, Merry and Kyou. And also Kyou and Isana.]]
* GeniusLoci[=/=]EldritchLocation: Each nightmare is not only the discrete person but their "yard" or the field that forms around them in a daydream. So John Doe is as much the empty city that he chases Yumeji through at the very beginning and the cat warriors who fight for him, as he is the masked cat-man who does the chasing. It seems only the nightmare whose yard in which the current daydream takes place has the power to end it, though it seems to take a few moments' concentration - meaning a nightmare can't just pick a fight and then end it when things suddenly go badly for them. [[spoiler:Hercules's greatest power, as the "lighthouse", is to direct others into his own yard where he controls the shape of local reality, which means he has the home field advantage whenever he wants it and can prevent anyone from escaping]].
* GirlishPigtails: Isana, Mei.
* GoodScarsEvilScars: Isana's dad has a scar down the right side of his face.
** [[spoiler:Merry has one on her right arm, she just keeps it covered until the BeachEpisode in chapter 11. Yumeji had a scar, but it's long since faded. Curiously, [[EpilepticTrees his was in the same place that Merry's is.]] And now the spot where he had his scar is starting to hurt after he exits a daydream...]]
* GratuitousSpanish: In chapter 64, the boys who signed Saki Kirashima up for the bread-eating contest said "Gracias!!" when Saki jumped and grabbed the hot dog bread with her mouth causing [[{{Gainaxing}} her boobs to shake all over]].
* HalfHumanHybrid: [[spoiler:Yumeji]].
* {{Hatsuyume}}: The Threepiece sisters each represent some of the items dreamed.
** Both sisters have triangle pupils representing ''Ichi-Fuji''(1. Mt. Fuji)[[note]]art and crafts often use a triangle to represent the mountain[[/note]].
** Engi is the first set: her hair wings represents the ''Ni-Taka''(2. Hawk); her Sannasubi sword for the ''San-Nasubi''(3. Eggplant).
** Patti is the uncommon second set: her fan hair decoration represents the ''Yon-Sen''(4. Fan)[[note]]a spread out fan is like the spread out base of Mt. Fuji[[/note]]; her pouch represents the ''Go-Tobako''(5. Tobacco)[[note]]tobacco in Japan's past is kept in a pouch; Tobacco smoke rises up in the air like a hawk[[/note]]; her Rokuzatou katana for ''Roku-Zato''(6. Blind Zato)[[note]]a Zato is a rank of lute monks who are often blind and monks are bald (Ke ga nai); Eggplants have no hair (Ke ga nai); "Ke ga nai" is pronounced similar to "Keganai" (no injury)[[/note]].
* HellishPupils: Dream Demons often have them called Nightmare Pupils.
** Merry's pupils are rectangular (like a sheep's or a tapir's). She has UnusualEars, too.
** Some of the eye patterns that were seen in the manga. Clockwise from the the bottom-left: "Chain" Noir's looks like a chain-link, the Threepiece sister's is a triangle, Ichima's is a swirl, "Chaser" John Doe's is his mouth on his mask, Chris Evergreen looks like a sideways '''H''', "Maze" Landsborough's looks like a sideways '''#''', and "Pharos" Hercules looks like a sun or a shining light.
** [[spoiler:Yumeji's eye take on the pupil of the Dream Demon whose power he is replicating with Lucid Gadget. In chapter 24, Yumeji's eyes took on the pattern of John's mouth on his mask when he first formed John's weapon. In Chapter 25, Yumeji's eyes took on the pattern of Ichima's swirly eye pattern when he used her power to call forth one of her giant kokeshi toys to protect John. In Chapter 30, Yumeji's right eye takes on Chris's eye pattern when Yumeji uses Chris' RocketPunch move. In chapter 31, Yumeji's right eye takes on Noir's eye pattern when calling forth one of her chains.]]
* HeroicBSOD: [[spoiler:Both Merry and Yumeji get hit with one. Merry when Engi tells her that, once they get into the real world, there's no way back to the dream world, and Yumeji after he realizes that by killing any Dream Demon who's already taken a vessel, ''[[FridgeHorror they also destroy that person's dreams... both the at night kind of dream AND the personal ambition variety]] (the only exception to this is if is Merry the one defeating the Nightmares).]]
* HiddenAgendaVillain: "Pharos" Hercules draws nightmares to the waking world, brutally kills any that won't follow him, and lets his followers run wild. John Doe is trying to puzzle out his plans, questioning every revelation, even those from Hercules's right-hand minions. Merry thinks Hercules is just out to cause chaos and is using the appearance of a master plan as cover to keep his foes guessing. Hercules eventually reveals his grand scheme: to [[spoiler:destroy the Gate between Dream and Reality so nightmares may be physically present in the real world, but not so he may conquer the world - but so he may crush and destroy ''everyone'', nightmares and humans both. He is a nightmare of ''fire'' after all, the signaling flame, and as a living fire, all he wants is to consume and burn brighter. So technically Merry was right, but his methods were frightfully sophisticated.]]
* HimeCut: [[MonsterOfTheWeek Ichima]], [[VictimOfTheWeek Minato]], Yui and her mom too.
* HumansAreSpecial: Despite all their powers and superhuman strength, nightmares envy humanity's ability to grow and change; and some hate that their existence is entirely dependent upon humanity.
* HunterOfHisOwnKind: Both Merry and Engi, for different reasons.
* IdentityAmnesia: Merry just can't remember who she is.
* IDontKnowMortalKombat[=/=]IKnowMortalKombat: Merry loses 383 games of a Wii fighting game to Yumeji. On the other hand, she successfully uses a technique from the game to block Engi's sword.
* InTheBlood: Hercules [[InvokedTrope attributed this]] as the reason for [[spoiler:Yumeji's]] recovering in chapter 57. But as it turns out, [[spoiler:they are not brothers, but the origins of their power is from the same person.]]
* IdiotHair: Yumeji's most recognizable physical trait. Merry remembers him almost solely by seeing it again -- she refers to it as an "antenna".
* ImpossiblyCoolClothes: Merry
* ImprobableHairstyle:
** Engi's hair is shaped like wings.
** It's also PrehensileHair since Engi can move them.
** The NewTransferStudent in volume 5 has his hair combed and tied back where it spikes into AnimeHair.
* ImprobableWeaponUser: "Chaser" John Doe has something that the author said was a cross between a saw and a guillotine. [[spoiler:Yumeji, using his Lucid Gadget, creates a smaller version to use against "Maze" Landsborough and "Chain" Noir.]]
* InvisibleToNormals: When Dream Demons are able to appear in the real world, they and their abilities are only visible to humans who are/were/and could have been vessels for Dream Demons. Examples include "Chaser" John Doe's Little Chasers, "Garden" Engi Threepiece's swords,
* IronicEcho:
--> '''[[spoiler:Yumeji]]:''' "It's SHOWTIME!!"
* IWroteOurStory: [[spoiler:In the finale, Yumeji begins working on a new light novel with his friends. Although he can't remember much of his time with Merry anymore, the final panel reveals that the light novel is likely ''Yumekui Merry'' itself.]]
* KickTheDog: Treesea and [[spoiler:her vessel Mr. Ijima]] love doing this. Taken UpToEleven in episode 9 when [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown he beats up the vet girl]] after she kills her dream ForTheEvulz.
* LargeHam:
** "Chaser" John Doe
** [[spoiler:Hercules seems to be one as well. ''It's SHOW TIME!'']]
* LethalChef: Yui. Her teacher calls her brand of cooking Magical Chemical Cooking. Yui's friend Nao has also said that not even a dog would eat Yui's cooking.
* LightIsNotGood: Heracles is described as the guiding light (the kanji of his name make up the word for lighthouse), drawing other Dream Demons to Reality. Because of that, the whole balance between the worlds has been thrown out of whack. [[spoiler:Then there's his personality...]]
* MagicSkirt: For all the {{fanservice}} of Merry's skimpier-than-normal attire, the show (so far) is apparently ''un''interested in {{Panty Shot}}s.
** Yui Konagi,[[spoiler:Engi's vessel.]] When Yumeji does a diving save for a doll she drops, he saves the doll, but catches a glimpse. The audience also gets a peek in the manga.
** [[spoiler:[[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] in the manga by villain "Maze" Landsborough. At one point he winds up on the floor between Merry's feet, looking up; we see stripes reflected in his one eye, but not from her stockings. Yoshitake Ushiki's inventiveness and subtlety - establishing what kind of panties the heroine wears WITHOUT a single PantyShot - is to be admired.]]
** [[spoiler:We get another brief one in volume five. Hey, when you've got Stripperific cat girls fighting, you're bound to get at least one.]]
* MaleGaze
* ManicPixieDreamGirl: Merry fills the character role in the usual way.
* MeaningfulName: The names of both lead characters are related to dreaming: Yumeji - "Yumeji" means "Dream Road", or "Road to Dreams" depending on personal interpretation. Merry's surname is ''Nightmare'', and her full name is [[spoiler:"Sheep" Merry Nightmare.]] The author also states in an omake that her name is based on Mary, [[spoiler:as in 'Mary Had a Little Lamb']].
** Both of the protagonists' names explain themselves. Yumeji could mean "Path to the Dream", which is his ChekhovsSkill, while Merry Nightmare, as ridiculous as it may sound, just mean merry nightmare.
** Many of the Dream Demon's names are this, like "Chaser" John Doe being a hunter, [[spoiler:"Maze" Landsborough traps people in a maze, "Chain" Noir uses chains, etc.]]
** Pharos means "[[LightIsNotGood Lighthouse]]" and is referred as the light that guides all the other nightmares to the real world. [[spoiler:This becomes even more meaningful when you remember that a lighthouse is to guide, and ''only'' to guide.]]
** Chris Evergreen is a dream of ''[[IncrediblyLamePun pining]]'' for an unattainable love. How fitting that [[StarCrossedLovers the inside of his cloak looks like a starry sky]].
* MegaManning: [[spoiler:Yumeji can call upon the powers of Dream Demons he met before.]]
** [[spoiler:"Pharos" Hercules can also do this for those he defeated.]]
* {{Meganekko}}:
** Mei Hoshino with her NerdGlasses.
** Anri Hiiragi.
* {{Meido}}: The uniform for female employees of STO cafe.
** Isana dresses as one when working. Merry has to dress the part when she works for Isana's dad. Later Yui starts working there part-time as well.
* MysteriousPast: Merry.
* MonsterClown: "Maze" Landsborough, the one-eyed imp-like Dream Demon could be seen as this. His Mooks, however, are this without a doubt.
* MostWritersAreWriters: Yumeji, and the rest of the Literature Club, by extension.
* MoodWhiplash: At one point, Yumeji is injured and at the mercy of "Chaser" John Doe, who coldly tells him that it would be incredibly easy to take over his body at that moment. Yumeji cringes at what's coming – but John promptly states that to do so would be crude and unsportsmanlike ("I am a hunter, not a ''thief''"), and summons a pair of cute voluptuous {{cat girl}}s to tend to Yumeji's wounds!
** [[spoiler:Also Taka's story about his little sister where he talks about how she was sickly when she was little and kept being bounced from hospital to hospital until she could no longer smile. At least until Taka started with those ridiculous poems of his, sparking his dream of wanting to make everyone he meets laugh through his poems. He then pauses before saying that she's completely healthy now and even working part-time at a burger joint.]]
** [[spoiler:And you get another one from Chapter 36, when it is revealed that Takateru is Hercules's host, and his little sister being healthier is due to Hercules putting a dream demon in her, to hold her hostage against Takateru.]]
** [[spoiler:Shiragi, as the new villain, seems to be specializing in inflicting this: he somehow fulfills people's dreams, at the same time killing any Dream Demon that has started to nest in them, but which has left several people feeling empty and drained after, as if now they have nothing worth striving for. Particularly harsh with Ren as he had been partnered with his Dream Demon, "Hunter" Quartier Latin, and briefly forgot all about Dream Demons after Shiragi "fulfilled his dream" of restoring his collapsing family life.]]
* MundaneMadeAwesome: Isana's dad showing off his legendary Kick the Can technique, not to mention how he and Yumeji smash the watermelon in the BeachEpisode.
* NewTransferStudent:
** Chizuru in the anime.
** Shiragi Kyou in volume five.
* NobleDemon: John Doe and his cats.
* NiceHat:
** Merry can't get by without it. It might be a covert ShoutOut to ''Franchise/TouhouProject'', since the author also writes Touhou doujinshi.
** Minato the VictimOfTheWeek.
** Leon as well.
** Clione
** Aniri with her beret.
* ObliviousToLove: Yumeji to Isana
* OffModel: Several scenes seem rushed and shoddy compared the rest.
* OhCrap:
** [[spoiler:Engi gets one after Merry starts going berserk due to Yumeji being nearly cut in half. Especially the moment when Merry shattered all of Engi's swords, prompting Engi to try rallying her nerve while explaining her blade could keep reforming forever as long as there was moonlight, to which Merry simply lifts her hand and shatters the moon.]]
** [[spoiler:Yumeji gets this when he hears the people in his class talking about how they all had the same nightmare. He uses his dream-seeing trick and...every single person has the same black aura.]]
** [[spoiler:Happens in episode nine of the anime when Yumeji learns that Isana's been possessed by a Dream Demon.]]
** [[spoiler:Hercules gets one as well. And it's deliciously so, when Yumeji copies his ability.]]
* POVBoyPosterGirl: Yumeji is the main protagonist and a decent fighter in his own right, but without Merry, there would be no plot.
* PatientChildhoodLoveInterest: Isana
* PerpetualSmiler: Treesea
* PowerDegeneration: [[spoiler:Any use of a nightmare's power while possessing a person or bodily manifest on Earth causes a kind of backlash against the Gate between worlds. This includes Merry's own strength, and as she is the Gate as well as the Sheep, it means that all her fighting to push nightmares back across the Gate has been harming her. In the battle against Hercules, Merry nearly destroys herself from using too much of her power in a blind rage.]]
* PrehensileHair: Engi's hair is [[ImprobableHairstyle styled as wings]] [[WingedHumanoid which she can move]].
* RapunzelHair: Minato, Ichima, Engi, Clione and Treesea.
* RefugeInAudacity[=/=]DidWeJustHaveTeaWithCthulhu:
** In the manga, [[spoiler:Kyou]] hangs with Yumeji and some of his classmates.
** In the anime, [[spoiler:Mr. Iijima]] trolls the ''entire'' cast by visiting the STO café; he sits down and orders coffee right in front of the protagonists. By this time they have already found out that [[spoiler:he's Treesea's vessel and the one responsible for a '''lot''' of literally crushed dreams]], and they're also painfully aware that [[spoiler:he's scouting his next victim (Isana)]], but right then and there they can't do anything about it.
* RocketPunch: Since he has FloatingLimbs, Chris Evergreen does this. [[spoiler:Yumeji is also able to do it later through his "Lucid Gadget" ability.]]
* RunningGag:
** Yumeji walking into the bath...and someone's already there, usually it's Isana. She notes that he's done this fourteen times before the two that we see in story. Later, Merry walks in on HIM.
** Yui telling people to depend on her as an older sister, and then being told she's younger than they are.
** In at least half the glimpses we get of ''[[ShowWithinAShow Full Hell Boarder Glitchou]]'', the main character hurts his wrist or ankle. It eventually gets [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] by Merry when Yumeji complains about a sore wrist and she asks if he's pretending to be Glitchou. [[spoiler:Takes a more serious turn when Yumeji starts having bouts of blinding pain in that same spot, that have just been getting worse.]]
* SacrificialLamb: Poor, poor Delga in the anime.
* ScaryShinyGlasses: Mr Ijima in episode 9.
* SelfSacrificeScheme: [[spoiler:Leon's plan on defeating Treesea.]]
* SheIsNotMyGirlfriend:
** Yumeji about Merry in episode 5.
** Anri about Ren in chapter 69.
* ShowWithinAShow: ''Full Hell Boarder Glitchou'', a {{tokusatsu}} series that Yumeji is a fan of.
* ShoutOut:
** [[Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica Kyubey]]'s iconic face appears on the side of a jet in chapter 40.
** Chapter 64, one of the announcers of the costume relay has a hat that makes him look like [[{{Franchise/Danganronpa}} Monokuma]].
** Chapter 70, page 25: That doll in the background sure looks like [[Anime/WorldConquestZvezdaPlot Galaktika]].
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Do we go with Engi or its translation "Play"? Most say Engi.
** As "Engi", it has the meaning of "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meadow meadow]]" in [[http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/engi Icelandic]] which would be fitting considering that her dream world is a meadow.
** Is it Treesea or Woodsea
** "Pharos" Hercules/Heracles/Elcres
** Yumeji's favorite {{Tokusatsu}} character is either Glitchou or Guriccho.
* StarSpangledSpandex: Chris Evergreen has this effect on the inside of his cloak.
* StealthPun: "Chaser" John Doe calls Merry a "lost little lamb" when they first meet. [[spoiler:We later find out that Merry's full name is "Sheep" Merry Nightmare.]]
* {{Stripperiffic}}:
** "Chain" Noir's costume fits this to a T.
** Definitely John's cat girls.
** "Sonar" Clione can contend with anyone just on the sheer impossibility of her outfit. No, that isn't just green decorative trim on a low-cut dress...
* TheStoic: Chizuru
* StylisticSuck: Yumeji's writing, mostly because he's trying to reflect the bombastic, over-the-top action and acting of {{Tokusatsu}} hero shows in written fiction, where it mostly comes off as ridiculous.
* SugarAndIceGirl: Chizuru in the anime.
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: Yui: "I am not going to carve your name into a voodoo doll or anything."
* SweetieGraffiti: There is a drawing of umbrella drawn on the wall of the old playground, with Yumeji and Isana names.
* TheSymbiote: In episode two, what Merry said some Dream Demons do with a [[WillingChanneler host]].
** Engi Threepiece is this to Yui.
** [[spoiler:Treesea and Mr Ijima.]]
** Chris Evergreen is existing as a Symbiote to Mei, but he's about to take the [[DemonicPossession next step]] when Yumeji and Merry intervene.
** This is actually the most productive way for Dream Demons and humans to interact. If a Dream Demon tries to take over full time, the host will wake up, possibly at the worst possible moment.
* TalkingIsAFreeAction: Averted frequently. Someone will try to explain something in the middle of a fight and get punished hard for being too wordy and ignoring the enemy. Yumeji nearly gets killed because of this during [[spoiler:the fight with "Chain" Noir]].
* ThemeTuneCameo: During the first karaoke-bar scene in Episode 4. Someone down the hall is heard singing the OP, and doing a remarkably good job of sounding like the original singer.
* TheNicknamer: Merry gives nicknames to some of the characters.
** She calls Engi Threepiece as "Eggplant Lady".
** She calls "Chaser" John Doe as "Cat Mask".
** She calls "Pharos" Hercules as "Lighthouse Guy".
** She calls "Maze" Landsborough as "Little Clown".
** She calls "Chain" Noir as "Perverted Woman".
** She calls "Mistilteinn" Treesea as "Wood Lady".
** She calls "Familiar" Legion as "Upside-down Ghost".
** She calls "Sonar" Clione as "Songstress".
** She calls Ichima as "Monster Girl".
* TheresNoPlaceLikeHome: Merry's main motivation. Curiously (it may be a plot point), Merry doesn't have enough of her memory intact to understand ''why'' she wants to go back -- she only knows ''that'' she wants to go back.
* TitleDrop: In chapter 4 (episode 3 of the anime) as a [[InSeriesNickname nickname]] for Merry given by Yumeji, comparing her to a ''baku'' -- a tapir-like beast from Japanese mythology which hunts and eats nightmares. She argues that she does not actually ''eat'' them. The 6th chapter and the 4th episode of the anime are also called "Dream Eater Merry".
** [[spoiler: Yumeji's novel that he is working on in the final chapter is titled "Yumekui Merry".]]
* TooMuchInformation: Fear not, Yumeji, Yui totally does ''not'' make voodoo dolls of people.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood:
** Merry loves donuts.
** Mr. Ijima likes rice
** Yumeji likes tomatoes. This is because Tomato is a palindrome in Japanese phonetics ("to-ma-to") and Yumeji thinks that has a manly feel to it.
* UglyGuysHotDaughter: Yui
* UnwantedHarem: Isana's feelings towards Yumeji are as plain as day, and both Merry and Yui have given some hints of having feelings towards him as well, Merry more so.
** [[spoiler: Merry's feelings are confirmed in the last chapter by giving Yumeji her first (and only) kiss to him before disappearing from the waking world.]]
* WaifFu: Merry.
* WildCard: [[spoiler:Treesea in the anime. "I don't have allies, only targets."]]
* WingedHumanoid: Engi. Subverted since her [[HairWings wings]] are made up of [[PrehensileHair her hair, but she can move them]].
* WhiteMaskOfDoom: "Chaser" John Doe.
* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Isana's hair is lilac, Mei's is light green, Merry's is violet. Most of the demons' hair is an otherworldly color anyhow.
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Hercules gives [[spoiler:and eventually receives,]] this.
!Tropes in ''Kagefumi Merry'' include:
* AscendedExtra: The three Dream Demons Merry meets before "Chaser" John Doe have been given names with their roles, powers, and personalities expanded upon.
* TheCameo: [[spoiler:The real Merry Nightmare makes a few throughout the manga. A notable one at the end of the manga is her passing behind Yuuki and [[MissedHimByThatMuch neither meeting each other]].]]
* CloneByConversion: Wiles can turn other Dream Demons into copies of himself.
* {{Doppelganger}}: The overall story is about a Dream Demon named Wiles [[CloneByConversion making other Dream Demons into copies of himself]] to control and imitates many humans and Merry's attempt to stop him.
** [[spoiler:It turns out that the Merry of the story is one of the Wiles copies who, upon touching the Gate, became a copy of Merry Nightmare.]]
* EvilGloating: Wiles goes in a victory monolog when he believed he defeated Merry. [[spoiler:He was dead wrong.]]
* GoOutWithASmile: [[spoiler:As she dies, doppelganger Merry smiled at Yuuki as she [[LastRequest asks]] him to call the real Merry "[[TitleDrop Kagefumi Merry]]" for her if he meets her.]]
* MeaningfulEcho: Both Merry and Wiles say the lines "Lights! Camera! Action!" in their "yards" when initiating their power in it. [[spoiler:It turns out that the Merry of this story is one of the Wiles copies.]]
* {{Prequel}}: The SpinOff is set at some time when Merry met her third Dream Demon after coming to reality, before the first chapter of the main story.
* TheReveal: In the last chapter it is revealed that [[spoiler:the Merry of the story is actually a Wiles copy who became a MirrorSelf {{Doppelganger}} of the real Merry Nightmare when she touched the Gate.]]
* ShoutOut:
** As Verbiest escapes from Merry in the second chapter, he says "[[Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay Hasta La Vista Bey Bee]]" to her.
** Merry leaves a message for the real Wiles with the blood of one of the copies that say, "[[VideoGame/ZeroWing All your Wiles belong to me.]]"
* SpannerInTheWorks: Merry for Wiles' plan to possess people with his copies. [[spoiler:More so since the Merry of the story is actually one of Wiles' copies.]]
* SpinOff: This story is an official spin-off of the main series.
* TitleDrop: [[spoiler:The Merry doppelganger [[LastRequest asks]] Yuuki that if he sees the real Merry Nightmare, he should call her "Kagefumi Merry"[[note]]Shadow Stomper Merry[[/note]] for her.]]
----
There is another party involved. A girl in a strange set of clothes. She falls on top of Yumeji one day and, after getting her hat back, finds her way into his world. Her name is Merry Nightmare, a dream eater. She has no memories of from where or who she was and seeks to return to the world of dreams.
''Yumekui Merry'' (or ''Dream Eater Merry'' in English) is a manga by Yoshitake Ushiki, a ''Magazine/MangaTimeKirara Forward'' manga lasting from 2008 to 2020 with 24 volumes. It was adapted into an anime in the winter of 2011 by Creator/JCStaff. ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' fans may recognize the author from his doujinshi work ''[[FanficRecs/TouhouProject Advent Cirno]]'', and the people handling the music as Music/{{IOSYS}}.
It also has a SpinOff {{Prequel}} three chapter manga called ''Kagefumi Merry'' (English ''Shadow Stomper Merry'').
----
!!Tropes in ''Yumekui Merry'' include:
* TwoDVisualsThreeDEffects: In the anime, giant fish bones, brought to you in CG glory.
* TheAce: [[spoiler:Shiragi Kyou transfers into their school and is a dedicated perfectionist, talented at everything he puts his hand to.]]
* ActionGirl: Merry and Engi.
* AllLoveIsUnrequited: Given his first line about the cruelty of meeting in a dream, Chris Evergreen seems to be a nightmare of this trope - a dream of meeting and falling in love only for it to collapse upon awakening, leaving nothing but a sense of unrequited longing when you remember the dream after. Though it's implied Chris felt something of the same thing in return for Mei. Fittingly, his appearance also prompts the collapse of Takateru and Yumeji's own unrequited crushes on Mei.
* AnimationBump: The Opening and Episode 1 are much better animated than the rest of the series.
* AwesomeMcCoolName: Merry Nightmare, "Chaser" John Doe, Engi Threepiece, "Pharos" Hercules, "Chain" Noir, "Familiar" Legion... Most of the nightmares, really, crossing over with MeaningfulName.
* BadassAdorable: Merry. If you get in her way? Prepare to be pummeled. You mess with her when she's enjoying her [[TrademarkFavoriteFood doughnuts]]? Run. Hurt her friends? She will break the fricking moon.
* BadassLongcoat: John Doe.
* {{Baku}}: Merry Nightmare has powers revolving around dreams and nightmares, and she has a strong baku motif.
* BarehandedBladeBlock: Merry performs one against [[MonsterOfTheWeek Engi]] in episode 5.
* BareYourMidriff: Merry. The animators seem to be actively ''trying'' to put in as many shots of Merry's bellybutton as they can.
* BathtubBonding: Isana and Merry get to know each other in the bath when [[AccidentalPervert Yumeji walks in]]. Isana notes this is the 15th time he's done that. [[spoiler:Later, John and Yumeji get in on this, only for Merry to walk in on him.]]
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: [[spoiler:Following Hercules's defeat, Shiragi Kyou has stepped forward as the new villain and deals primarily in this - he somehow fulfills the dreams of those who are hosting a Nightmare, but in the process slays the Dream Demon in question and yet somehow fixes the damage to one's dreams that this would normally cause. Those with shortsighted dreams, such as something that could be fulfilled by a singular event, seem to be almost as lost as people who lost their dreams entirely, as they now no longer have anything for which to strive. Others have come out of it surprisingly intact, but for the death of the Dream Demon.]]
* BetaCouple: Takateru and Saki look like they're shaping up to be this (with the Alpha Couple being Yumeji's [[{{UnwantedHarem}} harem]]).
* BeachEpisode: In chapter 11 (manga) and episode 7 (anime).
* BigDamnKiss: [[spoiler: Combined with FinalFirstKiss, Chapter 141 ends with Merry giving Yumeji a goodbye smooch before she returns to the dream world for the last time.]]
* BishieSparkle: In chapter 5, both Yumeji and Taka gave out some while convincing Mei to go to karaoke with them.
* BlackEyesOfEvil: Ichima [[spoiler:until her HeelFaceTurn.]]
** Subverted with Takateru, whose eyes are almost entirely black (with very thin slices of whites visible around them), only he's probably the nicest guy in the cast. [[spoiler:Played with. See, he's possessed by the Big Bad... but Taka really is that nice, normally.]]
* BreakTheCutie: See below. Also what happens to kids after their Dream Demons are killed.
* BreakingSpeech: [[spoiler:"Maze" Landsborough gives one to Engi. See HeroicBSOD]]
* BrokenBird: Chizuru.
* CatchPhrase: Merry's one is "There really are no hopes or dreams."
* CatsAreMean: They're the first [[MonsterOfTheWeek villains]] of the work, in fact.
* CatGirl: "Chaser" John Doe has some working for him.
** He later brings a whole army of them to help Merry and Yumeji. They can transform into cats, sans-clothing, in order to escape from being hurt then transform back again with clothing starting to form itself around them. Yes, they ''are'' made of {{fanservice}}, why do you ask?
** He also has cat boys.
* ChainedByFashion: Chizuru wears a very prominent handcuff bracelet.
* ClingyJealousGirl: To an extent, Isana. She's not really all that clingy, but she DOES get jealous when a girl she doesn't know shows up asking for Fujiwara. [[spoiler:It's Yui (and Engi) coming to train him and Merry.]] All considering, her jealousy may just be for RuleOfFunny.
* ClosingCredits: In the final chapter, scenes of the cast getting together and catching up are interspersed with staff credits.
* ClothingDamage:
** A non-{{fanservice}} type happens during Merry's fight with a Dream Demon in the 6th volume. Her opponent thinks that her coattails look like eels and he rips one of them off. Merry isn't amused.
** Other non-{{fanservice}} example is Yumeji, from Chapters 57 to 60, his ripped [[spoiler:and bloodied]] shirt [[spoiler:looks a lot like a dark version of Merry's coattails.]]
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Yui, with her penchant for concocting strange stories about the dolls she collects.
* ClubPresident: Mei, for the Literature Club.
* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: Yumeji can see what kind of dreams people will have from the color of their auras. Often he's wrong since most dreams are a confusing array of colors rather than anything stable and coherent, except for '''Black''': Is 100% nightmares and daydreams when a Dream Demon tries to take over a host or is already in one.
* CoolOldGuy: Isana's dad, who frequently dispenses random philosophy-cum-life-advice to those who happen to be passing. See also GoodScarsEvilScars.
* CompressedHair: Minato and "Sonar" Clione have hats that hide their long hair.
* CryCute:
** Merry, in her more vulnerable moments.
** [[spoiler:Isana in chapter 33.]]
* CuteLittleFangs: Merry
* CuteBruiser: Merry. "Chaser" John Doe notes how much strength Merry can invest in [[MusclesAreMeaningless those flimsy little arms.]] In the waking world, she's not quite as strong, but she's still pretty sturdy for her slender little frame.
* CuteClumsyGirl: VictimOfTheWeek Minato
** Ichima is also this once she manifests in reality.
* DarkIsNotEvil: Merry [[spoiler:and "Chaser" John Doe.]]
* DemonicPossession: What some Dream Demons attempt with their vessels.
* DreamLand: The Dream World which is comprised of multiple Dream Demon yards (Daydreams) which are worlds of their own.
** Besides his eye ability, Yumeji can also enter the dream world of others - which surprises Merry.
* DreamPeople: Dream Demons/Nightmares.
* DreamStealer
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: When John summons the cat girls to help with Yumeji's wound, look at the one holding the medicine. Is there any reason she has to hold it like that?
* DullEyesOfUnhappiness: The victims of Dream Loss Syndrome, who are not so much unhappy as ''unmotivated'', almost to the point of complete catatonia. [[spoiler:They were formerly symbiotes or possessed vessels of Dream Demons; when the demon's killed, all the dreams and ambitions of the human vessel die with it.]]
* EvilGloating: Hercules ''loves'' to do this since he's a LargeHam. It helps that he's strong enough to tank enemy attacks while barely breaking his train of thought. [[spoiler:John uses this against him in the big fight by baiting Hercules into gloating, then ending the daydream since it was in John's yard, to throw Hercules off mid-gloat.]]
* ExoticEyeDesigns: Most Dream Demons have unique-looking pupils. For example, Chukai has cross-shaped pupils, while Chris Evergreen has tilting H-shaped pupils.
* ExpressiveMask: "Chaser" John Doe. It's very subtle, but his otherwise motionless mask can change from a frown to a smile or vice versa between shots.
* {{Expy}}: Ryouta Ijima [[spoiler:is quite similar to [[VideoGame/{{Blazblue}} a certain smooth criminal/troll, Yuuki Terumi]], even has the same EvilLaugh.]]
* FingerGun: Chizuru does this a few times, saying "bang" as she does it.
* ForgottenFirstMeeting: [[spoiler:Between Yumeji, Merry and Kyou. And also Kyou and Isana.]]
* GeniusLoci[=/=]EldritchLocation: Each nightmare is not only the discrete person but their "yard" or the field that forms around them in a daydream. So John Doe is as much the empty city that he chases Yumeji through at the very beginning and the cat warriors who fight for him, as he is the masked cat-man who does the chasing. It seems only the nightmare whose yard in which the current daydream takes place has the power to end it, though it seems to take a few moments' concentration - meaning a nightmare can't just pick a fight and then end it when things suddenly go badly for them. [[spoiler:Hercules's greatest power, as the "lighthouse", is to direct others into his own yard where he controls the shape of local reality, which means he has the home field advantage whenever he wants it and can prevent anyone from escaping]].
* GirlishPigtails: Isana, Mei.
* GoodScarsEvilScars: Isana's dad has a scar down the right side of his face.
** [[spoiler:Merry has one on her right arm, she just keeps it covered until the BeachEpisode in chapter 11. Yumeji had a scar, but it's long since faded. Curiously, [[EpilepticTrees his was in the same place that Merry's is.]] And now the spot where he had his scar is starting to hurt after he exits a daydream...]]
* GratuitousSpanish: In chapter 64, the boys who signed Saki Kirashima up for the bread-eating contest said "Gracias!!" when Saki jumped and grabbed the hot dog bread with her mouth causing [[{{Gainaxing}} her boobs to shake all over]].
* HalfHumanHybrid: [[spoiler:Yumeji]].
* {{Hatsuyume}}: The Threepiece sisters each represent some of the items dreamed.
** Both sisters have triangle pupils representing ''Ichi-Fuji''(1. Mt. Fuji)[[note]]art and crafts often use a triangle to represent the mountain[[/note]].
** Engi is the first set: her hair wings represents the ''Ni-Taka''(2. Hawk); her Sannasubi sword for the ''San-Nasubi''(3. Eggplant).
** Patti is the uncommon second set: her fan hair decoration represents the ''Yon-Sen''(4. Fan)[[note]]a spread out fan is like the spread out base of Mt. Fuji[[/note]]; her pouch represents the ''Go-Tobako''(5. Tobacco)[[note]]tobacco in Japan's past is kept in a pouch; Tobacco smoke rises up in the air like a hawk[[/note]]; her Rokuzatou katana for ''Roku-Zato''(6. Blind Zato)[[note]]a Zato is a rank of lute monks who are often blind and monks are bald (Ke ga nai); Eggplants have no hair (Ke ga nai); "Ke ga nai" is pronounced similar to "Keganai" (no injury)[[/note]].
* HellishPupils: Dream Demons often have them called Nightmare Pupils.
** Merry's pupils are rectangular (like a sheep's or a tapir's). She has UnusualEars, too.
** Some of the eye patterns that were seen in the manga. Clockwise from the the bottom-left: "Chain" Noir's looks like a chain-link, the Threepiece sister's is a triangle, Ichima's is a swirl, "Chaser" John Doe's is his mouth on his mask, Chris Evergreen looks like a sideways '''H''', "Maze" Landsborough's looks like a sideways '''#''', and "Pharos" Hercules looks like a sun or a shining light.
** [[spoiler:Yumeji's eye take on the pupil of the Dream Demon whose power he is replicating with Lucid Gadget. In chapter 24, Yumeji's eyes took on the pattern of John's mouth on his mask when he first formed John's weapon. In Chapter 25, Yumeji's eyes took on the pattern of Ichima's swirly eye pattern when he used her power to call forth one of her giant kokeshi toys to protect John. In Chapter 30, Yumeji's right eye takes on Chris's eye pattern when Yumeji uses Chris' RocketPunch move. In chapter 31, Yumeji's right eye takes on Noir's eye pattern when calling forth one of her chains.]]
* HeroicBSOD: [[spoiler:Both Merry and Yumeji get hit with one. Merry when Engi tells her that, once they get into the real world, there's no way back to the dream world, and Yumeji after he realizes that by killing any Dream Demon who's already taken a vessel, ''[[FridgeHorror they also destroy that person's dreams... both the at night kind of dream AND the personal ambition variety]] (the only exception to this is if is Merry the one defeating the Nightmares).]]
* HiddenAgendaVillain: "Pharos" Hercules draws nightmares to the waking world, brutally kills any that won't follow him, and lets his followers run wild. John Doe is trying to puzzle out his plans, questioning every revelation, even those from Hercules's right-hand minions. Merry thinks Hercules is just out to cause chaos and is using the appearance of a master plan as cover to keep his foes guessing. Hercules eventually reveals his grand scheme: to [[spoiler:destroy the Gate between Dream and Reality so nightmares may be physically present in the real world, but not so he may conquer the world - but so he may crush and destroy ''everyone'', nightmares and humans both. He is a nightmare of ''fire'' after all, the signaling flame, and as a living fire, all he wants is to consume and burn brighter. So technically Merry was right, but his methods were frightfully sophisticated.]]
* HimeCut: [[MonsterOfTheWeek Ichima]], [[VictimOfTheWeek Minato]], Yui and her mom too.
* HumansAreSpecial: Despite all their powers and superhuman strength, nightmares envy humanity's ability to grow and change; and some hate that their existence is entirely dependent upon humanity.
* HunterOfHisOwnKind: Both Merry and Engi, for different reasons.
* IdentityAmnesia: Merry just can't remember who she is.
* IDontKnowMortalKombat[=/=]IKnowMortalKombat: Merry loses 383 games of a Wii fighting game to Yumeji. On the other hand, she successfully uses a technique from the game to block Engi's sword.
* InTheBlood: Hercules [[InvokedTrope attributed this]] as the reason for [[spoiler:Yumeji's]] recovering in chapter 57. But as it turns out, [[spoiler:they are not brothers, but the origins of their power is from the same person.]]
* IdiotHair: Yumeji's most recognizable physical trait. Merry remembers him almost solely by seeing it again -- she refers to it as an "antenna".
* ImpossiblyCoolClothes: Merry
* ImprobableHairstyle:
** Engi's hair is shaped like wings.
** It's also PrehensileHair since Engi can move them.
** The NewTransferStudent in volume 5 has his hair combed and tied back where it spikes into AnimeHair.
* ImprobableWeaponUser: "Chaser" John Doe has something that the author said was a cross between a saw and a guillotine. [[spoiler:Yumeji, using his Lucid Gadget, creates a smaller version to use against "Maze" Landsborough and "Chain" Noir.]]
* InvisibleToNormals: When Dream Demons are able to appear in the real world, they and their abilities are only visible to humans who are/were/and could have been vessels for Dream Demons. Examples include "Chaser" John Doe's Little Chasers, "Garden" Engi Threepiece's swords,
* IronicEcho:
--> '''[[spoiler:Yumeji]]:''' "It's SHOWTIME!!"
* IWroteOurStory: [[spoiler:In the finale, Yumeji begins working on a new light novel with his friends. Although he can't remember much of his time with Merry anymore, the final panel reveals that the light novel is likely ''Yumekui Merry'' itself.]]
* KickTheDog: Treesea and [[spoiler:her vessel Mr. Ijima]] love doing this. Taken UpToEleven in episode 9 when [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown he beats up the vet girl]] after she kills her dream ForTheEvulz.
* LargeHam:
** "Chaser" John Doe
** [[spoiler:Hercules seems to be one as well. ''It's SHOW TIME!'']]
* LethalChef: Yui. Her teacher calls her brand of cooking Magical Chemical Cooking. Yui's friend Nao has also said that not even a dog would eat Yui's cooking.
* LightIsNotGood: Heracles is described as the guiding light (the kanji of his name make up the word for lighthouse), drawing other Dream Demons to Reality. Because of that, the whole balance between the worlds has been thrown out of whack. [[spoiler:Then there's his personality...]]
* MagicSkirt: For all the {{fanservice}} of Merry's skimpier-than-normal attire, the show (so far) is apparently ''un''interested in {{Panty Shot}}s.
** Yui Konagi,[[spoiler:Engi's vessel.]] When Yumeji does a diving save for a doll she drops, he saves the doll, but catches a glimpse. The audience also gets a peek in the manga.
** [[spoiler:[[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] in the manga by villain "Maze" Landsborough. At one point he winds up on the floor between Merry's feet, looking up; we see stripes reflected in his one eye, but not from her stockings. Yoshitake Ushiki's inventiveness and subtlety - establishing what kind of panties the heroine wears WITHOUT a single PantyShot - is to be admired.]]
** [[spoiler:We get another brief one in volume five. Hey, when you've got Stripperific cat girls fighting, you're bound to get at least one.]]
* MaleGaze
* ManicPixieDreamGirl: Merry fills the character role in the usual way.
* MeaningfulName: The names of both lead characters are related to dreaming: Yumeji - "Yumeji" means "Dream Road", or "Road to Dreams" depending on personal interpretation. Merry's surname is ''Nightmare'', and her full name is [[spoiler:"Sheep" Merry Nightmare.]] The author also states in an omake that her name is based on Mary, [[spoiler:as in 'Mary Had a Little Lamb']].
** Both of the protagonists' names explain themselves. Yumeji could mean "Path to the Dream", which is his ChekhovsSkill, while Merry Nightmare, as ridiculous as it may sound, just mean merry nightmare.
** Many of the Dream Demon's names are this, like "Chaser" John Doe being a hunter, [[spoiler:"Maze" Landsborough traps people in a maze, "Chain" Noir uses chains, etc.]]
** Pharos means "[[LightIsNotGood Lighthouse]]" and is referred as the light that guides all the other nightmares to the real world. [[spoiler:This becomes even more meaningful when you remember that a lighthouse is to guide, and ''only'' to guide.]]
** Chris Evergreen is a dream of ''[[IncrediblyLamePun pining]]'' for an unattainable love. How fitting that [[StarCrossedLovers the inside of his cloak looks like a starry sky]].
* MegaManning: [[spoiler:Yumeji can call upon the powers of Dream Demons he met before.]]
** [[spoiler:"Pharos" Hercules can also do this for those he defeated.]]
* {{Meganekko}}:
** Mei Hoshino with her NerdGlasses.
** Anri Hiiragi.
* {{Meido}}: The uniform for female employees of STO cafe.
** Isana dresses as one when working. Merry has to dress the part when she works for Isana's dad. Later Yui starts working there part-time as well.
* MysteriousPast: Merry.
* MonsterClown: "Maze" Landsborough, the one-eyed imp-like Dream Demon could be seen as this. His Mooks, however, are this without a doubt.
* MostWritersAreWriters: Yumeji, and the rest of the Literature Club, by extension.
* MoodWhiplash: At one point, Yumeji is injured and at the mercy of "Chaser" John Doe, who coldly tells him that it would be incredibly easy to take over his body at that moment. Yumeji cringes at what's coming – but John promptly states that to do so would be crude and unsportsmanlike ("I am a hunter, not a ''thief''"), and summons a pair of cute voluptuous {{cat girl}}s to tend to Yumeji's wounds!
** [[spoiler:Also Taka's story about his little sister where he talks about how she was sickly when she was little and kept being bounced from hospital to hospital until she could no longer smile. At least until Taka started with those ridiculous poems of his, sparking his dream of wanting to make everyone he meets laugh through his poems. He then pauses before saying that she's completely healthy now and even working part-time at a burger joint.]]
** [[spoiler:And you get another one from Chapter 36, when it is revealed that Takateru is Hercules's host, and his little sister being healthier is due to Hercules putting a dream demon in her, to hold her hostage against Takateru.]]
** [[spoiler:Shiragi, as the new villain, seems to be specializing in inflicting this: he somehow fulfills people's dreams, at the same time killing any Dream Demon that has started to nest in them, but which has left several people feeling empty and drained after, as if now they have nothing worth striving for. Particularly harsh with Ren as he had been partnered with his Dream Demon, "Hunter" Quartier Latin, and briefly forgot all about Dream Demons after Shiragi "fulfilled his dream" of restoring his collapsing family life.]]
* MundaneMadeAwesome: Isana's dad showing off his legendary Kick the Can technique, not to mention how he and Yumeji smash the watermelon in the BeachEpisode.
* NewTransferStudent:
** Chizuru in the anime.
** Shiragi Kyou in volume five.
* NobleDemon: John Doe and his cats.
* NiceHat:
** Merry can't get by without it. It might be a covert ShoutOut to ''Franchise/TouhouProject'', since the author also writes Touhou doujinshi.
** Minato the VictimOfTheWeek.
** Leon as well.
** Clione
** Aniri with her beret.
* ObliviousToLove: Yumeji to Isana
* OffModel: Several scenes seem rushed and shoddy compared the rest.
* OhCrap:
** [[spoiler:Engi gets one after Merry starts going berserk due to Yumeji being nearly cut in half. Especially the moment when Merry shattered all of Engi's swords, prompting Engi to try rallying her nerve while explaining her blade could keep reforming forever as long as there was moonlight, to which Merry simply lifts her hand and shatters the moon.]]
** [[spoiler:Yumeji gets this when he hears the people in his class talking about how they all had the same nightmare. He uses his dream-seeing trick and...every single person has the same black aura.]]
** [[spoiler:Happens in episode nine of the anime when Yumeji learns that Isana's been possessed by a Dream Demon.]]
** [[spoiler:Hercules gets one as well. And it's deliciously so, when Yumeji copies his ability.]]
* POVBoyPosterGirl: Yumeji is the main protagonist and a decent fighter in his own right, but without Merry, there would be no plot.
* PatientChildhoodLoveInterest: Isana
* PerpetualSmiler: Treesea
* PowerDegeneration: [[spoiler:Any use of a nightmare's power while possessing a person or bodily manifest on Earth causes a kind of backlash against the Gate between worlds. This includes Merry's own strength, and as she is the Gate as well as the Sheep, it means that all her fighting to push nightmares back across the Gate has been harming her. In the battle against Hercules, Merry nearly destroys herself from using too much of her power in a blind rage.]]
* PrehensileHair: Engi's hair is [[ImprobableHairstyle styled as wings]] [[WingedHumanoid which she can move]].
* RapunzelHair: Minato, Ichima, Engi, Clione and Treesea.
* RefugeInAudacity[=/=]DidWeJustHaveTeaWithCthulhu:
** In the manga, [[spoiler:Kyou]] hangs with Yumeji and some of his classmates.
** In the anime, [[spoiler:Mr. Iijima]] trolls the ''entire'' cast by visiting the STO café; he sits down and orders coffee right in front of the protagonists. By this time they have already found out that [[spoiler:he's Treesea's vessel and the one responsible for a '''lot''' of literally crushed dreams]], and they're also painfully aware that [[spoiler:he's scouting his next victim (Isana)]], but right then and there they can't do anything about it.
* RocketPunch: Since he has FloatingLimbs, Chris Evergreen does this. [[spoiler:Yumeji is also able to do it later through his "Lucid Gadget" ability.]]
* RunningGag:
** Yumeji walking into the bath...and someone's already there, usually it's Isana. She notes that he's done this fourteen times before the two that we see in story. Later, Merry walks in on HIM.
** Yui telling people to depend on her as an older sister, and then being told she's younger than they are.
** In at least half the glimpses we get of ''[[ShowWithinAShow Full Hell Boarder Glitchou]]'', the main character hurts his wrist or ankle. It eventually gets [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] by Merry when Yumeji complains about a sore wrist and she asks if he's pretending to be Glitchou. [[spoiler:Takes a more serious turn when Yumeji starts having bouts of blinding pain in that same spot, that have just been getting worse.]]
* SacrificialLamb: Poor, poor Delga in the anime.
* ScaryShinyGlasses: Mr Ijima in episode 9.
* SelfSacrificeScheme: [[spoiler:Leon's plan on defeating Treesea.]]
* SheIsNotMyGirlfriend:
** Yumeji about Merry in episode 5.
** Anri about Ren in chapter 69.
* ShowWithinAShow: ''Full Hell Boarder Glitchou'', a {{tokusatsu}} series that Yumeji is a fan of.
* ShoutOut:
** [[Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica Kyubey]]'s iconic face appears on the side of a jet in chapter 40.
** Chapter 64, one of the announcers of the costume relay has a hat that makes him look like [[{{Franchise/Danganronpa}} Monokuma]].
** Chapter 70, page 25: That doll in the background sure looks like [[Anime/WorldConquestZvezdaPlot Galaktika]].
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Do we go with Engi or its translation "Play"? Most say Engi.
** As "Engi", it has the meaning of "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meadow meadow]]" in [[http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/engi Icelandic]] which would be fitting considering that her dream world is a meadow.
** Is it Treesea or Woodsea
** "Pharos" Hercules/Heracles/Elcres
** Yumeji's favorite {{Tokusatsu}} character is either Glitchou or Guriccho.
* StarSpangledSpandex: Chris Evergreen has this effect on the inside of his cloak.
* StealthPun: "Chaser" John Doe calls Merry a "lost little lamb" when they first meet. [[spoiler:We later find out that Merry's full name is "Sheep" Merry Nightmare.]]
* {{Stripperiffic}}:
** "Chain" Noir's costume fits this to a T.
** Definitely John's cat girls.
** "Sonar" Clione can contend with anyone just on the sheer impossibility of her outfit. No, that isn't just green decorative trim on a low-cut dress...
* TheStoic: Chizuru
* StylisticSuck: Yumeji's writing, mostly because he's trying to reflect the bombastic, over-the-top action and acting of {{Tokusatsu}} hero shows in written fiction, where it mostly comes off as ridiculous.
* SugarAndIceGirl: Chizuru in the anime.
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: Yui: "I am not going to carve your name into a voodoo doll or anything."
* SweetieGraffiti: There is a drawing of umbrella drawn on the wall of the old playground, with Yumeji and Isana names.
* TheSymbiote: In episode two, what Merry said some Dream Demons do with a [[WillingChanneler host]].
** Engi Threepiece is this to Yui.
** [[spoiler:Treesea and Mr Ijima.]]
** Chris Evergreen is existing as a Symbiote to Mei, but he's about to take the [[DemonicPossession next step]] when Yumeji and Merry intervene.
** This is actually the most productive way for Dream Demons and humans to interact. If a Dream Demon tries to take over full time, the host will wake up, possibly at the worst possible moment.
* TalkingIsAFreeAction: Averted frequently. Someone will try to explain something in the middle of a fight and get punished hard for being too wordy and ignoring the enemy. Yumeji nearly gets killed because of this during [[spoiler:the fight with "Chain" Noir]].
* ThemeTuneCameo: During the first karaoke-bar scene in Episode 4. Someone down the hall is heard singing the OP, and doing a remarkably good job of sounding like the original singer.
* TheNicknamer: Merry gives nicknames to some of the characters.
** She calls Engi Threepiece as "Eggplant Lady".
** She calls "Chaser" John Doe as "Cat Mask".
** She calls "Pharos" Hercules as "Lighthouse Guy".
** She calls "Maze" Landsborough as "Little Clown".
** She calls "Chain" Noir as "Perverted Woman".
** She calls "Mistilteinn" Treesea as "Wood Lady".
** She calls "Familiar" Legion as "Upside-down Ghost".
** She calls "Sonar" Clione as "Songstress".
** She calls Ichima as "Monster Girl".
* TheresNoPlaceLikeHome: Merry's main motivation. Curiously (it may be a plot point), Merry doesn't have enough of her memory intact to understand ''why'' she wants to go back -- she only knows ''that'' she wants to go back.
* TitleDrop: In chapter 4 (episode 3 of the anime) as a [[InSeriesNickname nickname]] for Merry given by Yumeji, comparing her to a ''baku'' -- a tapir-like beast from Japanese mythology which hunts and eats nightmares. She argues that she does not actually ''eat'' them. The 6th chapter and the 4th episode of the anime are also called "Dream Eater Merry".
** [[spoiler: Yumeji's novel that he is working on in the final chapter is titled "Yumekui Merry".]]
* TooMuchInformation: Fear not, Yumeji, Yui totally does ''not'' make voodoo dolls of people.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood:
** Merry loves donuts.
** Mr. Ijima likes rice
** Yumeji likes tomatoes. This is because Tomato is a palindrome in Japanese phonetics ("to-ma-to") and Yumeji thinks that has a manly feel to it.
* UglyGuysHotDaughter: Yui
* UnwantedHarem: Isana's feelings towards Yumeji are as plain as day, and both Merry and Yui have given some hints of having feelings towards him as well, Merry more so.
** [[spoiler: Merry's feelings are confirmed in the last chapter by giving Yumeji her first (and only) kiss to him before disappearing from the waking world.]]
* WaifFu: Merry.
* WildCard: [[spoiler:Treesea in the anime. "I don't have allies, only targets."]]
* WingedHumanoid: Engi. Subverted since her [[HairWings wings]] are made up of [[PrehensileHair her hair, but she can move them]].
* WhiteMaskOfDoom: "Chaser" John Doe.
* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Isana's hair is lilac, Mei's is light green, Merry's is violet. Most of the demons' hair is an otherworldly color anyhow.
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Hercules gives [[spoiler:and eventually receives,]] this.
!Tropes in ''Kagefumi Merry'' include:
* AscendedExtra: The three Dream Demons Merry meets before "Chaser" John Doe have been given names with their roles, powers, and personalities expanded upon.
* TheCameo: [[spoiler:The real Merry Nightmare makes a few throughout the manga. A notable one at the end of the manga is her passing behind Yuuki and [[MissedHimByThatMuch neither meeting each other]].]]
* CloneByConversion: Wiles can turn other Dream Demons into copies of himself.
* {{Doppelganger}}: The overall story is about a Dream Demon named Wiles [[CloneByConversion making other Dream Demons into copies of himself]] to control and imitates many humans and Merry's attempt to stop him.
** [[spoiler:It turns out that the Merry of the story is one of the Wiles copies who, upon touching the Gate, became a copy of Merry Nightmare.]]
* EvilGloating: Wiles goes in a victory monolog when he believed he defeated Merry. [[spoiler:He was dead wrong.]]
* GoOutWithASmile: [[spoiler:As she dies, doppelganger Merry smiled at Yuuki as she [[LastRequest asks]] him to call the real Merry "[[TitleDrop Kagefumi Merry]]" for her if he meets her.]]
* MeaningfulEcho: Both Merry and Wiles say the lines "Lights! Camera! Action!" in their "yards" when initiating their power in it. [[spoiler:It turns out that the Merry of this story is one of the Wiles copies.]]
* {{Prequel}}: The SpinOff is set at some time when Merry met her third Dream Demon after coming to reality, before the first chapter of the main story.
* TheReveal: In the last chapter it is revealed that [[spoiler:the Merry of the story is actually a Wiles copy who became a MirrorSelf {{Doppelganger}} of the real Merry Nightmare when she touched the Gate.]]
* ShoutOut:
** As Verbiest escapes from Merry in the second chapter, he says "[[Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay Hasta La Vista Bey Bee]]" to her.
** Merry leaves a message for the real Wiles with the blood of one of the copies that say, "[[VideoGame/ZeroWing All your Wiles belong to me.]]"
* SpannerInTheWorks: Merry for Wiles' plan to possess people with his copies. [[spoiler:More so since the Merry of the story is actually one of Wiles' copies.]]
* SpinOff: This story is an official spin-off of the main series.
* TitleDrop: [[spoiler:The Merry doppelganger [[LastRequest asks]] Yuuki that if he sees the real Merry Nightmare, he should call her "Kagefumi Merry"[[note]]Shadow Stomper Merry[[/note]] for her.]]
----
to:
There is another party involved. A girl in a strange set of clothes. She falls on top of Yumeji one day and, after getting her hat back, finds her way into his world. Her name is Merry Nightmare, a dream eater. She has no memories of from where or who she was and seeks to return to the world of dreams.
''Yumekui Merry'' (or ''Dream Eater Merry'' in English) is a manga by Yoshitake Ushiki, a ''Magazine/MangaTimeKirara Forward'' manga lasting from 2008 to 2020 with 24 volumes. It was adapted into an anime in the winter of 2011 by Creator/JCStaff. ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' fans may recognize the author from his doujinshi work ''[[FanficRecs/TouhouProject Advent Cirno]]'', and the people handling the music as Music/{{IOSYS}}.
It also has a SpinOff {{Prequel}} three chapter manga called ''Kagefumi Merry'' (English ''Shadow Stomper Merry'').
----
!!Tropes in ''Yumekui Merry'' include:
* TwoDVisualsThreeDEffects: In the anime, giant fish bones, brought to you in CG glory.
* TheAce: [[spoiler:Shiragi Kyou transfers into their school and is a dedicated perfectionist, talented at everything he puts his hand to.]]
* ActionGirl: Merry and Engi.
* AllLoveIsUnrequited: Given his first line about the cruelty of meeting in a dream, Chris Evergreen seems to be a nightmare of this trope - a dream of meeting and falling in love only for it to collapse upon awakening, leaving nothing but a sense of unrequited longing when you remember the dream after. Though it's implied Chris felt something of the same thing in return for Mei. Fittingly, his appearance also prompts the collapse of Takateru and Yumeji's own unrequited crushes on Mei.
* AnimationBump: The Opening and Episode 1 are much better animated than the rest of the series.
* AwesomeMcCoolName: Merry Nightmare, "Chaser" John Doe, Engi Threepiece, "Pharos" Hercules, "Chain" Noir, "Familiar" Legion... Most of the nightmares, really, crossing over with MeaningfulName.
* BadassAdorable: Merry. If you get in her way? Prepare to be pummeled. You mess with her when she's enjoying her [[TrademarkFavoriteFood doughnuts]]? Run. Hurt her friends? She will break the fricking moon.
* BadassLongcoat: John Doe.
* {{Baku}}: Merry Nightmare has powers revolving around dreams and nightmares, and she has a strong baku motif.
* BarehandedBladeBlock: Merry performs one against [[MonsterOfTheWeek Engi]] in episode 5.
* BareYourMidriff: Merry. The animators seem to be actively ''trying'' to put in as many shots of Merry's bellybutton as they can.
* BathtubBonding: Isana and Merry get to know each other in the bath when [[AccidentalPervert Yumeji walks in]]. Isana notes this is the 15th time he's done that. [[spoiler:Later, John and Yumeji get in on this, only for Merry to walk in on him.]]
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: [[spoiler:Following Hercules's defeat, Shiragi Kyou has stepped forward as the new villain and deals primarily in this - he somehow fulfills the dreams of those who are hosting a Nightmare, but in the process slays the Dream Demon in question and yet somehow fixes the damage to one's dreams that this would normally cause. Those with shortsighted dreams, such as something that could be fulfilled by a singular event, seem to be almost as lost as people who lost their dreams entirely, as they now no longer have anything for which to strive. Others have come out of it surprisingly intact, but for the death of the Dream Demon.]]
* BetaCouple: Takateru and Saki look like they're shaping up to be this (with the Alpha Couple being Yumeji's [[{{UnwantedHarem}} harem]]).
* BeachEpisode: In chapter 11 (manga) and episode 7 (anime).
* BigDamnKiss: [[spoiler: Combined with FinalFirstKiss, Chapter 141 ends with Merry giving Yumeji a goodbye smooch before she returns to the dream world for the last time.]]
* BishieSparkle: In chapter 5, both Yumeji and Taka gave out some while convincing Mei to go to karaoke with them.
* BlackEyesOfEvil: Ichima [[spoiler:until her HeelFaceTurn.]]
** Subverted with Takateru, whose eyes are almost entirely black (with very thin slices of whites visible around them), only he's probably the nicest guy in the cast. [[spoiler:Played with. See, he's possessed by the Big Bad... but Taka really is that nice, normally.]]
* BreakTheCutie: See below. Also what happens to kids after their Dream Demons are killed.
* BreakingSpeech: [[spoiler:"Maze" Landsborough gives one to Engi. See HeroicBSOD]]
* BrokenBird: Chizuru.
* CatchPhrase: Merry's one is "There really are no hopes or dreams."
* CatsAreMean: They're the first [[MonsterOfTheWeek villains]] of the work, in fact.
* CatGirl: "Chaser" John Doe has some working for him.
** He later brings a whole army of them to help Merry and Yumeji. They can transform into cats, sans-clothing, in order to escape from being hurt then transform back again with clothing starting to form itself around them. Yes, they ''are'' made of {{fanservice}}, why do you ask?
** He also has cat boys.
* ChainedByFashion: Chizuru wears a very prominent handcuff bracelet.
* ClingyJealousGirl: To an extent, Isana. She's not really all that clingy, but she DOES get jealous when a girl she doesn't know shows up asking for Fujiwara. [[spoiler:It's Yui (and Engi) coming to train him and Merry.]] All considering, her jealousy may just be for RuleOfFunny.
* ClosingCredits: In the final chapter, scenes of the cast getting together and catching up are interspersed with staff credits.
* ClothingDamage:
** A non-{{fanservice}} type happens during Merry's fight with a Dream Demon in the 6th volume. Her opponent thinks that her coattails look like eels and he rips one of them off. Merry isn't amused.
** Other non-{{fanservice}} example is Yumeji, from Chapters 57 to 60, his ripped [[spoiler:and bloodied]] shirt [[spoiler:looks a lot like a dark version of Merry's coattails.]]
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Yui, with her penchant for concocting strange stories about the dolls she collects.
* ClubPresident: Mei, for the Literature Club.
* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: Yumeji can see what kind of dreams people will have from the color of their auras. Often he's wrong since most dreams are a confusing array of colors rather than anything stable and coherent, except for '''Black''': Is 100% nightmares and daydreams when a Dream Demon tries to take over a host or is already in one.
* CoolOldGuy: Isana's dad, who frequently dispenses random philosophy-cum-life-advice to those who happen to be passing. See also GoodScarsEvilScars.
* CompressedHair: Minato and "Sonar" Clione have hats that hide their long hair.
* CryCute:
** Merry, in her more vulnerable moments.
** [[spoiler:Isana in chapter 33.]]
* CuteLittleFangs: Merry
* CuteBruiser: Merry. "Chaser" John Doe notes how much strength Merry can invest in [[MusclesAreMeaningless those flimsy little arms.]] In the waking world, she's not quite as strong, but she's still pretty sturdy for her slender little frame.
* CuteClumsyGirl: VictimOfTheWeek Minato
** Ichima is also this once she manifests in reality.
* DarkIsNotEvil: Merry [[spoiler:and "Chaser" John Doe.]]
* DemonicPossession: What some Dream Demons attempt with their vessels.
* DreamLand: The Dream World which is comprised of multiple Dream Demon yards (Daydreams) which are worlds of their own.
** Besides his eye ability, Yumeji can also enter the dream world of others - which surprises Merry.
* DreamPeople: Dream Demons/Nightmares.
* DreamStealer
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: When John summons the cat girls to help with Yumeji's wound, look at the one holding the medicine. Is there any reason she has to hold it like that?
* DullEyesOfUnhappiness: The victims of Dream Loss Syndrome, who are not so much unhappy as ''unmotivated'', almost to the point of complete catatonia. [[spoiler:They were formerly symbiotes or possessed vessels of Dream Demons; when the demon's killed, all the dreams and ambitions of the human vessel die with it.]]
* EvilGloating: Hercules ''loves'' to do this since he's a LargeHam. It helps that he's strong enough to tank enemy attacks while barely breaking his train of thought. [[spoiler:John uses this against him in the big fight by baiting Hercules into gloating, then ending the daydream since it was in John's yard, to throw Hercules off mid-gloat.]]
* ExoticEyeDesigns: Most Dream Demons have unique-looking pupils. For example, Chukai has cross-shaped pupils, while Chris Evergreen has tilting H-shaped pupils.
* ExpressiveMask: "Chaser" John Doe. It's very subtle, but his otherwise motionless mask can change from a frown to a smile or vice versa between shots.
* {{Expy}}: Ryouta Ijima [[spoiler:is quite similar to [[VideoGame/{{Blazblue}} a certain smooth criminal/troll, Yuuki Terumi]], even has the same EvilLaugh.]]
* FingerGun: Chizuru does this a few times, saying "bang" as she does it.
* ForgottenFirstMeeting: [[spoiler:Between Yumeji, Merry and Kyou. And also Kyou and Isana.]]
* GeniusLoci[=/=]EldritchLocation: Each nightmare is not only the discrete person but their "yard" or the field that forms around them in a daydream. So John Doe is as much the empty city that he chases Yumeji through at the very beginning and the cat warriors who fight for him, as he is the masked cat-man who does the chasing. It seems only the nightmare whose yard in which the current daydream takes place has the power to end it, though it seems to take a few moments' concentration - meaning a nightmare can't just pick a fight and then end it when things suddenly go badly for them. [[spoiler:Hercules's greatest power, as the "lighthouse", is to direct others into his own yard where he controls the shape of local reality, which means he has the home field advantage whenever he wants it and can prevent anyone from escaping]].
* GirlishPigtails: Isana, Mei.
* GoodScarsEvilScars: Isana's dad has a scar down the right side of his face.
** [[spoiler:Merry has one on her right arm, she just keeps it covered until the BeachEpisode in chapter 11. Yumeji had a scar, but it's long since faded. Curiously, [[EpilepticTrees his was in the same place that Merry's is.]] And now the spot where he had his scar is starting to hurt after he exits a daydream...]]
* GratuitousSpanish: In chapter 64, the boys who signed Saki Kirashima up for the bread-eating contest said "Gracias!!" when Saki jumped and grabbed the hot dog bread with her mouth causing [[{{Gainaxing}} her boobs to shake all over]].
* HalfHumanHybrid: [[spoiler:Yumeji]].
* {{Hatsuyume}}: The Threepiece sisters each represent some of the items dreamed.
** Both sisters have triangle pupils representing ''Ichi-Fuji''(1. Mt. Fuji)[[note]]art and crafts often use a triangle to represent the mountain[[/note]].
** Engi is the first set: her hair wings represents the ''Ni-Taka''(2. Hawk); her Sannasubi sword for the ''San-Nasubi''(3. Eggplant).
** Patti is the uncommon second set: her fan hair decoration represents the ''Yon-Sen''(4. Fan)[[note]]a spread out fan is like the spread out base of Mt. Fuji[[/note]]; her pouch represents the ''Go-Tobako''(5. Tobacco)[[note]]tobacco in Japan's past is kept in a pouch; Tobacco smoke rises up in the air like a hawk[[/note]]; her Rokuzatou katana for ''Roku-Zato''(6. Blind Zato)[[note]]a Zato is a rank of lute monks who are often blind and monks are bald (Ke ga nai); Eggplants have no hair (Ke ga nai); "Ke ga nai" is pronounced similar to "Keganai" (no injury)[[/note]].
* HellishPupils: Dream Demons often have them called Nightmare Pupils.
** Merry's pupils are rectangular (like a sheep's or a tapir's). She has UnusualEars, too.
** Some of the eye patterns that were seen in the manga. Clockwise from the the bottom-left: "Chain" Noir's looks like a chain-link, the Threepiece sister's is a triangle, Ichima's is a swirl, "Chaser" John Doe's is his mouth on his mask, Chris Evergreen looks like a sideways '''H''', "Maze" Landsborough's looks like a sideways '''#''', and "Pharos" Hercules looks like a sun or a shining light.
** [[spoiler:Yumeji's eye take on the pupil of the Dream Demon whose power he is replicating with Lucid Gadget. In chapter 24, Yumeji's eyes took on the pattern of John's mouth on his mask when he first formed John's weapon. In Chapter 25, Yumeji's eyes took on the pattern of Ichima's swirly eye pattern when he used her power to call forth one of her giant kokeshi toys to protect John. In Chapter 30, Yumeji's right eye takes on Chris's eye pattern when Yumeji uses Chris' RocketPunch move. In chapter 31, Yumeji's right eye takes on Noir's eye pattern when calling forth one of her chains.]]
* HeroicBSOD: [[spoiler:Both Merry and Yumeji get hit with one. Merry when Engi tells her that, once they get into the real world, there's no way back to the dream world, and Yumeji after he realizes that by killing any Dream Demon who's already taken a vessel, ''[[FridgeHorror they also destroy that person's dreams... both the at night kind of dream AND the personal ambition variety]] (the only exception to this is if is Merry the one defeating the Nightmares).]]
* HiddenAgendaVillain: "Pharos" Hercules draws nightmares to the waking world, brutally kills any that won't follow him, and lets his followers run wild. John Doe is trying to puzzle out his plans, questioning every revelation, even those from Hercules's right-hand minions. Merry thinks Hercules is just out to cause chaos and is using the appearance of a master plan as cover to keep his foes guessing. Hercules eventually reveals his grand scheme: to [[spoiler:destroy the Gate between Dream and Reality so nightmares may be physically present in the real world, but not so he may conquer the world - but so he may crush and destroy ''everyone'', nightmares and humans both. He is a nightmare of ''fire'' after all, the signaling flame, and as a living fire, all he wants is to consume and burn brighter. So technically Merry was right, but his methods were frightfully sophisticated.]]
* HimeCut: [[MonsterOfTheWeek Ichima]], [[VictimOfTheWeek Minato]], Yui and her mom too.
* HumansAreSpecial: Despite all their powers and superhuman strength, nightmares envy humanity's ability to grow and change; and some hate that their existence is entirely dependent upon humanity.
* HunterOfHisOwnKind: Both Merry and Engi, for different reasons.
* IdentityAmnesia: Merry just can't remember who she is.
* IDontKnowMortalKombat[=/=]IKnowMortalKombat: Merry loses 383 games of a Wii fighting game to Yumeji. On the other hand, she successfully uses a technique from the game to block Engi's sword.
* InTheBlood: Hercules [[InvokedTrope attributed this]] as the reason for [[spoiler:Yumeji's]] recovering in chapter 57. But as it turns out, [[spoiler:they are not brothers, but the origins of their power is from the same person.]]
* IdiotHair: Yumeji's most recognizable physical trait. Merry remembers him almost solely by seeing it again -- she refers to it as an "antenna".
* ImpossiblyCoolClothes: Merry
* ImprobableHairstyle:
** Engi's hair is shaped like wings.
** It's also PrehensileHair since Engi can move them.
** The NewTransferStudent in volume 5 has his hair combed and tied back where it spikes into AnimeHair.
* ImprobableWeaponUser: "Chaser" John Doe has something that the author said was a cross between a saw and a guillotine. [[spoiler:Yumeji, using his Lucid Gadget, creates a smaller version to use against "Maze" Landsborough and "Chain" Noir.]]
* InvisibleToNormals: When Dream Demons are able to appear in the real world, they and their abilities are only visible to humans who are/were/and could have been vessels for Dream Demons. Examples include "Chaser" John Doe's Little Chasers, "Garden" Engi Threepiece's swords,
* IronicEcho:
--> '''[[spoiler:Yumeji]]:''' "It's SHOWTIME!!"
* IWroteOurStory: [[spoiler:In the finale, Yumeji begins working on a new light novel with his friends. Although he can't remember much of his time with Merry anymore, the final panel reveals that the light novel is likely ''Yumekui Merry'' itself.]]
* KickTheDog: Treesea and [[spoiler:her vessel Mr. Ijima]] love doing this. Taken UpToEleven in episode 9 when [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown he beats up the vet girl]] after she kills her dream ForTheEvulz.
* LargeHam:
** "Chaser" John Doe
** [[spoiler:Hercules seems to be one as well. ''It's SHOW TIME!'']]
* LethalChef: Yui. Her teacher calls her brand of cooking Magical Chemical Cooking. Yui's friend Nao has also said that not even a dog would eat Yui's cooking.
* LightIsNotGood: Heracles is described as the guiding light (the kanji of his name make up the word for lighthouse), drawing other Dream Demons to Reality. Because of that, the whole balance between the worlds has been thrown out of whack. [[spoiler:Then there's his personality...]]
* MagicSkirt: For all the {{fanservice}} of Merry's skimpier-than-normal attire, the show (so far) is apparently ''un''interested in {{Panty Shot}}s.
** Yui Konagi,[[spoiler:Engi's vessel.]] When Yumeji does a diving save for a doll she drops, he saves the doll, but catches a glimpse. The audience also gets a peek in the manga.
** [[spoiler:[[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] in the manga by villain "Maze" Landsborough. At one point he winds up on the floor between Merry's feet, looking up; we see stripes reflected in his one eye, but not from her stockings. Yoshitake Ushiki's inventiveness and subtlety - establishing what kind of panties the heroine wears WITHOUT a single PantyShot - is to be admired.]]
** [[spoiler:We get another brief one in volume five. Hey, when you've got Stripperific cat girls fighting, you're bound to get at least one.]]
* MaleGaze
* ManicPixieDreamGirl: Merry fills the character role in the usual way.
* MeaningfulName: The names of both lead characters are related to dreaming: Yumeji - "Yumeji" means "Dream Road", or "Road to Dreams" depending on personal interpretation. Merry's surname is ''Nightmare'', and her full name is [[spoiler:"Sheep" Merry Nightmare.]] The author also states in an omake that her name is based on Mary, [[spoiler:as in 'Mary Had a Little Lamb']].
** Both of the protagonists' names explain themselves. Yumeji could mean "Path to the Dream", which is his ChekhovsSkill, while Merry Nightmare, as ridiculous as it may sound, just mean merry nightmare.
** Many of the Dream Demon's names are this, like "Chaser" John Doe being a hunter, [[spoiler:"Maze" Landsborough traps people in a maze, "Chain" Noir uses chains, etc.]]
** Pharos means "[[LightIsNotGood Lighthouse]]" and is referred as the light that guides all the other nightmares to the real world. [[spoiler:This becomes even more meaningful when you remember that a lighthouse is to guide, and ''only'' to guide.]]
** Chris Evergreen is a dream of ''[[IncrediblyLamePun pining]]'' for an unattainable love. How fitting that [[StarCrossedLovers the inside of his cloak looks like a starry sky]].
* MegaManning: [[spoiler:Yumeji can call upon the powers of Dream Demons he met before.]]
** [[spoiler:"Pharos" Hercules can also do this for those he defeated.]]
* {{Meganekko}}:
** Mei Hoshino with her NerdGlasses.
** Anri Hiiragi.
* {{Meido}}: The uniform for female employees of STO cafe.
** Isana dresses as one when working. Merry has to dress the part when she works for Isana's dad. Later Yui starts working there part-time as well.
* MysteriousPast: Merry.
* MonsterClown: "Maze" Landsborough, the one-eyed imp-like Dream Demon could be seen as this. His Mooks, however, are this without a doubt.
* MostWritersAreWriters: Yumeji, and the rest of the Literature Club, by extension.
* MoodWhiplash: At one point, Yumeji is injured and at the mercy of "Chaser" John Doe, who coldly tells him that it would be incredibly easy to take over his body at that moment. Yumeji cringes at what's coming – but John promptly states that to do so would be crude and unsportsmanlike ("I am a hunter, not a ''thief''"), and summons a pair of cute voluptuous {{cat girl}}s to tend to Yumeji's wounds!
** [[spoiler:Also Taka's story about his little sister where he talks about how she was sickly when she was little and kept being bounced from hospital to hospital until she could no longer smile. At least until Taka started with those ridiculous poems of his, sparking his dream of wanting to make everyone he meets laugh through his poems. He then pauses before saying that she's completely healthy now and even working part-time at a burger joint.]]
** [[spoiler:And you get another one from Chapter 36, when it is revealed that Takateru is Hercules's host, and his little sister being healthier is due to Hercules putting a dream demon in her, to hold her hostage against Takateru.]]
** [[spoiler:Shiragi, as the new villain, seems to be specializing in inflicting this: he somehow fulfills people's dreams, at the same time killing any Dream Demon that has started to nest in them, but which has left several people feeling empty and drained after, as if now they have nothing worth striving for. Particularly harsh with Ren as he had been partnered with his Dream Demon, "Hunter" Quartier Latin, and briefly forgot all about Dream Demons after Shiragi "fulfilled his dream" of restoring his collapsing family life.]]
* MundaneMadeAwesome: Isana's dad showing off his legendary Kick the Can technique, not to mention how he and Yumeji smash the watermelon in the BeachEpisode.
* NewTransferStudent:
** Chizuru in the anime.
** Shiragi Kyou in volume five.
* NobleDemon: John Doe and his cats.
* NiceHat:
** Merry can't get by without it. It might be a covert ShoutOut to ''Franchise/TouhouProject'', since the author also writes Touhou doujinshi.
** Minato the VictimOfTheWeek.
** Leon as well.
** Clione
** Aniri with her beret.
* ObliviousToLove: Yumeji to Isana
* OffModel: Several scenes seem rushed and shoddy compared the rest.
* OhCrap:
** [[spoiler:Engi gets one after Merry starts going berserk due to Yumeji being nearly cut in half. Especially the moment when Merry shattered all of Engi's swords, prompting Engi to try rallying her nerve while explaining her blade could keep reforming forever as long as there was moonlight, to which Merry simply lifts her hand and shatters the moon.]]
** [[spoiler:Yumeji gets this when he hears the people in his class talking about how they all had the same nightmare. He uses his dream-seeing trick and...every single person has the same black aura.]]
** [[spoiler:Happens in episode nine of the anime when Yumeji learns that Isana's been possessed by a Dream Demon.]]
** [[spoiler:Hercules gets one as well. And it's deliciously so, when Yumeji copies his ability.]]
* POVBoyPosterGirl: Yumeji is the main protagonist and a decent fighter in his own right, but without Merry, there would be no plot.
* PatientChildhoodLoveInterest: Isana
* PerpetualSmiler: Treesea
* PowerDegeneration: [[spoiler:Any use of a nightmare's power while possessing a person or bodily manifest on Earth causes a kind of backlash against the Gate between worlds. This includes Merry's own strength, and as she is the Gate as well as the Sheep, it means that all her fighting to push nightmares back across the Gate has been harming her. In the battle against Hercules, Merry nearly destroys herself from using too much of her power in a blind rage.]]
* PrehensileHair: Engi's hair is [[ImprobableHairstyle styled as wings]] [[WingedHumanoid which she can move]].
* RapunzelHair: Minato, Ichima, Engi, Clione and Treesea.
* RefugeInAudacity[=/=]DidWeJustHaveTeaWithCthulhu:
** In the manga, [[spoiler:Kyou]] hangs with Yumeji and some of his classmates.
** In the anime, [[spoiler:Mr. Iijima]] trolls the ''entire'' cast by visiting the STO café; he sits down and orders coffee right in front of the protagonists. By this time they have already found out that [[spoiler:he's Treesea's vessel and the one responsible for a '''lot''' of literally crushed dreams]], and they're also painfully aware that [[spoiler:he's scouting his next victim (Isana)]], but right then and there they can't do anything about it.
* RocketPunch: Since he has FloatingLimbs, Chris Evergreen does this. [[spoiler:Yumeji is also able to do it later through his "Lucid Gadget" ability.]]
* RunningGag:
** Yumeji walking into the bath...and someone's already there, usually it's Isana. She notes that he's done this fourteen times before the two that we see in story. Later, Merry walks in on HIM.
** Yui telling people to depend on her as an older sister, and then being told she's younger than they are.
** In at least half the glimpses we get of ''[[ShowWithinAShow Full Hell Boarder Glitchou]]'', the main character hurts his wrist or ankle. It eventually gets [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] by Merry when Yumeji complains about a sore wrist and she asks if he's pretending to be Glitchou. [[spoiler:Takes a more serious turn when Yumeji starts having bouts of blinding pain in that same spot, that have just been getting worse.]]
* SacrificialLamb: Poor, poor Delga in the anime.
* ScaryShinyGlasses: Mr Ijima in episode 9.
* SelfSacrificeScheme: [[spoiler:Leon's plan on defeating Treesea.]]
* SheIsNotMyGirlfriend:
** Yumeji about Merry in episode 5.
** Anri about Ren in chapter 69.
* ShowWithinAShow: ''Full Hell Boarder Glitchou'', a {{tokusatsu}} series that Yumeji is a fan of.
* ShoutOut:
** [[Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica Kyubey]]'s iconic face appears on the side of a jet in chapter 40.
** Chapter 64, one of the announcers of the costume relay has a hat that makes him look like [[{{Franchise/Danganronpa}} Monokuma]].
** Chapter 70, page 25: That doll in the background sure looks like [[Anime/WorldConquestZvezdaPlot Galaktika]].
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Do we go with Engi or its translation "Play"? Most say Engi.
** As "Engi", it has the meaning of "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meadow meadow]]" in [[http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/engi Icelandic]] which would be fitting considering that her dream world is a meadow.
** Is it Treesea or Woodsea
** "Pharos" Hercules/Heracles/Elcres
** Yumeji's favorite {{Tokusatsu}} character is either Glitchou or Guriccho.
* StarSpangledSpandex: Chris Evergreen has this effect on the inside of his cloak.
* StealthPun: "Chaser" John Doe calls Merry a "lost little lamb" when they first meet. [[spoiler:We later find out that Merry's full name is "Sheep" Merry Nightmare.]]
* {{Stripperiffic}}:
** "Chain" Noir's costume fits this to a T.
** Definitely John's cat girls.
** "Sonar" Clione can contend with anyone just on the sheer impossibility of her outfit. No, that isn't just green decorative trim on a low-cut dress...
* TheStoic: Chizuru
* StylisticSuck: Yumeji's writing, mostly because he's trying to reflect the bombastic, over-the-top action and acting of {{Tokusatsu}} hero shows in written fiction, where it mostly comes off as ridiculous.
* SugarAndIceGirl: Chizuru in the anime.
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: Yui: "I am not going to carve your name into a voodoo doll or anything."
* SweetieGraffiti: There is a drawing of umbrella drawn on the wall of the old playground, with Yumeji and Isana names.
* TheSymbiote: In episode two, what Merry said some Dream Demons do with a [[WillingChanneler host]].
** Engi Threepiece is this to Yui.
** [[spoiler:Treesea and Mr Ijima.]]
** Chris Evergreen is existing as a Symbiote to Mei, but he's about to take the [[DemonicPossession next step]] when Yumeji and Merry intervene.
** This is actually the most productive way for Dream Demons and humans to interact. If a Dream Demon tries to take over full time, the host will wake up, possibly at the worst possible moment.
* TalkingIsAFreeAction: Averted frequently. Someone will try to explain something in the middle of a fight and get punished hard for being too wordy and ignoring the enemy. Yumeji nearly gets killed because of this during [[spoiler:the fight with "Chain" Noir]].
* ThemeTuneCameo: During the first karaoke-bar scene in Episode 4. Someone down the hall is heard singing the OP, and doing a remarkably good job of sounding like the original singer.
* TheNicknamer: Merry gives nicknames to some of the characters.
** She calls Engi Threepiece as "Eggplant Lady".
** She calls "Chaser" John Doe as "Cat Mask".
** She calls "Pharos" Hercules as "Lighthouse Guy".
** She calls "Maze" Landsborough as "Little Clown".
** She calls "Chain" Noir as "Perverted Woman".
** She calls "Mistilteinn" Treesea as "Wood Lady".
** She calls "Familiar" Legion as "Upside-down Ghost".
** She calls "Sonar" Clione as "Songstress".
** She calls Ichima as "Monster Girl".
* TheresNoPlaceLikeHome: Merry's main motivation. Curiously (it may be a plot point), Merry doesn't have enough of her memory intact to understand ''why'' she wants to go back -- she only knows ''that'' she wants to go back.
* TitleDrop: In chapter 4 (episode 3 of the anime) as a [[InSeriesNickname nickname]] for Merry given by Yumeji, comparing her to a ''baku'' -- a tapir-like beast from Japanese mythology which hunts and eats nightmares. She argues that she does not actually ''eat'' them. The 6th chapter and the 4th episode of the anime are also called "Dream Eater Merry".
** [[spoiler: Yumeji's novel that he is working on in the final chapter is titled "Yumekui Merry".]]
* TooMuchInformation: Fear not, Yumeji, Yui totally does ''not'' make voodoo dolls of people.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood:
** Merry loves donuts.
** Mr. Ijima likes rice
** Yumeji likes tomatoes. This is because Tomato is a palindrome in Japanese phonetics ("to-ma-to") and Yumeji thinks that has a manly feel to it.
* UglyGuysHotDaughter: Yui
* UnwantedHarem: Isana's feelings towards Yumeji are as plain as day, and both Merry and Yui have given some hints of having feelings towards him as well, Merry more so.
** [[spoiler: Merry's feelings are confirmed in the last chapter by giving Yumeji her first (and only) kiss to him before disappearing from the waking world.]]
* WaifFu: Merry.
* WildCard: [[spoiler:Treesea in the anime. "I don't have allies, only targets."]]
* WingedHumanoid: Engi. Subverted since her [[HairWings wings]] are made up of [[PrehensileHair her hair, but she can move them]].
* WhiteMaskOfDoom: "Chaser" John Doe.
* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Isana's hair is lilac, Mei's is light green, Merry's is violet. Most of the demons' hair is an otherworldly color anyhow.
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Hercules gives [[spoiler:and eventually receives,]] this.
!Tropes in ''Kagefumi Merry'' include:
* AscendedExtra: The three Dream Demons Merry meets before "Chaser" John Doe have been given names with their roles, powers, and personalities expanded upon.
* TheCameo: [[spoiler:The real Merry Nightmare makes a few throughout the manga. A notable one at the end of the manga is her passing behind Yuuki and [[MissedHimByThatMuch neither meeting each other]].]]
* CloneByConversion: Wiles can turn other Dream Demons into copies of himself.
* {{Doppelganger}}: The overall story is about a Dream Demon named Wiles [[CloneByConversion making other Dream Demons into copies of himself]] to control and imitates many humans and Merry's attempt to stop him.
** [[spoiler:It turns out that the Merry of the story is one of the Wiles copies who, upon touching the Gate, became a copy of Merry Nightmare.]]
* EvilGloating: Wiles goes in a victory monolog when he believed he defeated Merry. [[spoiler:He was dead wrong.]]
* GoOutWithASmile: [[spoiler:As she dies, doppelganger Merry smiled at Yuuki as she [[LastRequest asks]] him to call the real Merry "[[TitleDrop Kagefumi Merry]]" for her if he meets her.]]
* MeaningfulEcho: Both Merry and Wiles say the lines "Lights! Camera! Action!" in their "yards" when initiating their power in it. [[spoiler:It turns out that the Merry of this story is one of the Wiles copies.]]
* {{Prequel}}: The SpinOff is set at some time when Merry met her third Dream Demon after coming to reality, before the first chapter of the main story.
* TheReveal: In the last chapter it is revealed that [[spoiler:the Merry of the story is actually a Wiles copy who became a MirrorSelf {{Doppelganger}} of the real Merry Nightmare when she touched the Gate.]]
* ShoutOut:
** As Verbiest escapes from Merry in the second chapter, he says "[[Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay Hasta La Vista Bey Bee]]" to her.
** Merry leaves a message for the real Wiles with the blood of one of the copies that say, "[[VideoGame/ZeroWing All your Wiles belong to me.]]"
* SpannerInTheWorks: Merry for Wiles' plan to possess people with his copies. [[spoiler:More so since the Merry of the story is actually one of Wiles' copies.]]
* SpinOff: This story is an official spin-off of the main series.
* TitleDrop: [[spoiler:The Merry doppelganger [[LastRequest asks]] Yuuki that if he sees the real Merry Nightmare, he should call her "Kagefumi Merry"[[note]]Shadow Stomper Merry[[/note]] for her.]]
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zettai ryouiki has been made Definition Only; no on-page examples
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* ZettaiRyouiki: It would be easier to count how many females in this series ''don't'' have this going on.
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''Yumekui Merry'' (or ''Dream Eater Merry'' in English) is a manga by Yoshitake Ushiki, a ''Magazine/MangaTimeKirara Forward'' manga lasting from 2008 to 2020 with 24 volumes. It was adapted into an anime in the winter of 2011 by Creator/JCStaff. VideoGame/{{Touhou}} fans may recognize the author from his doujinshi work ''[[FanficRecs/{{Touhou}} Advent Cirno]]'', and the people handling the music as Music/{{IOSYS}}.
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''Yumekui Merry'' (or ''Dream Eater Merry'' in English) is a manga by Yoshitake Ushiki, a ''Magazine/MangaTimeKirara Forward'' manga lasting from 2008 to 2020 with 24 volumes. It was adapted into an anime in the winter of 2011 by Creator/JCStaff. VideoGame/{{Touhou}} ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' fans may recognize the author from his doujinshi work ''[[FanficRecs/{{Touhou}} ''[[FanficRecs/TouhouProject Advent Cirno]]'', and the people handling the music as Music/{{IOSYS}}.
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** Merry can't get by without it. It might be a covert ShoutOut to VideoGame/{{Touhou}}, since the author also writes Touhou doujinshi.
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** Merry can't get by without it. It might be a covert ShoutOut to VideoGame/{{Touhou}}, ''Franchise/TouhouProject'', since the author also writes Touhou doujinshi.
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* ClosingCredits: In the final chapter, scenes of the cast getting together and catching up are interspersed with staff credits.
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Now has a [[Characters/YumekuiMerry Character Sheet]], which NeedsWikiMagicLove.
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** [[spoiler: Yumeji's novel that he is working on in the final chapter is titled "Yumekui Mery".]]
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** [[spoiler: Yumeji's novel that he is working on in the final chapter is titled "Yumekui Mery".Merry".]]
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''Yumekui Merry'' (English ''Dream Eater Merry'') is a manga by Yoshitake Ushiki, and one of the very rare examples of a non-moe ''Magazine/MangaTimeKirara'' manga, lasting from 2008 to 2020 with 24 volumes. It was adapted into an anime in the winter of 2011 by Creator/JCStaff. VideoGame/{{Touhou}} fans may recognize the author from his doujinshi work ''[[FanficRecs/{{Touhou}} Advent Cirno]]'', and the people handling the music as Music/{{IOSYS}}.
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''Yumekui Merry'' (English (or ''Dream Eater Merry'') Merry'' in English) is a manga by Yoshitake Ushiki, and one of the very rare examples of a non-moe ''Magazine/MangaTimeKirara'' manga, ''Magazine/MangaTimeKirara Forward'' manga lasting from 2008 to 2020 with 24 volumes. It was adapted into an anime in the winter of 2011 by Creator/JCStaff. VideoGame/{{Touhou}} fans may recognize the author from his doujinshi work ''[[FanficRecs/{{Touhou}} Advent Cirno]]'', and the people handling the music as Music/{{IOSYS}}.
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* BigDamnKiss: [[spoiler: Chapter 141 ends with Merry giving Yumeji a big kiss before she returns to the dream world for the last time.]]
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* BigDamnKiss: [[spoiler: Combined with FinalFirstKiss, Chapter 141 ends with Merry giving Yumeji a big kiss goodbye smooch before she returns to the dream world for the last time.]]
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* IWroteOurStory: [[spoiler:In the finale, Yumeji begins working on a new light novel with his friends. Although he can't remember much of his time with Merry anymore, the final panel reveals that the light novel is likely ''Yumekui Merry'' itself.]]
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all revealed in the final chapter
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* BigDamnKiss: [[spoiler: Chapter 141 ends with Merry giving Yumeji a big kiss before she returns to the dream world for the last time.]]
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** [[spoiler: Yumeji's novel that he is working on in the final chapter is titled "Yumekui Mery".]]
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** [[spoiler: Merry's feelings are confirmed in the last chapter by giving Yumeji her first (and only) kiss to him before disappearing from the waking world.]]
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Based on a manga by Yoshitake Ushiki, ''Yumekui Merry'' (English ''Dream Eater Merry'') was adapted into an anime in the winter of 2011 by Creator/JCStaff. VideoGame/{{Touhou}} fans may recognize the author from his doujinshi work ''[[FanficRecs/{{Touhou}} Advent Cirno]]'', and the people handling the music as Music/{{IOSYS}}.
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!Tropes in ''Yumekui Merry'' include:
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* {{Baku}}: Merry Nightmare has powers revolving around dreams and nightmares, and she has a strong baku motif.
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** [[spoiler:It turns out that the Merry of the story is
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** [[spoiler:It turns out that the Merry of the story isis one of the Wiles copies who, upon touching the Gate, became a copy of Merry Nightmare.]]
* EvilGloating: Wiles goes in a victory monolog when he believed he defeated Merry. [[spoiler:He was dead wrong.]]
* GoOutWithASmile: [[spoiler:As she dies, doppelganger Merry smiled at Yuuki as she [[LastRequest asks]] him to call the real Merry "[[TitleDrop Kagefumi Merry]]" for her if he meets her.]]
* MeaningfulEcho: Both Merry and Wiles say the lines "Lights! Camera! Action!" in their "yards" when initiating their power in it. [[spoiler:It turns out that the Merry of this story is one of the Wiles copies.]]
* {{Prequel}}: The SpinOff is set at some time when Merry met her third Dream Demon after coming to reality, before the first chapter of the main story.
* TheReveal: In the last chapter it is revealed that [[spoiler:the Merry of the story is actually a Wiles copy who became a MirrorSelf {{Doppelganger}} of the real Merry Nightmare when she touched the Gate.]]
* ShoutOut:
** As Verbiest escapes from Merry in the second chapter, he says "[[Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay Hasta La Vista Bey Bee]]" to her.
** Merry leaves a message for the real Wiles with the blood of one of the copies that say, "[[VideoGame/ZeroWing All your Wiles belong to me.]]"
* SpannerInTheWorks: Merry for Wiles' plan to possess people with his copies. [[spoiler:More so since the Merry of the story is actually one of Wiles' copies.]]
* SpinOff: This story is an official spin-off of the main series.
* TitleDrop: [[spoiler:The Merry doppelganger [[LastRequest asks]] Yuuki that if he sees the real Merry Nightmare, he should call her "Kagefumi Merry"[[note]]Shadow Stomper Merry[[/note]] for her.]]
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* EvilGloating: Wiles goes in a victory monolog when he believed he defeated Merry. [[spoiler:He was dead wrong.]]
* GoOutWithASmile: [[spoiler:As she dies, doppelganger Merry smiled at Yuuki as she [[LastRequest asks]] him to call the real Merry "[[TitleDrop Kagefumi Merry]]" for her if he meets her.]]
* MeaningfulEcho: Both Merry and Wiles say the lines "Lights! Camera! Action!" in their "yards" when initiating their power in it. [[spoiler:It turns out that the Merry of this story is one of the Wiles copies.]]
* {{Prequel}}: The SpinOff is set at some time when Merry met her third Dream Demon after coming to reality, before the first chapter of the main story.
* TheReveal: In the last chapter it is revealed that [[spoiler:the Merry of the story is actually a Wiles copy who became a MirrorSelf {{Doppelganger}} of the real Merry Nightmare when she touched the Gate.]]
* ShoutOut:
** As Verbiest escapes from Merry in the second chapter, he says "[[Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay Hasta La Vista Bey Bee]]" to her.
** Merry leaves a message for the real Wiles with the blood of one of the copies that say, "[[VideoGame/ZeroWing All your Wiles belong to me.]]"
* SpannerInTheWorks: Merry for Wiles' plan to possess people with his copies. [[spoiler:More so since the Merry of the story is actually one of Wiles' copies.]]
* SpinOff: This story is an official spin-off of the main series.
* TitleDrop: [[spoiler:The Merry doppelganger [[LastRequest asks]] Yuuki that if he sees the real Merry Nightmare, he should call her "Kagefumi Merry"[[note]]Shadow Stomper Merry[[/note]] for her.]]
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* ThreeDEffectsTwoDCartoon: In the anime, giant fish bones, brought to you in CG glory.
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* ThreeDEffectsTwoDCartoon: TwoDVisualsThreeDEffects: In the anime, giant fish bones, brought to you in CG glory.
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* ThreeDEffectsTwoDCartoon: In the anime, giant fish bones, brought to you in CG glory.
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* ConspicuousCG: In the anime, giant fish bones, brought to you in CG glory.
