Mei no Naisho
Encyclopedia
, subtitled make miracle, is a Japanese manga
series written and illustrated by Shiroi Kusaka. The story centers on an effeminate
high school boy named Mei Haruna who was raised as a girl by his now-deceased witch
mother; Mei too can use magic, though he is not proficient at it. After his mother's death, he transfers to an all-girls school and resides in the school's dormitory with his roommate, and public morals committee member, Fūka Honjō. Mei no Naisho began serialization in Fujimi Shobo
's shōnen manga magazine Dragon Age Pure
on October 20, 2007, and was later transferred to Fujimi Shobo's Monthly Dragon Age
starting with the June 2009 issue. Two bound volume
s have been released in Japan.
young boy who was raised by his witch
mother as a girl, and always thought of himself as female. The reason for this stems half in part from his mother being aware that men born into a magical lineage typically live shorter lives than women born into these families. However, if a male is raised as a female, this will prove effective in ensuring him a long life. The other half had to do with his mother having enjoyed dressing up her son in female clothing and taking photographs of him as her hobby, though Mei is not aware of this half of the reason for his upbringing. His mother was the only family he had, so after she died, he transfers to an all-girls high school and comes to reside in the school's dormitory with his talking familiar
cat Abel, and his roommate Fūka Honjō, who is also a member of the public morals committee.
Shortly after arriving at the school, his new friends discover after a magical display in the dormitory community bath that he is actually male, though this comes as quite a shock to him despite him being aware of the physical differences between him and normal girls. Despite him being found out, and after some helpful intervening of the perverted student council president, the principal of the school decides that he can stay at the school. The next day, Mei comes to school with Fūka and apologizes for hiding the fact that he was a witch, and informs the others how he is apparently male. The other students quickly accept him as one of their own, and are impressed how he can use magic.
series, written and illustrated by Shiori Kusaka, was serialized in Fujimi Shobo
's shōnen manga magazine Dragon Age Pure
between October 20, 2007 and December 19, 2008. After Dragon Age Pure was discontinued in early 2009, the manga was transferred to Fujimi Shobo's Monthly Dragon Age
magazine starting with the June 2009 issue. The first bound volume
was released in Japan on June 9, 2008 under the Kadokawa Comics Dragon Jr. imprint
; the second volume was published on August 8, 2009.
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
series written and illustrated by Shiroi Kusaka. The story centers on an effeminate
Femininity
Femininity is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles generally associated with girls and women. Though socially constructed, femininity is made up of both socially defined and biologically created factors...
high school boy named Mei Haruna who was raised as a girl by his now-deceased witch
Witchcraft
Witchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
mother; Mei too can use magic, though he is not proficient at it. After his mother's death, he transfers to an all-girls school and resides in the school's dormitory with his roommate, and public morals committee member, Fūka Honjō. Mei no Naisho began serialization in Fujimi Shobo
Fujimi Shobo
is a Japanese publishing company that specializes in the publication of light novels, manga, role-playing games and collectible card games. The company started in 1991 as a subsidiary of Kadokawa Shoten.-Magazines published:Light novel magazines...
's shōnen manga magazine Dragon Age Pure
Dragon Age Pure
was a Japanese shōnen manga magazine published by Fujimi Shobo. It was first released on January 30, 2006 and was initially sold quarterly. Starting with the sale of the fourth volume on April 20, 2007, the magazine was sold bimonthly until its final issue, the fifteenth volume released on February...
on October 20, 2007, and was later transferred to Fujimi Shobo's Monthly Dragon Age
Monthly Dragon Age
is a Japanese manga magazine published by Fujimi Shobo. The magazine began as a combination between Monthly Comic Dragon and Monthly Dragon Junior, two former magazines published by Fujimi Shobo. The first issue was published in April 2003, and the magazine is sold on the ninth of each month. The...
starting with the June 2009 issue. Two bound volume
Tankobon
, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...
s have been released in Japan.
Plot
Mei no Naisho revolves around the life of the title character Mei Haruna, an effeminateFemininity
Femininity is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles generally associated with girls and women. Though socially constructed, femininity is made up of both socially defined and biologically created factors...
young boy who was raised by his witch
Witchcraft
Witchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
mother as a girl, and always thought of himself as female. The reason for this stems half in part from his mother being aware that men born into a magical lineage typically live shorter lives than women born into these families. However, if a male is raised as a female, this will prove effective in ensuring him a long life. The other half had to do with his mother having enjoyed dressing up her son in female clothing and taking photographs of him as her hobby, though Mei is not aware of this half of the reason for his upbringing. His mother was the only family he had, so after she died, he transfers to an all-girls high school and comes to reside in the school's dormitory with his talking familiar
Familiar spirit
In European folklore and folk-belief of the Medieval and Early Modern periods, familiar spirits were supernatural entities believed to assist witches and cunning folk in their practice of magic...
cat Abel, and his roommate Fūka Honjō, who is also a member of the public morals committee.
Shortly after arriving at the school, his new friends discover after a magical display in the dormitory community bath that he is actually male, though this comes as quite a shock to him despite him being aware of the physical differences between him and normal girls. Despite him being found out, and after some helpful intervening of the perverted student council president, the principal of the school decides that he can stay at the school. The next day, Mei comes to school with Fūka and apologizes for hiding the fact that he was a witch, and informs the others how he is apparently male. The other students quickly accept him as one of their own, and are impressed how he can use magic.
Characters
- Mei is the main character of Mei no Naisho. He is a young effeminateFemininityFemininity is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles generally associated with girls and women. Though socially constructed, femininity is made up of both socially defined and biologically created factors...
high school boy who was raised by his witchWitchcraftWitchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
mother as a girl, and always thought himself as female despite the physical differences between himself and normal girls. Like his mother, he too can use magic, though he is not an expert, especially when it comes to transformationHenshinis the Japanese word for "transformation," literally meaning, "to change or transform the body." This word is primarily used in manga, anime, and tokusatsu dramas for when a character transforms into a superhero. usually have a "henshin call", a catchphrase which they recite when they transform...
magic. Mei has a talking familiarFamiliar spiritIn European folklore and folk-belief of the Medieval and Early Modern periods, familiar spirits were supernatural entities believed to assist witches and cunning folk in their practice of magic...
white cat named which gives advice to Mei, though cannot be used effectively until Mei becomes more proficient in magic. Mei always wears a star necklace previously owned by his mother which can transform into his magic wandWandA wand is a thin, straight, hand-held stick of wood, stone, ivory, or metal. Generally, in modern language, wands are ceremonial and/or have associations with magic but there have been other uses, all stemming from the original meaning as a synonym of rod and virge, both of which had a similar...
. When his friends notice his obviously male body in the bath and tell him he is actually a boy, this comes as a shock to him. Afterwards, instead of referring to himself by the gender neutralGender differences in spoken JapaneseThe Japanese language is unusual among major languages in the high degree to which the speech of women collectively differs from that of men. Differences in the ways that girls and boys use language have been detected in children as young as three years old ....
, he starts using the more masculineMasculinityMasculinity is possessing qualities or characteristics considered typical of or appropriate to a man. The term can be used to describe any human, animal or object that has the quality of being masculine...
, though boku has been known to be used by girls in Japan.
- Despite not being born female, Mei has a slender build and a feminine face which makes him easily mistaken for the opposite sex. Mei scares easily and has been known to rely on his roommate Fūka Honjō for support when he is scared or nervous. He is weak when being taken advantage of by the student council president Seira Rindō, and puts up little resistance in such instances. Mei tends to be clumsy and often trips resulting in him falling onto the ground. His guardian, a woman named , is the headmistress of Mei's school, and while she knew Mei was a witch, she never knew he was a boy.
- Fūka is a strong girl in the same class as Mei, and is also his roommate. Fūka is a member of the public morals committee and often intervenes when the student council president Seira Rindō is performing various perverted acts with other females students, or with Mei. Along with this, she takes part in night patrols around the school's dormitory which can keep her out late. To help in her struggle with the unruly, she carries a wooden swordBokkenA bokken , "wood", and ken, "sword") , is a Japanese wooden sword used for training. It is usually the size and shape of a katana, but is sometimes shaped like other swords, such as the wakizashi and tantō...
and has been known to knock doors completely off their hinges when using it. After Mei is found out to be a boy, she tells him not to worry how they are roommates which makes Mei very happy. Fūka worries about Mei's well-being and feels the need to protect him. She has expressed an overactive imaginationImaginationImagination, also called the faculty of imagining, is the ability of forming mental images, sensations and concepts, in a moment when they are not perceived through sight, hearing or other senses...
in regards to Mei (and the consequent nosebleeds) and is often suggested that she has feelings for him.
- Seira, also known as , is the student council president of Mei's school. She has a perverted personality and often gets into risque situations with other female students and teachers, or Mei, which often involves BDSMBDSMBDSM is an erotic preference and a form of sexual expression involving the consensual use of restraint, intense sensory stimulation, and fantasy power role-play. The compound acronym BDSM is derived from the terms bondage and discipline , dominance and submission , and sadism and masochism...
. To combat Fūka's constant interruptions, she carries a folding fanFan (implement)A hand-held fan is an implement used to induce an airflow for the purpose of cooling or refreshing oneself. Any broad, flat surface waved back-and-forth will create a small airflow and therefore can be considered a rudimentary fan...
and uses it to block Fūka's wooden sword. She is a powerful force in the school, and often gets involved with Mei's life. Seira especially likes to play pranks on Mei such as replacing his pantiesPantiesPanties are a form of underwear, usually light and snug-fitting, designed to be worn by women or girls in the area directly below the waist. Typical components include an elastic waistband, a crotch panel to cover the genital area , and a pair of leg openings which, like the waistband, are often...
with white briefsBriefsBriefs are a type of short, tight underwear and swimwear, as opposed to styles where the material extends down the legs.In the case of men's underwear, briefs, unlike boxer shorts, hold the wearer's genitals in a relatively fixed position, which make briefs a popular underwear choice for men who...
for men. However despite this, it is revealed that she never truly lets people get close to her after her mother passed away, but seems to have since allowed Mei to be close to her.
Manga
The Mei no Naisho mangaManga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
series, written and illustrated by Shiori Kusaka, was serialized in Fujimi Shobo
Fujimi Shobo
is a Japanese publishing company that specializes in the publication of light novels, manga, role-playing games and collectible card games. The company started in 1991 as a subsidiary of Kadokawa Shoten.-Magazines published:Light novel magazines...
's shōnen manga magazine Dragon Age Pure
Dragon Age Pure
was a Japanese shōnen manga magazine published by Fujimi Shobo. It was first released on January 30, 2006 and was initially sold quarterly. Starting with the sale of the fourth volume on April 20, 2007, the magazine was sold bimonthly until its final issue, the fifteenth volume released on February...
between October 20, 2007 and December 19, 2008. After Dragon Age Pure was discontinued in early 2009, the manga was transferred to Fujimi Shobo's Monthly Dragon Age
Monthly Dragon Age
is a Japanese manga magazine published by Fujimi Shobo. The magazine began as a combination between Monthly Comic Dragon and Monthly Dragon Junior, two former magazines published by Fujimi Shobo. The first issue was published in April 2003, and the magazine is sold on the ninth of each month. The...
magazine starting with the June 2009 issue. The first bound volume
Tankobon
, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...
was released in Japan on June 9, 2008 under the Kadokawa Comics Dragon Jr. imprint
Imprint
In the publishing industry, an imprint can mean several different things:* As a piece of bibliographic information about a book, it refers to the name and address of the book's publisher and its date of publication as given at the foot or on the verso of its title page.* It can mean a trade name...
; the second volume was published on August 8, 2009.