# Puniru Is a Cute Slime

Puniru Is a Cute Slime (Japanese: ぷにるはかわいいスライム, Hepburn: Puniru wa Kawaii Suraimu) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Maeda-kun. Preceded by a one-shot published in Shogakukan's children's manga magazine Bessatsu CoroCoro Comic in February 2019, the manga started its serialization in Weekly CoroCoro Comic online service in March 2022. Shogakukan has collected its chapters in seven tankōbon volumes as of February 2025. The series focuses on the titular character Puniru, a slime girl created by a boy named Kotaro Kawaii during his childhood and wants him to notice her for her cuteness despite him being in love with his junior high school senior. An anime television series adaptation produced by Toho Animation Studio aired from October to December 2024. A second season has been announced.
Puniru Is a Cute Slime won the 70th Shogakukan Manga Award in 2025.

## Plot

A young boy named Kotaro Kawaii made a slime as part of a science experiment which came to life. The slime named Puniru resembled a penguin, and her creator thought that was cute despite him not wanting to admit it. Seven years later, Kotaro is now in his second year of junior high and is having a hard time admitting his feelings for his senior, Mami Kirara. In that time, Puniru gained a new ability to morph herself into a human girl to have her creator notice her cuteness again.

## Characters
### Puniru (ぷにる)

    Voiced by: Yū Sasahara

### Kotaro Kawaii (河合井 コタロー, Kawaii Kotarō)

    Voiced by: Shūichirō Umeda

### Mami Kirara (雲母 麻美, Kirara Mami)

    Voiced by: Risa Shimizu

### Yūsuke Nanpa (南波 遊助, Nanpa Yūsuke)

    Voiced by: Junya Enoki

### Alice Okanega (御金賀 アリス, Okanega Arisu)

    Voiced by: Yumiri Hanamori

### Hiroshi Mado (真戸 博士, Mado Hiroshi)

    Voiced by: Kazuya Nakai

## Media
### Manga

Written and illustrated by Maeda-kun, a first one-shot, titled "Cute Puniru Slime" (かわいいぷにるはスライム, Kawaī Puniru wa Suraimu), was published in Shogakukan's children's manga Bessatsu CoroCoro Comic on February 28, 2019. Puniru Is a Cute Slime started its serialization in Weekly CoroCoro Comic online service on March 15, 2022. Shogakukan has collected its chapters into individual tankōbon volumes. The first volume was released on July 28, 2022. As of February 2025, seven volumes have been released.

#### Volumes

| No. | Japanese release date | Japanese ISBN |
| 1 | July 28, 2022 | 978-4-09-143537-8 978-4-09-943115-0 (SE) |
| 2 | November 28, 2022 | 978-4-09-143553-8 978-4-09-943121-1 (SE) |
| 3 | February 28, 2023 | 978-4-09-143578-1 978-4-09-943126-6 (SE) |
| 4 | August 9, 2023 | 978-4-09-143610-8 978-4-09-943131-0 (SE) |
| 5 | January 26, 2024 | 978-4-09-143670-2 978-4-09-943145-7 (SE) |
| 6 | September 27, 2024 | 978-4-09-149785-7 978-4-09-943168-6 (SE) |
| 7 | February 27, 2025 | 978-4-09-154017-1 978-4-09-943193-8 (SE) |

### Anime

An anime television series adaptation was announced on December 13, 2023. It is produced by Toho Animation Studio and directed by Yūshi Ibe, with scripts written by Michiko Yokote, Aya Tanaka providing the character designs and Izumi Mori composing the music. The series aired on TV Tokyo from October 6 to December 23, 2024. Yū Sasahara performed both the series' opening and ending themes: "Gyumu!" (ぎゅむ！) and "Show" (唱, Shō, lit. "chant"), the latter being a cover of Ado's song of the same name.
Following the final episode of the series, a second season was announced.
Crunchyroll streams the series under the title Puniru is a Kawaii Slime. Medialink licensed the series in Asia-Pacific (except Australia and New Zealand) for streaming on Ani-One Asia's YouTube channel.

#### Episodes

| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Chief animation directed by | |
| 1 | "I HATE YOU and I LOVE YOU" | Yūshi Ibe | Michiko Yokote | Aya Tanaka & Kenji Matsuoka | October 6, 2024 (2024-10-06) |
| 2 | "Neither Friend nor Slime" Transliteration: "Tomodachi de mo Naku Suraimu de mo Naku" (Japanese: 友達でもなくスライムでもなく) | Tetsuya Miyanishi | Miharu Hirami | Kenji Matsuoka | October 13, 2024 (2024-10-13) |
| 3 | "Kawaii Puniru is a Slime" Transliteration: "Kawaī Puniru wa Suraimu" (Japanese: かわいいぷにるはスライム) | Directed by : Minami Honma Storyboarded by : Shinichi Watanabe | Michiko Yokote | Aya Tanaka | October 20, 2024 (2024-10-20) |
| 4 | "Alice in Kyuthi Land" Transliteration: "Kawaī Kyuti Rando no Arisu" (Japanese: かわいい国（キュティランド）のアリス) | Mayo Nozaki | Michiko Yokote | Kenji Matsuoka | October 27, 2024 (2024-10-27) |
| 5 | "GO! GO! Let's Cheer with Style!" Transliteration: "GO! GO! Karei ni Oendesu!" (Japanese: GO!GO!華麗に応援です！) | Directed by : Ryōta Karasawa Storyboarded by : Yūshi Ibe | Miharu Hirami | Kenji Matsuoka | November 3, 2024 (2024-11-03) |
| 6 | "The Runrune-tastic Grand Prix, Now with Puniru!" Transliteration: "Darake no Guranpuri Puniru Moaru yo!" (Japanese: ルンルーンだらけのGP（グランプリ）グランプリぷにるもあるよ！) | Directed by : Mitsuyo Yokono Storyboarded by : Shinichi Watanabe | Michiko Yokote | Aya Tanaka | November 10, 2024 (2024-11-10) |
| 7 | "Sweet Bitter Summer" | Directed by : China Storyboarded by : China & Itsuki Tsuchigami | Rintarou Ikeda | Aya Tanaka | November 17, 2024 (2024-11-17) |
| 8 | "Gather 'Round for the School Festival!" Transliteration: "Bunkamatsuri Desu! Zen'in Shūgō" (Japanese: 文化祭です！全員集合) | Tetsuya Miyanishi | Miharu Hirami | Kenji Matsuoka | November 24, 2024 (2024-11-24) |
| 9 | "Let's Start a Band, Punks!" Transliteration: "Bando yarō ZE!" (Japanese: バンド野郎ZE!) | Yūshi Ibe | Rintarou Ikeda | Aya Tanaka | December 1, 2024 (2024-12-01) |
| 10 | "Merry Punirumas!" Transliteration: "Merī punirumasu!" (Japanese: メリーぷにるます！) | Minami Honma | Michiko Yokote | Kenji Matsuoka | December 8, 2024 (2024-12-08) |
| 11 | "Scoop Up a Spoonful of Christmas" Transliteration: "Supūn Ichihai no Kurisumasu o Sukutte" (Japanese: スプーン一杯のクリスマスをすくって) | Mayo Nozaki | Michiko Yokote | Aya Tanaka | December 16, 2024 (2024-12-16) |
| 12 | "A Wonderful Journey" Transliteration: "Ī tabi puni kibun" (Japanese: いい旅ぷに気分) | Directed by : Ryōta Karasawa Storyboarded by : Yusuke Kubo | Michiko Yokote | Kenji Matsuoka | December 23, 2024 (2024-12-23) |

## Reception

The manga placed fourth in Next Manga Awards's Web category in 2022. Along with Burning Kabaddi, Kore Kaite Shine, and Natsume Arata no Kekkon, Puniru Is a Cute Slime won the 70th Shogakukan Manga Award in 2024.
The manga was viewed more than 600,000 times on its online website by March 2022; it rose to more than 3.5 million views by May of that same year, and 7 million by July of that same year. The first tankōbon volume had a first-print run of 100,000 copies.