Puniru Is a Cute Slime

• Ja Kanji — ぷにるはかわいいスライム • Ja Romaji — Puniru wa Kawaii Suraimu • Genre — Romantic comedy

• Type — manga • Title — Cute Puniru Slime • Author — Maedakun • Publisher — Shogakukan • Magazine — Bessatsu CoroCoro Comic • Published — February 28, 2019

• Type — manga • Author — Maedakun • Publisher — Shogakukan • Magazine — Weekly CoroCoro Comic • First — March 13, 2022 • Volumes — 11

• Type — tv series • Title — Puniru Is a Kawaii Slime • Director — Yūshi Ibe • Producer — * Mirei Tsumura • Yuzuru Saitou • Reiko Sasaki • Yuukou Itou • Writer — Michiko Yokote • Music — Izumi Mori • Studio — Toho Animation Studio • Licensee — * Crunchyroll (streaming) Netflix (streaming) • Network — TXN (TV Tokyo) • First — October 6, 2024 • Last — September 21, 2025 • Episodes — 24

• Portal — yes Puniru Is a Cute Slime is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Maedakun. 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 eleven tankōbon volumes as of July 2026. The series focuses on the titular character Puniru, a slime girl created by a boy named Kotaro Kawaii during his childhood who 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, with a second season aired from July to September 2025. The manga won the 70th Shogakukan Manga Award in 2025.

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.

• Puniru • Yū Sasahara • A slime girl created by Kotaro when he was in elementary school. • Kotaro Kawaii • Shūichirō Umeda • An 8th-grade boy who is Puniru's creator. • Mami Kirara • Risa Shimizu • A 9th-grade student who Kotaro has a crush on. • Yūsuke Nanpa • Junya Enoki • A classmate of Kotaro's who has a passion for kids' toys. • Alice Okanega • Yumiri Hanamori • A girl in Kotaro's class who is also the creator of Runerune. • Hiroshi Mado • Kazuya Nakai

Written and illustrated by Maedakun, a first one-shot, titled 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 July 2026, eleven volumes have been released. In October 2025, Seven Seas Entertainment announced that they had licensed the series for English publication in a 2-in-1 omnibus release. The first omnibus volume is set to be released in August 2026.

• Chapters 95-101 • Extra Chapters 40-48

An anime television series adaptation was announced on December 13, 2023. It is produced by Toho Animation Studio and directed by Yūshi Ibe, with series composition by Michiko Yokote, Aya Tanaka providing the character designs and Izumi Mori composing the music. The series aired from October 6 to December 23, 2024, on TV Tokyo and its affiliates. The opening theme song is "Gyumu!", while the ending theme song is "chant", both performed by Yū Sasahara, with 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, which premiered on July 6, 2025. Yū Sasahara performed the second season's opening and ending themes: "Brun-Brun" and "Summer and Blues", the ending being a cover of Mrs. Green Apple's 2018 single of the same name. Crunchyroll and Netflix both stream 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.