Kotaro is an average young boy, and like many kids his age, he enjoys the latest childhood craze of playing with slime. One day, the slime randomly turns into an adorable girl who he names Puniru. Though cute, her stubbornness and constant need for attention get on his nerves. It's like having a goopy little sister! Just when the two settle into their not-so-normal life, the granddaughter of Kyuthi Land's founder arrives. Can Okanega Alice and her little friend Runrune out-cute the world's most adorable slime girl?!

Puniru is a Kawaii Slime has a story by and art by Maedakun. English translation is done by Cerridwyn Graffham and lettering by Giuseppe Antonio Fusco. Published by Seven Seas Entertainment (August18, 2026). Rated T.

Erica Friedman
Rating:

I was charmed immediately by the art and premise of Puniru is a Kawaii Slime, and looked forward to a fun, light-hearted romp of a young guy and cute slime. Sadly for me, the premise of this book relies on Kotaro being insecure, spiteful, and generally unpleasant to achieve its comedy. It made for a tough read.

When Kotaro was younger, he played with a slime friend, as many young people do, but for some reason, his friend Puniru developed a more human-like form. Puniru, who identifies as she but uses “boku” as her preferred pronoun—presumably to indicate that she is energetic and active—would still like to be Kotaro's friend, but he's feeling insecure in his puberty and rejects Puniru's attention and company in what is supposed to be a series of amusing skits. They aren't very amusing. Kotaro's classmates are a goofy mixed bag of allegorically named stereotypes, several of whom like Puniru quite a bit.

Puniru does have some excellent gags. In an early scene where Kotaro's classmate wants to feel her “breasts,” she pops them off and hands them over. And she adds chemicals to her to create “transformation” style changes. On the negative side, Kotaro is often dismissive and/or violent for comedic effect. Worse, one of the chapters involves kidnapping and experimenting on Puniru for “science.” Again, meant to be funny, but instead rather horrific.

I had been so prepared to enjoy something with a fun attitude, especially since this manga runs in a tween boys' manga magazine, but it failed to live up to its promise. I wouldn't even give it to a kid, for fear they'd think Kotaro is a good example of how to treat people. Overall disappointing, but the art is still cute.

Bolts
Rating:

Yup, just a typical story of a boy and his sentient girlfriend slime who is totally not his girlfriend. Puniru is a Kawaii Slime is a gag manga in its purest form, complete with an absurd premise that is barely explained in the opening pages, but one where the artist tries to get full mileage out of every chapter. Puniru is a sentient slime that just randomly came to life one day, and she wants to be one of the cutest creatures on the planet, which runs counter to her best friend/caretaker, Kotaro, who is at that adolescent age where he doesn't want anything to do with her. This is a very formulaic gag series that reminds me of older series like Dr. Slump where every chapter would have one idea and run with it until the chapter ended. There is some sense of narrative flow as new characters are introduced, but for the most part, many of the characters come off as one-note in a very deliberate way.

Kotaro is a tsundere teenage boy; his best friends are perverts, there's a pretty boy obsessed with games, and there's a busty classmate who has some of the weirdest mommy issues I've ever seen. Not every joke lands, and the brevity of the chapters does help with breezing through this when we get to those rather unfunny parts that feel a bit dated by today's standards. But even when the story is at its funniest, it never feels “laugh out loud” funny outside of a few quick comedic cuts.

I was more drawn to the story's creativity than to its humor. A lot of that revolves around Puniru, who, as a slime girl, can manipulate her body into different forms with different outfits. It feels like this character was designed specifically to be cute and accessorized, which the book fully sells. If you're looking for a gag series that embodies a lot of classic gag tropes, then this is a good series to pass the time. Just don't expect anything outside of what the initial pages promise you.