Ran and the Gray World

This manga's story isn't a 10, nor is its character. But by god its art is, and it's enjoyment could have been. This manga could have been a 10 on art and enjoyment alone. Before I start complaining about what I believe ruined this manga, I'll talk about it's good points. Story : 7 I think the story, strangely enough, is almost like enjoyment in this particular manga. Subjective. For some people, the minimalistic and simple story, may warrant a 10. I can certainly see and understand that. Maybe in a different mood, I'd be one of those people. I'm giving it a 7 simply because ofthe thing that ruined the manga in general for me, and poisoned the story. I think this manga is kinda like a SOL where story isn't really a criteria you rate it on. Art : 10 Needs no explaining. Character : 7 Almost every character is interesting and consistent. I'd give this a 8, but again, I'll save why I demoted it to a 7 for my rant. Enjoyment : 7 Enjoyment is subjective, and I found most of it enjoyable. The things I didn't however, the things that changed this from a 9 or 10 to a 7 will be saved for the rant. Rant time. Outarou ruined everything he touched. This is the first and last time I'll say his name, because frankly, saying it leaves a taste of shit in my mouth. I'm of the mind he was poorly written and aggressively and poorly shoe horned into to give this manga a villain and sense of drama. His relationship with Ran was unnatural and unhealthy. Unnatural in the sense that it was poorly written. Ran had literally no reason to love him. He didn't do anything to spark romance. Upon first meeting he tried to assault her, and then confined her. I'm no child psychologist, but that alone should freak the hell out of a child and put a stopper into any budding romantic feelings. Her poorly written relationship (which aside from him, was the only poorly written thing), made zero sense both logically and emotionally. Unhealthy in the sense of (you really shouldn't need me to say this) pedophilia. You can say he didn't know she was 10, but that doesn't change the fact that he, a 29 year old man, assumed the girl who fell into his garden, was highschooler, 18 at the OLDEST was reasonable romantic prospects. And that completely neglects the fact that she still behaved her age, 10. While not as bad as pedophilia, it's still pretty fucking bad and pretty damn illegal. He also died 'loving her', IE pedophilia... Anyone who finds this romantic, seriously needs a psych eval. He didn't love her, he was infatuated. He wanted to possess her. He literally knew NOTHING about her. He wasn't even special in his attraction to her. Everyone who saw her adult form was attracted to her in the EXACT same way he was. The only good thing about him and his relationship with Ran was the contrast it gave to Hibi, and Hibi's relationship with Ran. Hibi actually liked her. He saw her faults and didn't care. He likes her, as she was, a kid, a coward, immature. He even hated what she pretended and wanted to be, an adult. The asshole on the other hand knew literally nothing about her, except that she was alluring. He didn't even bring out the best in Ran. His unnatural and frankly stupid relationship with Ran brought out the worst, nearly got the world and her entire family killed via forced drama. You can argue that's because she cared that much about him. I'd say that argument is fundamentally flawed, as the relationship itself, as previously mentioned, is nonsensical. And then the obvious. He. Was. An. Asshole. He treated women like objects. He subjected others to petty revenge. He fired a guard for rightly being alarmed at a naked man walking around. Was malicious because he enjoyed it. And finally he treated kids like shit. How a kid could love him is non-sensical. How anyone, fictional or real, could like him, is likely due a little thing I like to call being beyond common sense or logic. This manga should have stuck to SOL. That poorly written drama just left a massive stain on an otherwise perfect manga. If it had to force drama in, I don't know how, it should have done it a different way. I could try and explain more, but this is one of those things that shouldn't need explaining. It's one of the few things in the world that are black and white. I think I hit all the important things. He was a bad character, both quality wise, and personality wise, IE he was poorly written. He was only there to add drama. Everything he touched, turned to shit, relationships, story, etc. The manga would have been better without him. I don't regret reading this, but I do regret what it could have been. This manga could have been a 10. But he ruined it.

Let's get this out of the way first. As someone who read all 51 chapters, would I recommend it to someone? No, please just spare yourself and don't get baited by the beautiful art and other reviews. I know everyone else is entitled to their own opinions but I don't know why else is recommending it to others. So, I will do you all a favor and say you would waste your time. Let me warn you about this character Otaro, he is a pedophile, it was the one of the things that really bothered me and poisoned the whole story. So just beware thatthis does happen and the author doesn't even bother to fix it all and none of the other characters see it as a problem other than the other kid who is the MC's friend, quite absurd really. Another thing that was disturbing to me besides everyone just being bystanders to a child being groomed and m*lested, is the MC's brother. He at some point just did some weird things and led him to an encounter with a woman that pines after him but regardless if she likes him or not, and while some may say consent was there it was just a bit awkward and weird. But that just depends on how you take it personally. Plot: Okay, so the plot has so much potential. Like sooooo much potential. This manga could really be something very valuable, it would have been such a cool coming of age story with a bizarre world of much but all it took was a pedophile to ruin all of that. I don't hold Ran accountable for liking him and accepting his advances because she is a child. She is in her phase of wanting to be a grown up and doesn't really understand why it's wrong. I hold every other adult in this manga accountable, they all just stood by did nothing and accepted it. Completely absurd! It was was very frustrating, and because of that this story just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. The potential was there but it was badly articulated and handled. We could have had a masterpiece but we ended up with a dumpster fire. Issues aside, it was really cool to see a coming of age story of a child wanting to be a grown up but learning that grow up it's a process and a journey, as well as exploring her own magic and finding her purpose. Acting her age and trying to make friends but doesn't know how, it was great. Art: The art is absolutely stunning, that gets a 10 from me. It's very enjoyable and everything is clear. I can't add much more than that because there is nothing to nitpick about it. Characters and World building: Absolutely beautiful. The character designs are wonderful and the world building was amazing, lots of originality that I have never seen before in the genre of fantasy, so I give this a good 8.5 out of 10. All in all, I don't recommend it. If you still want to read it to judge it for yourself, you are more than welcome to but to me I see it as a waste of time and a heartbreak because you will begin to read and realize that you may have found a masterpiece only to see it burn down to flames by the middle of it.

Deeply flawed story with some strikingly redeeming qualities. Whether the flaws are too problematic will depend on the reader. Ran to Haiiro no Sekai is the story of Ran, a 10-year old girl from a family of magic users, who is heir apparent to great power, but just learning to use it, and just as prone to misuse it. It's the execution of said story that gets lost. In reading it, it's not clear the mangaka could decide what the story should be. At its best, it follows the "ordinary" day to day life of its (mostly) very appealing characters. Ran is vibrantand charismatic; seeing her explore her world is a joy, even as her struggles at school and testing her family limits feel real. Indeed, this story has so many great characters, including Jin, Nio, Hibi, Tamao, and many more, each distinct and interesting in their own way. This manga could have been built around Ran's coming-of-age, with plenty of room for its huge cast of characters to get substantial side stories of their own, and it would have been endlessly entertaining and charming. The potential for great character development and stories weaving magic with growing up is here. But that, apparently, wasn't enough. Instead, Ran needed the gimmick of being able inhabit her 20-year old body by putting on a special pair of sneakers, which she does time and time again. There was never a why for this power, although initially, she seemed to use magic better in this form. The only reason this seemed to serve for the story is to allow her to meet Outarou, an adult character who is far too reminiscent of Doumyouji of Hana Yori Dango in his earlier, arrogant days, so he could become infatuated with her this way. Mind you, she doesn't age when she puts on the sneakers. She is merely her 10-year old self in her 20-year old body. For most of the story, he is unaware of this, and although the story initially depicts him taken with her physically, it presents him falling in love with her as time goes by, which to put into perspective, is a 29-year old man falling in love with a 10-year old personality. Something just doesn't sit right there, to put it mildly. So after the charming coming-of-age story and bizarre romance, there now needs to be a world-threatening crisis, requiring the sorcery of their world to combat an invading dark force. Here it ends up being reminiscent of Kekkaishi (even down to the family matriarch being outrageously powerful and often away at work) as all the various supernatural beings and magic users with their own bonds and resentments, band together to fight a common foe. Although some groundwork was laid for this story arc, it still feels jarringly out of place. After this arc resolves, the story meanders back to day-to-day life with a focus on recovery from the crisis, and a rushed ending. Still with me? Either these three disparate story angles were unskillfully wedged together, or I'm just missing the point, but I think it could have done without the pedophilic romance and epic sorcery conflict. At about 50 chapters, Ran to Haiiro no Sekai is not a long manga. To tell all three stories, there was just too little time to develop so many of the terrific characters, many of whom were simply wasted. With that said about the story, the art of Ran demands special mention. It is gorgeous. The mangaka takes old-school retro shoujo art and modernizes it magnificently. The character designs are beautiful, idiosyncratic, and appealing. Stills can be breathtakingly detailed and pretty. Typical scene panels are often simply drawn but are dynamic and expressive. This is one lovely manga to look at. To sum, I have rather mixed feelings about the manga and find it hard to recommend. I consider its story flaws too great to be overcome by the art, characters, and the better parts of the storytelling.

Without a doubt the best and sexiest manga out there. I don't mean sexy in a fan service type of way though. This is a Josei manga in the purest sense, because even though the characters are adults, they maintain the signature Shojo sparkle. But the sparkle has been refined with age, to a point where if you saw the characters in everyday life your eyes would naturally be drawn to them. The whimsy that permeates this world is always there, even at its most serious moments of Drama and Melodrama. The art quality is absolutely phenomenal on every level,such that I could write paragraphs on end about the entire thing. The love that every character feels is portrayed with such grace and charm it is impossible not to feel a warmth in your heart reading this manga. There is no one who could read this and not be affected on some level. I can admit some might feel the relationship between Ran and Outarou is a little uncomfortable. But you have to remember that nothing does actually come of it, and if you think to yourself that adult Ran isn't attractive you are lying. The story does get very serious at points. People are nearly killed, lives are ruined, and the story gets extremely dark. But even then, the magic and wonder never leaves the series. If this is ever made available in America, I am buying as much as I can. Everyone who reads this will absolutely love it.