Ran is a 4th grader with a magical family that is too overprotective to the mind of this young sorceress, especially since her mom doesn't spend near the time with her that she'd like. She has a magical pair of sneakers that transforms her little body into that of a grown young woman so why not use them to go one adventures?! Well Ran sure tests her older brother, Jin, and her father's skills at keeping her safe... especially once she meets rich playboy Otaro Mikado, who takes a liking to the grown Ran...
I’ve loved Ran and the Gray World since volume 1, but there is something special about volume 5... the storytelling has gotten better. It’s more nuanced and flows from character to character more smoothly. The art of course was always here but it’s being used to pull the story together. The visual storytelling even without dialogue keeps us engaged.
And the story has gotten really dire for Ran’s man, Otaro. This bug war he’s at the center of is on! As a child Ran’s family wants to keep her in the dark, and honestly it’s for the best because when she finds outs what’s happening she goes a little berserk. I loved how Nio and Hibi become involved. Ran has a bit of a bromance going on with Nio. And I just love Hibi’s tough love toward Ran. She’s so vulnerable that Hibi just melts my heart while I also understand Ran’s emotions too.
We have crows, foxes, and sorcerers battling the bugs trying to hold back a never ending tide. Ran’s goals make it hard on them. On a side note we get some of Jin’s back history and it’s so fun. Friendship, a puppy and shifting. I loved it. Ran and the Gray World is in danger but Zen, Ran’s Father, is on the job. He does whatever it takes... will he break his daughter’s heart to win the war?!
While everyone else wages an epic battle against the dark magic insect invasion of Earth, Ran races to save the sleazebag accidentally placed at the heart of it. Exciting and fun in spite of the fan service.
The series is at last making progress, getting into the story it had been hinting at all along but in which it didn't seem very invested, since it constantly sidelined it with distractions.
Now that the "important events" are here, however, it still seems to me that the way of tackling them is disperse. The volume is engaging, maybe excluding some pretty superfluous first pages, and everything is drawn with as much notorious detail (I love the sharp lines this author draws with) as usual, but I can't say development feels strong.
Despite the serious and dramatic things that occur here, such as characters dying in battle, the pages don't transmit any of the weight nor relevance they're supposed to have. That's probably because of how the series has been handling itself all along, introducing many characters but hardly ever paying enough attention to any for more than a couple of volumes, and maybe even within those only scarcely (once again, the magic teacher!). Maybe Ran to Haiiro no Sekai hasn't got enough time or patience to deepen into what it presents, and brings out a mix of bits and pieces which give place to this sense of "sketchiness" in the way its plot plays out.
I no longer expect this to be fixed before the series ends, but instead I can say that this volume left me wanting to read the next again. Characters remain quite endearing (those few of whom we see enough) and, of course, it keeps on having the bright lively atmosphere, setting and designs which drew me to reading it in the first place.
Looks like the story finally found some direction and momentum. The bugs are coming for the human world and it will take sorcerers from all over to stop it. Master Zen calls in the reinforcements. Ran and Hibi recklessly try to save Otaro (who honestly, the rest of us were okay with sacrificing, amirite?). Another exceptionally illustrated volume packed with a variety of denizens from the magical mind of Aki Irie. The preview art suggests more dark times area in store for the Uruma family and their friends and allies.
I'm not sure if it's the time gap between volume 4 and 5 but I started to find the storyline confusing... Nevertheless I still love the world that this author has imagined and am looking forward to volume 6!
I'm pretty sure Ran just ruined it. The vessel is still alive and not cleansed... If that's even possible at this point. But I like where things are going with Hibi and Ran. The thing with Otaro was weird.
well this big fight between insects, crows, and white foxes while Ran is looking for Outarou?? that was purely bad. sorry. now don't tell me and the end she'll end up with that ass of him after Makoto said he likes her.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Ran! The cutest, the strongest, and the more powerful little girl -in this manga:) - That's my girl!!!! I'm one hundred pourcent with you! You got it girl~~~
Continuem amb grans dosis de surrealisme i caos narratiu, però almenys tenim acció de la batalla amb una trama una mica més encarada. Sort que només queden dos volums més ^^'
Ran is plotting to try and save Ohtaroh, while her dad/mum is trying to destroy the whole sect and the threat they pose to their hometown. Otherwise, nothing special happened. At the end, Adult!Ran "saved" Ohtaroh from the insects, but he was unconsious. So we don't know if he is the normal self or the evil one when he wakes up. Can't wait for volume 6!
Ran to Haiiro no Sekai by Irie Aki could have been one of my most favorite mangas, if only it hadn’t carried one of the creepiest love interests I have ever come across. Kudos to the manga for adding another annoying character to my currently deficient roster of manga characters I hate the most. Truth be told, I like this manga a lot. It’s a fantasy story about this strange family and the shenanigans some of the family members—mostly the youngest daughter—get themselves into. I found out about it after I finished Gunjou Gakusha, a collection of short stories by the same author that definitely made its way to my list of favorites. Ran to Haiiro no Sekai has this Studio Ghibli vibe going for it, from the art style to the magic and medley of unique characters. While the magic is mostly left unexplained, it feels like it doesn’t need to be. But this is more of a rant and less of a review. While the free-spirited all-powerful mother is interesting to read about and the older brother Jin is adorable trying to be sensible and protective, this piece is not about them. It’s not about the wonderfully brave Hibi who perseveres even in his very human state or Sango, who is deeply besotted with Jin. Nope, it’s not about the characters that make you stay to read this manga. It’s the characters that make you leave—and barf—or both at the same time. I personally didn’t like Ran, the youngest of the brood and also the main character, but I didn’t dislike her either. She’s eight or ten years old, so I have to give her free pass for all the vexatious actions she commits. She’s naïve and gullible, but that’s to be expected. She’s a child. Outarou, on the other hand, is thirty-freaking-years-old. So we first get to meet Outarou as this naked dude casually strolling to his penthouse apartment after a failed rendezvous, I’m assuming. We’re told—and shown—that he’s a rich playboy; and by George, there was “bad news” written all over him from the very beginning. Ran, you see, can transform into a beautiful teenager whenever she wears her special rubber shoes. I hope you can tell where this is going. Spoiler Alert: Ran tries to fly and ends up in Outarou’s garden. Outarou, being the fuckboy that he is, is alerted to her physical attractiveness. She, on the other hand, is only looking for a friend. He gets touchy-feely and perverted, which she doesn’t seem to take notice to. Because newsflash: she’s a kid; and also, she’s the biggest blockhead—as most of the characters remark—you’ll ever meet. You know what? I didn’t think we’d be seeing much of Outarou, or at least, I wasn’t hoping to see him anytime soon. In fact, I was glad when he almost died because his creepiness was downright disturbing. The author, however, decided to keep him for a while; and never have I wanted for a character to just die. I really did love the manga but then there came what I will call the Outarou arc, which I honestly just skipped. Outarou is possessed and Ran stops at nothing to help him, even at the cost of many lives, from what I’ve gathered. They even kissed very deeply just where he was finally dying and I was so grossed out. Judging from the reviews, he even said something along the lines of “I love you even if you’re ten.” E-eh-excuse me? A commenter was so enamored by this confession and even called his love unconditional. You see, where I’m from, we just call it sick. Half of the comments love their relationship while the other hand is just plain sickened. I’ll let you guess which side I’m on. Some say that their age gap isn’t such a bad thing—that in ten years, where she’s twenty and he’s forty, it wouldn’t matter. I would like to argue by saying that, no, she’s not twenty and therefore she’s not legal. He’s an adult and she’s a freaking minor. He’s in a position of power and she’s a child by every sense of the word. Second, even when he found out she’s still actually a kid; he has no qualms making out with her. That’s right—kissing and touching a ten-year-old child. And yet, some people still found this disgusting relationship “romantic.” The thing is, even as a teenager, she’s still remarkably younger than him. But did that stop him from pursuing a teenage girl? Absolutely not. Another matter I’d like to point out is that even if she wasn’t a kid, his actions are problematic AF. He’s a philanderer who doesn’t know how to take “no” for an answer. She constantly tells him not to touch her and he reacts by manipulating her into holding his hand. There’s even a scene where she tries to console him in his dream, obviously wearing her teenage body. Because he can control his dream, Outarou (that sick, twisted piece of shi—) imagines her without clothes, practically stripping her. Even when it’s obvious that she doesn’t want to be stripped. Oh yeah, he also angrily screams, “Ran is mine and she’ll always be mine!” How romantic. Let’s be honest here. If she didn’t look gorgeous as a young woman, would he ever actually go for her? Like her for who she is? The way I see it, it’s 99 percent lust and 1 percent delusion.