A young sorceress transforms into an adult and sets out on magical adventures full of charm and wonder!
Ran Uruma can’t wait to grow up and become a sorceress like her mother, so with the help of a magical pair of sneakers, she transforms into an adult and sets off! Her father and older brother Jin try to keep her home safe, but Ran is determined to advance her powers and have adventures of her own!
With Ran’s powers growing stronger day by day, Grand Sorceress Shizuka decides that it’s time for Ran to begin her sorceress training and sends a master instructor to the human world to look after her. Meanwhile, a deadly insect has escaped from the confines of the Gate and must be destroyed before havoc ensues!
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 really loved Ran and the Gray World vol 2!! The plot of this series is certainly more toward vignettes or short stories rather than a cohesive story arc. I don't mind the slice of life nature of the narrative at all and actually enjoy all the different directions that Ran takes us. Ultimately this is a story about her and her magical family and I think anyone of any age can enjoy it if you enjoy magic. This time we get another love interest for Ran!! YES! (He's more age appropriate...) And Otaro gets a bit of comeuppance hahaha that actually I wouldn't wish on any muggle! And we actually get some of that story arc that i said I was fine being without... I don't actually anticipate it being too regular as it has less to do with Ran and more to do with her parents.
Still I loved learning a whole lot more about Lord Zen, Lady Shizuka and brother Jin. The fact she's been separated from her mother for so long has really effected Ran and we learn that Shizuka has been working on a plan to get back to her. Not that her mother is necessarily a good influence on her!! Hahaha actually Jin is a much better brother than she is a mother and I love seeing his little moments when he does what is right for Ran!! And I loved Hibi and how he really wanted that same thing for Ran...
The art is as gorgeous as ever!! This is my favorite part of Ran and the Gray World vol 2 and wow!! I think her father is so super cool... you didn't really know that he was a leader of a supernatural group and that comes out so beautifully in this volume. Seriously this is my FAVORITE manga art!! I really wish the mangaka would get started on a new series so that I have more to look forward to after Ran and the Gray World is done being translated... The art makes grown up Ran so gorgeous that I admit I kind of liked that version of herself better... but with this volume I really fell for the young Ran who has plenty of time to grow up. Her teacher looks like the more traditional witch and its quite hilarious!
Otaro gets into a sticky situation and I have to admit I wondered if the mangaka was just going to go there and be all bloody thirsty about him because he's such a perv. I was on high alert because of this... as well as our new member to the love triangle... I wondered if Ran would figure him out or not and I loved, loved, loved how he ended up revealing his feelings because he captured her heart quicker that even Otaro ever has (and Ran seems to like him a whole bunch...) Now I have Jin to contend with adding all kinds of tension with this girl situation!!
Ran and the Gray World vol 2 is super fun with fantastic art and a heroine that makes the story whatever the situation may be!! I'm loving the addition of her family into the mix with a stronger storyline for them... This is a world that you ought to jump into STAT! A fascinating seinen manga!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Authenticity ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Tension ⋆ ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Plot ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Art
Thanks to Edelweiss and VIZ Media for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review. It has not influenced my opinions. ______________________ You can find this manga review and many others on my book blog every Monday @ Perspective of a Writer. See my manga and graphic novel reviews at the bottom of the page.
Please like this review if you enjoyed it! *bow* *bow* It helps me out a ton!!
Still has beautiful art. Still has an interesting fantasy world with great supporting characters. Still has an energetic and engaging nine-year-old protagonist. But still uncomfortably sexualizes her when she transforms periodically into an 18-year-old body with fan service art and a lecherous adult suitor who while at least unaware of her mental age is a #metoo nightmare.
Thank goodness for her fourth grade classmate who regrets his previous bullying and is trying to befriend her.
Quello che mi piace più di tutto di Ran sono le tavole morbide e ricche. Alcuni passaggi di questo volume sono un po’ confusi, mi costringevano a tornare indietro a rileggere. Per il resto le atmosfere e i personaggi sono adorabili!
Ran ist wieder mit Otaro zusammen und genießt es Zeit mit ihm zu verbringen. Als sie vor einmal vom Boden abhebt, nimmt die Geschichte ihren Lauf. Währenddessen hat Ran einen kleinen heimlichen Verehrer aus der Schule, der ihr Blumen schickt. Rans Familie ist in Aufruhr, da ein Toteninsekt sein Unwesen treibt. Und endlich beginnt Rans Ausbildung.
Das Cover gefällt mir wieder richtig gut. Ich finde das Cover sehr detailreich und man muss genauer hinsehen, um alles erkennen zu können. Der Zeichenstil ist sehr detailreich und macht die Geschichte so unfassbar greifbar beim Lesen.
Ran ist eine Mittelschülerin, die sich mittels ihrer Sneaker in eine junge Frau verwandelt. Doch nur ihr Aussehen verändert sich. Ihr Charakter mit allen Zügen bleibt gleich, nämlich die eines kleinen Mädchens. Sie hat Flausen im Kopf und bringt ihre Familie an den Rand des Wahnsinns. Sie ist fröhlich und unbedacht.
Bei diesem Band ist ein schönes Miniprint in Postkartengröße dabei. Es ist in demselben Stil wie die Cover. Es gefällt mir sehr gut und ist ein schönes Goodie.
Endlich erfährt man mehr zu Rans Mutter und auch zu ihrem Vater. Es ist zwar immer noch alles sehr mysteriös und undurchsichtig. Aber endlich wird einiges klarer. Ran gefällt mir nach wie vor. Ich liebe ihre Neugierde und ihre Leichtigkeit, mit der sie ihr Leben lebt. Sie fühlt sich sicher, obwohl sie eigentlich in einer gefährlichen Welt lebt.
Ich freue ich schon auf den nächsten Band und bin gespannt wie es mit Ran weitergeht und vor allem möchte ich noch mehr über ihre Familie erfahren, denn sowohl ihre Mutter als auch ihr Vater und Bruder scheinen noch eine große Rolle zu spielen.
Still charming! The storyline gets a little serious, which I wasn't expecting, but it works. Overall this is a very strong series. Still not sure what to make of Otaru's characterization though, and that's what keeps this from getting another star.
I struggle with this series because I don’t like the ultra-sexualization of Ran, the heroine who is actually a little girl who uses magic sneakers to turn into an “adult.” It just rubs me the wrong way.
És una historieta simpàtica amb elements màgics i fantàstics explicats d'una manera força caòtica i amb una bona dosi de cosificació a les dones. Les il·lustracions em semblen precioses i és l'únic que em manté l'interès per ara perquè la trama no té cap rumb clar... Seguirem informant :/
Aftert a slow start, the story is starting to get more interesting and creative. There's great screwball comedy in this volume, but the gratuitous sexiness just makes me want to roll my eyes.
I’ve never simultaneously been so icked with a series and so interested in it at the same time. I’m just gonna pretend a certain character doesn’t exist because I can’t stop reading.
Va mejorando pero todavía hay mucho relleno (y mucho fanservice). Estoy deseando que la trama avance ya que parece que la historia tomará un rumbo más adulto y oscuro. (3,5*)
Aki Irie hat einen bezaubernden Zeichenstil, der es immer wieder auf‘s neue schafft mich zu begeistern. Auch ihr Erzählstil ist speziell. Besonders die magischen Elemente, sie sich durch ihre Werke ziehen sind etwas, das sich sehr mag.
Mit speziell meine ich jedoch, dass die Storyline manchmal ein wenig durcheinander wirkt und sich Ereignisse gern überschlagen. So ist es auch im zweiten Band von ‚Ran und die graue Welt‘ und ich weiß gar nicht mehr so richtig, wo oben und wo unten ist. Allerdings weiß man dadurch auch nie, was im Verlauf der Erzählung alles auf einen wartet.
Genauso überraschend ist oftmals Rans Verhalten. Sie neigt durchaus dazu alles ins Chaos zu stürzen. Aber kein wunder, denn im Grunde ist sie ein Grundschulkind, mit unausgereiften, magischen Fähigkeiten. Ihrer Mutter nacheifernd, wär sie jedoch lieber schon erwachsen. Dieser Wunsch wird vermutlich dadurch verstärkt, dass ihre Sneaker sie äußerlich in eine Erwachsene verwandeln können. Ganz schön was los, in dieser Geschichte, sag ich euch :D. Gleichzeitig kann ich einfach nur betonen, dass Iries Werke vor Kreativität nur so strotzen.
Allerdings gibt es auch eine problematische Situation, die sich bereits am Ende von Band 1 angekündigt hat, jedoch auf Grund übernatürlicher Umstände aktuell nicht weiter vertieft wurde. Es bleibt also spannend, wie der Verlauf in diesem Fall sein wird.
I want more! This is such a great manga! The third volume comes in spring 2013 so I don't have to wait too long! There's a lot of "action" in this volume and more serious and fast paced than the first one, but the art is equally beautiful. Ohtaroh didn't have some much "screen-time", but I'm interesting to see what happened to him after liksektens attack (in swedish) :) But his womanizer skills that we got to witness, I agree with Jin that he is not suited for "litte" Ran, unless he changes afterwords?
After this, I have new couple that I ship; Ran's brother, Jin, and Sango!
The art is gorgeous, the magical world is a ton of fun, and I love the characters but the way it constantly objectifies Ran and shows people wanting to squicks me out 🙃
The art is still gorgeous, but I find Ran pretty irritating. Her complete lack of caution and common sense is too pronounced for a family with such serious secrets and responsibilities. You see in this volume how powerful and respected both her parents are, yet she is basically a loose cannon, a disaster waiting to happen. She’s not a 5 year old that doesn’t know better, she’s young, but not that young. In this volume she merrily reveals her powers in front of Jin’s classmates because she wants snacks, and she’s not even trying to hide it. She can’t even focus enough to warm a cup in front of her without destroying damn near everything in the vicinity. She tells off Hibi for no reason (not that I understand why he likes her to begin with, but whatever). And it’s also disturbing that she’s managed to be close friends with a creepy playboy like Otaro, and really likes him even though there isn’t a lot of basis for that. And now he’s been attacked by some bug and should have died but didn’t...I’m guessing this isn’t going to go well. He saw her float, so he probably has an idea there’s something abnormal about her...
I don’t really understand the transforming either. Like how it fits into this world - she seems to need the shoes, so are they magic? Can’t her family lock up the shoes? What is the point of her being able to transform into an older version of herself?
This is another manga that is heavy on the fan service, which is a little gross when you put it in context of a grade schooler. Like...maybe she can NOT transform until she changes clothes?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Widzicie, świat Ran równie mocno się kocha, co nienawidzi.
Na zawsze chyba pozostaną dla mnie zagadką te mangowe cegły, które trzymają mnie nad przepaścią. Bo z jednej strony nie mogę oderwać się od tej historii. Świat magiczny – w grzyb interesujący. Kreska – niczego sobie. Pomysły – absolutnie niesamowite.
Ale z drugiej wszystko to ością w gardle staje przez to, jak przeerotyzowana jest całość. W każdym tomie pierwsza połowa wywołuje ciary na kręgosłupie, gdy dorosły facet kręci z ośmiolatką w ciele dorosłej, albo jak jej starszy brat wchodzi w tryb "czas na: rozmnażanie". Normalnie ma się ochotę oczy wykoleć. Co jest, kto to przepuścił.
A potem wchodzi drugie dwieście stron, gdzie rozwijamy cały magiczny wszechświat, wprowadzamy elektryzującą fabułę, sceny walki, niesamowite istoty, poznajemy popieprzoną w bardziej pozytywnym sensie rodzinkę Ran. I cholera aż chce się czytać, jako urbanfantastykożerca pierwszej klasy czuję się, jak na uczcie w Walhalli.
Nie oceniam, bo manga ma momenty tak okropnie, jak chwilę potem czarujące. And I am confusion.
El primer tomo, pese al precioso dibujo, no me convenció, pero este me ha enganchado y encandilado de tal manera que no podía dejarlo, y eso que no ocurre nada excepcional.
Por ahora todo son como historias de un solo capítulo que cuentan el día a día de la familia, pero poco a poco te dejan caer cosillas sobre un mal superior que amenaza el mundo, además de mostrarte cómo funciona la magia y cómo la usa la familia Uruma. En este tomo ha hecho aparición el Batallón de Alas Negras, los insectos ultra peligrosos, la necesidad de una bruja tan poderosa como Shizuka para contener algo desconocido... Y todo está recubierto de una cotidianeidad divertida y encantadora que gira alrededor de un personaje tan tierno como Ran.
El dibujo es, de lejos, de lo más increíble que he visto este año. No me explico cómo no hay un anime de esto todavía.
Espero que siga así y vaya hacia arriba a partide aquí.
Más bien un 3.5, pero el dibujo es tan rebonito y la narrativa tan agradable que lo subo a 4.
Las partes de slice of life mágicas de este cómic me encantan y son súper dulces (los padres de Ran cada vez que salen se comen la escena), pero cuando intenta desarrollar la trama la cosa flojea bastante, explicándote cosas importantes o presentando personajes que unas pocas páginas más adelante son totalmente ignorados. Es como si el cómic fuera historias sueltas atadas con hilo.
Por último, tengo la sensación de que mejoraría mucho y me sentiría mucho más cómoda si Ran no fuera una niña que crece hasta volverse adulta, porque en todas sus subtramas "románticas" con adultos mi cabeza está gritando "que es una NIÑA, por el amor del cielo" y, en fin.
A lot of different scenarios appear in this volume, but the fanservice seems so preposterously high in comparison to the first (which already had its share) that about half of the content comes off as irrelevant. The magic teacher promised at the end of volume one is a disappointment so far, and with the new characters introduced the manga has lots of unwrapping to do.
Other than that, it was nice seeing Ran more time as a child and less as a transformed adult. The two short extras and the eleventh chapter (last of the volume) are the ones that showed most of the charms there are to the characters’ personalities, and a deepening in relationships that I hope will increase in the continuations.
This was a lot better than the first volume on the creepiness factor of Otaro. Hopefully with this bug situation getting figured out, this won’t be an issue in the future volumes.
I loved that we are starting to see Ran use more of her powers with her teacher and getting a possible love interest that’s her own age. The animal transformations are still extremely fascinating to me and are what’s really getting me hooked on this series.
I’m going to give this one more volume to see how it goes with my concerns over the creep factor of Otaro liking Ran who’s a little girl. Hopefully, it stops because I like everything else in the series.
I really enjoy the plot and world for this series but I can't help but be disgusted at the gross sexualization of a 4th grader. The moments in this volume where Ran was touched or lusted after by adult characters [regardless of gender] is too nasty. If the author would just take out the unnecessary romance/sexualized Ran stuff then it would be so much more enjoyable.
I love the art and the concept but the pedophilia is just...not sitting well with me. I'm going to read volume 3 since I already have it on hand, but depending on how that one goes I may not bother to finish this series.
This went from creepy, to ecchi, to cute! How... How does Aki Irie make me cringe and smile at the same time—*sminge*! It turns out there were some repercussions of the bug escape from the other side when the great door opened in the last volume. Otaro bugs us all, so it’s only fitting he got stung (and took a full can of cold beverage to the noggin). The boiled plum wine magic lesson was priceless! The back cover is so suggestive... The whole package is drawn spectacularly yet again.
The magical adventure continues! This one expands on the world of magic a bit and we get to see that something ominous is brewing. Ran continues in her daily shenanigans with her "age changing" shoes and the problematic relationship she has with Otaro comes to a head. I liked seeing Ran and her changing relationship with her classmates, especially the one. That was really cute and I like that we're seeing her character develop. I hope the next volume continues to expand this world and that I can continue to root for these characters!
I'm back to talk about the second volume of this series, well the fan service of Ran's adult form kept being disgusting and it kept being worse than before. wdym that man Otarou was still alive even if they took away inside of him that insect?? is he immortal or nah?? i didn't understand. honestly, the little guy, Makoto had a development saying sorry to her for his actions, so I'm not against Makoto with ran at all.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Another solid 3 stars, but true rating of 3.5 stars.
Finally some plot! This one read a lot more like a proper shojo manga. Reminiscent of Shugo Chara and Cardcaptor Sakura, this manga may subvert the magical girl genre, but it's not quite there in this volume.
Otaro is still a creep, but at least other characters call him out on it.
El mundo mágico me gusta mucho pero sigue habiendo algunas cosas que no soporto. Cada vez que aparece Otaro me desespero, no me gusta el personaje y lo asqueroso que es, no lo soporto.
Este tomo introduce algunos elementos mágicos interesantes que me dejan con ganas de seguir leyendo, espero que la relación entre Ran y Otaro tome otros derroteros menos vomitivos.