Manga Review: Ran and the Gray World, Volume 5, by Aki Irie

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: VIZ Signature (VIZ Media)

Release Date: November 2019

Volumes: 7.

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 4. 6.

 

Goodreads Synopsis:

 

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 the Door destroyed, bugs are an even greater danger than before. The sorceresses build a glass fortress, but it’s only a matter of time before the bugs break through. Meanwhile, Ran tries to protect Otaro from being hunted down, but will she end up jeopardizing the battle against the bugs?

 

Review:

 

There's a lot of people hiding out in the Uruma house, so thankfully they're all magic. There's some debating and hunting, and an impending doom lingering over everyone. About halfway through the volume, though, Ran discovers that Otaru is behind all this, which means that something is wrong with him, and so she has to fight against the clock to find him and get him safe while everyone is out to kill him.

This volume actually got a bit exciting near the end. Ran has been holding a lot of magic inside her up to this point, while still being a kid. It's been a struggle for her to deal with both, and finally some of that starts to come out and she has to face it.

The characters and the story lines are all very odd, but in a unique and interesting way to me. Same as the art—it's unique, but so pretty.

We're left at a pretty good point in this volume, thankfully. But there's still some questions left. While this is my last review volume, I might pick up the rest of the series at some point. This is just such a neat series, I would like to see how it ends.

 

 A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Ran and the Gray World, Volume 4, by Aki Irie

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: VIZ Signature (VIZ Media)

Release Date: August 2019

Volumes: 7.

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 3. 5.

Goodreads Synopsis:

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!

Knowing that Makoto Hibi witnessed her magical transformation, Ran is now desperate to erase his memory. But if she gets her way, she might lose a friend in the process. Later, a powerful sorceress in training named Nio Gekkoin shows up and challenges Ran to a duel! Which novice will emerge the victor in this supernatural showdown?

Review:

Starting this volume, it felt like I'd missed something.

We find Sango is staying at some kind of inn, with her sisters and helping out. Ran is still dealing with the boy from her class who discovered her witchcraft. This leads to her acknowledging she only has one friends, and she would like more, but doesn't know how to approach that.

Ran meets another little witch in this volume, and she's competing with Ran for their mentors attention. She's jealous before even meeting Ran, and while she might seem to have a better hang on her witchcraft than Ran, it quickly becomes clear that they're basically equal, but Ran might have more natural luck with magic whereas she has more knowledge.

When we see Otaro next, we discover that he's under some kind of spell that is doing serious harm to himself and causing some real deadly chaos in the world. It's intriguing to see how this is affecting Otaro, physically and mentally. It also leads to an interesting change in plot, which I'm intrigued by.

There are some major issues with this series—mainly that it stars a middle-schooler, and yet it's very sexualized. But also the artwork is so, so pretty, and I'm actually interested in some of the relationships. I really don't mind reading this one.

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Ran and the Gray World, Volume 3, by Aki Irie

Rating (Out of 5): ~3-3.5

Publisher: VIZ Signature (VIZ Media)

Release Date: May 2019

Volumes: 7.

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 4.

Goodreads Synopsis:

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!

Even as Otaro recovers from his injury, bugs continue to attack him in his dreams. Ran decides to use her powers to save him, but she might not be strong enough to eradicate the bugs… Meanwhile, Jin’s animal instincts take over and send him on the hunt for the right mate. Who will turn out to be his chosen one?

Review:

I didn't pick up the first two volumes of this series, and I was a little wary starting this one. The artwork looks gorgeous, but I've heard some questionable things about the contents, so I was worried.

Jumping into this volume, it took me a minute to figure out who the characters were and how it all worked. In the first chapter, we're thrown into a crazy nightmare in Otaro's head, which Ran invades to try to wake him up, and ends with her being rather naked.

Realizing just how young Ran really is, I was rather put off by this turn of events. From what I can tell, Otaro doesn't know how old Ran really is, but even at her fake age, she's still much younger than him, from what I can tell. Which means their real age difference is a bit horrific.

Aside from that potentially icky relationship, Jin the werewolf brother goes into heat, and thus discovers his attraction to Sango. The start to that chapter is also a bit off, but aside from that, I'm into their relationship. I've got a big weak spot for werewolf/beauty and the beast kind of stories, plus Sango is kind of like a housewife already. I'm sure some people don't like it, but I'm into it. I kind of just want more of their story over Ran's.

I was surprised by how childish and comedic this story was. Given just how magical and detailed and gorgeous the artwork is, I expected it to be more serious. I'm so far iffy on some points and into others, so I'm not sure how I feel overall. I'm curious to read more, though.

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!