乱と灰色の世界

RAN AND THE GRAY WORLD

MANGA

STATUS
COMPLETE
VOLUMES
7
RELEASE
April 15, 2015
CHAPTERS
52

DESCRIPTION

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!

(Source: VIZ Media)

Note: Includes six extra chapters.

CAST

Ran Uruma
Jin Uruma
Outarou Mikado
Tamao Tachibana
Shizuka Uruma
Makoto Hibi
Sango Sumeragi
Ryouko Tennouji
Zen Uruma
Nio Gekkoin

CHAPTERS

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REVIEWS

NapoJ
70/100
Una breve invitación a un fantástico mundo (reseña en ESP y ENG)
La siguiente reseña está en Español e Inglés (traducida con el apoyo de DeepL)

La versión leída es la traducción al español por Fayesh perteneciente a “Solitario no Fansub”

Este trabajo de la autora Aki Irie, tanto en historia como en arte, es una invitación a un mundo mágico repleto de detalles, imaginación y creatividad. No quiero mencionar los específicos del particular para instar a la lectura, aunque sea su excelente primer capítulo, porque parte de su encanto es leer sin ni idea para sorprenderse por el desenvolvimiento de su universo, especialmente para los fanáticos de la fantasía.

Porque es notable el entusiasmo de Aki en la presentación de su mundo, hay reglas y funcionalidades sin ser rígido, siempre permite la inclusión de la magia, consiguiendo lo creíble en su extravagancia, precisamente la característica de los mejores universos fantásticos. En el pasar de los capítulos aprenderemos más sobre las particularidades de este mundo, y sólo cuando estamos cerca del final conoceremos la mayoría del trasfondo detrás del mismo, es una evolución satisfactoria, trabajada y entretenida.

Respecto a los personajes, cada uno es único y tiene un importante rol para la historia y consigo mismo. Personalidades notables, pequeñas costumbres y manías, junto a la construcción de su relación con los demás, cubierto en una temática principal "madurar". A través de Uruma, Hibi y Outarou, se aborda cada perspectiva, también las historias paralelas tienen relación con el trabajo principal; y en el clímax, se consigue un simple y poderoso mensaje.

El arte es perfecto para el objetivo de la historia. Hermoso cada vez que lo necesita, plasmando sus diferentes características con cuidado y esmero, además de divertidas expresiones en sus personajes. Presente en las fantásticas portadas y cada panel, reforzado por el "correcto" entendimiento del ritmo de Aki, con pasividad cuando la historia lo necesita y frenetismo en las escenas más tensas, junto a la misma composición respecto a su claridad y belleza.

De mayor contrario es la duración, que ciertamente también le beneficia, es decir, su corta duración permite esa compacta experiencia de sorpresas, y a la vez es un universo de semejante potencial que quisiéramos ver más cosas y situaciones en el mismo, especialmente en las experiencias de los personajes secundarios.

Una corta y mágica historia, que podía haber dado para un poquito más aunque lo obtenido sigue siendo una fantástica y envolvente anécdota.

English

This work by author Aki Irie, both in story and art, is an invitation to a magical world full of details, imagination and creativity. I don't want to mention the specifics of the particular to urge reading, even if it is her excellent first chapter, because part of its charm is to read without a clue to be surprised by the unfolding of her universe, especially for fantasy fans.

Because it is remarkable the enthusiasm of Aki in the presentation of his world, there are rules and functionalities without being rigid, always allowing the inclusion of magic, achieving the credible in its extravagance, precisely the characteristic of the best fantasy universes. In the passing of the chapters we will learn more about the particularities of this world, and only when we are near the end we will know most of the background behind it, it is a satisfactory evolution, worked and entertaining.

Regarding the characters, each one is unique and has an important role for the story and himself. Remarkable personalities, little habits and quirks, along with the construction of their relationship with each other, covered in a main theme “maturing”. Through Uruma, Hibi and Outarou, each perspective is addressed, also the side stories are related to the main work; and in the climax, a simple and powerful message is achieved.

The art is perfect for the story's purpose. Beautiful every time it needs it, capturing its different features with care and attention to detail, as well as funny expressions in its characters. Present in the fantastic covers and each panel, reinforced by Aki's “correct” understanding of the rhythm, with passivity when the story needs it and freneticism in the most tense scenes, along with the same composition in its clarity and beauty.

On the other hand, the length of the game, which certainly also benefits it, that is to say, its short duration allows that compact experience of surprises, and at the same time it is a universe of such a potential that we would like to see more things and situations in it, especially in the experiences of the secondary characters.

A short and magical story, which could have given for a little more, although what is obtained is still a fantastic and involving anecdote.

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baba13
70/100
A Magical Story that is Both Enchanting and Deeply Flawed.
Beautiful art (that is simply magical to gaze upon), unique, enchanting, cosy, which all would be potential home runs, being potential favourite, yet there is one major reason why that is simply not the case. Before going into it, I will highlight the positives.

I really liked these shorter and more focused narratives. Where it doesn’t go needlessly long but has a specific theme and story thread it focuses upon. Not too short to build attachment, but neither too long to feel it is overstaying its welcome. It’s an episodic story, a slice of life of Ran’s life as a 10-year-old sorceress, but it also focuses on other characters. It might be my favourite aspect of the story, the lives characters have outside of the protagonist. It does have an overarching narrative and does touch upon the themes of adulthood in a clever way, which is reinforced in the ending and the afterword.

The artwork by Aki Irie is simply elegant. She has such a striking art style that you can’t help but be enraptured by it. It captures that folklore aesthetic and how it’s integrated in the real world. The character work in general is quite nice; I liked Ran, Jin, and her parents, Sango and others. People who have brief introductions but certainly feel like they belong.

Now comes the bad, Outarou. This decision is so baffling; I really don’t understand what the author was thinking concerning this decision. Like I do get the overall goal, the theme she explores with such a deplorable character. Yet, it doesn't really see this as the only avenue; there were much better ways to explore adulthood. The only thing I’m glad about is that he doesn’t do anything too serious to Ran (a kiss is the real extent). Let's just explain how this is wrong on so many levels, bro is already a womaniser and treats women like crap. Then a 10-year-old, who can transform into a busty 16-year-old wearing certain magical shoes, crash-lands in his house, and then he makes creepy advances on what he understands is a 16-year-old girl. Which is already disgusting, but the fact she is 10 years old and, as the story goes along he knows she is 10, which is yuck. Like it’s actual pedophilia, and the worst thing is the manga barely condones it or reprimands his disgusting actions and intention. I truly couldn’t care less about this individual and the author's decision to include this character in what could have been a truly great manga is puzzling. On a side note, a great comparison is Mushoku Tensei. Yeah, people often view that series with some serious bad faith, but the problematic and polarising aspect of that series is important, as the author doesn’t glaze it aside but acknowledges it and explores it. Here the author barely acknowledges it, nor is the character used in an interesting way to justify it. At the very least, you do have a character who does end up loving her, but not because that individual overly sexualizes her.

I was so happy when the dude died in Volume 6 because it means we spent the entire Volume 7 with him dead. Though in general I don’t understand why people in the world liked this asshole. What could have been special and was great in many respects has one giant reason why it won’t end up like that for me. Do I recommend it? Strangely enough, yes, if you like the first volume and can push through Outarou, I will say continue reading it.
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Thebruhhomie
63/100
Wasted potential, but enjoyable nonetheless. (spoilers)
-Ran and the Grey World review.-

Ran and the Grey World is one of the biggest cases of wasted potential that I have read, with a final stretch that left a bad taste in my mouth. And that sucks because this is a pretty short manga.

The manga´s beginning is where it is at its best, because the series thrives as a slice-of-life fantasy story, with a soft magic system whose purpose is to infuse a sense of wonder into the world. And that works pretty well for what, at its core, is a coming-of-age story with Ran causing all sorts of trouble due to her immaturity and through the use of magic. It's a pretty fun stretch with a creative and fun use of magic and some pretty likeable characters.

However, just a few chapters in, the main antagonists of the series get introduced (the bugs), and while they stay in the background of the story for a while, eventually they come into the spotlight for a dozen or so chapters in what´s essentially the climax of the story.

The problem is that they are not the best antagonists, and the series climax feels disappointing for this and many other reasons.

When it comes to the antagonists, the only good thing that this manga has regarding them is some pretty okayish body horror early on; aside from that, they aren´t much of anything really. While you can see the army of crows, beasts, and witches fighting them occasionally while the tension rises in the story, once the bugs get out to attack the city in which Ran lives, in what should be the point of max tension of the story, the events that follow feel extremely rushed and underwhelming; in fact, let me summarize them to you:

-The bugs fly towards the city; the beasts/crows/witches attack them, and some of the bugs die while others continue. The ones that continue are hit with another attack from one of the groups previously mentioned; some of them die, then the rest continue. Rinse and repeat.

-Eventually some reach the city, then Ran's dad literally one-shots them.

-But Ran wanted to save Otaro (a character possessed by the bugs), so she did some stupid crap, and now the bugs are alive despite being one-shotted previously.

-The bugs take on a new humanoid form and kill (it's a bunch of fake deaths, really) one by one, all of Ran's family members (and her).

-Then Ran's love interest happens to save the day despite not having powers in what must be the only two good chapters of this whole arc, and it's revealed that Ran's family wasn't really dead, and then they attack the humanoid insect one by one until he dies.

If you haven´t noticed it yet, the bugs barely pose any real threat to anyone in the story, and they barely do anything of note or destroy anything except for when they “kill” Ran's family, and even that turns out to be all fake, so that leaves these antagonists feeling like a fucking nothingburger that brings no stakes to the table. And keep in mind that all of this happens extremely quickly as well, and this IS THE FINAL CLIMAX OF THE STORY.

It's even worse when you realize that the entire emotional stakes of the final battle rely on the relationship between Ran and Otaro (the character possessed by the bugs), which was feeling repetitive and boring (Otaro not being the most likable character either) way before the final fight.

Also, Ran doesn't address her inner conflicts during or before the fight like how most action stories do; she does it AFTER it. Which, like, okay I wouldn't have a problem with that on its own if we were talking about any other story, but considering that her relationship with Otaro is meh and that the bugs don´t really feel like a big threat, well.... It would be cool if the story addressed her inner conflict during/before the battle to give it weight.

Meanwhile, subplots like Ran's rivalry with the other magical girl/student that seemed like it was going to play a bigger part in the finale (or at least had the potential to be developed further) are completely sidelined and abandoned until the epilogue; in fact, neither she nor her mentor play any part in the final fight.

There are so many weird things about this finale... For example, before the bugs arrive in town there is a chapter that establishes that shit is gonna go down; and also acts as a sort of presentation card with just a quick glance at what it seems will be important (and mysterious and cool) wizards that could participate in the final battle (they end up being Ran´s rival´s mom and a fun con-artist-like character) and then the story only uses them in the epilogue, and is like….WHAT? Why would you establish that this “world-ending threat” is going to arrive in town, then give us a glance at these characters as if they are going to be important (all in the same chapter btw) and then forget about them until the epilogue?????? Who the hell thinks about set-up and payoff this way?????????????

This thing is so bad that I genuinely thought that there was another high-stakes arc coming; like, there was NO WAY THAT THIS WAS THE FINAL FIGHT (this was indeed the final fight).

And we could go further and start asking questions like why was a charm that could make you invisible to the bugs only given to one character instead of to all of them, or we could get into how Ran is literally a god when it comes to her power level in this universe and how that destroys a lot of the stakes, but I don´t want to make this longer than it needs to be.

All in all, this climax is honestly fucking dogshit, and for how much time it was built up (almost since the beginning of the manga), it was a huge letdown.

I wish the series stayed as a slice of life-low physical stakes story throughout all its runtime because honestly, the first couple of chapters and the whole epilogue were pretty good and the few logical inconsistencies when it comes to magic are easy to forgive with the comical tone and lower stakes (not when it gets serious like in that final battle though..). Also, the story should have been more character-focused instead of trying to tackle this world-ending nonsense that the author clearly has no idea how to write, because on the other hand, she does know how to write romance and character drama.

As I said in the beginning it had a lot of potential, in this case to be a fun, honestly longer running, slice of life-comedy-romance-coming of age-fantasy story. But it had to fuck it up.

Art-wise, you only need to look at any manga panel online. It's really pretty. And the first few volume covers show how creative the author's compositions can be, which applies to some of the panelling as well.

I might have been negative throughout this whole review, but unlike other cases (like Shaman King), this isn´t a total disaster. The character stuff and romance at the end, as well as the reflections on growing up and whatnot, are actually compelling, and up until volume 4-5 it's a pretty good story; it's just that the climax in volume 6 (and part of 5) leaves a permanent bitter taste in your mouth, especially if you realize just how much better it could have been and how weird many of the choices made in/and towards that finale are.

Bye bye.

Thanks for reading.
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