Note: At the time of my initial review, there was about 11 chapters released. I understand that MUCH has changed within that time, and I have made necessary adjustments. I hope that this review is much more faithful and reflects what Ran To Haiiro No Sekai has become.

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Ran To Haiiro No Sekai is hands down probably the best manga in a long, long time. If that's all you needed to hear, then close MAL and go read it.

I think this is a little redundant to say (as the title translates to Ran and the Ashen World), but this is a story about Ran. It is about the many adventures of this very charming little girl who kinda just wants to grow up. And although it does have the fantasy tag, it is not a fantasy story. It also has the supernatural tag, but I can guarantee it's not that kind of story either.

This manga is about Ran, and this is a story of her growing up.

First and foremost: this manga just FEELS good. It's refreshing, magical, and just gives you a good feeling. After chapter one, I can guarantee that it will just feel remarkable -- I promise. The mangaka is very maticulate, keeping a keen eye on the level of intensity, it's atmosphere, the emotions... always making sure that it feels intangible and whimsical. It's very nicely planned, leaving some things unexplained for a while only to increase shock value, or maybe letting the readers know something that the characters do not, and sometimes he just prioritizes the order of events just to give us readers the best experience.

But despite how intangible and airy this manga may seem at first, it's pretty smart at being effective and memorable. Many things are hinted at (so that you understand something) without actually facing any topics head on. For example, in the beginning, it was immediately understood that Sango had a crush on Ran's brother (and not only does that develop, but it has become very important). This is something rarely done in manga, and I believe only the best mangaka are able to pull this off.

I mean, you always get the FEELING you understand what's going on, even though there's never a formal introduction.

The characters, too, are superb, and within the last 40 chapters or so, they all have been expanded greatly on. At first, it may seem like there are an abundant amount of stock characters, however, that idea pulls a whole 180 and begins to develop even the one’s we've seen little of. There are even some scenes just put in there for the sake of the character development. Extremely impressive, and even more so once you factor in the part where there’s currently only five or so volumes.

And the art is something I must touch upon, although I usually do not consider this part of my scoring. Just like the pacing and narration, it feels just so, so different. It's beautiful, but, it too feels whimsical and airy and magical. I don't want to touch too much on this (I mean, how many different ways can you try and describe someone else's art?) but there is no way to dislike it.

In my original review, I said it was a "great manga, with even greater potential". I still stand by this, but I am so glad I called that early on. It has become so popular in such a small amount of time -- for sure it has become the "next best thing". And like I said in my earlier review, Ran often gets herself in some undesirable situations for her age, but the mangaka has already recognized these problems and fixed it (how cool is that?). I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that it is a well-rounded, top tier manga, and because of the combined efforts of storytelling, characterization, enjoyment, and art, it will be wholly deserving of 9.0 / 10.0. I beg you to just try it out.

You see, Ran To Haiiro No Sekai is a breath of FRESH AIR.
Put down your battle Shounen Jump and pick this up.

★★★★★★★★★☆
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.