Deeply flawed story with some strikingly redeeming qualities. Whether the flaws are too problematic will depend on the reader.

Ran to Haiiro no Sekai is the story of Ran, a 10-year old girl from a family of magic users, who is heir apparent to great power, but just learning to use it, and just as prone to misuse it.

It's the execution of said story that gets lost. In reading it, it's not clear the mangaka could decide what the story should be. At its best, it follows the "ordinary" day to day life of its (mostly) very appealing characters. Ran is vibrant and charismatic; seeing her explore her world is a joy, even as her struggles at school and testing her family limits feel real. Indeed, this story has so many great characters, including Jin, Nio, Hibi, Tamao, and many more, each distinct and interesting in their own way. This manga could have been built around Ran's coming-of-age, with plenty of room for its huge cast of characters to get substantial side stories of their own, and it would have been endlessly entertaining and charming. The potential for great character development and stories weaving magic with growing up is here.

But that, apparently, wasn't enough. Instead, Ran needed the gimmick of being able inhabit her 20-year old body by putting on a special pair of sneakers, which she does time and time again. There was never a why for this power, although initially, she seemed to use magic better in this form. The only reason this seemed to serve for the story is to allow her to meet Outarou, an adult character who is far too reminiscent of Doumyouji of Hana Yori Dango in his earlier, arrogant days, so he could become infatuated with her this way. Mind you, she doesn't age when she puts on the sneakers. She is merely her 10-year old self in her 20-year old body. For most of the story, he is unaware of this, and although the story initially depicts him taken with her physically, it presents him falling in love with her as time goes by, which to put into perspective, is a 29-year old man falling in love with a 10-year old personality. Something just doesn't sit right there, to put it mildly.

So after the charming coming-of-age story and bizarre romance, there now needs to be a world-threatening crisis, requiring the sorcery of their world to combat an invading dark force. Here it ends up being reminiscent of Kekkaishi (even down to the family matriarch being outrageously powerful and often away at work) as all the various supernatural beings and magic users with their own bonds and resentments, band together to fight a common foe. Although some groundwork was laid for this story arc, it still feels jarringly out of place. After this arc resolves, the story meanders back to day-to-day life with a focus on recovery from the crisis, and a rushed ending.

Still with me?

Either these three disparate story angles were unskillfully wedged together, or I'm just missing the point, but I think it could have done without the pedophilic romance and epic sorcery conflict. At about 50 chapters, Ran to Haiiro no Sekai is not a long manga. To tell all three stories, there was just too little time to develop so many of the terrific characters, many of whom were simply wasted.

With that said about the story, the art of Ran demands special mention. It is gorgeous. The mangaka takes old-school retro shoujo art and modernizes it magnificently. The character designs are beautiful, idiosyncratic, and appealing. Stills can be breathtakingly detailed and pretty. Typical scene panels are often simply drawn but are dynamic and expressive. This is one lovely manga to look at.

To sum, I have rather mixed feelings about the manga and find it hard to recommend. I consider its story flaws too great to be overcome by the art, characters, and the better parts of the storytelling.