Manga that go beyond exciting plots and above—average art are hard to find (and I appreciate recommendations). If he suddenly changed his ways because he "fell in love", I might have quit reading. That phenomenon is just so cliche! If you're interested in that sort of development, look for a shoujo manga instead.Outarou's actions are done in affection and elegantly executed. I, for one, am a happy camper.

Maybe it is because i dont quite understand love etc, But this story and that stupid idiotic little girl made me cringe.
Im sure it was supposed to be a tearjerking or some sad happy romance but the end just.... Bah

I don't know what to say. This could have been the best manga I had ever read. The art and imagination is just crazy good. It's just so frikking sad that the mangaka decided to ruin it all with a creepy character that poops all over it.

Sure, being able to read manga or watch anime, requires you to have the ability to ignore alot of crazy stuff... but this time I just couldn't do it.

Seriously, it was turning out to be such a good manga but the fact that Ran kept getting into sexual situations with Outarou was incredibly nauseating. A big age gap (19 years) is honestly no big deal to me. But Ran was EIGHT going on to TEN in the course of their "relationship". It wasn't really Outarou's fault because he didn't know for a while, but that didn't stop him from frenching her even when he did know. BARF. Thank god he is not the main love interest! Hallelujah!! The interesting art, lovable characters (excluding Outarou who just grinds on my nerves) and refreshing magical premise would have been enough to grant this manga an easy 9 or even a 10. However because of the inability to enjoy a large section of it because of the Ran-Outarou pairing, I can't bring myself to give this manga anything higher than an 8. Too bad, so sad. Hopefully it gets better with Ran-Hibi.

I really do love this story, and it's for feel-good reasons that stand out to me more than anything else about it. It is flamboyant, outrageous and unpredictably playful - so much so that its magic is charming, and the characters grow on you with every chapter. Ran is so pure and naive it's not of serious and heartfelt nature. This story speaks of childhood and a love for fantasy, I would hardly call it a "slice-of-life" because it's as far-stretched from that as you can get. Perhaps mild undertones of reality would be appropriate. As far as character development goes, the story focuses more on the strength of character bonds and friendship rather than actual dynamic growth.

... Last updated on August 29th, 2023, 1:18am

+5 and change for art. -5 for making the main character a brainless overpowered child. And no character growth in 4 volumes.
Ran is the youngest child of a sorceress family. In a world filled with the traditional Japanese myths made real, Ran's mother is a powerful sorceress tasked with guarding the door to an unnamed menace.
The world is depicted very vividly and the magical tricks practiced by the main characters are quite imaginative. The problem lies with the focus on the child Ran who seems to be in training to follow in her mother's footsteps. Ran yearns to be an adult so that she will come into her full power. She possesses a pair of sneakers that transform her into a teenage form, along with which comes more magic power or ability to control her power. Predictably, a child is a child and she manages to get into trouble whenever she puts on shoes, including gaining a playboy stalker named Outarou.
Now here the reader will be confused by what the author is trying to go for in this series. While the fantasy elements are very well done, there is not enough focus on them. If it's a coming of age story, sadly, Ran never seems to learn anything or grow as a character. Children can be good protagonists, but this one started off as being self-centered, thoughtless, whiny, and never gets any better. As well, it becomes more and more irritating when the adults continuously indulge her. I feel sorry for Outarou who is no saint but is going to be guilty of pedophilia despite being ignorant of who teenage Ran really is.
Then there is the brother Jin, a sometime wolf that goes into heat and then "falls in love" with the convenient utterly submissive housewife type girl who lets him have his way with her.
So you see, i suspect there is massive wish fulfillment here for the author on the level of Twilight, or editor not doing a good job. Whatever the case, none of the characters seem to have any sort of inner life that gives them life. Their sometimes despicable actions seem to come and go with no consequences because they can be magicked away. What meaning is there left in this work?

For a much better manga that deals with Japanese folklore and magic, try Hyakkiyakkou Shou.

... Last updated on October 15th, 2013, 9:33pm

I usually like manga that teaches you something, but for my own enjoyment I can read light stuff like this. It won't give you moral lessons but rather would give you feels. Though there are erotic moments here and there, it shows women not as source of lust but as source of beauty and life. This crosses with Ran's mother using her powers to create blossoms and birds: it's almost as her powers are coming from her ultra-femimine attitude. I guess that, without telling a word, this manga teaches you the image of naturally attractive female and of female gender role. To know more, just observe Sango, for example. But there are more different images of being woman: being playful, being relaxed, being innocent and kiddish. All kinds of female characters you wont find anywhere else are in this manga. Perfectly drawn in an unusual style which suits it so well!
(This describes the first part of manga, and you be ready to meet something really different after a certain point.)

The character growth...it is there. Who actually said that it should be main character's growth? Ran changes people around her, staying herself at the same time.

The other kind of feel comes later, and it's the feel of human struggling to survive and save own personality and life, to be able to continue to love. But I won't spoil it, though that's the part of story I enjoyed too, in a different way.

... Last updated on January 21st, 2014, 4:44am

I am so much in love with this manga, the art, the characters, the villians, the plot, everything is great.
Just beautifull and Ran-chan is so cute ^^

this series is a lovely fantasy slice-of-life, with gorgeous art, and wonderful characters. Then there's outarou, who actively dislikable: an incredibly strong character, but one whose mishandling could kill the series. As it is this is a top rate story (c19). however, moreso then other series, this could drastically change.

Like everyone else said, it would be a very good slice-of-life fantasy if there isn't a total creep stalking/coming onto Ran in every other chapter. It isn't even really about the age gap (since that can be remedied as long as the manga doesn't let them get together until she grows up or something). No, it's about him being a total creep and all-around horrible person.

Seriously, every chapter with him in it is such a chore and I am more than a bit squicked out by how he acts around her. (I mean, he even thinks she's underage! But does that stop him from always trying to get into her pants? Nope. Talk about a horrible person.)

The only consolation is that the art is fantastic and Jin is the most fun person to read about since, like, ever. Makoto also became enormously cute after his apology.

edit: OK, now that the manga is farther along, I can say with certainty that I do not, in any way, like the inclusion of pedophile stalker. While he does become a better person, he is ultimately given far too much of a free pass for the shit he has done in the past (and the shit he continues to do by coming on to Ran despite her being underage).



The other aspects of the story are still enjoyable, however, and I still really like the mangaka's art and storytelling style. Makoto also continues to impress, and remains my single favorite character to date. I just wish Irie Aki had worked a bit harder at developing stalker-creep too. But I guess it's too late for that now.

... Last updated on December 13th, 2013, 4:10am