Ran and the Gray World, Vol. 1

Beautifully drawn, though the overall story/plot is a bit muddled and generally the reader is not totally clued in. Ran is the daughter of a sorceress who must spend most of her time at a village and it is neither identified or explained in this volume why she must spend most of her time there. Ran wants to quickly grow up and be like her mother although she lives with her brother and dad in the big city. She has mysterious sneakers and when she puts them on they let her be in an adult body even though she still has the mind of a young kid. In one her adventures she meets the mysterious Otaro Mikado who might be a wizard or something like it. Again, what he is is not explained in this volume.

The artwork reminds me a lot of Clamp and when they were active in manga. It is beautifully drawn and a great way to roam the world with detail that is not often used in manga these days. I am not sure it makes up for the lack of an explanation of the overall world and generally what is going on. The artwork alone might make me stay for volume 2, but that is not guaranteed.