Telepathy Shoujo Ran is originally a novel series for children by Asano Atsuko and is eventually converted to manga and an anime. I looked forward to this series since this anime got mysteries in it and have heard it's quite funny. Lets see whether this show can meet my expectations.
Animation=7; The quality of the animations for characters and vehicles etc. in the Telepathy Shoujo Ran anime are fairly basic, yet nothing horrible. There are no high-end 3D CG, although there are some nice scenes with many beautiful computer generated falling sakura blossoms which float in the air; the falling sakura blossoms create a very nice 3 dimensional effect against the 2D background which I very like; they create an unique atmosphere. What I also like are the vivid colors that are used in the anime, e.g. background and clothing etc..
Furthermore, I like the opening video and its design and composition very much; they are very well done, and the creators of the opening have added a kind of filter (some kind of pencil effect and overbrightness at the background) which add a very nice artistic feel to it. The opening in my opinion fits the opening song very well.
As for ED video, it's a scene with Rui (friend of the protagonist Ran) who runs at the beach while passing other all kind of people (parents and children); also the scenery changes from day to dusk which is quite nice. At the end of the ED he meets up with Ran and they watch the dusk together hand in hand. Many anime have similar EDs like this one, so it is not that special, but it does in my opinion fit the atmosphere of the ending song quite well.
Sound=8; I really like some of the background music which is created by using string instruments (mostly acoustic guitar, ukelele or similar instrument), which is very pleasant to listen to. I also like the scenes with Midori playing the violin.
As for the voice-acting, overall the seiyus have done a good job. But one voice stands out more, that of Naha Midori; she hides her Kansai dialect when speaking to other people, but with her new friends like Ran and Rui she (accidently at first) often uses her Kansai dialect. I think switching from speaking "normally" to Kansai-ben is a very difficult task. Also how Midori (voiced by Ueda Kana) talks with her Kansai dialect in a cheeky way adds an unique personality to the character Naha Midori.
The opening song is "Aoi Kakera (青いかけら)" by Chara; at first I do not really like it very much, but after a while the song become quite catchy; now I really like this song. The melody of this song flows quite well and the voice of the singer, Chara, fits the song so well. I even thinks the song would sound quite well in English; ofcourse we need a good English singer and a good English songwriter for this song who make the song flows well in English - it would be a very nice cover in English.
The ED song "Polaris no Namida (ポラリスの涙)" by onso9line is a nice song, but it's not as good as the OP song; in my opinion it lacks variation and sounds alittle monotonous. Despite that it's still a nice ending song and fits the ending video quite well.
Story=7; I think the story is really nicely done. I like how the creators have handled the storytelling, especially how they handle the friendship between Ran and Midori. What I also like is how the story is told about Midori's past and her struggle with her past. Furthermore, I like how the creators of anime has used the antagonist for the development of the story of the anime. The antagonist of the anime is:
Momoko Ohara sensei, who wants to use the Emahi grass with bad intentions, but actually she wants to live her life like she was when she thought she had found a real friend, Yurie who fell of the cliff because of Momoko sensei (episodes 4 - 5) and the story of a grandma, who stays at the hospital (Tome-san), has regretted to call her granddaughter in the past a monster because her special power (mind reading abilities; episode 21); the grand-daughter is Momoko Sensei when she was a little child.
What I do not like is the latter part of the anime (episodes 24 - 26), which feels in my opinion too out of place and abit shallow.
The Great Mother wants to "destroy mankind" by turning people in animals because humans are not to be trusted since the human can't live in harmony with animals and nature; they only destroy them; Ran and Midori try to convince the Great Mother that she can trust humans by "not fighting against her". I don't know what has triggered the Great Mother (at the time as elder woman in kimono) to "destroy mankind". Because the angry man whom she accidentally has dirtied his suit with some ice-cream in the restaurant? The WW II is not enough (the "war" is mentioned in this anime)?
I wish the creators has gone the way like the first part of the anime with the unique mysteries cases for the conclusion.
But the last part of the anime is not entirely a letdown:
the part where the identity of the grand-daughter of the earlier Grandma Tome-san in the hospital is revealed is really nice in the last episode; it give you the feel of "it make sense". The grand-daughter of Tome-san is actually Momoko Ohara sensei. It's good to see that Momoko sensei can reconcile with her grand-mother after such a long time. But again didn't Momoko sensei accidentally kill her friend Yurie in the "Ran, The Flowers Call: From the Darkness of a Whisper" -arc ("Emahi grass"-arc)? This is a show for children, right?
Character=8; although I like the anime Telepathy Shoujo Ran very much, I must say the characters design is quite basic, e.g. the looks of the characters, the clothing etc.. While the characters design is basic, the personalities of the characters are very well done, especially the character Naha Midori. Personally, I think she is an even a deeper character with a more sophisticated background. Therefore, I think, she stands out more than the protagonist, Ran. Also the character development of Midori is much better than that of Ran, because:
Midori did not trust anyone because her bad experience with her mother, when her mother tells her that she's afraid of Midori. That's because Midori can read her mother's mind by touching her. After this her mother called Midori a freak/monster, which was a very painful experience for Midori. Because of this experience Midori never trusts anyone and has gotten a cold personality towards other people. Ran is able to convince Midori not to throw away her life (during the fight with the culprits Midori was thrown off the roof and is barely saved by Ran by catching Midori with her hand; Midori said to Ran to let her go if she is as heavy as Ran said [as an excuse?]; Midori used her legs to pull her self away from the wall and wanted to make herself fall [want to commit suicide?], but Ran used all her power to bring Midori back to the rooftop safely), because not all people will discriminate against her because her special power and Ran says she will become her friend. After this they experience many mystery adventures which are solves by working with each other and by using their psychic power. During the mystery cases they care more and more about each other and in particular episodes they would even cry for each other, because one of them are hurt or injured etc..
I also like the character Ran, but not as much as Midori; her character developments is not as evident as those of Midori. She is a very nice girl (who also daydreams alot) who want to help everyone. I think her kindness is very pure. My concern about her character is that she might be overshadowed by the character Midori who got in my opinion a more unique personality (her cheeky and extravert personality) than Ran,while the title of the anime is "Telepathy Shoujo Ran". While the novel tells that Ran is a perceptive girl, in the anime that is in my opinion not very well executed, e.g. she does not know who the culprit was who caused the attacks in the city (episode 3) while Midori already knew who the culprit is through some research. But again Ran could see things (ghosts and other supernatural phenomena) Midori and Rui could not (although there are cases where Midori could see things Ran could not). Despite this, the two, Ran and Midori have become an unique duo (also a very comedic one).
Value=7; Telepathy Shoujo Ran can partly count as a mystery/detective, so if you know who has "done" it in a particular case, you would not want to re-watch it. But again I would re-watch this anime in a year or two, but not for the mystery solving part, but for the friendship between Ran and Midori, Midori's Kansai-ben, Midori's love at first sight for Ran's brother, Rin.
Enjoyment=8; I really have enjoyed from the Telepathy Shoujo Ran anime; this anime is funny (Ran-Midori duo), exciting (mystery solving). Only the last part of the anime does let me down a bit, but not entirely.
Overall, Telepathy Shoujo Ran is very enjoyable and it certainly is a nice anime with good comedy, despite that the conclusion at the end of the show is not entirely satisfying. If you want to watch a show with mysteries, at the same time want to laugh and do not care about the basic designs/looks of the characters, then Telepathy Shoujo Ran with the Ran and Midori duo is a very good choice.
