Watching "Telepathy Shoujo Ran" makes me feel like the late 1990s

So, I got the chance to get a very poor low resolution version of Telepathy Shoujo Ran. Some people who have a personal encounter with me knows that I can tolerate a series without much graphical excellence. In fact, some series with great graphics has never caught my attention: Real Drive being one of the prime examples.

So, just in case if you are still wondering what in the world is this show, it is actually one of the newest releases for the summer season. The new anime season has arrived, and one of the early offerings is out. Is it good or a total sham?

Episode summary

Ran is an average secondary school first year student, or so you think. She started to hear voices that something will be starting, but she passed it off as a hallucination. At night in an office, a man was attacked by two bloodshot eyed dogs and one of the dogs even breathed fire. The next morning was a Sunday.

It seemed that Ran has the ability for telepathy (duh!), as she speaks to her two cats. Ran’s mother is also some creative comedy character that thought of some random idea about a killing during a comedy show. On the news, a man jumped to his death on the 15th floor, as Ran once again heard that voice.

Ran is going to meet Rui. Ran is going to join Rui for drawing, since he is in the art club. On the streets, Ran once again heard that intimidating voice, and Rui was worried for her. Rui had always worried about Ran since young. Ran thought it is merely a hallucination but that voice affirmed that it is real and tried to hurt Rumi. Ran found that girl who seemed to be talking to her, but that girl disappeared among the crowd in the traffic junction.

There is also a short flashback about Midori, that mysterious girl. She seems to be hated by her parents for her ability to read minds. On Monday, Ran was late for school and met Sayako (her classmate) there. It turns that Midori is coming as a transfer student. Midori immediately taunts Ran, and uses her psychic powers to cause Ran’s stationary to fly around.

Midori says that she is going to hurt Rui, as Ran uses her own power to cause her classmate’s stationary to fly toward Midori. Eventually, Ran was provoked into causing a rainstorm, but Rui calmed her down. Ran gave Midori a slap and warned her about her actions.

Should you watch this

Let’s start with the music first: awesome. I like the feel of both the OP and ED, particularly Chara’s rendition of the song. I found that it is rather catchy without going into teeny pop. Teeny pop, due to my rather mature age, generally grains on my ear quite a bit. That is why songs from ICHIKO literally kills my ears. It does not have anything to do with music in this anime series. That said, I am never a major musically inclined blogger, so do not expect too much analysis about this. You can ask Extrange, or even Calawain if they are going to watch this episode.

Nonetheless, viewing Telepathy Shoujo Ran gave me a really ambivalent feeling. On one hand, it has graphics that resembles those of the late 1990s and early 2000s. It does have lush backdrops for an environment, with simple graphics for the characters.

Think of the graphics as a slightly poor man’s version of Dennou Coil. It feels really old school, and I find that a little hard to accept since I am rather superficial. I do not mind a good story with average graphics, but the show makes it a borderline case for appeal unless the story will be rather magnificent.

For that, I am not too sure as yet. It’s always hard to tell whether the graphics will go down even more, considering that it is not very high in the first place. TMS entertainment is pretty old school animation, and it is also the same company that animated Itazura no Kiss. Hence, any expectations that the graphics will improve will be squashed. However, I must say that there are no glaring problems with character designs or graphics at any point in my viewing.

One positive thing about Telepathy Shoujo Ran are definitely the characters. Ran is an energetic girl who is somewhat clear about her powers. I am rather sick of the “OH MY GOSH, I HAVE POWERS EVEN THOUGH I MANIFEST SO MUCH AND I AM CLUELESS (caps for cruise control, yes sire~)” plot for many of these mahou shoujo, if I am forced to generalize.

The mannerisms of Ran reminds me of Duck in Princess Tutu, sensitive yet openly admiring and energetic toward life. Rui is the typical gentle and stoic male partner for the female lead, and it somehow reminds me of the relationship between Duck and Mytho in Princess Tutu. Midori is the antagonistic character just like Rue (rather high handed, posh and pretty). Whether this description is true or not, I do feel that connection in terms of character dynamics.

So, the bottom line. Are you going to watch? If you like the general fanservice show like Ikkoutousen (which I consider to be a total disgrace of a show, no matter how much you tell me it rocks big time), this is out of your arena. It’s an acquired taste by any long shot, and it should be watched by audiences who do not mind a rather drama/slice of life series not unlike Kamichu. I am still very unsure whether it will deliver or not just like Kamichu, but it has some potential that requires a few episodes to give a proper verdict.