600https://i.ur.com/iCozRQN.jpeg Ran the Peerless Beauty was recommended to me by a friend. As Im more of a shonen fan I usually dont go into shojo manga with high expectations. To me its more of a way to get my mind away from fights and power systems. Safe to say this series pleasantly surprised me It starts out the way every love story starts. One fateful day they meet And then instead of 10 chapters of will they wont they they go on dates. Their dates made me remember a line from Kaguya Sama They begin relationships by dating as a trial period. I thoroughly appreciated this approach it made them falling in love feel natural. 620https://i.ur.com/4Cy00sg.jpeg The whole idea of incorporating flower words into the story was genius. It ties to our male lead and if you know the female gaze you know girls will fall for that. Im sure that if someone as knowledgeable about flowers as Akira reads the series theyll have an even more awesome time than I did. The flowers also give the series a really gentle atmosphere and I dont know if its intentional but it also represents Akira and Rans relationship. Akira and Ran do fight throughout the series. And then in 4 pages they get it resolved. Shojo manga are guilty of making problems bigger than they are so such great communication was refreshing to see. Ran runs away because shes upset? Hell just ask her tomorrow and shell explain. Their relationship is casual realistic. Even if they love each other to the moon and back it never comes off as obsessive. Ran can have male friends and Akira can hang out with his female childhood friend. This doesnt change the love they have for one another. Unprofessional note here they were so cute I had a giant grin on my face the whole time I liked how many cliches the author Ammitsu avoided. Akiras mom didnt die for drama. Yes the childhood best friend Nanami had a crush on Akira and attempted to steal him but she was never an asshole to Ran. And when she got rejected she just accepted it and moved on. As any normal person would. Every character in Ran the Peerless beauty felt even a tiny bit real. Still guilty of cliche character archetypes but it wasnt the only thing they had going for them. Rans character arc especially will hit close to home for people. Drowning yourself in work/academics is the most common way to avoid the world. Akira opening up about his love for flowers also felt sweet even if weve seen characters with similar stories a dozen times. I wish we had seen more of the friend group especially Inoue. Im a big fan of the tomboy tsundere so I was a bit disappointed she couldnt get more moments. 450https://i.ur.com/EuMAnUu.jpeg I talked about the gentle atmosphere and Ammitsus art really adds to that. Its almost like the characters are weightless. Akira is drawn particularly well. His expression is always full of adoration for flowers and Ran. Combined with nice paneling/layout its a great experience. Id recommend this series just for the art alone. Ran the Peerless Beauty filled me with love. Its a series I couldnt get enough of just like when you enter a flower shop and cant get enough of the flowers. Just like flowers it was calming and beautiful. Im certain Ill be coming back again again to it.