You probably shouldn't read it ._. It's a compilation of my "Why I love Ran so much" posts from everywhere, for personal use. Some of it is redundant since those are from different places. Also, it isn't to be taken completely seriously. I'm just an easily impressed, sentimental person who cries over beautiful music or sometimes even pictures; my love for Ran doesn't affect my social life in any way, and it only has a positive impact on my overall life. It doesn't mean I want him to be real, or suffer because he isn't - to me, he is like a work of art that I greatly admire, and this is a blog dedicated to him.
Intro/Ran cured my depression[]
This summer [of 2014], I was pretty depressed. I was tired of my work, I was feeling lonely because I had no likeminded people to talk to about what I was into at that moment, and I was feeling down after my journey to Europe, which always happens after I visit countries where life is better than in mine. So I decided to check out the manga that many people on [the forum] were talking about, Akame ga Kill. I liked the artwork of the images I saw and heard many praising it, and sure enough, found it likable due to epic action scenes and memorable, distinct characters. However, I was unable to pick a favorite character as I seemed to like most of them. I ended up picking one randomly. And then I had a revelation that it was just the thing I lacked in my bleak life. I haven't felt that way for a long time. At that moment, I knew that it was the only cure for my depression, my apathy, and I was able to laugh and cry again. And I even had people to talk about it too, even if they might laugh at me or consider me a lunatic. And thus, my depression passed, I started enjoying my job again, I actually was feeling much happier and my general mood got better. I was inspired to draw and write after a long break. And even though my passion [for the manga] ended as well, I am still grateful that I found such a light among my reality's gloom.
Ran is human[]
Ran (or Run, whatever...) has all of the traits I usually like in characters (dedicated to his goal, good self-control, a bit arrogant, loyal to those he cared about, not too strong but fairly strong-willed, calculative etc), and the things he's done while trying to reach his goals were morally questionable, even though, technically, he wasn't a bad person. Basically, moral ambiguity and actual human flaws and reactions are important for me in a character. We only caught a glimpse of the past that made him the way he was, as well as small hints on how he was feeling back then, but for me, it was enough to shape him into a three-dimensional, actually human character.
Tragedy is beautiful[]
[...]I mostly referred to everything Ran goes through during the Wild Hunt arc. It showed a lot of his personality, both his twisted side when he tortured Champ (and the fact that he was so obsessed with revenge in the first place, just how far he went to get it) and his selfless side as he protected Kurome (he literally shielded her with his body from Champ's explosion). His death (well, undeath) was symbolic in a way since he was killed by Kurome - a child messed up by the Empire - and his main goal was to change the Empire and he did it for the children. His very existence was doomed because he was pursuing the impossible goal. His death was tragic, and I love tragedy. Not to mention that moment when he stands up and fights/flies after being fatally injured, driven by his controversial resolve (both the desires for revenge and to protect Kurome). Really, him standing up to use Divine Wings must be my favorite moment. While reading that for the first time, I was like, "Wow... This guy sure is tougher than he looks". That said, I never thought him being so revenge-obsessed to be a good thing since no person, even Champ, deserves a brutal torture like that. Ran himself referred to it as he was dying. However, I like it when characters are flawed, controversial, have a dark side to their personality, are mentally disturbed (I'm pretty sure Ran was quite traumatized by seeing those kids slaughtered) and do questionable things. It's what makes them interesting, and this is why I love Ran so much.
Ran's psychology is interesting[]
The series never elaborated upon what Ran went through, mentally, after seeing those kids slaughtered. I'm pretty sure he was broken in some way, why else would he pursue Champ so relentlessly and torture him so brutally? And that's what interests me - thinking about a character's psychology, how he was never able to get over it etc.
Reasons to marry Ran (if he were real)[]
Ran wouldn't be a problem: he is nice and well-mannered, he is dedicated and can work hard if his goal requires it, loyal to those he cares about, would likely enjoy cultural stuff (like [...] museums or theaters), is educated (since he worked as a teacher I think we can assume that), good with kids (see him working as a teacher above), pretty strong physically and mentally despite his appearance, plus he could offer transportation (no need for public transport, yay).
Feelings concerning Ran and Champ deal[]
[..]I kind of feel bad for [Champ] since he was specifically written to be hated. What I do like however is that Ran admitted that brutal torture wasn't exactly a good thing to do. It's one of those small things that show what Ran was really like - he might have gotten twisted by his revenge obsession, but he didn't lose his morals completely. I was probably the only one who viewed the torturing scene from the "wow, Ran sure is twisted" perspective, but Ran was even drawn in a "scary" silhouetted way at some point during it.
Extra stuff[]
- Ran's survivor guilt: after he and Wave recovered the injured Kurome, Wave is greatly distraught by her condition and Bols' death. He blames himself, albeit somewhat indirectly, for this. Ran tells him that he understands Wave's feelings "from the bottom of [his] heart". At that point, we don't know of Ran's backstory so it may seem random, however, once we do learn about it, I think it's fair to assume that he was referring to the incident in his past. Finding out that those kids slaughtered while he was away - Ran could have indeed seen himself as the one to blame due to said survivor guilt syndrome. I may be wrong, but I like seeing it this way, as it is a small hint of just how much the incident affected him.
- Ran vs Run: the reason I insist on calling him by his romaji name is the simple force of habit, mostly. However, I also have a strong dislike for the official spelling - it's just awkward; I understand the possible reason for it, it indeed sounds closer to how it's pronounced in Japanese, but in any case, "Ran" is a name I've seen in manga/anime before, while "Run" is, well, an English word which, honestly, doesn't really work as a nickname, let alone given name. Thus, I'm sticking to the romaji for him, though naturally I still use the official spelling in the wiki's main space.
- Ran's anime debut on my birthday: that happened. Usually, I don't celebrate my birthday in any special way - just a dinner/tea/cake with my family, something like that. Last year, however, August 31st had the Jaegers' anime debut - not the first time seeing anime Ran however, since the concept art and the preview showed him. Still, it would have been the first time I'd hear his voice, and I was happy about this coincidence. I told everyone to not disturb me in the evening and tuned in to watch it. Sure enough, I was soon laughing to tears - not only because the Jaegers introduction is funny (not to mention the Theater episode made fun of it as well), but because of pure happiness. I rarely have moments like this in my life, so I treasure every one of them.