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This cable series by director Akitaro Daichi lacks the charm of his previous effort, Jubei-chan the Ninja Girl. Ran is a woman ronin, or masterless samurai, wandering through Tokugawa Japan and getting into scrapes with martial artist Lady Meow of the Iron Fist. They're not an especially prepossessing pair. There's nothing feminine in Ran's design or in the animation of the character; the audience accepts her as a woman only because they're told she is. Although she lacks cat's ears, Meow recalls Merle in Escaflowne, Azuma in Pilot Candidate, and other childish, feline girls. Ran and Meow live to drink sake and are perennially broke, so they're often in trouble with innkeepers. Ran wields her sword with deadly accuracy in battles with crudely drawn thugs, crooked village bosses, and other standard-issue foes, but Daichi never shows any blood. Rated 13 Up: Violence, profanity, brief nudity, alcohol and tobacco use. --Charles Solomon
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