Kazemakase Tsukikage Ran

It was a good show more or less, but it had so much more potential that wasn't realized. No backstory on where Ran came from, no real underlying message or conflict either. It's like an unfinished version of Samurai Champloo when it comes to wandering, penniless ronin and chance encounters while walking across the countryside.

Then again, the lack of blood and more adult themes in this show probably indicates it wasn't meant for a mature audience and so the sophistication of the plot likely wasn't a priority.

The art, sound, and character development all felt like it came straight of Rurouni Kenshin given the time ... it was made, so it's at least pretty decent. I'd only watch it when I have nothing else to watch though.

風まかせ月影蘭 - Kazemakase Tsukikage Ran is a light-hearted samurai series in the style of a Jidai-geki, whose main objective, besides the depiction of a beautiful historical setting, is entertainment. The comedy is refreshingly simple or better, not exaggerated and therefore convincing. A series that, despite its low popularity, is worth a sneak peek.

Story: simple, but on the other hand it doesn't try to be more than it actually is (7/10)
The simple main story revolves around the two main characters Ran and Meow, their random encounter and how a really good friendship develops through the shared adventures. One could argue that a day by day slice ... of life plot is not the most exciting, aside the missing of originality as well an sophisticated storytelling. Even though this isn't entirely wrong, the series is still a lot of fun. The idea that strong women, even though they were born in patriarchal times, still assert themselves, is beautifully implemented in this anime. A relaxed samurai lady and a martial artist roam together through the beautiful landscape and experience adventures in the Edo period. Even if this idea is more or less philosophical, it contains a slight reference to parody. And it is also often used in later anime, for example in "Oda Nobuna no Yabō", which is also a pretty good anime by the way. But if you are looking for a historically correct anime, with good character depiction and excellent visuals, to be honest, then Kazemakase Tsukikage Ran will not convince and you should skip it.

Characters: The two main characters are also the main force of the cast (7/10)
Due to the episodic structure of the series, the secondary characters appear in only one episode. The characters are usually described sufficiently so that they fulfill their roles well in the plot. But you shouldn't expect great depth and background story.
A few of the minor characters are nevertheless interesting and therefore briefly described as well.
Tsukikage Ran:
Ran is an attractive woman, but she also has some of the attitudes of a ronin. She goes wherever she wants and is almost always broke. Only thanks to her Katana skills and Meow's generosity that she can avoid getting into trouble, by skipping out on the bill. She loves drinking Sake. Besides her calm nature, Ran has a sharp tongue and is blessed with wisdom. She cares for people in need, even if she doesn't want to interfere, but with the sentence "that's not excusable" she makes it clear that the current situation makes her angry as well as disturbs her sense of justice. And then her Katana speaks for her. Interesting and somewhat unusual is her handling of the sword, she always uses it with one hand. That's interesting, because the sword could be a Tachi because of its length, but it's not so strongly curved and moreover Ran carries it, with the edge up, on the belt. In this context a Uchigatana should be considered. This could be supported by the fact that Ran uses the sword with one hand. But the sword in the anime is a bit too long for a Uchigatana. The Uchigatana was used as a second sword because of the shorter edge, especially for fighting in a smaller space. Considering the time, the Edo period 1603 - 1868, it is probably a Katana. This describes Ran's individual character very well that she carries a two-handed sword, and use it only with one hand. I'm sorry for this little digression, I got a little carried away.
Meow:
She takes over most of the comedy and it makes me laugh, although comedy is not usually my cup of tea. Meow is a Chinese martial artist who can defend herself quite well with her Iron Cat Fist style. She is kindhearted, quite bold and also a bit gullible. So she is always drawn into the affairs of others, intentionally or not. The friendship between the two women is quite interesting. It's clear that Ran, takes advantage of Meow again and again but on the other hand, Ran respects Meow also for friendliness and determination to help, so that she also stands by Meow when she's in trouble. Normally, I find the impulsive character of the comedy-ninja, who always gets into something by chance, rather annoying. But here I can laugh about it. That's because the balance between comedy and characterization has been handled well here. Meow's character wasn't ridiculed in favor of comedy, as is unfortunately often the case with many of the later anime.
Minor characters:
Mei:
She is a childhood friend of Meow and was put on the wrong track by the death of her parents and, became an opium dealer. The fact that the two former friends meet again under these circumstances can only end tragically and Episode 9 offers exactly that. Although the episode is a bit theatrical, it is both touching and like a fresh breeze, as episodes 5 through 8 lack a little drive.
Stephanie:
She is, as the name already suggests, a European foreigner who has a very strong interest in the Japanese culture and especially would like to be trained in the use of the sword. Her portrayal, with the imposing appearance and the slightly unrealistic ideas about Japanese culture, underlines the parody character of the series. Nevertheless, a balance was found in her role as well, because apart from amusement, she is the only one who succeeds with her strength to confront Ran as a very serious opponent.

Visuals: Art somewhat simple, but fight choreography well done (7/10)
The production qualities of art and animation are somewhat simple for a Madhouse production. The character design of Watanabe Hajime does a good job of making the main characters attractive, but criticism can be addressed to a large part of the supporting characters, which look rather generic and simple. To be honest, I'm fine with that. A deep and complex colours scheme would only feel a little awkward next to the simple narrative. The simplicity of the colours and shadows goes well with the amusement offered by Meow's hyperactive comedy and Ran's carefree-coolness. Apart from the fact that the art is simple, it's still done right, like the play of light and shadow. On the other hand, in my opinion, a very pleasant aspect with regard to the art department is the complete absence of fan service. Some may miss it, but this way it definitely fits in well with the overall picture.
The animation furthermore offers choreographically very nicely animated fight scenes. The fighting style of Ran with its excellent sword maneuvers represents very clearly and precisely the techniques of Kenjutsu from which the modern forms of Iaidō and Kendō developed.

Music: funny but generic, yet with some nice musical accents (6/10)
The BGM was composed by Sahashi, Toshihiko and consists mainly of historically interpreted pieces of music played on the corresponding traditional instruments. However, there are also some jazz-like pieces that seem a bit out of place in a show that tries to capture the nostalgia of an old samurai drama. But if you consider it as a parody, it fits well into the overall picture.
The OP "Leave it to the wind" is sung by Akemi Misawa as an Enka. Enka is a musical genre that is almost exclusively produced in Japan and is basically most comperable to traditional folk music. Akemi-san is a well-known and popular Japanese Enka singer and actress. As so often, the lyrics are about loneliness, longing and of course Sake. That's why the song in the opening credits sounds so authentic and fits perfectly to an anime in the style of a "Jidai-geki".
The ED "Leave it to the wind 2" sung by Yasuhara, Reiko is more contemporary. The soft voice and the sound of a banjo make the song a catchy tune.
The dubbing actors did a good job to give the characters an appropriate voice. Besides the main roles of Yasuhara, Reiko as Tsukikage Ran and Okamura, Akemi as Meow, I also liked the voice of Fuchizaki, Yuriko as Sakura very much. Unfortunately, both the lip synchronization and some of the sound effects are not always convincing.

In short, Kazemakase Tsukikage Ran is really entertaining and offers fun. If you're looking for a samurai anime that isn't exaggerated and yet entertaining, then you've come to the right place.

Thanks for reading and have fun watching.

Recommendation: A samurai adventure slice of life series. Enjoyable if you like period pieces set in feudal Japan, but otherwise skippable.

Positives:

+ The wandering samurai structure lends itself well to the episodic format. There is no overarching story, and each episode is self contained, so it can even be watched out of order after episode 1 with no loss of comprehension.

+ Grounded in a way that anime usually isn't. There are no pink haired lolis with magical swords or anything of the sort here, it's relatively realistic and restrained.

+ Artwork, music, costuming and character design are all very evocative of the setting and time period. It ... makes it feel like you're there. The OP is excellent and fits well thematically too.

+ Ran is a really fun character and makes for a great co-protagonist.

Negatives:

- On the other hand, Meow, the show's other co-protagonist, is punishingly annoying and nearly singlehandedly ruins the show. Meow's idiocy is so over the top that I actually started getting mad at her at points. The idea behind the odd couple pairing with her and Ran is good enough on paper, but she should have been dialed back 3 or 4 notches.

- Episodes tend to have highly formulaic setups, where Ran and Meow enter a city, get attacked by the townspeople who mistake them for villains, and then beg them for their help when they're defeated. At least half the episodes follow this pattern and it becomes a bit predictable and boring after you've seen a few.

- Action is overly sanitized. There is virtually no blood even though people are regularly getting killed with swords. It makes it difficult to tell when characters are dead or have merely been knocked out or disabled and undermines the drama in those scenes.

- Action choreography is hit or miss. Meow's martial arts look cool and well animated, but the swordfighting tends to be too "zoomed in" and it's hard to get a sense of what is happening or where people are in relation to other things.

- The drama is much weaker than the comedy, and serious scenes suffer for how closely they're juxtaposed with goofiness. In particular, the episode where Meow meets a childhood friend that has broken bad and started selling drugs is a huge swing and a miss for trying to hang a serious storyline on Meow, the goofball comic relief character of the series.