Carried by the Wind: Tsukikage Ran

Carried by the Wind: Tsukikage Ran
DVD Cover of Bandai's Vol. 4
風まかせ月影蘭 (Kazemakase Tsukikage Ran)
Genre	Chanbara, Comedy-drama
Anime television series
Directed by	Akitaro Daichi
Written by	Akitaro Daichi
Music by	Toshihiko Sahashi
Studio	Madhouse
Licensed by	US Bandai Entertainment
Original network	WOWOW, Animax
Original run	January 26, 2000 – April 19, 2000
Episodes	13

Carried by the Wind: Tsukikage Ran (風まかせ月影蘭, Kazemakase Tsukikage Ran^?, lit. Wind-borne Moon-lit Ran) is an animated action comedy written and directed by Akitaro Daichi, and produced by Madhouse Studios. The television series follows Ran and Meow, two wanderers who face all sorts of antagonists in Tokugawa Japan.

The series started airing on WOWOW. Afterwards, it aired as Ran, The Samurai Girl on Animax Latin America and Animax Asia, which also broadcast Bandai's dub across Southeast Asia and South Asia. The series is licensed in North America by Bandai Entertainment.

Tsukikage Ran comprises thirteen self-contained stories. The series follows characters Ran and Meow into a new town, where they encounter some kind of wrongdoing. Every episode climaxes with a sword fight featuring the protagonist, sometimes aided by Meow's martial arts prowess.

Tsukikage Ran is inspired by chanbara series like 1965's Su-ronin Tsukikage Hyogo. While it remains faithful to the genre, it is infused with Akitaro Daichi's distinctive style. The episodes were scripted by first thinking of a title and writing a plot about it. As many ideas were not used, director Daichi notes an unproduced episode where the protagonists "fight over udon or soba" noodles.