Ranma ½

I had my doubts about this one because the other recent reboot of a Rumic series, Urusei Yatsura, doesn't cut it since the humor is just too dated. For those too young to remember, Rumiko Takahashi was arguably the first female manga superstar back in the 1980s. There were female mangaka but they had been limited to genres specifically aiming at young women, Rumic was the first to become a mainstream craze (CLAMP came later). She's probably most famous for Inuyasha because it ran forever, Ranma 1/2 was a very successful manga but the anime only ran for two seasons. The story has the light zany characteristics of her work, teenagers trapped in gender-bending complicated romance constellations, but it's the constant action which make the manga - and this series - such a delight. For us older ones, it's a reminder that times back then were a lot less complicated, for the younger ones, enjoy! There is nothing to get mad about in this one.

At this point, I've only watched Episodes 1-4, so please note that.

I've read the first dozen manga, and own every episode of the original release / OAVs / movies. This was one of my first non-TV released animes, ever. This show is a part of my youth, and is one I love to this day. And I will say that the remake is a love letter to it all. Manga, series, OAV and movies.

Are some moments in the original better? Absolutely. Is the animation different and taking time to get used to? No doubt. Was the original one of the only dubs in the 90s (with Tenchi Muyo!) that was as good as the original Japanese? 100%. But this show is really good. They are doing it for a more modern audience, but the humor is the same. The moments hit all the right points (from Ranma running along the walls to Akane constantly lifting large object to slam on his head... the way he carries her as he jumps... the way the arguments go... all of it). The FEEL is the same. It is different, but that doesn't make it bad.

I give it a 9, versus a 10, because, yes, I do prefer the original ("And I'm better built to boot"... way better than the line they used in this one). But that doesn't mean it's bad. Take it from an old head who has been watching this since 1995... give it a tru, and you will love it.

Remakes have never been seen with good eyes.

After all, there is a large legion of fans who do not like certain things being changed about their favorite characters, those with whom we grew up.

Luckily, in recent times, we have seen some new versions that are quite up to par with the previous ones: "Rurouni Kenshin", "Trigun", "Dororo", further away in time "Hunter x Hunter" and "Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood".

In this last item appears the new version of "Ranma" that back in the late 80s and early 90s many people loved.

Animated by MAPPA, which is always a guarantee of quality and labor exploitation, we have an anime much more faithful to the manga than its predecessor.

Less focused on fanservice and gratuitously showing bodies, this adaptation focuses more on comedy and the relationship between Ranma and Akane with all their adventures and misadventures.

The usual supporting characters like Ryoga and Shampoo, plus new ones that didn't appear previously.

A catchy opening and a decent ending, with animation that is very up to par.

I think it ends up being a pleasant surprise this year and a good path to follow for other adaptations.

Recommended for lovers of light and fluid plots without the usual annoying love triangles.

This is a childhood favorite of mine. I am lucky to understand Japanese and watch it in Japanese so to hear the original actors voices again has me feeling very nostalgic. The animation choice for the fight scene was interesting and the sound effect in Japanese on the screen like the manga was also interesting. It took me a second to get used to it. I am bummed they didn't keep Ranmas girl hair bright red. But I'm excited to watch the rest. I kept pulling up the original episode to compare and I think they did really well. I hope they are able to re do every episode and not just the 12 that they have planned.

Everything is more faithful to the manga since the facial expressions, the fighting scenes are great, they did put an effort on it , there are a lot NOT real fans of Ranma who complained about the censorship (the manga wasn't about that) or colors of the hair of Ranma when is a girl ...but in the manga it wasn't a fact about that her hair color was red, Rumiko wasn't happy with the first Ranma 90's (for me was good) but it did have a lot of episodes that wasn't relevant to the real history, and never developed the essence of main couple romance. Support this anime, it's doing things right, we will LOVE the real finale of RUMIKO story and not the rushed ending they gave us in the 90s.