Anime: Ranma 1/2 Nettou Hen

After the huge success of Urusei Yatsura (I made a review about it as well), mangaka Rumiko Takahashi decided to make an equally queer series, with more focus on action and characters. And the result was Ranma!

ART SECTION: 5/10, SOUND SECTION: 8/10
- Very old style but will stay adorable no matter how many years pass. This series has memorable character figures, distinguishable voices and behaviors, a huge heart-warming variety in backgrounds and humor that still gets to you without needing realism, CG graphics or unbelievable visual effects.
- Most episodes make several image and sound references to very known movies, traditions and myths (of the 80’s and before, that is) making most episodes a parody of every renowned title you can think of. The rest are funny, every day situations, with the characters experiencing new pleasures or taking part in weird games and contests. So, this department has no significance over the real value of the series.
- Production values are rather bad and become much worse as the show goes on but rejecting the series because of the old graphics and sound is NOT an excuse. Jerky movements and more crude graphics make the series less interesting later on but if you got all the way up to the turning point, it means you liked the series and this is not a major problem anymore.

STORY SECTION: 5/10 (6/10 in the manga)
A common trademark of all of Rumiko Takahashi’s works is the stale and unfinished scenarios (although Maison Ikkoku and Inu Yasha are exceptions). The series begins with a story, spends a few episodes introducing the characters and then has really thin continuity. All episodes are divided into stand-alone small story arks and only those introducing recurring characters or another attempt at a given situation can be called to have an on-going scenario. Beyond that, no matter what happens in the end of an ark will have little effect in the beginning of the next. Although there is an evolving story, the series is focusing on humor rather in scenario continuity. Especially, after the third season, the continuity becomes very scarce.
By the way, the manga takes the story far beyond the ending of the series and it is a must if you want to know more.

CHARACTER SECTION: 6/10
A major plus of the series. Almost all characters are hilarious albeit two are the most memorable.

Ranma: A cult figure, Ranma is a young male martial artist. He and his father fell in a cursed pond and now every time they are showered with cold water, he turns into a girl and his father into a panda! He has to hide this fact from everyone and find a cure. If that is not enough, he has been arranged to marry Akane, who doesn’t like men in general. Also, everyday he faces challenging martial artists, other cursed-pond creatures and weird people who are either in love with his male or his female side. He can be seen as the ridicule of the perfect Japanese manly stereotype, as he is supposed to act like a man, even when hiding in a dress.

Akane: A young female martial artist. She can be seen as the ridicule of the perfect Japanese girly stereotype, as she is good in beating people and completely useless at every task any typical housewife can do. She hates men and yet she is arranged to marry the queer Ranma. She is constantly chased by men who want to date her while defending her father’s dojo from challengers, as there are no male descendants to do the job.

The one theme, which stays constant in the series, is the true love between Ranma and Akane, despite their flawed nature. In many episodes they have opportunities to part ways, but always the two come back to each other. Some of the best dramatic moments in the series are in these episodes.

There are half a dozen other beautiful women that circle Ranma from time to time, giving the series a hint of harem anime. The main two are a Chinese noodle martial artist and a cross-dresser girl raised as a boy, who is also aimed to marry him. There are a hundred more secondary characters that spice up the story even more, from the pathetic fathers of the two main heroes, to their hentai martial arts master, to Akane’s day and night different sisters, to Ranma’s animal-based cursed rivals.

To sum it up, most characters are essentially reverse stereotypes of the ideal images of Japanese people. You must be well aware of Japan’s traditions if you want to “get the joke” but even if you are not, they are still very funny most of the time.

The main characters in Ranma are not totally stale as many of them change (not mature; CHANGE) as they interact with several secondary characters that are introduced later in the story. They also learn more fighting techniques and in theory become stronger. Still, they are not as memorable as those in Urusei Yatsura .

VALUE SECTION: 9/10
A must-series for all retro fans who seek quality. It still is amongst the longest and better comedies of the 80’s, even if its production values betray it half way. In fact, every martial arts comedy anime in the last 20 years owes something to this series. It has a pretty high rewatch value, since you can start at any episode and you are almost guaranteed a good laugh without spoiling any story continuity (because there is almost none). Its humor is a parody of the Japanese culture and its stereotypes, becoming a sort of self-criticizing essay on Japan’s history and thus offering some food for thought as well.

ENJOYMENT SECTION: 5/10
1/4th of the episodes are not funny at all. Especially after the 3rd season, the characters become more stupid and less interesting. But the rest made me laugh hard and that is all that matters. A great series, in spite of its flaws.

Now, now, don't hate my fellow Ranma...

We all know, that lots of noob's to anime... (I've never used that term before) Like this... But common sense from reading the manga, to watching this, shows that you must be dumb... I mean, the animation is bold and they changed the character style that Rumiko Takahashi had, which was great.

Then, get this, he doesn't meet his mom, he doesn't get rid of the curse, and he doesn't hook up with Akane', Unlike the MANGA........

I mean, really the anime series has flaws, flaws galore... Like going through the first "Season" then just jumping to the ice-hokey-kinda-ark, and confusing us... I mean they barely followed the manga's storyline... Which is really nothing special... Ranma and his pops is living with Akane and her family, he has curse like his pops and he builds a relationship with the tomboy, cutie, Akane... The relationship is mostly in heart, not shown, but this series completely fuckin' ruins it....

This is a disgrace to Rumiko's Masterpeice[/b]

I don't deserve to say that, but I can truly say, any true fan of the manga does not appreciate the anime.

This is seriously a let down if you read the manga first. Nobody can truly, honestly say this is the superior version....Right?
Just admit it, this ain't so great...Only average, if not completely pathetic.

This was brought to you by:

A Ranma 1/2 Fan!, Just cause I hate dis' don't mean I don't hate dat'(Ranma 1/2 manga)....


But watch if you want...

Ranma was the first anime I ever saw, so I am a lot sentimental about this. However, I will try to remain as objective as I can.

Concept:
Ranma is a high school martial arts anime, with a really low amount of ecchi in it but mostly as an element of humour. It may seem cliché, however, considering its release date 1986, we can say that it was not much of a cliché then.

Note: I will avoid telling you about the actual story, because if i don't, i will end up ruining the first two or three episodes.

Storyline:
The main concept is superb, after that do not expect much from the storyline. Ranma 1/2 is basically a character based anime and every episode is just another excuse for the characters to have interesting experiences or meet new characters.

The subplots of the episodes are quite successful, however. Especially the first three seasons are almost a masterpiece in their selection of stupidest (in the good sense of the word) encounters and adventures. Further on into the fourth season and onto the seventh season, however, the storyline starts to repeat itself and become almost boring.

Characters:
Characters are 9 over 10. That is because:
(1) characters all have funny but clever backgrounds, distinct personalities and weirdest and funnies skills; and -the best of all- these are intricately woven into the character,
(2) character designs are elaborate and coherent with the character traits -though sometimes repeatative-
(3) character personalities develop in time, they acquire newer skills, new relations emerge between the characters.
(4) characters develop good sympathy with the audience, as you become to know them better you like them more.

As the anime is based solely on character development, the characters are all highly detailed. That is appropriate not only for the protagonists but all sub-characters and villains, too.

Sound:
Not the best aspect of the anime. The themes are generally pop, which is quite appropriate as a genre; but not all songs are worth remembering. Voice actors change around the 4th season, i guess, and that is a pity.

Animation:
Animations are really good for an 80s anime, especially the fighting scenes; but this is another aspect of Ranma that diminish in years. Settings are no original, character designs are -as I mentioned above- OK.

So What?
If you got tired of its contemporary counterparts, it is another highschool-martial-arts-humorous anime with good quality. But if you still like the genre this one is almost a masterpiece. (Remember it is a '86 anime, not a '04 one...)

However, the first 3 seasons are the best, and the quality goes down as you go further. I would recommend the first 2 or 3 seasons -as I keep saying- and then you can decide whether you will venture deeper into the later seasons (up to 7) or the OVAs or the movies.