Ranma Saotome is a top-class martial artist and prodigy at the Saotome "Anything-Goes" school of martial arts. While training in China, he and his father meet a terrible fate when they accidentally fall into a cursed spring. Now, Ranma is cursed to turn into a girl when splashed with cold water, and only hot water can turn him back into a boy.
Things are only complicated further when Ranma discovers that his father has arranged for him to marry one of Soun Tendo's three daughters in order to secure the future of the Tendo dojo. Though Soun learns of Ranma's predicament, he is still determined to go ahead with the engagement, and chooses his youngest daughter Akane, who happens to be a skilled martial artist herself and is notorious for hating men.
Ranma ½ follows the hilarious adventures of Ranma and Akane as they encounter various opponents, meet new love interests, and find different ways to make each other angry, all while their engagement hangs over their head.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Comentários
brass2themax
Well, I finished this series a short while ago, so now it's time to put in a review for it. If you don't know what Ranma 1/2 is about, check out the synopsis above before reading. Story: 7 (Good) Ranma 1/2 does have somewhat of an ongoing story, although there is no major objective in the series other than Ranma's constant failed attempts to return his body to normal. Even though Ranma can return to 'boy-type' Ranma by taking a warm bath (cold water returns him to 'girl-type' Ranma, aka Ranko Tendo for some purposes), he still desires to once again become 'all man' by ridding himselfof the Jusenkyo curse that was placed on him when he fell into the Spring of Drowned Girl. He feels as though his pride as a man has been dented by being able to turn into girl form, either willingly (for some purposes he does this for his own gain) or unwillingly (for either Happosai's entertainment or when some mishap occurs).
I gave the story a 7 because despite it not having a lot of depth, each episode usually strives to be unique and entertaining, and more often than not, does this without complaint. After about the first 120 episodes however, the episode stories do become pretty predictable, but there is still much enjoyment to be had if you've come to like the characters (which I have). So the story ends up with a 'good' rating, because it was, afterall, 'good', and not particularly bad.
Art: 9 (Great)
For the time period, Ranma 1/2's art and animation was pretty well done. No complaints really, some parts are more well-done than others, while you have the occasional background or scene where you can tell there was *some* degree of slacking off. But there is nothing really you can bash it for considering when it came out and how many episodes it ran for. I'm quite surprised the level of quality remained fairly consistent, although the animation from the start of the show did change part-way through, as you can tell if you've seen the series through to the end.
Sound: 8 (Very Good)
Most of the music in this show is fairly catchy, you might find yourself humming along with it, or when you're by yourself just doing something random. Again, nothing really to complain about here, yet nothing particularly spectacular either.
Character: 9 (Great)
While most of the characters do stay the same throughout the series and don't develop too much, Ranma 1/2 has a vast array of likable characters, ranging from minor and hardly-ever seen to major and always up to something predictable, yet hilarious. In fact, one of the strengths of this show is knowing what each character is going to try and do in certain situations, because even though you can see it coming before it happens, you find yourself rooting for your favourite character in hopes that their plan is successful. That's part of the fun in this show. And sometimes you *think* you know exactly what's going to happen, only to have a twist thrown in that you never expected that will have you laughing hysterically, only to find yourself playing back that scene a couple more times before moving on.
Ranma, Moose, and Ryoga seem to be the usual favourites of this show, and quite honestly, when these three go at it, comedy can't help but follow. Ryoga is usually getting lost when he has to walk more than a few minutes in a straight line, Moose is completely clueless of anything without his glasses, and Ranma is the glue that ties them all together with his level-headedness and arrogance. Most of the characters have one or more traits about them that make them who they are, and you come to know them by those traits. So even though none of the characters are very deep (with maybe the exception of Ranma and Akane), you learn to love them. And it's all too easy to do so.
Enjoyment: 10 (Outstanding)
I'll admit, I did start to get a bit bored by the time I got around to the episode 120-or-so mark, but overall, I'm glad I picked up this series, as it was a great watch most of the time. The fact that it ran so long may have been to it's detriment, but I'm sure if you take it in small doses and watch a little here and there, you can retain most of the comedic atmosphere and avoid some of the boredom that comes with watching this show in marathons, as I did frequently at the start.
Overall: 9 (Great)
It wasn't the best show in the world, but it's one I believe most anime fans should at least try a bit of at some point or another, because it's got something in it for everyone. It's made by the creator of Inu Yasha, which in itself might make you think it's *like* Inu Yasha, but no. I'll tell you right now, this show is not like Inu Yasha, the show where absolutely *nothing of interest* ever happens. Sure, nothing really epic happens in Ranma either, but at least it's *interesting* nothing. Sort of like Seinfeld, in a way.
Another thing I liked about it is that this show does not try to be ecchi. Far from it. Sure, someone will walk in on Ranma as a girl the odd time and you might catch a glimpse of some (uncensored) boobs, but it's not meant to be a big deal, there is no big eccentric close-up like in the ecchi series of today, there is no "WHOOA! Nosebleed!" effect (none that I can recall), and there is no 'kawaii' exclamation from someone every couple of minutes. It's simply a moment for the character, and it passes, and it's not a big deal.
An example: Ranma goes to a public bath. Ranma gets splashed with cold water by Happosai. Oh noes, boobs (because of the situation), but no one seems to care (and why should anyone? It's just boobs.) Ranma fights with Happosai. Ranma is eventually done and turns back into a guy, having gotten his revenge by punching Happy out through the ceiling or something. And that's it. These days series make a big deal of boobs on 'kawaii' girls and panty shots at unexpected times, and make them out to be a big deal. Ranma does not attempt to do this (maybe because of the time when it came out). It assumes more maturity on the part of the viewer, and I commend the PG rating on this show and the fact that no one felt it needed to be censored. There exist some otaku out there that love this show because it's down to Earth, and there also exist some otaku out there who may not like it because of that as well.
SO IS RANMA 1/2 FOR YOU?
If you're looking for a comedy series with a lot of laughs, interesting characters, and some memorable moments that you can share with other anime fans, then go for Ranma 1/2. Martial arts fans, you get a lot of that in this show as well, but it's not taken very seriously, and in fact, sometimes it's taken to a ridiculous (yet humourous) extent (ie. Martial Arts Tea Ceremony, Martial Arts Gymnastics, Good Ole Days Martial Arts, etc).
If you're looking for boobs or panty shots, well, you'll get boobs, but they won't be a big deal (nor should they really unless childish ecchi is your thing). If you're an ecchi fan, sorry, this won't do it for you.
Are you a rather mature anime fan who likes that classic aged animation, comedy, anything-goes humour, and a wide array of likable characters? If so, then Ranma 1/2 IS for you.
Rumiclub
A person needs good taste and a sense of humor to enjoy Ranma ½. If you possess these attributes then Ranma ½ should appeal to you. Don't expect it to be like Akira or Death Note because this is a true comedy. If you enjoy Monty Python then Ranma ½ will entertain you. If you aren't amused by it then you have no sense of humor. Story: The episodic format often prevents a long story arc from developing but most of the story arcs that occur throughout the series developethe overall plot with the character learning new techniques
although some of the story arcs bring the story back to square one.
The main form of plot developement that happens is cast expansion
which means more and more characters are introduced that can later be
used in subsequent episodes.
This massive cast of characters eventually developes a complicated web of relationships that change very little but the web does continue to get larger.
In other words the situation grows more than it actually progresses.
Art:
The art quality was magnificent early on in Seasons 1 and 2
and later on in Seasons 6 and 7 but Seasons 3, 4, and 5 were inconsistent.
This inconsistency is because different animators with varying levels of skill
animated different episodes throughout these middle seasons.
Asami Endo worked on way too many episodes and her style detracts from the quality of the seasons that she worked on extensively.
Atsuko Nakajima was the greatest animator and every episode she made
was entertaining and her style of art and animation was perfect in every way.
Yuka Kudo and Chi Isono were also excellent animators.
Sound:
The sounds effects and music are perfect and they fit the series well.
Character:
Above all else the characters are hilarious, charming, and unusual.
The characters are actually extremely deep and most of them have extensive
back stories that provide extensive information about their past.
Whoever said they're not deep is completely wrong and obviously didn't pay any attention to the comprehensive background information that was given to tell about the events that led up to the ongoing circumstances of
the series and give depth to the characters by telling parts of their life story.
The characters are extremely eccentric but they have believable personalities
because they almost always act in character.
The characters have consistent personalities that make them believable and insanely hilarious. The characters are this anime's best characteristic.
Enjoyment:
Enjoyment is what this anime is all about.
You should chill out and make sure you have a sense of humor before you watch this anime.
Tasolth
Ranma 1/2 is something that is difficult to pin a single description on. At times there are lots of action scenes, explosions, and various attacks flying around. At other times it is side splitting humor due to an awkward time and place for Ranma to transform, or situations he gets roped into, and still other times where Akane's explosive temper or jealousy takes us by surprise. Scattered here and there are some genuinely sweet and tender moments as well. (8) Ranma 1/2 is episodic. It has no overarching plot other than to perhaps reverse the curse placed on Ranma and several others we meet along theway. We have our core group of Ranma and friends, and a number of other characters that come and go.
(8) The art is generally very good. Age is no qualm here as an excuse for sloppy art. The animation quality is a bit simple at times. But at others, especially during fight scenes, is very good. Quality overall is still very good though. Although in rare occasions, the art quality drops significantly.
(9) The sound quality suffers a little bit due to age. Especially having been on VHS for over half of the series lifetime. But otherwise the sound quality is still very good to great. Surprisingly enough the core group of characters have very good English dubs. Even a lot of the supporting and background characters have good voice overs. Occasionally we run into a bad voice over, but by far that is in the minority.
( 10) The characters here all have a healthy dose of insanity. With few exceptions most of the characters have some unique personality traits that either put Ranma and crew in massive trouble, or cause such an awkward scene that you can't help but burst out laughing. Also with few exceptions most of the characters are so tenacious that they just cannot give up. ever. It doesn't matter how many times they get pounded into the ground, or launched into the sky, or made a total fool of, they just keep coming back for more. But it fits with those characters personalities and makes them what they are. We do have a number of one or two shot characters that appear for a scene or two and are never seen again.
(9) Ranma 1/2 is a very long series, 161 Episodes, 12 (now 13) OVA's and two movies are a lot to watch. This series is no exception to getting a bit burnt out on itself. I won't lie and say I enjoyed every single one of the stories, but I'm willing to forgive them in light of the insane fun of the majority of the set.
(9) Overall I loved Ranma 1/2 and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a bit of insane fun mixed with various action bits and a romance plot that is extremely warped due to the number of opposing parties involved. Not to mention that Ranma is both a boy and a girl, and with the plentiful insanity, various people either love him or hate him depending on which he is at the time.
The only bad things I can say about the series is that sometimes enough is enough. Ranma's immaturity, and Akane's explosive temper can get a little old
but still.
9/10 without a doubt. Bias included.
*This could easily be a solid 10, but the series was never finished. The anime cuts off roughly in volume 22 (out of 38) of the manga. The OVA's only take on a few more stories but leave a substantial number untouched.
There are still a lot of interesting characters that we never see, and a lot of fights, plots, and other bits that I would have loved to see animated. Not to mention the resolution of the series as a whole.*
running_lemon
A comedy/romance based on the manga by Rumiko Takahashi, Ranma 1/2 revolves around the arranged marriage of Ranma Saotome, a boy who has been trained by his father in martial arts since childhood and Akane Tendo, an average girl who is also a martial artist, living with her father and two sisters. Although their relationship starts off rocky at first, over time they begin to grow close to each other, but not without complications brought about by many of the other characters. Story: The premise of Ranma 1/2, that makes it unique to other comedy/romance anime, are the many Jusenkyo springs which, if fallen into causethe person to be cursed. Ranma is cursed and turns into a girl whenever he is splashed with cold water, and is changed back to a boy when splashed with warm water. The story focuses on the many love webs between the numerous characters, with most of them being in love with either Ranma or Akane. This leads to various conflicts which are usually resolved through martial arts or other supernatural elements. Although the first few seasons introduce new characters and elements, the latter few become stale and repetitive and fail to rap up many of the plotlines. You could almost say that nothing much drastically changed from season 3-4 to season 7
Animation: Hard to comment on the animation of an anime from the late 80's early 90's. However I have to say that it seems very well done for its time, The character's appearence are consistant and the fighting scenes, like I said, for its time, seems well done. Although in some instances they seem to come off a little choppy or with recycled animation.
Sound: The sound is fitting to the tone of the show, music for battles scenes come off as both serious and silly at the same time, which many of the battles are. The opening's and ending's also fit the show very well and were enjoyable. I watched the show in japanese, and although the voice acting was average, it gets extra points for having the great Kappei Yamaguchi as male Ranma, and Megumi Hayashibara as female Ranma.
Character: The anime feature various characters, alot of which have feelings for either Akane or Ranma, and spend alot of their time trying to wedge them apart and win the favor of the one they love. Like Ranma, many of the characters also have Jusenkyo curses and change their form, some curses include a cat, duck, pig and panda. There are also many minor characters who appear only a few times, usually they present some type of martial arts, or perhaps supernatural challenge.
Enjoyment: I was disapointed with the way the repetitive plot and shallow ending, but overall I did enjoy it. Many of the situations were very humorous as well as the over the top personalities of alot of the characters. If you are a Rumiko Takahashi fan (although if you are you have probably seen this already) or just like overly silly comedy/romances with quite a bit of action then I would have to recommend this to you.
LotusTsubasa
Oh, where to start..? Well, I give credit for at least trying to make a good anime; however, this was far from it. I don't mean to offend any lovers of Ranma 1/2, but the story was very poor. The plot, however, was imaginative, and it was enjoyable for a little while. The episodes kept drawing me back again and again, even though sometimes I'd yell out to myself "That was the worst episode EVER!" The creator tried too hard to make Ranma 1/2 funny, so it fails dramatically later in the series. The events begin to be extremely predictable, and although sometimes the humor made melaugh my heart out, most of it was simply annoying.
With my taste in anime (I like to see adventure, occasional humor, and a LOT of character development), I found this show to be somewhat... Annoying. All right, maybe very annoying. Some of the episodes are like a pornographic version of Looney Tunes (what with all the slapstick humor), and it really got on my nerves. Not to mention that the characters NEVER develop. This makes for fun characters at the beginning, but the quality of events and story begin to fail later on.
However, I still finished the series, and found some episodes very fun and hilarious; but when I finally reached that last episode, I breathed a sigh of relief and moved on to different anime.
I have to give the plot some credit. It's fairly original and even cute sometimes, and pretty inventive (I mean, Ranma turns into a girl when splashed with cold water, and this makes for some very humorous moments).
The music is fun and catchy. Not cool or exciting, just catchy, and sometimes a bit... Weird. But it's fun nonetheless.
The art fits the plot very well. It's fairly cute and an original way to illustrate, and I somewhat like it.
Depending on your taste in humor, characters and their development, you may want to give this anime a try.
1U5O
Overview : Seen as the original innovator that would come to influence the modern harem genre, Ranma 1/2 is a very simple and non-episodic slice-of-life comedy that has an overarching theme of ‘martial arts’. To address the elephant in the room, this anime has many cliches and tropes that have become the norm in modern anime, however it is something that is easily forgivable considering the time of its initial airing. Plot / Characters : In each episode our protagonist Ranma Saotome usually gets involved in a situation involving martial arts battles or involving a way to reverse his curse that makes him a genderbentfemale upon contact with water.
True to its SoL genre, the show doesn’t take itself too seriously and rather the battles can range from typical shonen fights to more bizarre battles such as ice skating or fine dining contests.
Because of its non-episodic nature, very little progression occurs or even carries over as the series progresses.
Furthermore there is little character development and many characters remain unchanged as walking tropes from the episodes they were introduced in.
This isn’t to say there isn’t any character development however. What you will notice is that the progression of relationships between the main cast and Ranma, aside from some loud mouths is something subtle and never directly spelled out.
This ties into the romance aspect as this is after all a harem anime. I won’t spoil too much but Ranma’s harem consists of 3 finances who he has each agreements to marry with.
Although Ranma himself doesn’t explicitly show romantic interest most of the time, on the contrary most of the romance moments in the show are conveyed by his fiancé’s.
In particular the main girl Akane Tendo is a literal tsundere and constantly bickers with Ranma in the earlier episodes. Gradually however she opens up to Ranma and although they still fight, it is usually because she cares about him.
Generally I’d say that the anime itself does contain its share of wholesome moments but at the same time it is not so easily rewarded and it is largely up to the viewer to interpret certain visual and dialogue cues as emotional development.
Animation / Art :
The hand drawn animation is very pleasant to look at and generally remains consistent throughout the whole series.
During some fight scenes there are certainly moments where it can get a little choppy, but the choreography itself isn’t something too sophisticated and therefore it simply gets the job done most of the time.
Likewise the art style has aged like fine wine and you can really appreciate the late 80’s to early 90’s aesthetics such as the way hair and eyes are designed.
You will notice that in the later episodes, the way faces are drawn do change but this is something extremely subtle and you will probably not notice it during your initial viewing.
Sound :
Personally aside from the first opening nothing was really that special and I found myself skipping it most of the time. That isn’t to say the OST’s are bad by any means as some of them were absolute bangers.
Primarily produced by Kenji Kawai, I found the BGM used for fights to be nothing too amazing but where the soundtrack really shines is in its tracks dedicated to SoL and emotional moments.
To name a few some of my favourites are;
•Just so long as you realise
•Okay is not the word
•Happy, Shining, Morning
•Akane’s Daydream
My only complaint is that the track usage is sometimes disproportionate, and you usually hear some songs more often than others. For example the track “Okay is not the word” only gets used like 4 times in the entire show.
Aside from this minor nitpick, although some tracks are mediocre and get used way to often, for the most part the soundtrack is good and helps accent the laid back SoL nature of this show.
As for the voice acting they absolutely nailed casting the right voices for the right characters. For an anime made in the late 1980’s I went in expecting awkward and out of place voices as seen in for example ‘Urusei Yatsura’. To my surprise I was actually quite pleased with just how professional and talented the voices were compared to the amateurish voice acting that was normal in the 1980s. Funnily enough I didn’t expect to see Takehito Koyasu (Dio’s va) playing a high pitched perverted grandpa character, so seeing that gave me a laugh.
Overall I have no complaints about the voice acting and it definitely is one of Ranma 1/2’s consistently great points.
Criticisms :
For the most part I think the anime delivered interesting and funny comedic oriented episodes but unfortunately there were some which made me want to skip to the next.
Personally I believe that the decline started to occur around episode 124, but this isn’t to say that there aren’t any good episodes past that as I really liked episodes 128-129, 150 and 154-155, but rather it did feel that they got rarer to some degree.
Adding on to the that, I found that quality of directing itself had gotten blander overtime compared to the charm it had in earlier episodes.
For example, if I hear the track “Just So Long As You Realise”, I instantly think of the first 30 seconds after the title card in episode 3, with the slow panning shots over a very warm and tranquil scenery of the school.
Of course there are plenty more examples which come to mind but to return to the point, whether through shot composition or use of audio, it does feel like a lot of the aesthetic and iconic scenes had become limited as the series progressed.
My final criticism I have is that unfortunately the anime ends abruptly and never gives you the satisfying final conclusion at the end of the 161 episodes. There are OVA’s to fill that void afterwards but it should be noted that they are either missing chapters from the manga animated or completely original content.
Verdict :
Having watched Ranma 1/2 in 2021 and it being one of my first Rumiko Takahashi works,
I can safely attest that my review is not clouded in nostalgia.
Overall the anime is relatively good for the most parts and just as the series has its ‘high’ peaks in terms of episodes, it also has its fair share of ‘lows’.
I understand that it’s episode length may be an intimidating factor, however because of its non-episodic format it makes it friendly for the viewer to gradually watch episodes over long periods of time yet not feel lost.
Although I criticised a lot about this anime in my review, at the end of the day I did get genuine enjoyment out of it and it easily sits within my list of favourite animes despite its obvious flaws.
I definitely recommend this anime for those who like a good SoL shonen with a simple premise that is laid back and doesn’t take itself too seriously.
I give Ranma 1/2 a
9 out of 10
tldr; Good laidback and fun SoL martial arts anime. Kind of like a SoL Shenmue mixed with Nisekoi and genderbending.
Shaja
Ranma is probably the anime that got me completely hooked on all anime. It was not the first i had ever seen but it was in the first 10 at least. When i saw the very first episode of this show i immediately sat down and watched the entire series from beginning to end over the span of a month. This is truly my all time favorite anime and this is my review of it. The story of Ranma is not a very deep or complex one, it doesn't even have a conclusion. Ranma is majorly episodic and has very few two part episodes. Ranmahas constant conflicts in his life between rivals,love interests and his own personal goal of removing his curse.This premise sets of the show for hours upon hours of laughter and excitement with lots of surprising moments. The show is simple and sweet which is all a romance comedy action anime like Ranma should be. Being set in the 80s the show tends to have lots of wacky and silly humor poring out of it which can be unappreciated by some people. I love anime of this generation cause of its boldness and just ability to be unpredictable cause it was the start of the industry's explosive growth.
As far as characters go Ranma is riddled with bizarre characters that never cease to amaze me. The supporting cast is full of original and funny characters that almost make it feel like some kinda odd themed game show at times. The show used to catch me off guard by throwing in standard character types but with a wacky twist or just by making them goofier than they were ever meant to be. One of the best things about Ranma is all the characters are really original and don't feel like rip offs from another show. They also did not hold back on the soft color pallet full of primary colors. It can be really hard to talk about Ranma characters since they are very 1 dimensional but they are all fairly memorable and even the show acknowledges this at times with some of the gags. The only characters that are every really expanded upon deeply or at any length are Ranma and Akane and it usually is about there subtle and tsundere emotional connection.Even if it lacks a lot of character development i grew to love all the characters a lot.
There is at least a dozen frequent minor characters that are all noteworthy and important to the series but my personal favorite has always been Shampoo. Shampoo is the Chinese amazon with the unrelenting love for the main character that drives her to try wacky and mystical love schemes a like. She was also my favorite character visually cause it always just felt like she was special, when you saw the way she was drawn in the first season it was obvious she was not just my favorite. Compared to most other character she stands out quite a bit with her blue hair and Chinese clothing.
When i watch anime from the 80s time period i'm always given a warm fuzzy feeling from the way everything looks but Ranma used to give me this really vibrant feel of joy when i watched it. I was always enchanted by the backgrounds even if some were recycled too often, it always just seem to set me in the right mood for the show and i could forgive it easily. I was also very glad to see the usage of color was so utilized as compared to other shows of the time. A lot of shows got away with just changing characters hairstyles and wearing school uniforms but in Ranma most characters get quite a few different uniforms that really show off the colors of the rainbow. Another great thing i liked about the show is that only a few characters had strange hair colors, with the exception of Ranma and Shampoo everyone has natural hair colors like black or brown. I like that the show used the color of there surroundings to emphasize the characters more than eye catching neon hair colors.
Audio wise Ranma has a lot of standard sound effects from that period of anime but its soundtrack was pretty catchy. I remember season ones soundtrack being so charming and cute that i listened to it more than a few dozen times. As for voice acting, i enjoyed it pretty thoroughly. I have seen both Ranma in English and Japanese and i can say that both are pretty fair to amazing in voice talent. I did however resent the change in voice for Ranma in the English version as it was somewhat drastic. All in all the audio is very good though i feel it was strongest in season one.
Overall i enjoy Ranma more than anything i have ever seen before which is saying a lot about it. I love to laugh, i love bright and warm shows and I like too see things that i haven't before. Ranma offered me a lot of new things and if you have seen tons of anime and then watch it you may not see the originality as much as i do but it is there. I still wish a studio would remake or continue from where the first one left off even if they gotta recast the voice actors and add actual plot. I cant help but gush about how happy it makes me to watch this show. Season one was definitely the best season overall before they did the changes for big time production but the rest of it is great too.
Ranma 1/2 is Outstanding to me and i think people can still get lots of entertainment and enjoyment from this show.
TiffanyTorolo
Ranma 1/2 is my all time fave anime. It is the greatest by Rumiko, in my opinion. (I was embarassed that got a R rating because I tend to avoid watching rated R stuff) Here are the details: Story:9 The story was very good. Some arcs were a bit dull, and the lack of an ending was frustrating, but oh well. Fangirls will savor the rare romantic moments. I loved how they stuck to the Martial Arts concept instead of straying into the magic territory as so many "realistic" animes do. The story was well written and engaging. Art: 6 This was made in the 80s so I understandthe animation wasn't the best. It was okay. Could of been better, but simple anime is Rumiko's style I guess.
Sound: 10
The soundtrack was amazing!! Even though they used the same sound effects and songs throughout the entire series, I never grew tired of them!! Banzai!!!
Characters: 10
I loved the characters. Or hated them. Only Rumiko can create charcters that we both love and hate. I honestly liked Shampoo, while others viewed her as a pain, I liked her. He characters I didn't like were Akane, Mousse, Ryoga and (my least favorite anime character of all) HAPPOSAI. Oooh he makes my blood boil!! Anyway, fabulous characters.
Enjoyment: 10!!!!
As I said before, this is my favorite anime ever. With engaging story, fun characters, complex relationships, funny jokes, amazing sound effects and its witty charm, what's not to love?
Overall: 10
I would recommend this to anyone who likes a good laugh and doesn't mind nudity. This is a masterpiece. Great tv show. I wish they would do another season. So, if this review hasn't already convinced you, WATCH IT!!!
Ranma1-2
My favorite anime, I love anything in it 10/10 doesn't matter at what is it(well it is matter if it is in Ranma½ or not). I don't think that it's actually hatable or dislikable or anything except lovable or something that actually can't be hated or something that can be only the favorite. I saw everything (which is about 73.5 hours total seeing all the series OVA's and Movies except live action) not second of waste even though I watched it about 6 times. There's no any second wasted on it. If anyone sees my review and "Dropped It" then try it one more time. Anyone that has iton "Plan to Watch" Watch it, the sooner the better.
Anyone that has it on "On Hold" continue watching it and finish this, the sooner the better(not in the bad meaning).
Anyone that doesn't listed it, "Watched It" nor "Didn't Watched It" neither "Dropped It" neither it on "On Hold", first, list it, secondly watch it.
Third thing, Enjoy this, but this one is inevitable.
Because there's no person who can actually not enjoy this. :)
Well, as I said earlier:
Story: 10/10 Outstanding
Art: 10/10 Outstanding
Sound: 10/10 Outstanding
Character: 10/10 Outstanding
Enjoyment: 10/10 Outstanding
Overall: 10/10 Outstanding
mtndewsawesome
Story: 9/10 Art: 10/10 Sound: 7/10 Characters: 10/10 Enjoyment: 10/10 Overall: 9.5/10 I've said this once before, but I absolutely love Rumiko Takahashi's content, & Ranma is no exception. I was absolutely hooked from the start knowing that I was already gonna love this show, since it was created by my favorite manga artist, & starring one of my favorite seiyuu's: Kappei Yamaguchi. And on top of that, I have a very soft spot for old school anime, because not only do they not tease me as much as modern anime, but its just fascinating watching old ass anime that's like 25+ years old. So starting off with story, this showhas a very solid premise: A young man named Ranma is cursed by a cursed spring from China that turns him into a lady while being hit with cold H20, & turns him back into a man while being hit with hot H20. This show is very unique when it comes to how its structured, because unlike most anime this one is an episodic anime. Now granted, it's still a story with time moving forward throughout the episodes, but every episode stands out in its own way with the occasional 2 episode stories here & there, but nonetheless 98% of the anime is episodic stories which is something you'd expect from a western cartoon. Rumiko Takahashi's art style may be just one of my favorites, I absolutely love her character design, (especially on Mousse) because unlike most anime I've seen, she draws male pupils the same exact size as female pupils. Now, I'm not against drawing male characters with smaller pupils than the females, because it makes it easier to tell who's who. But I really appreciate Takahashi sama's choice of drawing the male characters with big pupils with the exception of Kuno & Soun, but I digress, because everyone in real life has the same pupil size. Really the only character design I don't like much is the fact that Ryoga & Ranma share the same haircuts minus the braid, & they have somewhat similar fashion making it a lil tough to tell who is who whenever both characters are on screen, but that's just a tiny lil nitpick that doesn't really matter, since Ryoga wears a headband unlike Ranma, & both the characters have voices that are different enough to tell the difference. Despite when this show was released & its episode count, the animation is very solid. Of course there will be extremely little error's here & there, but I believe that's forgivable considering that this anime was made in the late 80s to early 90s, & that it was 161 episodes long. The soundtrack is rather decent. There are good op's & ed's here & there, but nothing crazy slapz to write home about. I very rarely talk about sub vs dub, because #1 I believe its a very repetitive subject, & #2 I mostly stick to sub at least 86% of the time, simply because I prefer to listen to the original Japanese cast. But I just gotta say dawg, I really love the performance that the seiyuu's put into this. As for the dub, I seriously wish they didn't cast a lady to voice both male & female Ranma. I understand why they did it, because it would be a hell of a lot easier for them, but then again the female voice just doesn't fit male Ranma since he's a 16 yr old dude, & not a lil kid. I've heard a very small clip of Richard Ian Cox dubbing the male Ranma, & he seriously fits the dub role for Ranma much better, since both Richard & Yamaguchi Kun voiced Inuyasha & Ranma. Unfortunately, I can't find the dub that stars Richard Ian Cox anywhere, so if anyone has access to it, I'd love to see it. But its not like it really matters since I prefer watching this show in Japanese. The characters are absolutely outstanding in this anime. By far my favorite side character is Mousse, because I believe he's underrated as hell, I love his appearance, his humor, his curse, his crush on Shampoo, & I also really love his seiyuu Toshihiko Seki. I heard that guy was tested positive for covid a few months ago at the time I'm writing this review, so I wish him well & seriously hope he's doing alright today. I love Kuno's running gag of him calling female Ranma "pigtailed girl", & how he always has to bring up his personal bio in every conversation he's in. Ryoga is a good character as well. He may not be one of my favorites, but it's easy to understand why he's the most popular supporting character in the show, because not only does he have a very mature personality, but he's like the only character that's both equal & slightly higher than Ranma when it comes to strength, which makes sense since the two dudes are basically rivals. Ranma & Akane are of course the two characters that shine the most since they are the only 2 main characters of the whole show, seeing two tsundere's being shipped is always interesting since it's not something you see very often in anime, & it's really only something you see Rumiko Takahashi do with both this show & Inuyasha. To be dead ass, the only character that I don't like all that much is Happosai. And before you say it, no it's not because he's an elderly pervert, because I enjoyed Masher Roshi from Dragon Ball despite the fact that he was an elderly perv, because unlike Happosai, Roshi actually pays the price for spying on ladies, & gets a good beating, he was a very humorous character which I enjoyed. Happosai on the other hand is always escaping & getting Scott-free with his actions always dashing away with a bag full of panties, & its not extremely rare, but pretty damn rare that we ever see him get his short ass kicked for being the panty thief that he is. But what's even worse is when he staples his pervy actions on others. Perfect example is in episode 40 where Happosai pictured Ranma to be someone that he's not right of front of all the ladies, therefore Ranma wrongly got his ass beat by all the ladies at the bathhouse, when in reality they should've been beating Happosai's ass instead. Then a few seconds later, he asks Ranma why Ranma always gives him a hard time while squirting soap in Ranma's eyes. I forreal don't understand why Ranma never stands up for himself or ever defends himself in conversations half the time, sometimes he does, but typically he doesn't. I'm lowkey surprised Ranma didn't respond back saying "That's what I should be asking you." because I know for a fact that's what I would've dont if I was in Ranma's shoes. Sorry that I got a lil ranty, it's not like I think Happosai is a badly written character or anything, I just don't think he's very likable, but it's easy to get over him fast since he is just a supporting character at the end of the day, & he's very overshadowed by all the other great characters in this show. This show is entertaining af, almost every episode is absolutely outstanding, & the fact that this is an episodic anime only helps that more seeing something new happening every time not knowing what's coming next. Overall, this show was great af, entertaining af, & in general just another reason why I love Rumiko Takahashi so much, & why I believe she's such an incredible storyteller. Sure there were lil issues here & there that I had with this show, but all those tiny ass flaws are completely overshadowed by everything that's great about this anime. If your into classic old school anime with that sort of old look to it, & if your really into Japanese content or Martial Arts type shit like I am, than I can guarantee you dawg, this show is right up your alley. I just spent 2 hours writing this review down, & it's been about 3 months since I finished this show, so I'm very happy that I finally got my thoughts & opinions on this show off my chest, so if you've read my review till the end, thanks for sticking around, & you have a goodie.
rawker
This year, I finally watched this classic anime from the recesses of my memory. I never watched it in the 90s, but I definitely recognize seeing VHS tapes in my older cousin's room. It's goofy fun that shouldn't be taken too seriously. It has some touching moments, but don't expect any real overarching plot. Instead, expect easy to digest, stand alone episodes full of characters and situations that will make you laugh. I love the characters in this series. Rumiko Takahashi is a master of creating wacky characters who you'd hate to have for neighbors, but you'll enjoy watching from the safety of your livingroom. Get ready for gender bending, one sided crushes, obsessive girls and boys, people turning into cats, pigs, pandas, and other animals, dysfunctional families who secretly love each other deep down but will never admit it, and just a lot of wacky 80s/90s humor. This is now one of my favorite things I've ever witnessed. Crack open your favorite drink and enjoy!
TSmasher
Ranma 1/2 is a classic anime/manga written by Rumiko Takahashi. This anime/manga is possibly the anime/manga that has started the popular comedy action mangas that are made today and for good reason. Progression (3): Ranma 1/2 is an action comedy manga/anime so it does not really need much progression. Often, what will happen in an episode/chapter will be events that happen in random intervals in Ranma's life that are hilarious. Story (5): This manga/anime story is not that great, however it is very unique. The reasons why I say it is not that great is because it is repetitive and no progression to the story happens atall. This is not needed however because this is a show mainly about making the viewer feel good, and thus during this time the story is the least thing on the viewer's mind. However, the biggest point damager for this category was the ending which was very unsatisfactory because it left no closure for the reader.
Art (10): The drawings to be honest are not that great, especially within the manga. However, Rumiko's unique style of art actually has enhanced it, even though it is not very realistically drawn, due to the style of art it enhances the comedic effect much more and actually fits the atmosphere well. At times, the poorly drawn faces with the look of surprise just make you laugh uncontrollably. The fact that this was to be taken for fun makes the artwork very excusable and even fitting. The battle scenes within this show were also surprisingly good and well done. It may just be for the fact that you watch this show for 2 reasons: the comedy and the fight scenes.
Sound (10): The music fits the anime well, there are even specific tracks that I would listen to without the accompaniment of the episode.
Characters (9): The characters within this show are all very lovable and interesting. It is impossible not to get latched to at least one, and even though there is no character development, the fact that it does not need any for the comedy makes that a statement that cannot boast much damage to the show overall. The thing that did bug me about the characters were their indecisiveness at times especially when it came to romance and the fact that some of them were somewhat annoying because they could be such jerks at times that you would want to see them get something coming to them only to find out that they were way too powerful.
Enjoyment (10): I would put an 11/10 here if I could because it's that enjoyable. Out of all the other anime/manga I have watched/read this was by far just the most enjoyable due to its pure fun. Every time I came out of reading this pick-me-up it has the effect of making me smile. It surpasses just about every other manga/anime I have read/watched so much in this art that I would give an 11, it's that good in making one feel good. However I cannot give something above a 10, thusly I shall just give it a 10. Often, the immersion I would have with this show would be unbreakable because of the interesting characters, the funny (which often made me shed tears of laughter), and sometimes the awesome battle scenes.
TLDR?
Pros:
*Funniest anime/manga I have ever seen
*One of the best feel good anime, anytime you watch this, you will probably come out of the episode with a smile on your face
*Unique for a manga/anime (possibly the first martial arts comedy manga/anime)
*Characters are lovable
*Immersion is nigh unbreakable, you will almost always be glued to the screen because something funny or awesome is bound to happen
*Great fight scenes
Cons:
*Story has virtually no progression (Not really an issue, since this story is more for laughs)
*Story is almost nonexistent (Again, not an issue since this is a purely feel good anime, and does not require it)
*Characters are too indecisive
*No character development (This was not needed in this type of show)
*The ending had no closure
*The sad realization that the show has ended and the fact that you may never find another manga/anime that's as funny as this one or has as many enjoyable characters as this one.
Overall Score: 8/10
***Please keep in mind that this is just a review and a personal opinion. I am just being entirely honest here about what I thought was good and what I thought was bad. This is not a hate review or a love review, and I try my best to be unbiased and write what I truly thought about the show/manga after watching/reading it. If you enjoy/hate this anime/manga, feel free to accept my thoughts on said anime/manga or discard it.
Ranko-chan
Well I am a big fan of Ranma 1/2, it is my fav anime and manga of all times but I'll still try to be somehow objective. (Story:8) Ranma has a hilarious story! It's kind of stupid and doesn't really bring the characters anywhere. The story-line is also somehow blurry; the episodes have a chronological order of course but sometimes the don't necessarily follow anything. If you skip one episode you sure didn't miss much, just a lot of funny moments! (Art:7) This is a really old anime so I'm not very pleased with the art, but among other anime form the 80's it is really good.You can see the art "evolving" form season 1 to season 7 and realize, the art at the end of the anime (or in the OVA's) becomes quite appealing to the eye. At firs I wasn't sure I wanted to watch it because of the somehow poor art, but I'm really happy I did. The art is also similar to the original art in Takahashi's manga witch is great because she has an awesome unique style!
(Sound:10) I have to say, the sound is really nice,the songs are good and the actors are also amazing! Yamaguchi Kappei (Ranma) does his role very good and manages to bring the character to life very well. So does also Haiashibara Megumi (Ranma f). The character songs are some of the best I've heard.
(Character:10) The main character is very nice built and the fact that you can see his male and also his female side is really interesting. The best thing in Ranma 1/2 is that you get to see a lot of very different characters and especially learn about their flaws which are quite hilarious. So many types of people!
(Enjoyment:10) I enjoyed every second of Ranma 1/2 and I could watch it again anytime! The jokes are the best! You can never get bored! I laughed so much watching it, and I just couldn't stop watching another episode when finishing one.
(Overall:9) Overall, I'll say it's a nine, although I could easily give it a 10. I guess this is an anime for people how like comedy and don't expect a great story. There are of course sad scenes, a lot of awesome fighting scenes and of course many cute romantic scenes! And do not get scared of the art or the fact that it is old! Takahashi Rumiko is one of the best mangakas and her stories deserve a lot of respect! I hope you'll enjoy Ranma 1/2 as much as I did!^^
DrMechano
Ranma 1/2 is recognized as an anime classic, and for good reason. It's got fun action, likable characters, and humor that still holds up decades later. Importantly, Ranma is (aside from the occasional callback or new character) a mostly episodic series. There's definitely a loose overarching plot, but I feel Ranma can best be described as an "action sitcom," with most plots being self-contained little stories. This isn't a criticism; I think that Ranma works so well as a funny show to just put on and relax with. I do think the main "romance" (if you want to call it that) between Ranma and Akane is alittle weak. They don't get along all that well and it's hard to buy any real chemistry between the two. However, it's not a huge focus most of the time, and I think the series is still really enjoyable despite this.
If you want a wacky comedy with some cool martial arts fights thrown in for good measure, Ranma 1/2 is a great choice.
bart00ts
Story: The best point of the story of Ranma 1/2 is that is very original, bringing us a totally new concept about the cursed springs of jusenkyo and how a guy wants to get its masculinity back. It have such variety on its themes: Sometimes is a romance, sometimes is a harem, sometimes is a hilarious comedy and most of the time is a martial art shonen with weird fighting styles (Like the tea ceremony martial arts and the cheerleaders martial arts) Mostly, the series dont focuses on the principal plot and take different ways like showing the characters, the relations between them and how theyreact to various situations.
Well, it have filler, but its keeps the crazyness of the show that characterizes it and make the anime so fun to watch.
7/10 (Good)
Art:
For its time, it got really nice art and character desing.
Nothing outstanding, but you must enjoy how animated are the fights and the faces that the characters take.
Theres not much to talk about it, so, moving on.
8/10 (Very good)
Sound:
Most of the OST of the series are funny and catchy songs that express the randomly fun of Ranma 1/2. Maybe are not such memorable songs but fits perfectly with the show, and it have a few fight songs, like the one from Ranma vs. Ryoga battle, my personal favourite.
If you speak spanish, i personally recommend to see it with the latin american dub, that is very smartely planned;For example, Ranma have a pubescent voice that fits with him sassy personality.
7/10 (Good)
Characters:
The strong point of the show; You have Ranma, that is not the tipic boring and shy harem protagonist; he is cheeky, impertinent and cynical, just like his father, Genma: One social mantained that lives of the compassion of his friend and old training mate, Soun Tendo.
Genma, along the time he spend traveling with his son, commited he to three girls:
Ukyo, childhood friend of Ranma, Shampoo, a chinese amazon and Akane Tendo, the daugther of Soun. Akane is a mulish girl that constantly fights with Ranma, who insults her calling it fat, flat chest, butch or any insult you can imagine.
Ranma have rivals and enemys too, the most noteworthy is Ryoga, who thinks our protagonist have the fault of hes...little problem.
Like i say, most of show is hold in how the relations between the characters evolve and, in the case of the antagonist, how they improve they fight skills.
9/10 (Great)
Enjoyment:
I enjoyed this anime a lot, certainly is not one of the best shows of all time but if youre new in the world of anime of you just want to have a good time, check it out.
9/10 (Great)
Overall: 8/10 (Very good)
pinkbun17
I watched this anime about 3 years ago, but I've gone back and rewatched it a lot. I've always wanted to let others know how I view this anime and how much more hidden depth there is in it. However this anime is a lot harder to sum up together then one might think. -.- Story- 8 Ranma 1/2 story plot is fairly odd, but you can really feel for the main character, or at least I did. The main gist of the plot always comes back to Ranma(wanting very badly) to return to a being normal guy, getting stronger, and who he should marry.You could say there really is not straightforward direction plot wise, but there is reasoning. Ranma Saotome is a guy with a curse that turns into a chick when spashed with cold water, but turns back into a guy when warm/hot water hits him(or he just takes a warm bath). This is pretty darn great to watch because it is something that isn't what you see in typical anime. Another thing I noticed was all the things that happen to the main character would bring down any other person, but he never gives in for long. Although it comes off as a funny romance with some action, it is also a bit sad and can get pretty dramatic and cute.
I gave it a 8 because some of the epsides become kind of predictable, but it was really fun to watch one you warm up to the characters. This anime would have a lot higher ratings if it was completed.
Art-9
For an older anime, it's one of the best animation I've seen comparing it to other older animes. Though the change in art kind of bugged me, but it only gets better.
Sound-9
I really enjoyed the music, and really it's pretty catchy and fun! You'll for sure catch yourself songing along too!
Character-9
As strange as it seems the characters stay pretty much the same, they are pretty likeable and will get you laughing your head off. The only two that do change and grow as characters are Ranma and Akane(though old habits do die hard). Sometimes when you think one character will do something in their character there are times when you're in for a twist.
Akane Tendo and Ranma Saotome are (as I said before) the ones that grow the most (compared to everyone else who doesn't) and can surprise you with how they interact with one another (when they aren't fighting).
Ranma, Moose, and Ryoga seem to be the usual favourites of this show, and quite honestly, when these three go at it, comedy can't help but follow. Ryoga is usually getting lost when he has to walk more than a few minutes in a straight line, Moose is completely clueless of anything without his glasses, and Ranma is the glue that ties them all together with his level-headedness and arrogance. Most of the characters have one or more traits about them that make them who they are, and you come to know them by those traits. So even though none of the characters are very deep (with maybe the exception of Ranma and Akane), you learn to love them. And it's all too easy to do so.
Enjoyment- 10
I could not stop watching and rewatched a lot of the episodes (normally something I don't really do) and it never ceasese to amaze me how something that seems so comical can have a bit of hidden depth of sadness.(It's not all that obvious but you will see a bit of it yourself)
Overall-10
I am fairly picky with my anime and have trouble liking the newer anime due to them being overally perverted, but even though we do see nude-ness it doesn't become annoying, or overdone. I really recommend this to anybody out there who is sucker for romance, action, interesting twists, and insane fun!
As I said before this show would be a lot more amazing if it had an ending, and if you guys check out the manga you'll know what I mean. There's even more not-so-hidden darkness to Ranma 1/2 and it's pretty twisty! ^^
As a last thought, it is so worth watching! I've even gotten a few anime-dislikers loving it (my friends) :P
SaiD90
Let me start off right away by saying; no, I haven't read the manga. Although I had heard about Ranma 1/2 before, it was only since very recently that I came in contact with it. And it just so happens that I prefer watching anime than reading manga. Besides, everybody keeps saying that the manga is superior, so why would you need me to confirm it for you? And if it is true, than I must truly adore the manga should I ever read it. Though the manga may be better, I will remain ignorant of that for this review. Story - 7/10 This is the deciding factorwhether you are going to like Ranma 1/2 or not. Let me put it this way; if you were expecting your typical long-runner shounen anime with story arcs of 30 episodes (or more) each, with multiple, powerful bad-guys, then you are looking in the wrong spot. Ranma 1/2 is not like Naruto, One Piece, Dragon Ball or Bleach. It simply doesn't take itself serious enough for that. Basically, it's an 161 episode long, episodic romantic comedy with a good dose of action. There are no major villains, no battles to decide the fate of the world, no casualties and no story arcs. That being said, if you enjoy these collections of short, silly, light-hearted scenarios, then you'll probably enjoy Ranma 1/2. If not, I suggest you skip this one completely.
So storywise, there's not much going on here, but naturally there is a plot. It follows 16 year old Saotome Ranma, who, during a training journey through China with his father, Genma, falls into a cursed spring at Jusenkyo. It was in this spring that a young girl tragically drowned some 2000 years ago. Now, a curse rests on Ranma, and whenever he is splashed with cold water, he transforms into a red-headed girl! He transforms back when doused with warm water. I don't think I need to tell you what awkward situations this can bring. But he is not the only one. His father, Genma, fell into a spring where a panda drowned, thus causing him to turn into a panda. A little later, they both return to Japan, where Genma has made a promise with his old fellow trainee Soun Tendo that his son was to marry one of his daughters and inherit the Tendo Anything-Goes-Martial Arts Dojo. Ranma's fiancée turns out to be Akane Tendo, a tsundere prototype. And you guessed it! They don't get along at all, and constantly deny their engagement to one another.
More characters pop up as the show progresses, such as Ryoga Hibiki, the directionally challenged rival of Ranma, who transforms into a black piglett, dubbed by Akane as P-chan, and Shampoo, an Amazon sworn to kill girl-type Ranma (for a little while at least) and marry boy-type Ranma. She turns into a kitty when splashed with cold water.
For pretty much the rest of the anime, several boys fall in love with Akane, several girls fall in love with Ranma, and even girl-type Ranma (aka the pigtailed girl) gets some attention. Ranma strives to lift his curse, is challenged by a whole array of goofballs to some bizarre forms of martial arts (dining martial arts?) and struggles with his relationship with Akane. And that's pretty much all I can tell you. Really, there's not many risks for spoilers.
Animation - 7.5/10
Taking into account that this anime is relatively old (around 20 years), I really don't feel like I can complain about it. I haven't seen many anime of this age, so I can't compare it all that well. But to me, at least, the art and animation is satisfactory. I have noticed some small errors, such as Ranma's hair being colored black in certain shots while he was in girl form. These errors are fairly rare though. Lipsynching is a little sloppy most of the times, but that's not such a big bother. Animation does what it needs to do, albeit a bit on the simplistic side mostly. In short, if you like this kind of old-school style, you should appreciate it.
(Also, though it might not look like it, this anime contains nudity, so be warned)
Sound - 9/10
For an oldie, I found the sound quality to be really good compared to others like Dragon Ball. The casting and voice acting is spot on, nearly every character, period. Overacting is not an issue, since it's generally a comedy. The soundtrack consists of some very memorable, recognisable and fun tracks. Wether they're battle themes or play during the funny slapstick scenes, they will always stick to you. Then again, if you've watched 161 episodes, you are at least going to remember some music anyway.
Since this is a long-runner, there's multiple OP's and ED's. Some are very catchy, while others are rather forgettable. But no matter what, you will never in your life forget about the very first opening theme and the second season's ending. It's physically impossible!
Characters - 8/10
There is barely any character development. Yeah, since this anime is episodic, don't count on the characters' personalities changing. With the exception of Ranma and Akane growing towards eachother more, and perhaps Ranma's and Ryoga's relationship, what you see in the beginning is what you gotta deal with for the rest of the series. Akane is the perfect tsundere, and possesses all necesarry qualities, 'nuff said. Ranma's personality doesn't change when he turns into a girl, but he's not afraid to take advantage of his curse. He's just as stubborn, thick-headed and arrogant as his fiancée Akane, so they usually end up squabbling. In a way, Ranma is a tsundere too. Shampoo is a sneaky girl that wouldn't mind resorting to dirty tricks to win Ranma all for herself. Ryoga is quite resentful towards Ranma, mainly because he too has a crush on Akane. When facing Ranma, he's aggresive, but when with Akane, he turns into a major softy. Mousse is a short-sighted fighter who is in love with Shampoo, and has a few bones to pick with Ranma. Kuno has a crush on both Akane and girl-type Ranma. He's arrogant, and possibly the biggest imbecile of the show. Both Genma and Soun are birds of the same feather. They're cowards and appear to be completely useless in a real fight. And the last one I want to adress is Happosai, Soun and Genma's old master. He is the resident "ero-jiji", whose main hobby is stealing women's underwear. He's also a total jerk, and the most hated resident of the Tendo dojo.
Ranma 1/2 has a huge array of characters, and though they may be stereotypical and extreme, they are the driving force behind the anime. It's those over-the-top character traits that make the show fun to watch, and put our main hero in yet another sticky situation.
Conclusion - 8/10
I found Ranma 1/2 to be a fun ride, and I'll definitely check the OVA's and movies later. However, though it has good qualities, it will not appeal to everyone. Heck, I'm not even sure what demographic this anime tries to target, but I suppose it's largely a shounen. If you don't mind episodic, romance mixed with martial arts and overall silliness, give this one a 8 😆😆😆😂😂😂
Astraea_
Ranma 1/2 is one of the most well known works from the talented and creative author, Rumiko Takahashi. She's mainly known for creating works like Urusei Yatsura, Maison Ikkoku, Inuyasha and obviously Ranma. Currently, I have watched all of these except for Yatsura which I'm only halfway done (100+ episodes) with but I have enough knowledge to discuss and refer to it here. Also, I'm going to refer to these works in the review in order to do some comparing but won't spoil anything major for them but will of course review the entirety of Ranma's anime. Finally this is a review for the entireanime series along with the OVAs, however not including the movies which the quality is notably lacking compared to the main series.
Story: 5
Ranma 1/2 is a very Takahashi series which is a good aspect to have but unfortunately comes with some of her major flaws as a writer. I'm going to take a wild guess and assume many fans agree with me that the beginning/first season of the series is easily the best. The majority of season 1 (first 40 episodes), mainly focus on character introductions and explaining some key story details. Takahashi across her series have many fun and interesting ideas and concepts to mess with and for Ranma the main gimmick is for him to turn into a girl, while his father, and other side characters turn into animals after making contact to a certain amount of water. The main goal of the series is for Ranma to find a cure for this curse while also being engaged to his father's friend's daughter and deepening his relationship with her.
The concept is great as a starting point but unfortunately the series does little to nothing to add to this besides giving some side characters some of these curses such as Shampoo, Moose, and Ryoga. Any story details about the cast trying to fix this curse ultimately ends the same way which is them failing to lift the curse which sucks. This is one of the main problems, if not the biggest that the series has which is its lack of progression. As I've said, Takahashi has a lot of creative and interesting ideas but her weakness as a writer is that she never does any sort of progression with her story and even her characters. Besides the addition of some more minor side characters later into the series, you could pretty much watch these episodes in any order after Ukyo's introduction episodes which are around episode 40. This fatal flaw is seen throughout Urusei Yatsura, and in a unique instance in Inuyasha. It's very questionable why Takahashi chooses to write her series like these. She has the skills to write a story with an overarching plot, in fact her previous series Maison Ikkoku, (which is easily her best work) had a great story that had little to no filler.
Speaking of filler, the anime has around 45% of filler which is a LOT. It's just as much as Naruto and Bleach but fortunately the filler isn't that bad which is mainly due to the series being episodic. Its not easy to distinguish filler and canon episodes but more likely than not some of the bad or meh episodes are most likely going to be filler rather than canon due to them not coming from Takahashi herself. As for the quality of the episodes, it was very consistent for a surprising amount of the show's run. I'd say throughout the first half of the series (80 episodes) there may have been a small handful of episodes that weren't too good or meh, maybe about three to five if I had to guess. Unfortunately the second half takes a notable nosedive in terms of quality. I'd say this is a mix of me just getting somewhat tired of the series' flaws and length, while also being the quality itself dropping in some of these filler episodes. If the first half of Ranma had very solid and fun episodes with a decent amount of great ones, then the second half was mostly "good" episodes, with some great gems, but also with a lot more just alright and meh episodes. It's nothing bad by any means but for a series to be 161 along with a handful of OVA episodes its obvious that the quality was going to drop sometime.
If the series ended halfway through I'd most likely give it a mid - high 7 but because of the show just lasting way too long along with having its quality drop its sad to see it go down quite a bit. The last major problem with the anime is its ending or lack there of. The original 161 episode run ended 3 years before the manga ended so there was really nothing they could do about it unless they did an anime original ending or if Takahashi gave them her concept for how she wanted the series to end. Unfortunately the final episodes to the anime is the 3 episode OVA labeled Ranma Super which while being fine episodes on their own, definitely have no reason being the final episodes. Whether the studio and staff knew it would end with the OVAs or not I'm not entirely sure, but in the end we get an incomplete work which I'm used to but it's even more frustrating the longer the show is. It's extremely disappointing and irritating to watch over 150 episodes of Ranma just to get no conclusion of out it unless you read the manga but I'm not going to try that for a good few years. I'm expecting its going to be roughly the same just with the lack of non canon episodes along with an ending, and hopefully a good one too.
Despite having major flaws in its story, Ranma's episodes overall are good, there will be some misses here and there, more in the later episodes, but overall I'd say the episodes themselves are typically quite good and fun.
Art: 7
For a long running series that aired weekly episodes for a bit over three years, Ranma looks quite good, especially for the early 90s. It's colorful, characters are usually on model, backgrounds are good, fights are decent and sometimes above average and look leagues better than a majority of fights in DBZ. Also these are Takahashi's character designs and a lot of people, including myself, enjoy her designs a lot. Nothing mindblowing, but a continently good looking series.
Sound: 7
Ranma's first OP is extremely catchy and is probably the best song in the entire series. That's not to say the rest aren't great, in fact a lot of the EDs and OPs are pretty good too. The main OST I remember fondly of, but I need to listen to the entirety of it one day. A small complaint could be that due to its run, some of the tracks due tend to get used a lot in certain scenes so that is a bit of a bummer that the quantity is lacking in some areas.
I am someone who watches 99% of anime in dub and Viz's English dub I enjoyed a lot. It's not perfect obviously, but it's pretty well done. I had to listen to the 2008 OVA in sub and while I didn't have a problem with it, I still clearly preferred the English cast. To be honest, I think Akane's English VA is notably better than her Japanese's. She feels much more like a tomboy and hearing her being annoyed and irritated sounded much better in English than it did with her Japanese VA. Another thing I wanted to praise was that Shampoo's English VA sounds nearly identical to its Japanese voice which was really interesting to find out about. One weird detail in the dub though is that after episode 65 if I'm not wrong, Ranma's male VA changes which was very drastic and it took me a good amount of episodes to get used to it. They got the same VA as Inuyasha for him from there on out and I actually don't have a preference. I think both actors do a solid job at being Ranma.
Characters: 7.5
Ranma's biggest strength is its cast of likable characters. Ranma is a great protagonist, Akane is one of the better tsunderes in anime, and actually likable, but not lovable (I typically do not like tsunderes), and the rest are mostly quite good. Shampoo is easily my favorite then followed by Ukyo. Ryoga and Moose also make me laugh a good amount of the time. The only character who really overstays his welcome is Happosai. I enjoyed his stay at first but shortly after he just becomes very annoying and rarely seems to get punished for his actions. He isn't terrible, I don't hate him but he's clearly the worst and least likable character in the series. Luckily nearly everyone else is very fun to watch. The only other problem with Ranma's cast goes back to a problem with the main story: progression. In Ranma, characters get very little to no character developments. Sure there are episodes where Ranma and Akane seem to be getting closer to each other but it doesn't seem to affect the episodes that take place after. Ranma still clearly has feelings for her shortly after the series starts but nothing happens between them. Its all just fake and filler.
Enjoyment: 6.5
As I said before, the first half of Ranma was very consistent but unfortunately the series goes downhill shortly after. I would really like to give the series a 7 but due to the abundance of filler, lack of story progression, and lack of character development, its hard to really love Ranma where I can just like and enjoy it for what it is. That being said, a majority of the episodes are fun and it's a pretty fun show during those good episodes. I just wish the series wasn't so long and sort of a drag at times.
Overall: 6.75/10
Ranma 1/2 is a very flawed and way too long of a series that lacks a progressing story, an ending, and character development. That being said, for what Ranma is, its a fun show to watch. For what it lacks, it does include a cast of very likable characters along with being quite funny a good chunk of the time. Currently, I'd say Ranma is Takahashi's second best work being only slightly better than Inuyasha as a whole, Urusei Yatsura, while Maison Ikkoku is by far her greatest achievement.
The main question that I should answer is of course, should you watch Ranma?
It's not a simple yes or no, it all comes down to how much you enjoy anime, how much time you have clearly, and if this seems like something you'd enjoy. It's very difficult to recommend Ranma due to its large run time but if you just want to have fun then I recommend watching just the first 50-60ish episodes and if you really enjoy it then try out the rest and see how much you enjoy. Basically, if you want a good story along with deep characters then this obviously isn't the show for you; go watch Maison Ikkoku. However, if you just want to have fun then just try it. You might end up enjoying a good chunk of the series and then end up dropping it halfway or a quarter way through but hopefully you'll enjoy what you watch of it.
Luizinhu
Ranma 1/2 stills one of my favorites shows of all time, it's funny, it's a beautiful love story and is a classic. There's not much to say about, is simple as a Saturday morning show, but isn't silly and generic like others. The anime itself is pretty solidi in history telling, alternating between jokes and funny fights to romantic conflicts and love scenes, and even from a older time, the animations looks pretty nice and incredible smooth in fighting scenes. Isn't a show that will change your anime perspective or anything like that, but it's hard not to like.
