Ranma 1/2

TV (161 eps)
1989 - 1992
3.815 out of 5 from 14,615 votes
Rank #2,079

Ranma, raised to be a man among men, has a bit of a problem: he is half woman! While training in China he fell into a strange magic spring at Jusenkyo. Now, he is eternally cursed to change into a beautiful woman whenever he is hit by cold water, but that may be the least of his problems; his father has betrothed him to marry! There's never a dull day for Ranma as he attempts to find a cure for his curse, train to become stronger, and grapple with the fact that half of himself may be more feminine than his fiancée!

Content Warning

my anime:

User Stats

41,664 users are tracking this. to see stats.

If you like this anime, you might like...

Reviews

DBZAOTA482
8

Synopsis Ranma 1/2 is an anime that any worshipper of classic anime should at least know off, it was one of many anime titles that help to boost the popularity of anime in the 90's, and for fans of the harem genre, it is very important due to defining the "lovers in denial" storytelling portion of it. Story The story of Ranma 1/2 revolves around a 16-year-old boy named Ranma Saotome, who is raised to be a man among men, forced into marriage with a girl of the same age named Akame Tendo, youngest daughter of Soun Tendo, by a deal shared between the fathers of both (Genma Saotome and Soun Tendo), it seems like an easy cruise for Ranma but he is faced with the burden the curse of turning into a girl when faced with cold water. It doesn't just place a burden on his relationship between Akane Tendo, it also places a burden on his martial arts training.  That's barely touching the surface of what goes on in this series, the series is very bizarre yet it's also crushingly entertaining, and creative, one of the major plot focuses in the series is a class of martial arts where anything goes and fighters of crazy, made-up styles for Ranma Saotome and co. to challenge. I'm quite amazed by the balance between the action, comedy, and romance however the plot suffers from many pitfalls. the main plotline lacks diversity, it's almost always follow like this: Akame being a damsel in distress or a guy trying to win her heart, Ranma gets offended and tries to end it, once he does the first time, Akame sees that Ranma does hold affections for her, Ranma denies it, they bicker, Ranma insults Akame harshly, Akame gets uspet, and leaves bringing herself and even others around her in danger, Ranma goes to defeat the man while leaving time to kiss n' make up with Akame. End. It may be endearing the first several times but it loses much of it's allure afterwards. Another problem is that there's plenty of cookie-cutter filler material like when Moose decides to go back to his hometown but doesn't, and wasting all the emotional tension for a whole episode of stupid, mean-spirited slapstick involving him getting beat up. That's not it, the series doesn't even have  a real conclusion, it doesn't decide if Ranma and Akame get together or not, it just ends with Ranma hiding from his mom when she came to see his face again. Animation Let me start off by saying the art is very well done, I always thought Rumiko Takahashi was a talent artist and it shows here, it gives out the fun and quirkiness of the series with the bright, vibrant colors and fluff character designs however the art shows a lack of diversity, I mean just by comparing Ranma and Ryoga alone shows how really similar the characters tend to look like to each other.  The flow of animation in general isn't exactly something to brag about, although the animation looked great on the first season it declines significantly after that, and Season 3 (Hard Battle) in particular was really badly and cheaply animated; the characters were like crude, cloppy blobs with washed-out color palettes but the animation does pick up some steam though by season 4, and is near on par with season 1 by the end. This all may have been passable at the time but looking at it by today's standards, it isn't exactly the best visionary experience. Sound The sound is brilliant. It's amazing how the voice actors can bring out the characters' personalities in a wide range, they sound can sound happy, cool, angry, cute, and sad. With big name seyiuus like Megumi HAYASHIBARA, and Noriko HIDAKA rocking the set you can't go wrong, even the English Dub voice-acting isn't half bad either. The musical score is mostly a mixture between Traiditional Japanese and Traiditional Chinese style OSTs with some occassional Jpop thrown in. The music is well put in places like in the comedic scenes where I helps encourage you to laugh or at least chuckle and when the action begins, it helps you get excited, and expire you to try some martial arts. Characters The characterization is probably one of the things that will make you overlook the plot's many pitfalls, I found all the characters to be loveable in their own way but with a small exceptions like Happosai. The characters are rather complex with the way they act, and their relationship. Personally I found the Ranma Saotome X Akame Tendo relationship to be some of the most well-written potiential couples in fiction writing, the chemistry between the two is just amazing. The only problem with the characterization is that the characters themselves barely grow, like I said before it would have been nice to say Ranma and Akame seal the deal or not. Verdict Despite it's many issues, Ranma 1/2 is a entertaining, cute, and light-hearted series that will keep you watching all the way to the end and get totally addicted to.  Do I recommend it? If you're a lover of classic anime, the harem genre, or action/comedy shonen, definitly watch it.  

Zombiefood
8

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 factor whether 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 whirl.

See all reviews

Related anime

Related manga

Characters

See all characters

Staff

See all staff

Discussions

Custom lists

See all custom lists