Ranma 1/2 Review by aznwolfe
BACK

	Audience:	16+
	Genre:	Comedy/Romance/Martial Arts
	Usual Running Time:	30 min. per episode (TV series)
	Average Cost:	$24.98-29.95
	Contains:	Animated Violence, Brief Nudity
	Music:	B-
	Animation:	TV: C, OAV: A
	Plot/Storyline:	B
	Rating:	B+

Ranma 1/2 is one of the best martial arts-romance-comedy anime around. Very popular in both the U.S. and Japan, it is a very fun anime to watch. Ranma and Akane are the main characters in the story. While Ranma and his father were training all around the world, they discover  "The Cursed Springs of Jusenkyo". They decide to train there and, by accident, both fall into the cursed springs. Ah, yes...very tragic story... Unfortunately, Ranma fell into a spring where a girl drowned some hundred years ago. So now, when he is doused with cold water, he turns into a red haired pig-tailed girl and the only way to turn him back to normal is hot water. While a girl, he  "accidentally" (many times) shows some skin. His father, Genma Saotome, is left in the same predicament except that he turns into a panda bear.

After this very tragic accident, they head back to Japan. There, they meet with the Tendo family which consists of Soun and his daughters: Kasumi, Nabiki, and Akane, who knows nothing of their predicament. Wanting to give heirs to the Saotome/Tendo School of Anything-Goes-Martial-Arts, both Genma and Soun decide to get Ranma and Akane engaged to each other. Both Ranma and Akane hate the idea of being forced to get married. Later, Ranma and Genma's little secret is revealed. A twist is given to the story as Ranma seeks for the ULTIMATE cure to turn him back to normal.   As the show progresses, you find out that Ranma and Akane are really meant to be together, although they deny it. More wacky and crazy characters are thrown in to add conflict and fun to the story: Shampoo, Ryoga, Mousse, Ukyo, Kuno, Kodachi, Cologne, Happosai, and much more!

Aside from the "skin" shown by some of the characters (...and sometimes the unnecessary perversity added in which, in no way, relates to the story at all...) ô¿ô , the show is really quite funny and cute.  Not much plot-involved as most of the conflicts are solved through martial arts in some way: a martial-arts ice-skating contest, martial arts take-out contest, martial arts marriage contest..., but it is still pretty good. I might have graded it a bit easy though... The art quality is only good in the OAV series and the movies (..well, at least the 2nd movie "Nihao My Concubine"). The english dubbed versions are WONDERFUL and the voices actually fits the characters. The music can vary from "wow" to "ugh". (Remember the "yah-pa-pa" song?)  Overall though, a fun anime to watch.

Forms Available:
TV Series
Hard Battle Series
OAVs
Movie 1: Big Trouble in Nekonron China (?)
Movie 2: Nihao My Concubine
Manga &Comic

Ranma 1/2 is available @ www.viz.com
Original story concept by Rumiko Takahashi. Image not by me.