Ranma ½ (1989–1992) User Reviews

Laugh-out-loud martial arts satire with gender-bending kicks

[jayson_valentine · 8/10 · 3 June 2010]

Ranma 1/2 is the only romantic-comedic anime that I've enjoyed. I usually only watch serious adult anime, but Ranma 1/2 is quite exceptional both in its humor and unique character design. If you love randomness and quirky plots, this anime is for you. However, I feel that the full Ranma experience is in reading Rumiko Takahashi's superior manga.

As far as the animation goes, it tends to get progressively sloppy as well with the scriptwriting, which heavily borrows on Takahashi's brilliance to make ends meet. Despite this, the funniest episodes are later on in the series hidden within the hit-and-miss seasons. There are some admittably stupid episodes, but what can you expect from a long-running series?

The show's strong points are its accurate portrayal of teen romance, complex character profiles, unpredictable non-linear plot lines, and zany humor.

Ranma Rocks and Rules!

[tzer0 · 22 February 2002]

The first season was a bit more consistent, But some of the BEST episodes are in Anything Goes and Harder Battle! There are some Great ones in the new seasons like Outta Control, Martial Mayhem and Random Rhapsody too! I would stick with the Subtitles though. The voices are much better, and for some reason the jokes are much funnier. I've tried watching the English Dubbed versions and though I don't have to read, it's just not the same. I'd rather have read the subtitles and laugh so hard I have to rewind to get the next joke!

This show is absolutely hilarious

[babymanperson · 10/10 · 14 March 2023]

It's about a 16 year old boy named Ramma Sataome. He and his father Gemma are Martial artists. They do to China and visit a strange training ground. Ranma accidentally falls into a cursed pond. Now when ever he is hit by cold water he becomes a girl and when he gets hit by hot water he becomes a boy again. He keeps this a secret. His father fell into another cursed pond. When ever he is hit by cold water he becomes a giant panda. Whenever he gets hit by hot water he becomes human again. Ranma is forced to be a in an arranged marriage with Akane. He is supposed to inherit the Tendo Dojo when he marries her one day. Sometimes they bicker but they do love each other. The Sataomes are currently living with the Tendo Family. I will list all the characters personalities. Ranma is basically the straight man. Even though he is a woman sometimes. LOL He is a manly macho guy who is a talented martial artist. He hates being a girl and he wants to be a guy permanently. Akane is also a martial artist. She is a tomboy with a short temper. Typically she is nice when you don't bother her. She is the youngest of the Tendo girls and is 16 Nabiki is one of the best characters. She is the deadpan one who is very cheap. She is amused by the chaos going on around her. She is eating popcorn and enjoying the show. She is the middle child. Kasumi is the Oldest child. She is in her 20's she is the sweet proper one. She always has a calm deminor. There is Gemma. He is Ranma's father. He makes Homer Simpson look like a good parent. He trained his son in martial arts. He is often hard on his son and he is often forcing him to do stuff he doesn't want to do. He is also really stupid and borderline abusive. Tendo is the girls Father. He owns the Dojo. He is alot Nicer than Gemma and his best friend. There is Royoga the other best character. He is Ranma's arch rival. He is frequently challenging Ranma to fights. His running gag is that he is always lost and can cover incredible distance by foot. He could go to the store and end up on Mt. Fugi. When ever he gets hit by cold water he turns into a pig. Akane keeps him as a pet and calls him p-chan. He follows Ranma and his dad to China and accidentally falls in a cursed pond. There are tons more characters but I don't want to spoil anymore. The action is very well choreographed and hilarious. The one lines have me rolling on the floor. The visual gags and physical comedy are top notch too.

I don't adore You Ranma Saotome

[jorgedavidguzmandelarosa · 1/10 · 17 September 2022]

I don't adore Ranma Saotome, because he has a very STUPIDEST and horroza comedy, he also has many lawsuits against his rivals, including his fiancée, Akane Tendo, also this anime is very clumsy, because it normalizes LGBT, physical abuse, curses of when they bathe with the cold water and they would never be cured of their curses, for this reason this anime was a failure for Japan, because it canceled the anime and it would never be popular like Inuyasha, I don't appreciate that anime. This is why I don't adore Ranma, Akane, Genma, Soun, Nabiki, Kasumi, Kodachi, Kuno, Shampoo, Mousse, Ukyo, Ryoga, Cologne and Hapossai because they are a team and a family of clumsy, mediocre, useless and hypocritical people, so they are losers. I don't adore you Ranma Saotome. DANMED Ranma ½.

I Hate You Ranma ½

[guzmandelarosa-84053 · 1/10 · 13 March 2022]

This STUPIDEST anime is worse, in these seasons and the episodes are very silly, a bad romance, the silly comedy, the Bad battles, the silly characters accept bad jokers. This anime won't be popular as Inuyasha. I Hate You Ranma ½. DAMNED Ranma ½.

I hate you Ranma Saotome

[guzmanchumino · 1/10 · 12 December 2022]

Don't ever let your kids watch this garbage, they'll only commit a repeat of the Columbine tragedy. Many people claim this OVA is funny, but that is like saying the Normandy invasion scene from Saving Private Ryan is amusing and even laughing at the story of the two 10-year-old boys who killed a toddler after abducting them in England. Seriously, don't let your kids watch this.

2 out of 13 found this helpful

gester-8770414 October 2022 1/10 I am not Fan of Ranma ½ Warning: Spoilers I don't adore Ranma Saotome, because he has a very clumsy and horroza comedy, he also has many lawsuits against his rivals, including his fiancée, Akane Tendo, also this anime is very clumsy, because it normalizes LGBT, physical abuse, curses of when they bathe with the cold water and they would never be cured of their curses, for this reason this anime was a failure for Japan, because it canceled the anime and it would never be popular like Inuyasha, I don't appreciate that anime. This is why I don't adore Ranma, Akane, Genma, Soun, Nabiki, Kasumi, Kodachi, Kuno, Shampoo, Mousse, Ukyo, Ryoga, Cologne and Hapossai because they are a team and a family of clumsy, mediocre, useless and hypocritical people, so they are losers. I don't adore you Ranma Saotome.

Eh, I loved it

[stanteau · 29 December 2001]

Ranma succeeds at one thing,being fun to watch.The first season was magnificent as stated in another review but the second season isn't a complete waste by anymeans. It's not gonna win any awards but everything after season 1 is still fun as hell to watch. BTW, I like the English VA's better :)

It just keeps getting funnier...

[au_law2001 · 5 February 2005]

Yes it does. This follow-up series for TV keeps getting funny every time I watch it. With a few new characters and side stories with different twists, and it even reveals more secrets, and more weird and pathetic but funny fighting styles and moves done by each character and stock character, and more funny antics of Happousai, and Kuno and Ryoga, and a few filler episodes with crazy references to old classic shows like Dragnet and Mission Impossible, Twilight Zone, Kage no Gundan and much more, look for them yourselves! And also weird references to ancient Chinese and Japanese culture once again, and funny as always, I especially like the ones with the French guys, they were portrayed funny, and how Souun and Genma end up screwing up in some. And no to mention, the return of some of the stock characters such as the skating girl that like things that are cute, and the guy at Jusenkyo. Recommended to fans of the series and fans of Rumiko Takahashi's works.

Funny series, horrifying spin off

[joebrian55 · 5/10 · 25 October 2010]

While I enjoyed watching Viz's imports of the series, I was curious enough to decide to watch the OVAs that were produced during the series' popularity. Of course, I should have been laughing at one of them, but I was really horrified by what happened in the first OVA. Of course, I didn't watch all of it yet, but the first 6 minutes, which showed Shampoo beating Ranma to a pulp, were too much for me. It was enough to head to IMDb and write this review. I'd give the series 5 stars, but the OVA deserves far less than that!

I was totally left speechless and gaping by the way Shampoo was treating poor Ranma, normally I had no sympathy for Ranma whatsoever (I cared more for Shampoo, Ryoga, Mousse and Akane) I was completely horrified regardless. Seeing Ranma get smacked repeatedly was just hard for me to tolerate. The OVA gets -5 stars for this reason, I can't believe many people allow their children to watch that stuff, that's why people get into brutal fights at schools and their victim ends up on life support in the hospital.

Simply put, CONDEMNED!

Ranma nosedives!

[Miki-13 · 24 September 1999]

The first series of 18 episodes is brilliant. It follows the original Manga almost precisely and the animation and voice acting (original japanese) are excellent.

Nettouhen, however, is the second series. It is bad. The voices continue to be wonderful, but the animation quality takes a sharp downturn. Also, they change/alter/skip entirely sections of the original Manga story. Most irritatingly moving a storyline that took place on a Beach into a snow-covered mountain, yet still keeping the overall story the same. Rediculous. %r %r Ranma 1/2: Nettouhen. Skip it. Watch the original series, and read the Manga. %r %r Miki!

The Worst anime of Shonen

[jorgedavidguzman · 1/10 · 12 January 2023]

This anime is very mediocre, because it has an exaggerated padding, also Ranma, Akane, Genma, Soun, Nabiki, Kasumi, Kodachi, Kuno, Shampoo, Mousse, Ukyo, Ryoga, Cologne and Happosai are a mediocre team and family, for This is why I hate this movie because they fight a lot and they don't make amends and they don't accept that they behaved badly, and they prefer to normalize physical abuse, and they prefer to be spiteful and grumpy and hurt each other, I prefer to leave those mediocre ones who suffer and that I would never return to them, and that they better rot in darkness and solitude.

Don't ever let your kids watch this garbage, they'll only commit a repeat of the Columbine tragedy. Many people claim this OVA is funny, but that is like saying the Normandy invasion scene from Saving Private Ryan is amusing and even laughing at the story of the two 10-year-old boys who killed a toddler after abducting them in England. Seriously, don't let your kids watch this.

I don't adore Ranma Saotome, because he has a very clumsy and horroza comedy, he also has many lawsuits against his rivals, including his fiancée, Akane Tendo, also this anime is very clumsy, because it normalizes LGBT, physical abuse, curses of when they bathe with the cold water and they would never be cured of their curses, for this reason this anime was a failure for Japan, because it canceled the anime and it would never be popular like Inuyasha, I don't appreciate that anime. This is why I don't adore Ranma, Akane, Genma, Soun, Nabiki, Kasumi, Kodachi, Kuno, Shampoo, Mousse, Ukyo, Ryoga, Cologne and Hapossai because they are a team and a family of clumsy, mediocre, useless and hypocritical people, so they are losers. I don't adore you Ranma Saotome.

Not quite as good

[Jeremy Bristol · 5 May 2002]

Here's the story as I've heard it, regarding the first story arc in Ranma's second season (which is referred to in the first season, when Akane remember Ranma saying, "Akane is my fiancee. You touch her, and I'll kill you."). First of all, in the comic, the martial arts figure skating appears *before* the Shampoo incidents, so it makes sense to have the reference. But from what I've heard, they were thinking about cancelling the show, so they skipped it and did the Shampoo episodes, hoping to garner more viewers, then tacked on the silly final "rememberance" episode to cap the story, in case it was cancelled. It wasn't, but it was sent to a very different animation house (I think--at least it was directed by different people) in hopes of making it more lively. And in some ways, it is. The cheaper production values allowed them to have continuous motion and stuff, but in the process lost it's thoughtfulness and visual creativity. The animation is often repetitious and downright crude at times (fast-moving kicks that are simply animated as the same series of blurred lines, bodies that warp too much as they spin, choppy walking, etc). Still, the first storyline is well told and animated, and for the most part, the stories are still pretty good. But by the end, they're all just a bunch of one-episode arcs that often have no connection to the ones before it, and the same sorts of things happen over and over, especially in regards to Akane and Ranma's relationship (this was also starting to become a problem in Rumiko Takahashi's comic--they would fight, make-up, and break-up again in the last page of a story arc). Finally, the dubbing quality goes downhill, especially in Hard Battle and Outta Control (I stopped watching them after the voice-actress (Sarah Strange?) of Boy-Type Ranma quit and was replaced). I don't know if the Japanese version did any better after the second season.

I hate you Ranma ½

[liebheartjohan · 1/10 · 30 December 2022]

Don't ever let your kids watch this garbage, they'll only commit a repeat of the Columbine tragedy. Many people claim this OVA is funny, but that is like saying the Normandy invasion scene from Saving Private Ryan is amusing and even laughing at the story of the two 10-year-old boys who killed a toddler after abducting them in England. Seriously, don't let your kids watch this.

I am not Fan of Ranma ½ Warning: Spoilers I don't adore Ranma Saotome, because he has a very clumsy and horroza comedy, he also has many lawsuits against his rivals, including his fiancée, Akane Tendo, also this anime is very clumsy, because it normalizes LGBT, physical abuse, curses of when they bathe with the cold water and they would never be cured of their curses, for this reason this anime was a failure for Japan, because it canceled the anime and it would never be popular like Inuyasha, I don't appreciate that anime. This is why I don't adore Ranma, Akane, Genma, Soun, Nabiki, Kasumi, Kodachi, Kuno, Shampoo, Mousse, Ukyo, Ryoga, Cologne and Hapossai because they are a team and a family of clumsy, mediocre, useless and hypocritical people, so they are losers. I don't adore you Ranma Saotome.

One of the worst anime ever!

[servavistix · 1/10 · 12 January 2023]

The biggest problem is that the art and the storyline have the capabilities to become amazing, but instead they drag it out to where each show is like it reset started over the main characters never grow or learn and they act like they're 10 years old the stupidity is astounding I understand comical anime stupidity but this show drags it to a whole new level. I'm on season 3 like episode 10ish and I am to the point where I just don't want to watch it it's addicting to watch because you want to see the characters get better or smarter or grow, but they never do I even looked it up on Google just find the ending and something that should have happened a third way into the show is like the very last episode on the very last season. Talk about sad.