I have only watched the first 1/3 of the season, and a couple of episodes from each season. The couple of episodes I watched from each season from 4 to 7 were really similar to the formula of those episodes from season 3, that’s why I will not review them. I will only review the 1/3 I watched (54 episodes).
Intro:
There’s an old saying that goess “Old is Gold.” Ranma 1/2 is proof of this statement. All the emotions portrayed in the anime are authentic, the music is very appropriate to each situation, all the characters are nice and amusing, and even though it is very old, the animation is exceptionally nice.
Ranma 1/2 is an episodic Comedy/Action anime, that runs on a certain formula. This formula consists of:
*Challenges; people fighting over their loved characters.
*Events; something bad happens, and they have to get rid of it.
*Character introductions; new characters are introduced, and a couple of episodes tell you about this character, explain his weak points and his powers, then this character falls in love with another character.
*Dramatic and romantic moments; which only happen in parts of episodes, and these are really rare. But these are the best moments of the anime.
Story:
Saotome Genma, and Tendo Soun are practitioners of the Anything-Goes martial art, and upon reuniting, they decided that Saotome Ranma (the hero of the series) and Tendo Akane should be married, and they are engaged now until then. Even though they don’t rub well together, they support each other from time to time.
The most I can make out of the story is that Ranma is trying to remove the curse on him, in which he turns into a female whenever splashed with water. That’s the only solid goal for Ranma. He jumps at each chance he gets to remove this curse. The other characters want to go steady with the girls they like, but there is always someone that stands in the way. It’s fun at first, but it gets repetitive pretty soon (after the second season). There is no progress in Ranma and Akane’s tsundere relationship as one would think. It doesn’t get better with time; it only develops into a certain stage through the first two seasons, then it stays as it is for the rest of the anime.
You’ll see many side-characters fighting over Ranma or Akane, and they always lose at the end, so there’s not much that could happen. It’s always failed attempts. Which makes it a bit generic, but it’s freaking hilarious. Each attempt is more creative than the one before. It won’t bore you so easily.
The action scenes are okay, but from time to time, an inciting battle boils your blood from the action and speed. With each character introduction, an awesome fight occurs, but normal fights aren’t worth mentioning.
Characters:
I dare you to find one character that is typical. All characters are original, and with each character his advantages and disadvantages, e.g.: Ryouga always gets lost even if he had a map, but is very strong and enduring; Mousse always has his silly gadgets tucked under his sleeves, but can’t see a thing without his glasses; and so on..
Each character has romantic goals, to go steady with a certain character, but it always ends horribly. Given that the anime is episodic, no one holds a grudge against the other, or teams up with another as his partner for long, it’s unstable.
Once you get the hang of each character, the anime gets much better, forcing you to laugh at each encounter, knowing what will happen based on the characters involved in this situation, which is very nice. It makes you feel like you’re personally involved in the anime.
Music and animation:
The world looks very appealing, even if for some recycled backgrounds, but most of them look very good, so I am not to complain. The characters all are very well-drawn, and they all look good. The sky is what really attracts me, I am a sucker for ethereal themes, and the sky does just that, whether it was in the morning or at night.
The music is one of the best things in the anime. This is the first anime that made me listen to each opening and ending (even though I hate most anime endings and openings). All the battle music, and dramatic music are appropriate. The main themes are nice, and there are such a wide variety of soundtracks used. Some that I wait for in each battle.
Lastly, the voice acting is very good.
Lasting Appeal:
I watched the first 2 seasons in 8 days; that’s how much I liked it. It lost its special charm after the first 2 season, and after the 3rd one, it goes downhill.
It made me hate every character that tried to interfere with Ranma and Akane’s relationship; and even though it seems that they hate each other, they get jealous every time another character approaches the other. That innocent childish love is something I wanted to see in every anime, and Ranma 1/2 executed it perfectly.
All the sentiments feel authentic, and they are expressed beautifully. No character feels like it’s pretending to be itself, which is shown at best in Ranma and Akane’s dramatic moments; especially in a romantic scene at the beginning and end of season 2.
Ranma 1/2 excels the most in its humorous side. It is easily one of the funniest anime I have ever seen. Most of its jokes are about the typicality of its characters, and it’s guaranteed to make you laugh your butt off.
All in all, Ranma 1/2 is an excellent anime, with original ideas, and fun schemes, but sadly, it overstayed its welcome, becoming way to repetitive in mid season 3 till the rest of the anime. Had they concentrated on the progress of Ranma and Akane’s relationship afterwards, it would’ve been much better. Sadly, they continued on the same formula for 110 episodes, which became unbearable.
{8.6/10}
