Growing up i loved inuyasha, and credit it as one of the shows that got me started on anime. i decided to try out ranma as it was written by the same author, and i was MASSIVELY dissapointed. in fact, it made me like inuyasha less.
ill keep this short and sweet.
The art is fine- for its time they did a good job and some of the scenes were animated very well and the art overall is decent. DECENT, not amazing. im going to ignore the constant 360p nip slips that occur throughout the series, because fan service has existed in so many different anime at this point i dont even think its worth criticizing, its just a byproduct of the average degenerate who consumes the medium.
the story is absolute garbage. a *wacky* premise i can forgive, but the endless misunderstandings and frustrating garbage writing i cant. falls under typical anime trope of "its not what it seems!" but does more to frustrate the viewer than offer any humorous response. without spoiling anything (whats to spoil, the show is as predictable as adding bleach to ammonia), there is just a series of minor character progressions that amount to nothing. if you want THE most stereotypical plotlines (i say plotlines because they are just a series of disjointed mini-arcs) maybe this show if for you.
the sound is meh. its 1989 though, so ill give it a break. the opening is catchy but thats about it.
the characters are all absurd, but in furiously disgruntling ways. copy paste ranma as inuyasha, copy paste akane as kagome, and copy paste ryoga as kouga- it seems she didnt vary her bland character design one bit and it shows. while the show is supposed to be a comedy, it ends up being a slapstick back and forth between 2 dimensional characters. every single one has a bad and a good side, and thats it. black and white. no depth, just 2 sides to a coin, and whichever one serves the plot best is what appears. i guess you could say the characters are all consistent, but consistently bad isnt something to write home about. Ranma isnt the only anime to have these trends, but it definitely relies on them heavily and it shows. typical MAL trends rate everything highly because its impossible for the average anime fan to even understand let alone enjoy good writing because most of them are stuck in their teens long after they should have grown into adults. if you find the characters relatable, congratulations- you have the mind of a 5th grader. the characters are the strongest part of the show, and they suck, plain and simple. the Dad in panda mode is the most redeeming, but hes just a gag at the end of the day.
i didnt enjoy this series. a few moments made me chuckle at best, but beyond that i kept waiting for it to "get good". spoiler: it just got worse. it actually made me like her other works LESS. its that bad.
feel free to disagree, but i ask you this: would you ever recommend this to someone who WASNT an anime nerd? if not, then dont dare rate it above a 5. i acknowledge its age and its intended audience, but im not going to rate the teletubbies higher because its intended for children under the age of 3. its still garbage if analyzed like the media its supposed to be.
contrary to what ive heard, if you have taste, DONT watch this. or if you do, acknowledge that its a guilty pleasure and nothing special by any means. Its not even "So-bad-its-good", its just poorly done in so many regards. typical MAL inflated rating will give this around a 7.5- and it should be a warning not to trust the masses of socially inept "otakus" who rate everything above a 7 because its apparent that with the level of education they have, they havent learned how numbers work yet.
dont waste your time.
