Ranma 1/2

Production
Fuji TV, Kitty Film
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Series
Year
1989

Ranma 1/2

By Jeff Snyder
21st May 04

This series plays off the worst fear of most guys, "What if I were a girl?" Well poor Ranma Saotome, our hero, is cursed with this exact nightmare. Because of a training accident with his father in China, whenever Ranma is splashed with cold water he turns into a girl (watch the series to see why). To reverse this, he can revert back to his normal "guy" self when he's splashed with warm water, which in most scenes turns out to be boiling hot. Oh yeah, here's an interesting side note, Ranma's dad is also cursed, only he turns into a panda. Sucks for him.

Anyway Ranma's father decides to marry Ranma off to one of his friend's daughters, Akane. However, neither of the kids are happy about it, and Ranma's curse really complicates things. Not to mention all the insanely hilarious sub-stories that develop as a result of it. What does this mean? Well, simply put, everyone, both guy and girl alike (except the few who know about the curse) ends up falling madly and DANGEROUSLY in love with one of Ranma's personalities.

The plots are incredibly ludicrous and insane, but their so relentlessly funny that you WILL have to press the pause button for a few minutes in order to get over the 1st wave of many laughs.

There is only one thing wrong with this series. It's the fact that it deliberately goes out of the way to make Akane's image of Ranma terrible. There are countless incidents of bad circumstances, caused usually by the shows long list of psychopaths (such as Ryoga, Shampoo, Kuno, Kudachi, etc). You'll see what I mean by this statement, especially in the 2nd and 3rd seasons, like with Ranma's quest for the 3 magic urns.

However, this is just a minor flaw in what is otherwise perhaps the funniest anime series of all time. The list of complex relationships and outrageous situations is sure to make even the worst sour-puss lighten up. This is one of the most enduring, and popular animes of all time. This is a must see by far. If you want a TON of laughs, then by god why the hell aren't you out shopping for it now?!

9/10

-- Jeff Snyder 21st May 04

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