Ranma ½
Ranma 1/2

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Well Ranma 1/2 doesn't have a plot per say. It's more like a bunch of entertaining stories put together in the middle of a crazy scenario. However, that does not decrease the value of Ranma at all. It is a very good manga to pick up. Even considering the age and art style are quite different than most manga modern day. It is still very action packed and extremely hilarious. It happens to be one of my favorite manga of all time, just because the characters are all unique and funny. Just by reading Ranma you can discover the influence it has had on ... many of todays manga. The stories aren't redundant and it very good read. In fact, I plan on reading the volumes multiple times. The action comedy romance is quite spectacular and unique to Ranma, unlike other series, it obtains a sense of originality that separates it from the rest and truly makes it great. Unfortunately, I don't which to spoil the series but all the twists and turns are funny and suprising that it will always make you have a "Laugh out Loud Moment". The Protagonists and the supporting characters are all memorable and it really is a manga that is worth reading, even if it does not particularly have a plot.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS TO ANYONE WHO LIKES MARTIAL ARTS AND COMEDY!
With a side of romance to boot, who would miss out on the opportunity to read this CHAOTIC AND SPECTACULAR MANGA!

Ranma 1/2 is something that is difficult to pin a single description on. At times there are lots of action scenes, explosions, and various attacks flying around. At other times it is side splitting humor due to an awkward time and place for Ranma to transform, or situations he gets roped into, and still other times where Akane's explosive temper or jealousy takes us by suprise.Scattered here and there are some genuinely sweet and tender moments as well.

(8) Ranma 1/2 is episodic. It has no overarching plot other than to perhaps reverse the curse placed on Ranma and several other we meet along the way. ... We have our core group of Ranma and friends, and a number of other characters that come and go.

(10) The art is amazingly detailed and crisp. Age is no qualm here as an excuse for sloppy art. This is top notch. Sometimes simple and clean, other times detail overload.

( 10) The characters here all have a healthy dose of insanity. With few exceptions most of the characters have some unique personality traits that either put Ranma and crew in massive trouble, or cause such an awkward scene that you can't help but burst out laughing. Also with few exceptions most of the characters are so tenacious that they just cannot give up. ever. It doesn't matter how many times they get pounded into the ground, or launched into the sky, they just keep coming back for more. But it fits with those characters personalities and makes them what they are. We do have a number of one or two shot characters that appear for a scene or two and are never seen again.

(9) Ranma 1/2 is a very long series, 38 volumes is a lot to read through. I won't lie and say I enjoyed every single one of the stories, but I'm willing to forgive them in light of the insane fun of the majority of the set.

(10) Overall I loved Ranma 1/2 and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a bit of insane fun mixed with various action bits and a romance plot that is extremely warped due to the number of opposing parties involved. Not to mention that Ranma is both a boy and a girl, and with the plentiful insanity, various people either love him or hate him depending on which he is at the time.

The only bad things I can say about the series is that sometimes enough is enough. Ranma's immaturity, and Akanes explosive temper can get a little old
but still.
10/10 without a doubt. Bias included.

Here we go with my second overall review.

To start things off, I have a lot of love for Rumiko Talajashi and her many works, but so far I have loved Ranma 1/2 most of all, so if my review seems a little biased, please forgive me.

Story:
Let me give you a quick summary of what this story is all about. Ranma Saotome is a 16 year old martial artist who went on a training mission to China with his father. His father took him to one of Chinas roughest training areas, The Jusenkyo springs, a place covered with hundreds of small springs each with a curse. ... Those who train there often fall into the springs attaining the curse. Its safe to say that Ranma and his father, Genma, are one of those unlucky few. And what IS the curse?? No they don't grow an extra head, no they don't have to kill someone to get through the day, and no they aren't forced to suffer the tortures of hell every waking minute of their lives, the curse Ranma and is father attain is far worse. For Genma, after getting knocked intoi a spring by one of his sons kicks is cursed to tansform itno a panda whenever splashed wth cold water as for Ranma well... instead of a panda HE is cursed to transform into a buxom young lady whenever doused with cold water. Now these curses wouldn't seem so bad if it wasn't for the fact that only hot water can transform them back to normal, and with sudden downpours, waterparks, and the surprising lack of proper water disposal hot water is pretty damn hard to come by. To make matters worse the two were so depressed about their curses they forgot to jump into the one spring that could cure them, The spring of drowned man! Not only that but Ranma's father has arranged for him to marry, Akane, the daughter of Genmas good freind and a girl who hates boys. These two would be lovers get off to a rough start, but slowly except each other, unfortunately Ranma and Akane have a habit of collecting rivals and "fiances". Will Ranma and Akane fall in love? Will Ranma ever rid himself of his curse?

Well theres a basic summary of the series, Ranma 1/2 is fairly episodic, and lacks in major plot development, however although the story jumps from one idea to another these ideas are very genuine and unique and add a certain pizaz to the series. Another point that should be noted is the fact that Ranma 1/2 is mostly a romantic comedy, but the different story arcs seem to revolve more around comedy and action then romance.

I give the story of Ranma 1/2 a 8/10, because although it lacks major plot, the comedy aspect is just too good to give a lower score.


Art: I love this series with all my heart, but while the art does accomplish what it is meant to do, (characters,setting,etc) looking at other anime and manga it most definately could be better. Don't get me wrong the art is good, but it could be better.

I'll give the art of Ranma 1/2 a 7/10.


Character:
Now here is where this series definately shines!! If there is one thing Rumiko Takahashi is amazing at, its her characters. Read this series and you'll find the most crazy, nonsensical cast of characters imaginable. Not a single one of them is flat in any way shape or form, even the one time characters who show up for only one chapter make an impact.

I believe the source of this success is the balance each character has. Not one is too good or to evil. Each of them, even Ranma, can have there own selfish little tendancies causing them to seem like antagonists. This is an extremely interesting point becasue you can never tell if the characters will be for or against Ranma when they enter the chapter.
I genuinely wish I could go into more detail about the characters but I'm afraid it would take up too much time.

Call me crazy but I'll the character of Ranma 1/2 a 10/10


Enjoyment:
This is one of the most enjoyable series I have ever read! I have spent hourse reading through the manga multiple times and each time the jokes get even funnier! I don't know how else to explain it, although Ranma 1/2 is halarious it also balances romantic aspects and action into a wonderful and memorable story, that you will be sad to finsih.
I give it a 10/10

Overall:
If you don't like episodic stories and beleive this one is a waste of your time, I beg you to reconsider!! Your mind will ultimately change for the better after reading Ranma 1/2
Again a 10/10

Call me silly for giving a manga that lacks in story development a 10/10, but when the series finally does touch down on the main plot, it makes you remeber them. This is a series you will want to read again and again.

So for a closing statement I suggest you go out and try reading Ranma 1/2 and just try stopping!

I don't care how "iconic" Ranma 1/2 is...I got seriously disappointed at this series.

At the end of 38 rather lengthy volumes only one of all the plot lines is ever resolved, leaving a very anti-climatic open ending. Regarding the humor, is completely repetitive. Yes, during the whole 38 volumes Rumiko Takashi basically repeats the same formula and gags over and over and over varying only the characters and the circumstances. Not to mention that with every new characters that is added, a new plot lines is added also ( and as I said before, only one of all those plot lines is ever resolved ). ...

There is also very little to non-existent character development throughout the series. Ranma and Akane are basically the same characters from beginning to end with the only difference of them becoming honest with their feelings, but nothing more, their behavior is essentially the same through and through.

My recommendation, if you like old school martial arts gender bender mangas is to pick "Futaba-kun Change!" instead if you haven't read it already

You know, I did try. For a long time I just ignored this series, too long, peculiar premise, no time. I finally ran into the first few volumes at the library and gave in. Why not? I thought. The whole series is out in English, the library actually has them, I enjoy Inuyasha and this is Rumiko Takahashi's other famous work. It can't be that bad, now can it?
Well, that depends on your taste. Ranma 1/2 is a comedy. A rather plotless, inane comedy filled with slapstick and truly horrible puns. (Shampoo, granddaughter of Cologne? Yeesh.) And it ... is indeed reminiscent of Inuyasha, though, that really should be the other way around-Ranma came first. The art is markedly similar, Takahashi-san does have a unique, enjoyable style, and it hasn't changed greatly over the years. Neither has her sense of humor; the comedic interludes of Inuyasha immediately sprang to mind as I read. But there was nothing else to pull you in. No clearly defined antagonist (Random romantic rivals coming out of the woodwork, but no villain or even anything close.), no particularly sympathetic protagonist (Ranma? Bit of a jerk, really. And the whole lot act like idiots on a regular basis.), and not much of a plot. Boy and girl forced into arranged marriage. Boy also changes sex involuntarily. Stuff happens.
Five volumes was more than enough for me. Your mileage may vary.

I don't know if it's because I had low expectations going in (seeing the fact that it is an old manga and the okay summary) but this manga turned out to be way more enjoyable than I thought it would be. I really like the humor of the manga and how cute onna Ranma looks.

However this manga still only gets a 9 because it wasn't 100% enjoyable throughout. (yes I'm going to be very strict with my 10s) Some moments with Akane made her seem quite annoying... but towards the last few chapters my impression of her went up a bit more (maybe it's because ... she spent less time talking). But of course 9 is still a high rating, and it was easy to actually want to continue reading it where I left off.

I'm gonna talk about my favorite character: Saotome Ranma. He's really strong, never gives up and is really smart (when it comes to fighting) - actually really common in many main male OCs (namely Natsu from FT). Of course there are some bad points like his ego and how much he wanted to protect his masculinity but they can be glossed over. Ranma is unique in that he became female when splashed with cold water, and this really came in handy when dealing with unaware males. The fact that he could play the female so perfectly (and the humor that it brought about) was what really sold this manga for me.

It'd be normal if he was female from the start, but it makes it really funny knowing that he is originally male. I'd love it if he embraced his female side just a little bit more (but not too much, it just gets weird). If this manga could capture that sweet spot - and not make Akane better - I think it could be bumped up to a 10 in my eyes. But for what it's worth it did pretty damn well enough already.

This manga was a pleasant surprise.

Just noticed that 9 means great... nah, 9 to me means really damn awesome.

(edit: I'm not so sure how to rate it now that I've seen the rubrics for rating... so I put a 10. My idea of a 10 is normally barely any flaws, but going by this rubric it'd only be fair to give it a 10.

Story is 10 because they were all good arcs, though personally the best ones were when Ranma spent time as a girl. Art is 10 because of female Ranma lol. Character is 8 because as I said before... Akane, but other than some things she's still tolerable most of the time. And the other characters are fine, I don't see much substance in the side characters like the other fiancees but the dynamics make it funny. Characters that were funny were Ranma, Kuno and Ryoga. (so mostly guys huh...) I also didn't really like the teacher and Nabiki was just... questionable... Enjoyment is definitely a 10, the only times I put the manga on hold were for reasons completely unrelated to the manga itself.)

This is mostly copied from my personal comments on Ranma, I just decided to post a review because I'd love to know if there are any others like Ranma specifically for the reasons I love it.

Another famous hit by Rumiko Takahashi!
Her work never ceases to amazes me. Even though there wasn't really a main plot, it's still deserves appreciation. Work like this can never be forgotten in this world.
Ranma 1/2 is basically about a young teenage boy who was cursed by falling in cursed Chinese springs. By that he changes into a girl when splashed with cold water and back to a man with hot water. It's a hilarious process to watch him go back and forth between genders. He runs in to a lot of obsticals trying to become full male again, like being desired by females (and ... males), fighting crazy people, and falling in love.

The art was very clean and basic, the story had a basic meaning (always accept for who you are), and the overall enjoyment... of course it deserves a ten.

It's my own opinion that I take to.. But, it's one that I highly recommend.

Story: (3)
We have a male protagonist, who is forced into a arranged marriage. Further the protagonist is cursed, when splashed with cold water, he will turn into a woman. So, the story is a romance, plus the search for a cure for the curse, somewhat.
The romance part was a huge let down, while there were some short romantic moment, those moments were never satisfying to read since all of those moments where destroyed by trying to hard to to be funny. (using characters go to jokes) The peak of the let down was the "on the brink of death, I love you, oh I survived ... and heard everything"-part. And on top of that, again ruined by trying to be funny.
Search for the cure:
There were sections where there was a potential cure, which turned out to not work... Until the end of the story. Period.
Rest of the Story: just random slapstick comedy.

Art: (9)
There is nothing to rant about the art and drawings. Everything was looking good and was drawn well.

Characters: (1)
No mental character development. The characters did not change a bit from beginning to end of this manga. And so did the comedy. Always same behavior patterns. Was just annoying at some point for some characters ...

Enjoyment: (5)
Well, I did read it till the end, so I did enjoy it to some degree. The Comedy was at first funny, but the jokes got repetitive and cracking the same joke over and over and over until the end, just got annoying. Same chapter's where so annoying, that I just skipped them.
There where some cute moments, but they always got ruined by the comedy.

I'm not entirely sure what it was about Ranma 1/2 that had me hooked after one chapter, but whatever it was lead me to read all 401 chapters in less than two weeks. I'll just say right now that there is no overarching story in this manga. Generally, we have several shorter plots that are all set around a crazy situation.
Ranma Saotome and Akane Tendo are engaged to be married due to an agreement made by their fathers prior to their birth. However, while Ranma and his father were away in China, they became cursed. ... Now, Ranma turns into a girl whenever he is doused with cold water. This curse problem obviously becomes a recurring story element with Ranma himself, but it also is reintroduced through new characters who have acquired similar curses.
I think this ludicrous situation is part of what had me so engrossed. The ridiculous and outlandish issues that every character viewed so casually had me laughing out loud through the majority of the chapters, which is something that happens rarely when I read. The fact that every competition, from ice skating to food delivery, has a martial arts component, the comments from no-name characters that point out how weird the situation is, and the violent habit Akane has of kicking people into the sky all contribute to a fair amount of chuckles.
If you're not a fan of other Shounen that involve planet destroying energy attacks, you'll probably find Ranma more bearable. The martial arts component (when presented in a serious light instead of comical) is cool to see, but isn't so crazy that you'll find yourself rolling your eyes at it. Fights are fast paced and action packed, and rarely ever involve two opponents eyeing each other down for five chapters. I'd say this is shounen for people who don't like shounen.
If you've read or watched Rumiko's InuYasha, you might experience a fair bit of Deja vu with the romance in the story. The love triangles are completely off balance, and the main pair argue all the time. Character development is significant, but spread out over a long period of time. You'll come out of this feeling satisfied that the main characters eventually matured a little.
If you're planning on watching the anime, I would recommend you read this first. It's much more entertaining.
Give it a shot! You'll be pleasantly surprised at how much you'll like it!

My first manga that I've read so I am really biased. The overall story and plot was decent so my review is completely based off of nostalgia.
The characters themselves are iconic and the comedy was quite something.

It was a shame that the anime didn't adapt the best arcs in the story (in my opinion) but that was all the more reason to read the manga. Although, I do remember some of the jokes being a bit iffy but nowhere near as bad as other animes during the time this was released and they are far and inbetween so I didn't notice as much.

I would recommend ... this and I'm thinking of reading it again so I'm hoping that it is as good as I remember

:)

Taking it as typical RT shonen (from what I have read so far) she's not the type to have overly gushy endings but ones left to your imagination with some guidance. Meaning you at least have an idea of what will eventually happen, even if not stated directly. Ranma, however, like other's accurately pointed out, has so many loose ends. You can anticipate how things will resolve but it is a huge frustration that so many were left up to the reader's imagination.

Character-wise: There were a few characters I could have done without, take Happosai, honestly got in the way and was so annoying. ... Akane and Ranma are typical teens acting as such and unfortunately with RT the girls don't have much growth in areas they lack. For example Akane's inability to swim or cook, it shows up in a few plots of her trying to persevere but usually ends in failure and with her never mastering either. Only the male leads ever face a challenge and master the skills needed to overcome them...so lame. I also found Shampoo irritating because she was always blocking any growth between Akane's and Ranma's relationship. I felt sorry for Mousse who really cared for her.

Overall: It lives up to what it should be, teens are all over the place at times and growing. They would have been too young to marry at that time if they did. So it's a nice ending in the sense that you know they will mature in all areas. Their lives are chaotic and the ending sums it up. It affirms what we hope, although it doesn't give us the satisfaction of seeing it for ourselves. It is a good read, I'm not hung up on it at the end which means I can move on to other reads fairly peacefully.

(just for the record, this is a slight alteration of my anime review)

After the huge success of Urusei Yatsura (I made a review about it as well), mangaka Rumiko Takahashi decided to make an equally queer series, with more focus on action and characters. And the result was Ranma! A must-series for all retro fans who seek quality. It still is amongst the longest and better comedies of the 80’s. In fact, every martial arts comedy manga in the last 20 years owes something to this series. The art style is of course very retro but will stay adorable no matter how many years pass. ... This series has memorable character figures, distinguishable behaviors, a huge heart-warming variety in backgrounds and humor that still gets to you without needing realism, CG graphics or unbelievable visual effects.

The story is mostly storyless every day situations, with the characters experiencing new pleasures or taking part in weird games and contests. A common trademark of all of Rumiko Takahashi’s works is the stale and unfinished scenarios (although Maison Ikkoku and Inu Yasha are exceptions). The series begins with a story, spends a few chapters introducing the characters and then has really thin continuity. All chapters are divided into stand-alone small story arcs and only those introducing recurring characters or another attempt at a given situation can be called to have an on-going scenario. Beyond that, no matter what happens in the end of an arc will have little effect in the beginning of the next. Although there is an evolving story, the series is focusing on humor rather in scenario continuity. Especially, after the third season, the continuity becomes very scarce.

A major plus of the series are its characters. Almost all of them are hilarious albeit two are the most memorable.

Ranma: A cult figure, Ranma is a young male martial artist. He and his father fell in a cursed pond and now every time they are showered with cold water, he turns into a girl and his father into a panda! He has to hide this fact from everyone and find a cure. If that is not enough, he has been arranged to marry Akane, who doesn’t like men in general. Also, everyday he faces challenging martial artists, other cursed-pond creatures and weird people who are either in love with his male or his female side. He can be seen as the ridicule of the perfect Japanese manly stereotype, as he is supposed to act like a man, even when hiding in a dress.

Akane: A young female martial artist. She can be seen as the ridicule of the perfect Japanese girly stereotype, as she is good in beating people and completely useless at every task any typical housewife can do. She hates men and yet she is arranged to marry the queer Ranma. She is constantly chased by men who want to date her while defending her father’s dojo from challengers, as there are no male descendants to do the job.

The one theme, which stays constant in the series, is the true love between Ranma and Akane, despite their flawed nature. In many chapters they have opportunities to part ways, but always the two come back to each other. Some of the best dramatic moments in the series are in these chapters.

There are half a dozen other beautiful women that circle Ranma from time to time, giving the series a hint of harem anime. The main two are a Chinese noodle martial artist and a cross-dresser girl raised as a boy, who is also aimed to marry him. There are a hundred more secondary characters that spice up the story even more, from the pathetic fathers of the two main heroes, to their hentai martial arts master, to Akane’s day and night different sisters, to Ranma’s animal-based cursed rivals.

To sum it up, most characters are essentially reverse stereotypes of the ideal images of Japanese people. You must be well aware of Japan’s traditions if you want to “get the joke” but even if you are not, they are still very funny most of the time.

The main characters in Ranma are not totally stale as many of them change (not mature; CHANGE) as they interact with several secondary characters that are introduced later in the story. They also learn more fighting techniques and in theory become stronger. Still, they are not as memorable as those in Urusei Yatsura.

About 1/4th of the chapters are not funny at all but the rest made me laugh hard and that is all that matters. It has a pretty high reread value, since you can start at any arc and you are almost guaranteed a good laugh without spoiling any story continuity (because there is almost none). Its humor is a parody of the Japanese culture and its stereotypes, becoming a sort of self-criticizing essay on Japan’s history and thus offering some food for thought as well.

*review contains spoilers*

Story 8/10
I don't think I have ever seen anything (movie, book, TV) where people turn into something else when touching cold water. I think the story is very original and keeps you entertained for most part. There were times that I laughed out loud, by myself, while reading this. The problem is that the story turns repetitive, where issues seem to be recycled and so many unnecessary and almost uninteresting arcs, that only a faithful fan can go through with the whole manga without skipping parts. However, I also feel there were so many good and funny arcs that were not included in ... the anime, that by the end of the manga, you are glad you read through all that. Another problem with the story is the ending. I have seen many people complaining that it is ambiguous, unsatisfying, solves no issues and really nothing major happened related to the story moving forward. All of that is true. I wouldn't say a 100% because there is some sense of everyone understanding their place in Ranma' and Akane's live and how Akane and Ranma will eventually be happily married. Even Akane and Ranma know their feelings for each other (even as they still refuse to openly accept them).

Art 6/10
Boy, you can tell that is an old anime. Sometimes the drawings were hard to follow, with too many images put in one page.

Characters 8/10
So, with Ranma 1/2 I either love or hate the characters.
*Hate: Shampoo, Nabiki, Happosai and the school's principal.
The rest of the cast is good for me. However, I hold a special place in my heart for Ryoga, because I thought his character is hilarious and I also loved how pure his love for Akane was. I know, he does get interested into Akari at some point, but still he was loyal to Akane (specially given how she always friendzoned him). I know Ryoga might come across as a pervert, with watching Akane naked and sleeping with her as P-chan, but sometimes I think I wouldn't have been mad if Akane ended up with Ryoga and not Ranma.

Ranma is a very smart, strong, quick learner, decided, persistent and direct character. I found it absolutely hilarious how Ranma would use his "feminine charms" to get what he wanted when he was a girl. Ranma is also very forgiving, specially towards his father (who usually tries to take advantage of him). Akane is a strong and independent lady (although we do see Ranma always saving her from something). I do think she tends to be too aggressive towards Ranma and acted childish towards her feelings for him. I think even though it was hard for Ranma and Akane to put it to words, they did love each other and it was evident through their mutual concern over each other (and in how people attacked Akane whenever they wanted to hurt Ranma).

I loved Panty-hose Taro's arc as well and was glad we got to see much more from him in the manga.

Enjoyment 9/10
As I said, there were many times while I laughed out loud with this manga. And I read through the whole thing. That must mean I really liked it.

Overall 8/10
It's a shame I can't rate this high because of the obvious flaws it has, but this will always be one of my favorite manga/anime.