Ranma 1/2 (2024) – Episode 1

Content Warning: Nudity

What’s it about? While in the Qinghai Province of China, Ranma happens to fall into a cursed spring, as one does, alongside his father. Little does he know that the curse latches on to whatever drowned there. Now not only does Ranma have to deal with becoming betrothed to a girl he’s never met—when he gets splashed with cold water, he turns into a girl himself.

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I’m coming to Ranma 1/2 much like I came to my recent first-time watch of Revolutionary Girl Utena: aware of the cultural impact of this series, generally interested because Takahashi Rumiko but genuinely unsure why this series is as big as it. I’m not completely completely unknowing. I did, once upon a time, attempt to start a read of the manga back in 2021. Unfortunately, due to Viz Media not updating the translator’s name for the rerelease and thus misgendering a trans woman (ironic given this series having a likely huge trans fanbase) I was…put off and deeply offended, as said translator was a friend. Hopefully Viz has rectified that: I’d love to read and collect the series knowing they took full responsibility for this oversight.

That in mind, I took on this review because I thought 2024 would be a great time to, much like RGU, understand why this series is so deeply loved and respected. Part of my ongoing work is going back and exploring previous seasons and series so I can better deliver these reviews: why not do that and write a new review at the same time?

So here we are with a Netflix-exclusive (Yes, yes, I know) anime that hopefully will transform my life like its main character. I’m excited and don’t want to take up too much of my word count up front, since I knew going in, and know as I write this review, that there’s a lot of meat on the bone for me to chew on here. Oh! As a note, I’m going with the English dub because honestly, it looks stacked from top to bottom with great talent. Plus, I can’t deny myself the pleasure of a Day One Dub. 

With that all in mind, let’s take a dip in this series and see who I come out as!

Episode 1, “Here’s Ranma,” introduces the titular Saotome Ranma and his father…but only after it introduces us to Tendo Akane and her family. You see, on a very normal day in a very normal life, Akane finds out that her father Soun has promised one of his three comely daughters to fellow martial artist Ranma. Their dads are best buds, they want the Tendo name to be passed on; and conveniently, they have kids who can do it! How fortunate for these dads, huh?

What ensues is a premiere that has precise comedic timing and never lets up on just how fun incidental hijinks can be. Between Akane having to immediately cope with her forced marriage because sisters Nabiki and Kasumi say so, Ranma going between the physical body of a cis boy and a cis girl, and everything else wrapped up in how that came to be, this premiere sets up Ranma 1/2‘s 2024 adaptation to easily be the star of autumn.

Oh yeah, and Ranma and his dad are kind of idiots, but we love them for it. They seem like genuinely good dudes, despite the whole “we decided to duke it out over a series of cursed ponds” thing.

Well, slap me silly and drop me in a curse spring that’ll trans my gender even harder, because this is a good premiere! 

It’s got a banger of an opening that blends Chinese influence with a new nostalgic style of singing that feels a bit out of the late 80s/early 90s and immediately sets the show up to be quite enjoyable. It feels exactly like what I’ve always wanted from a romantic comedy, and is easy to watch in English, go get some snacks, and click replay to watch it in Japanese, which is exactly what I did.

But a banger opening (and honestly, a banger ending) a good premiere does not make: trust me, I’ve seen plenty of trash with good openers. What makes this premiere good is how effortlessly it sucks you in.

Everyone is on their A-game here: the voice acting is stellar and MAPPA brings some of their crispest animation to what I sense will be one of my favorite watches this year. It looks just like Takahashi Rumiko’s art style, but with a slightly modern touch. Combine that with the plot point of Ranma and his/her father’s transformations being played completely straight, you get a show that’s wholly hilarious and sets up all of its main characters really, really well. I feel like you leave this premiere foundationally understanding Ranma and Akane while also anticipating some pretty big growth from them over the course of this adaptation.

There’s also the dynamic of the main couple. Akane is the best tomboy to ever exist; fight me if you dare, because one watch will have you convinced that she could girlboss close to the sun and survive it. I like that she’s a fully formed person from the start who isn’t too keen on her father, Soun, just deciding her marital fate. On the flipside, I really like Ranma’s personality and presentation and how it crosses over between their gender presentations and plays with Akane’s very obvious reticence to the overall situation. Even when Ranma reverts to himself, there’s still this interesting interplay between both characters that never trips into transphobia, which is a genuine relief for a modern adaptation of a series that probably has some of-its-time quirks.

And the rest of the cast isn’t slacking either: Akane’s sisters Nabiki and Kasumi are incredibly grounding characters in a series where there’s a supernatural element to the romance. They also help to balance Soun and Genma, Ranma’s father. I sense that they’ll help to balance the cast as it expands, which I’m eagerly anticipating based on the opening showcasing some cute characters. (Shoutout to the purple haired girl who I think is named Shampoo: I love you already.)

I’ll admit that after this premiere, I get it, at least on a macro level: I don’t yet have enough attachment to personalize how I feel, but I can say that in general, I get why people like this series. I get why people like Ranma and Akane: I see why this series has the nostalgia it does connected to its fandom. I genuinely hope I can grow to feel a personal connection to this series, and hopefully, pick up the manga again.

One thing I couldn’t get off my mind was comparing this to Urusei Yatsura’s recent modern remake. I bounced off that really hard despite it being from the same mangaka and revisiting a similar time period (the 80s). Maybe it’s because I didn’t have nostalgia for that series, or maybe it was Ataru. According to my previous review of it, I reeeeally didn’t like Ataru. Here, though, I was instantly charmed by Akane and Ranma: I like how she accepted them immediately given the comedic, but genuinely human, strangeness of their forced romance. I’m really hoping to see them develop together as both friends and a couple since it’s very apparent that the endgame is Ranma x Akane, which I wholly support and look forward to stanning.

I will admit to having one fear: I’m worried that there’s going to be some transphobia that carries over from the source material. Having not read it but understanding the time it was made in, I worry that there’s going to be some dissonance between how we talk about gender in 2024 versus like…1987 when the source manga was first published. But I’m also very willing to be in dialogue with that should it come. I don’t want to say “inevitably come” because I do think there’s ways to adapt an older source material faithfully, but not harmfully. I look forward to seeing that happen.

Ultimately, this premiere leaves you feeling incredibly satisfied and eager for more, and honestly, I don’t think I’ve been this excited for a premiere in a while. You can consider this an easy “yes” for watching this season. I’m already counting the days until Episode 2. Looks like Ranma Saturdays are going to be my way to unwind for the season. Hopefully, you’ll come along for this modern adaptation as well!

(Also, justice for Ranma’s buttcrack! She deserves one!)

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