One of the very first post I wrote on 3rd World Geeks was all about was how I got into anime and how I got my start was from Rumiko Takahashi‘s Ranma 1/2 anime. I had to go through the trouble of getting bootleg copies of the Viz Video dubbed version (which were pretty good) as getting honest-to-goodness uncut anime was very difficult during that time. Well, times have certainly changed as anime is now very much in the mainstream consciousness. Not being distributed underground anymore, anime has even hit major streaming services like Netflix these days.
So, it only seems appropriate for a legacy series like Ranma 1/2 to get a reboot of sorts as well! The first episode has been released on Netflix and, as a fan of the original show, I was eager to watch it and see how it compares to my nostalgic memories of the original version.
I do have to preface this reaction by saying this isn’t the first Rumiko Takahashi anime that got a reboot recently. Urusei Yatsura also got a revamped series and, unfortunately, I’ve only been able to see a few episodes but, from what I did see, the reboot did capture the spirit and general tone of the original. So, I did have high hopes for the Ranma 1/2 reboot.
I also do have to mention that it has been more than a while since I watched the original series. While I do have a clear memory of the general storylines and the characters, I will say a lot of my experience might be colored with a pink haze of nostalgia vision. So, take this reaction with a grain of salt.
With that being said, I have to say I’m a little shocked that the very first episode of the reboot is an almost carbon copy of the original pilot from the Viz Video version I watched all those years ago. A few changes here and there were done, such as eliminating virtually all of the anime nudity and sprucing up the fight scenes, but, overall, it almost seems like a carbon copy of the first episode of the old series.
This, for me, is both a good thing and a bad thing. It’s good because the original pilot episode was already pretty good as it set up the scenario and set up the main characters really well. On the other hand, it’s also not good because, as someone who had watched the original Ranma 1/2, I’m not seeing anything that I haven’t seen before. I do get this was the same thing for the Urusei Yatsura remake and I do understand this new Ranma 1/2 series is actually meant for viewers who haven’t seen the original. Even so, I can’t help but have this bad sense of deja vu since everything is so similar.
Another thing that makes it familiar is how they got almost all of the original Japanese cast to redub the remake. While I did start out with the Viz Video dub, I actually completed the entire series with the Japanese voice cast and, man, the nostalgia really hit me hard! Hearing Megumi Hayashibara‘s Female Ranma and Kikuko Inoue as Kasumi Tendo still fits even to this day. If it’s not broke, don’t fix it, I always say! I’ve only seen clips of the English voice cast and, I will say, it’s good but the way some characters say things just comes off as odd. It’s not bad but I can’t say it’s as “fun” as the Viz Video original dub.
I will say the animation is a little bit better than the original as the action scenes are much cleaner and fluid. You can definitely more effort was put into the opening fight scene with female Ranma and his father in his panda form as well as the sparring session between Akane Tendo and female Ranma. The colors are also much brighter and warmer, which does make it seem like Ranma 1/2 will be this lighthearted and funny anime. Since it is, I’m all for it.
However, I just don’t like the additional flourishes they added when introducing the characters. In the original, they just added a subtitle with the character’s name below. But with the reboot, the animators decided to add a kind of frame when introducing both Ranma and Akane. Yes, I know both Ranma and Akane are supposed to be the main characters and the focus of the entire series. I just don’t think it was necessary to do all of that.
It also makes it seem like the other secondary characters are less important. While that may be the case in the grand scheme of things, I just don’t like the animators making the secondary characters seem like they don’t matter that much. Hopefully, they do add this same flourish to the other main players, such as Tatewaki Kuno, Ryoga Hibiki and, most especially, Shampoo, as they are integral parts to what made the first season of Ranma 1/2 as good and funny as it was.
Although I do have some complaints over the the reboot, these are actually relatively minor issues and I still enjoyed the first episode of the Ranma 1/2 reboot. Although it does seem it’ll be mostly a copy of the original version, I’m actually excited to see the scenes in this new anime style. Then again, I could be wrong and maybe this version will be more true to the original manga, giving it room to introduce characters who were cut from the series, like Hinako Ninomiya who only appeared in an OAV. While that remains to be seen, I’m still hopeful that they do this, even if it takes a second season for it to happen.
Bottom line: as a Ranma 1/2 fan, I’m pleased anime geeks of today will be able to experience this Rumiko Takahashi delight in this manner. It’s worth a watch for now.
Have you seen the Ranma 1/2 reboot? What did you think of it? If you’ve seen the original, how does it stack up? Let me know in the comments section below!
3rd World Geeks 
I’m not a *huge* anime fan, nor am I an avid watcher of anime, but Ranma 1/2 was, and is still, my favorite anime series of all time. I had no idea there was a Ranma reboot until I started watching it on Netflix.
Long story, short, I was disappointed and heartbroken. I agree with you that the fighting scenes are better, but I much preferred the music, dialogue and voice acting in the original (I’ve only watched the English-dubbed versions).
I watched the first episode of the reboot, and like you said, it’s pretty much a carbon-copy of the original. The problem with all carbon-copies is that they’re never as good as the original.
Watching the Ranma 1/2 reboot on Netflix only left me feeling sad that a newer generation of viewers will be watching this reboot instead of the original, which was much better, in my opinion. It had soul. This one just feels lifeless and empty to me. 😟
I haven’t seen the reboot yet; only seen the trailers found on YouTube. I think the animation for the first season of Ranma 1/2 is better compared to the reboot, but the succeeding seasons just got uglier.
The original is so much better than the remake; character design, drawings, animation and music are way more original and better than this remake. Just coloring is better in the remake.
Big fan of the original series and the manga. TBH I would expect both series to be pretty similar at this point since they are both reproducing the manga. I’m not a regular subscriber to Netflix so I’ll be waiting until most of the episodes of season 1 are available before subscribing and checking it out. Hopefully these will make it to 4K blu-ray because I would like to own them.
don’t know what y’all are on about the reboot is perfect in my eyes
like a few have already mentioned, it is meant to be sticking to the Mangas story line, so it is absolutely normal for the beginning to be similar. I just hope people give it a go before hating on it too much. The manga is SO much better than the original anime (although I loved that too) and I would LOVE a full completion. I think not many know of the true ending which is so so cute. I’m looking forward to a reduction of fillers tbh. Sometimes they were a bit out of character too.
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as someone who has watched both the original and the new remake I have to say this… It’s cool in the remake that they do have a lot of the original Japanese cast and this is a pro for me, however the English voice cast honestly…. It’s kinda trash and feels very lazy and indoor not like the fact that they took away characters accents for the sake of “racism” which in my opinion having characters with an accent is not racist because it gives you an idea where they come from in the world and what their cultural background is most likely and I say that in the sense that they do not capture the characters they are voicing personality in my opinion when compared to the original it felt like the English voice actors cared more about fitting their emotions with the characters and their reaction in comparison.
I am also not a fan of the pastel colors as well because I don’t think it really fits a whole lot especially when you look at the manga covers and girl ranma had red not pink hair and kinda turns ranmas feminine personality into that of “just another pink haired anime girl” in my opinion I also did not like the character designs because everyone definitely looks, feels, and sounds like they are very very young and lack life experience and for me the best example of this is ranmas dad and tendos character designs just don’t fit in my opinion when taking into account their age and the such.
I personally really wanted to enjoy this reboot and like I said there was a handful of things I enjoyed, such as most the original Japanese voice actors coming back.
however as someone who grew up with the original ranma manga and anime, there is some instances of things that happened in the manga being a little more truthful IF! You watch the remake with subs in Japanese whereas the English dub you can tell has a lot of translation issues and most of them are political which is one reason I am not particularly a fan of studio Iyuno in general because I don’t think western politics have any bases being in Japanese media as it is a different culture and they way they just have ranma accept his feminine side so willingly and early really detracts from ranmas struggle of figuring himself out and I feel that’s more than half the story kinda like how “the heros/heroins quest” concept works.
all in all I really tried to watch and enjoy this remake and I really couldn’t because again as someone who has consumed the manga and original anime(filler and all) this remake just falls flat on its face for me as a cheap imitation of something fantastic and magical, or another way to put that it’s like trading wagyu steak(original ranma ½) for cheap hotdogs(ranma ½ remake)
I would advise new fans of the remake to honestly consume the actual manga and to watch the original anime and notice the differences from both the manga and the anime including the original animes English dub(way better than the remake)