When I started writing for this blog more than a decade ago (yes, 3rd World Geeks has been active for that long!), I mentioned how I was doing geeky stuff like watching anime way before it became mainstream and how my introduction to anime was a little show called Ranma 1/2 and I used to wonder if the show would still be a hit by today’s standards. Well, I guess I should’ve been asking if the show needed a reboot back then because I would’ve been proclaimed a soothsayer as that’s what Netflix and MAPPA did a few weeks ago!

They just concluded the first season of the Ranma 1/2 reboot a week or so ago and, while I did give my initial thoughts of the first episode, I thought I would now talk about what I thought of the initial 12 episode run but from the point of view of someone who thoroughly loved the original anime. Did Netflix and MAPPA do justice to Rumiko Takahashi’s original work? How does it compare to the first season of the original version? Well, I’ll be discussing those topics and more here!

But before I do that, I will express some disappointment with the more mainstream anime community as I don’t see it being as popular as it should have been. My basis for saying this is the lack of anime reactors watching the Ranma 1/2 reboot! It’s not like it’s on some unknown subscription service or anything like that as it’s on freaking Netflix, one of the most popular streaming services out there! Despite that, I don’t see it getting the love it deserves. I guess I can chalk it up to bad timing as it came out during a particularly fat anime season, where shows like DanDaDan, Blue Box, Dragon Ball Daima and Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War also came out. By the way, all of these shows are also on freaking Netflix! Like I said, where’s the love, mainstream anime community?

Anyway, I just had to get that off my chest. Let’s get to my thoughts now…

The basic premise of Ranma 1/2 revolves around the titular character, Ranma Saotome, a practitioner and the heir to the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts. In order to ensure the survival of their lineage and dojo, his father, Genma Saotome, arranges him to be engaged to Akane Tendo, the daughter of Soun Tendo, the master of the Tendo branch. Both teens have misgivings to this arranged marriage but that’s the least of their problems as, during a training exercise in China, Ranma gets cursed; whenever he gets splashed with cold water, he turns into a girl! And this doesn’t even include the an ever growing number of potential suitors for both Ranma and Akane!

I will give props to MAPPA for doing their darndest to making sure the Ranma reboot look and animate really well, especially with the action scenes. The fights come off as more fluid and dramatic when compared with the original. I will mention there are some inconsistencies with the way some of the characters look in some scenes but these are few and far between.

But I will have to ding them a few points for some of their choices when it comes to art direction and storyboarding. The art direction does come off as inconsistent as they would sometimes use a different color palette for some action scenes, such as with Ranma and Ryoga‘s fight in the school field near the end of the fourth episode but they don’t do use the same style for the other action scenes. Seems like a really weird choice to go this direction when you never do so in the future.

My problem with the storyboarding is how some scenes can come off as confusing as it’s like they cut out some transition scenes. An example of this is the conclusion of Ranma’s battle with Kodachi during the Martial Arts Rhythm Gymnastics match. In the original anime, you can clearly see Ranma striking the post Kodachi was standing on, thereby following the rule of not attacking your opponent directly without using a tool. In the reboot, you only see the aftermath of Ranma destroying the post. I’ve seen a lot of reactors not understanding what happened, so this could’ve been better explained.

I also do wish there were better musical cues throughout the reboot. In the original anime, there was a rotating list of background music they would play during specific kinds of scenes. To give a scene a more whimsical and uplifting feel, they would play the “yapapa” instrumental tune. For scenes with a more ominous tone, they would play the “evil omen” background song. For the fights, you would usually get the more action-y sounding song. And so on. It gave the show more of an identity and I wish MAPPA did the same with the Ranma reboot soundtrack.

While I did complain about the storyboarding earlier, I will say I did like the reboot’s quicker pace. The reboot’s first season was just 12 episodes and they managed to cover the original run’s 21 first season run. While this does mean they cut out some of really funny scenes, like the one where Azusa would spend the entire night saying “good night” to all the objects she thinks she’s cute that are stored in her room. Or the quick scene where Shampoo drops a bunch of shampoo bottles in order to trick Ranma into looking for the right bottle in the pile… but she accidentally dropped the actual bottle in the pile as well.

I do think these moments made the original show really good but I also do realize they were added as padding as Rumiko Takahashi was literally still working on the manga chapters as the episodes were coming out! So, it’s actually kind of nice to see how the original show would’ve looked like if it was more true to the source material. I used to wonder why the Martial Arts Takeout episode felt so out of place, going so far as to introduce two new characters who never appear in the show afterwards. Turns out, only a mere semblance of this story arc appears in the original manga! So, I wouldn’t mind if this wasn’t part of the reboot in the future.

Overall, I guess the question is if I think the Ranma 1/2 reboot is better than the original series? Well, my nostalgia for the original anime is just too strong. After all, it is the very reason why I fell in love with the anime in the first place. If you do have the time, I encourage you to track down the original. I still think it holds up and even the original Viz Video dub still sounds pretty good.

However, I do think the reboot is a good enough substitute for those who have never seen the original or, because of the quicker pace, don’t really have time to watch too many shows. I also encourage those who love the original to give the reboot a chance. It still retains enough funny moments and does manage to capture the general atmosphere and humor of the original enough to make it worth a look. Heck, I can’t wait for the second season because I do want to see MAPPA’s spin on some of the bigger story arcs and the trailer already hints at a new rival for Shampoo’s affection!

But still, at least make it to the Breaking Point story arc, MAPPA? Pretty please?

Did you watch the original Ranma 1/2 series? How did you like the reboot? Let me know in the comments section below!