A part of me was pretty surprised that they actually renewed the Ranma 1/2 reboot for a second season. As Netflix doesn’t really release viewing numbers for their shows, I can only guess how many anime fans have been watching the show. And my guesstimate regarding the number of viewers for the first season wasn’t that optimistic. Even as someone who watched the original anime way back when, I did think the first season of the Ranma 1/2 reboot was more than a decent substitute for the OG version. Unfortunately, basing on the lack of anime reactors watching the reboot, it looked like it wasn’t pullling in big viewer numbers. Thankfully, I was wrong as we did get a second season for the Ranma 1/2 reboot.

Well, the second season has been completed and, like with the first season, I do have some thoughts on it. As someone who did watch the original version, I did notice some things MAPPA did a little different here. Some were really good and some were… I can’t say they were bad. Rather, I thought these alterations were odd.

First off, the biggest change they made with season 2 was the timeline. I thought MAPPA was making the reboot fall more in line with the manga. But it turns out they moved things around. Some character introductions were moved to this season when they should have been placed much later. This is both a good thing and a bad thing. It’s good because they added all of the important characters this season so we don’t have to wait for Happosai and Ukyo Kuonji (AKA Best Girl) to enter the picture later.

On the other hand, it’s bad because, since they moved these character introductions earlier in the timeline, some things, namely fun story arcs, had to be excised or, at the very least, moved to a hypothetical third season later. This led to one of the more enjoyable story arcs in the original Ranma 1/2, Breaking Point, wherein Ryoga learns his signature move, the Bakusai Tenketsu.

Cutting this story arc also inadvertently led to Ryoga not really being in the second season all that much, which is sad as he is one of the show’s better characters and, for the most part, Ranma‘s legitimate rival. I honestly wish that, instead of pushing out this story arc, they just cut out the Martial Arts Take-Out and the Dojo Destroyer arcs/episodes to keep Breaking Point in. Then again, I understand why they were left in. I mean, both of those arcs/episodes feature Shampoo, who is a strong fan favorite. Even so, I can’t help but feel a little disappointed we didn’t get to see Breaking Point yet.

The reboot does some thing that the original anime didn’t: follow the manga much more closely. Even though I talked about getting the Martial Arts Take-Out storyline cut out in favor for Breaking Point, this version leagues better than the one we got in the original as the reboot version follows the much more insane story as found in the manga! The original introduced a one-off potential fiancee who seems like her story was stolen from Ukyo! The race itself was just that: a race to the finish line. So, I’m glad we got to see the utter madness from within Kuno‘s residence in the reboot!

Speaking of following the manga more closely, I do have to talk about one of the newest characters as I’m a little mixed on Hikaru Gosunkugi. You see, in the original anime, Hikaru Gosunkugi appears much, much, much later for some reason. Instead, the original anime created Sasuke, Kuno’s loyal but inept ninja servant.

Sasuke essentially substituted for Hikaru during the Neko-Ken and Romeo and Juliet story arcs. I weirdly miss Sasuke! He wasn’t my favorite character or anything like that. But I did like how all the things he did, such as put on weak disguises and sneaking through the crawlspaces of houses, which is what Hikaru does in those story arcs, work so much better for him because he’s a ninja!

I will say the animation here in season two is definitely a notch or two better than in the previous season. The art direction is much more consistent. No more transitioning to pastel color schemes during fight scenes here! The animation is also very smooth throughout season two’s 12 episodes. However, there were some scenes where I think MAPPA cut a few corners, especially in the last couple of episodes. I don’t think most people will notice but there were just some moments where the animation looked too stiff… literally! I mean, there was one scene where Soun Tendo emerges from the Tendo’s koi pond in the eleventh episode to stare at Ranma just lingered for a little too long.

I also have to comment on how season two ended. It’s fine that they ended it on the Mousse Returns arc. But I do like how MAPPA put some effort in giving the viewers more closure than just showing Shampoo teasing Mousse in his duck form like in the manga and original anime. They put in those couple of scenes with Ryoga wanting to fight Ranma for trying to marry Akane and finishing up the episode and the season with Female Ranma and Akane dropkicking Kuno. A part of me feels like they put those bits in because MAPPA knows we’re not getting a third season so they wanted to give a more proper ending. If that’s the case, I can’t help but feel a little bit depressed.

If this is indeed the last season of the Ranma 1/2 reboot, I do wish it did some things a whole lot different. While I do like they introduced all of the major characters early, cutting out some story arcs, such as Breaking Point, feels like a missed opportunity. That’s not to say I didn’t like the season, however. I did like it for the most part and, in some cases, such as the Martial Arts Take-Out arc, come of better than the original. I’m still hoping for a third season so we can get to see more chaotic action.

If we don’t, well, I guess I’ll have to satiate my Ranma fix with the original series by watching it on the US version of YouTube or Tubi.TV. Hint! Hint!

Have you seen the second season of the Ranma 1/2 reboot? What did you think of it? Let me know in the comments section below!