FIF#223-Ranma ½ (2024)

Ranma Saotome is a Martial Arts prodigy with a pretty big secret.  Thanks to an accidental fall into a cursed Hot Springs, Ranma turns into a girl whenever he falls into cold water.  Unfortunately, he and his equally cursed Panda father, have brought this trouble back to Japan, where Ranma finds a world of trouble waiting for him.  Now he’s possibly falling into an arranged marriage with the youngest daughter of his fathers best friend, a girl who cant stand him, guy or girl.  If the curse doesn’t kill Ranma first, everyone wanting to get their hands on him, or his heart, probably will.

 
The Anime world seems to be going through a bit of a Rumiko Takahashi re-renaissance doesn’t it?  Just a couple of years after Urusei Yatsura got a new era reboot, we’ve gotten a new go at Ranma ½.  I’ll admit, even though I haven’t watched too much Ranma (outside of one First Impression and my Review of the first Ranma ½ Movie a few years back), I’ve been pretty curious about this one.  The previews looked fun and, better yet, after dealing with a mostly darker and depressing reboot of another beloved 90s Anime (cough cough Sailor Moon Crystal), it was nice to see Ranma’s humor looked intact.  So, how is the long awaited first episode of a reboot of a beloved gateway Anime?
 
It’s been a minute since I did my original First Impression of Ranma (which you can check out here: http://gundamanimeblog.blogspot.com/2020/02/fif111-ranma.html ) so I decided to give it a rewatch before checking out the new version.  Truth be told, it’s not entirely copy and paste but its close enough.  I hesitate to say that’s a bad thing, however, because it’s still the same funny gender swapping comedy and it still works.  The only major difference here, at least for now until I watch further episodes (does that mean I need to watch more OG Ranma to properly compare?) is the animation.  I get that Studio Mappa is probably breathing with relief now that Attack on Titan is finally done for real this time.  But another major Anime powerhouse project so soon?  That being said, Mappa’s artwork is the real star of the premiere of this new Ranma adaptation.  Their penchant for vibrant colors and ever changing styles really spice things up in the big first fight between Femme Ranma and Panda Genma.  Also, it’s much smaller scale compared to the work that Mappa’s been putting out with AoT and Jujutsu Kaisen.  It must feel great to animate a great fight scene that doesn’t involve destroying half a city in the process.
 
Honestly, there’s not a lot to say about this one other than, yeah I’m interested.  For a guy not as well versed in Ranma, the first episode still made me laugh and I’m down to both continue this latest reboot and maybe even revisit the original series to see what they may or may not change along the way.  It’s a cute Rom Com with Gender Bending comedy that has weirdly stood the test of time.  I do wonder though: if Urusei Yatsura and Ranma ½ have both gotten modern day remakes in the last couple of years…please don’t tell me Inuyasha is getting a possible reboot too as part of this  Rumiko Takahashi re-renaissance (we already suffered greatly through Yashahime and its nowhere near old enough to merit one yet).