Ranma 1/2

I don't care how "iconic" Ranma 1/2 is...I got seriously disappointed at this series. At the end of 38 rather lengthy volumes only one of all the plot lines is ever resolved, leaving a very anti-climatic open ending. Regarding the humor, is completely repetitive. Yes, during the whole 38 volumes Rumiko Takashi basically repeats the same formula and gags over and over and over varying only the characters and the circumstances. Not to mention that with every new characters that is added, a new plot lines is added also ( and as I said before, only one of all those plot lines is ever resolved ).There is also very little to non-existent character development throughout the series. Ranma and Akane are basically the same characters from beginning to end with the only difference of them becoming honest with their feelings, but nothing more, their behavior is essentially the same through and through. My recommendation, if you like old school martial arts gender bender mangas is to pick "Futaba-kun Change!" instead if you haven't read it already

Here we go with my second overall review. To start things off, I have a lot of love for Rumiko Talajashi and her many works, but so far I have loved Ranma 1/2 most of all, so if my review seems a little biased, please forgive me. Story: Let me give you a quick summary of what this story is all about. Ranma Saotome is a 16 year old martial artist who went on a training mission to China with his father. His father took him to one of Chinas roughest training areas, The Jusenkyo springs, a place covered with hundreds of small springs each with a curse.Those who train there often fall into the springs attaining the curse. Its safe to say that Ranma and his father, Genma, are one of those unlucky few. And what IS the curse?? No they don't grow an extra head, no they don't have to kill someone to get through the day, and no they aren't forced to suffer the tortures of hell every waking minute of their lives, the curse Ranma and is father attain is far worse. For Genma, after getting knocked intoi a spring by one of his sons kicks is cursed to tansform itno a panda whenever splashed wth cold water as for Ranma well... instead of a panda HE is cursed to transform into a buxom young lady whenever doused with cold water. Now these curses wouldn't seem so bad if it wasn't for the fact that only hot water can transform them back to normal, and with sudden downpours, waterparks, and the surprising lack of proper water disposal hot water is pretty damn hard to come by. To make matters worse the two were so depressed about their curses they forgot to jump into the one spring that could cure them, The spring of drowned man! Not only that but Ranma's father has arranged for him to marry, Akane, the daughter of Genmas good freind and a girl who hates boys. These two would be lovers get off to a rough start, but slowly except each other, unfortunately Ranma and Akane have a habit of collecting rivals and "fiances". Will Ranma and Akane fall in love? Will Ranma ever rid himself of his curse? Well theres a basic summary of the series, Ranma 1/2 is fairly episodic, and lacks in major plot development, however although the story jumps from one idea to another these ideas are very genuine and unique and add a certain pizaz to the series. Another point that should be noted is the fact that Ranma 1/2 is mostly a romantic comedy, but the different story arcs seem to revolve more around comedy and action then romance. I give the story of Ranma 1/2 a 8/10, because although it lacks major plot, the comedy aspect is just too good to give a lower score. Art: I love this series with all my heart, but while the art does accomplish what it is meant to do, (characters,setting,etc) looking at other anime and manga it most definately could be better. Don't get me wrong the art is good, but it could be better. I'll give the art of Ranma 1/2 a 7/10. Character: Now here is where this series definately shines!! If there is one thing Rumiko Takahashi is amazing at, its her characters. Read this series and you'll find the most crazy, nonsensical cast of characters imaginable. Not a single one of them is flat in any way shape or form, even the one time characters who show up for only one chapter make an impact. I believe the source of this success is the balance each character has. Not one is too good or to evil. Each of them, even Ranma, can have there own selfish little tendancies causing them to seem like antagonists. This is an extremely interesting point becasue you can never tell if the characters will be for or against Ranma when they enter the chapter. I genuinely wish I could go into more detail about the characters but I'm afraid it would take up too much time. Call me crazy but I'll the character of Ranma 1/2 a 10/10 Enjoyment: This is one of the most enjoyable series I have ever read! I have spent hourse reading through the manga multiple times and each time the jokes get even funnier! I don't know how else to explain it, although Ranma 1/2 is halarious it also balances romantic aspects and action into a wonderful and memorable story, that you will be sad to finsih. I give it a 10/10 Overall: If you don't like episodic stories and beleive this one is a waste of your time, I beg you to reconsider!! Your mind will ultimately change for the better after reading Ranma 1/2 Again a 10/10 Call me silly for giving a manga that lacks in story development a 10/10, but when the series finally does touch down on the main plot, it makes you remeber them. This is a series you will want to read again and again. So for a closing statement I suggest you go out and try reading Ranma 1/2 and just try stopping!

I don't know if it's because I had low expectations going in (seeing the fact that it is an old manga and the okay summary) but this manga turned out to be way more enjoyable than I thought it would be. I really like the humor of the manga and how cute onna Ranma looks. However this manga still only gets a 9 because it wasn't 100% enjoyable throughout. (yes I'm going to be very strict with my 10s) Some moments with Akane made her seem quite annoying... but towards the last few chapters my impression of her went up a bit more (maybe it's becauseshe spent less time talking). But of course 9 is still a high rating, and it was easy to actually want to continue reading it where I left off. I'm gonna talk about my favorite character: Saotome Ranma. He's really strong, never gives up and is really smart (when it comes to fighting) - actually really common in many main male OCs (namely Natsu from FT). Of course there are some bad points like his ego and how much he wanted to protect his masculinity but they can be glossed over. Ranma is unique in that he became female when splashed with cold water, and this really came in handy when dealing with unaware males. The fact that he could play the female so perfectly (and the humor that it brought about) was what really sold this manga for me. It'd be normal if he was female from the start, but it makes it really funny knowing that he is originally male. I'd love it if he embraced his female side just a little bit more (but not too much, it just gets weird). If this manga could capture that sweet spot - and not make Akane better - I think it could be bumped up to a 10 in my eyes. But for what it's worth it did pretty damn well enough already. This manga was a pleasant surprise. Just noticed that 9 means great... nah, 9 to me means really damn awesome. (edit: I'm not so sure how to rate it now that I've seen the rubrics for rating... so I put a 10. My idea of a 10 is normally barely any flaws, but going by this rubric it'd only be fair to give it a 10. Story is 10 because they were all good arcs, though personally the best ones were when Ranma spent time as a girl. Art is 10 because of female Ranma lol. Character is 8 because as I said before... Akane, but other than some things she's still tolerable most of the time. And the other characters are fine, I don't see much substance in the side characters like the other fiancees but the dynamics make it funny. Characters that were funny were Ranma, Kuno and Ryoga. (so mostly guys huh...) I also didn't really like the teacher and Nabiki was just... questionable... Enjoyment is definitely a 10, the only times I put the manga on hold were for reasons completely unrelated to the manga itself.) This is mostly copied from my personal comments on Ranma, I just decided to post a review because I'd love to know if there are any others like Ranma specifically for the reasons I love it.