Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Ranma 1/2’ on Netflix, Where A Martial Arts Prodigy’s Gender Swapping Curse Gets Him Into Hot (And Cold) Water

Based on Rumiko Takahashi’s 1987 to 1996 manga of the same name, Ranma 1/2 is the third anime adaptation of the series, coming 28 years after the previous adaptation’s finale and featuring the same voice actors. Netflix’s Ranma 1/2 revolves around Ranma Saotome (Kappei Yamaguchi and Megumi Hayashibara), a gifted martial artist whose accident on a recent training trip to China leaves both him and his father cursed. When he’s then introduced to man-hating Akane Tendo (Noriko Hidaka) as a potential fiancé, an awkward incident causes their budding friendship to immediately sour. Only more hilarity ensues from there, so buckle up for a ride featuring the artfully absurd and deliciously silly.

Opening Shot: A close-up on a sign that reads “Anything Goes Martial Arts Tendo Dojo.” We take a step back to see a large dojo and a long-haired man sweeping outside of it. A courier on a motorbike stops to hand mail to the man. A cute postcard with a panda reads, “No time for pleasantries. Bringing Ranma back. We’re coming from China. Lotsa love, Genma.” The man immediately starts crying in joy at Ranma’s impending return.

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The Gist: Ranma 1/2 takes place “somewhere in Tokyo in the ’80s” with a sort of charming retro visual style to match, and quickly introduces us to dojo owner and martial artist Soun Tendo (Akio Ootsuka) and his three daughters 19-year-old Kasumi (Kikuko Inoue), 17-year-old Nabiki (Minami Takayama), and 16-year-old Akane (Noriko Hidaka). Soun wants one of his daughters to marry the son of his longtime best friend Genma Saotome (Choo) in order to secure the future of their family dojo. Hot-headed martial arts practitioner Akane is immediately against this plan, but her father cryptically says that they’ll all meet Genma and his martial arts prodigy 16-year-old Ranma (Kappei Yamaguchi and Megumi Hayashibara) “soon enough.”

Next thing we see is a little pink-haired girl getting chased through city streets by a giant panda while bystanders are all appropriated flabbergasted and unsettled. Naturally, the girl and panda begin engaging in hand-to-hand combat while the girl yells at the animal about not wanting to get married off and how she wants to go back to China. But when the panda eventually knocks the girl out and drags her to the Tendo household, freaking out the entire family at the sight of these unexpected and potentially dangerous guests. When the girl introduces herself as Ranma Saotome, Soun is distraught not to have the chance to marry one of his daughters into the Saotome family, but Akane sees in Ranma a potential friend as she offers a friendly spar. When Ranma kicks her butt, they laugh but Akane says she really would’ve hated losing to a boy.

As you can imagine, things quickly get awkward when it turns out that Ranma is, in fact, a boy, something Akane discovers after accidentally walking in on him in the bath while they’re both naked. We soon learn that the panda is actually Ranma’s dad, Genma, as the two explain in their proper forms how this insanity came to be. Two weeks prior, the father-son duo went to a legendary training ground in China called Jusenkyo, rumored for the horrors that surround its spings. Whilst engaging in combat, Ranma knocks Genma into a spring where a panda once drowned and Genma knocks Ranma into a spring where a girl once drowned, leaving both cursed. They will transform into their girl or panda selves whenever touched by cold water and will change back to their regular gorms after touching hot water.

Soun is pleased he can go through with setting one of his daughters up with Ranma, and the whole family pushes for Akane because she’s a notorious man-hater so this somehow makes a sensible pair since Ranma’s now technically just half guy. Akane is completely against this, and Ranma too seems vehement in his dislike of the situation and Akane since she started treating him coldly upon learning he’s a boy. Even so, the two seemed tied to one another now, and you can bet that there’s no shortage of hijinks, battles, and hilarity ahead for these two in the episodes to come.

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What Shows Will It Remind You Of? You might be reminded of Fruits Basket since both shows involve a curse that forces a person to transform into something else (though in Fruit’s Basket ‘s case, it’s exclusively animals in the Chinese zodiac) when certain conditions are met.

Our Take: The pilot episode of Ranma 1/2 flies by in the blink of an eye. Despite the surreal and maybe even potentially confusing concept of the show, this slapstick rom-com makes sure you’re along for the ride and in on the jokes from start to finish. It smartly focuses the entire episode on just the Tendo and Saotome families, and you really get to know and like them by the end. And more than anything, you’re left wanting more. Or at the very least, you’re definitely curious about what will happen next.

Let’s be real, this is a goofy show. But Ranma 1/2 knows that and it embraces the goofs and gaffes since they’re baked into its DNA. This is a feel-good show full of characters who are vibrant both personality-wise and visually. Even smaller characters like Anane’s sisters feel very distinct and real, and the three girls’ interactions feel very much like those of real sisters. And who wouldn’t be endeared to a sassy martial artist panda?

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Ranma 1/2 is set in the ’80s and has this retro style to it that pays homage to the original story while utilizing crisp animation and character design that keep it from feeling too outdated. As far as the leads, Ranma and Akane are each a compelling mix of contradictions, and their current animosity towards one another makes me even more eager to see what the future holds for them (who doesn’t love enemies to lovers?). Let’s look forward to seeing where their story takes us from here!

Sex and Skin: There’s a moment where Akane walks in on Ranma in the bath, and then later, the reverse happens, and while we can tell they’re both definitely naked, all nips and nether regions are censored out. There’s also a scene where girl Ranma gets poked in the chest by Noriko, but everything is done playfully and as a gag rather than with sexual undertones. So some (animated) skin, no sex.

Parting Shot: Akane and Nabiki sit at a table near Ranma and Genma. Ranma, who’s sporting an angry red handprint on his face, and Akane are pointedly facing away from each other. They both glance back at each other and accidentally catch eyes, only for Akane to immediately turn her nose up at him. Cut to an aerial shot of the Tendo home and dojo as Ranma yells “Who would ever think she’s cute?!” Ah, young love.

Sleeper Star: The entire voice cast is remarkable considering they’re all reprising roles they played decades ago, but Megumi Hayashibara gives an especially lively and engaging performance as female Ranma. With her voice alone, she manages to evoke how Ranma’s girl self brings out a different side of his personality, embuing Ranma with a personality that’s simultaneously aggressive and cute. Clearly, after all these years, Hayashibara’s still got it!

Most Pilot-y Line: “That legend’s even more sad. They say 1,500 years ago, a young girl fell into that spring and drowned. So that spring has its own curse too. Everyone that falls in there gets turned into a young girl!” Ranma and Genma’s guide at Jusenkyo was very thoughtful to lay down this exposition for us so clearly.

Our Call: STREAM IT! If the first episode of Ranma 1/2 is any indication, then the rest of this show is a wild, weird, and wonderful ride that any anime fan won’t want to miss. And even if you’re not into anime but love absurd, slapsticky comedies or just want to watch something new that’s lighthearted and fun, we definitely encourage you to give Netflix’s Ranma 1/2 a try.

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