Ranma 1/2

So i watched the first couple eps of the anime. I liked the opening a lot but that was about it.

The manga thus far is much more amusing and interesting.

The highlight of the anime are the starting episodes of season 2. I think season 1 is decent enough to be worth watching so that you can get to season 2.

Really? Was it in the execution of the gags or something? Did you feel they worked better in the Manga? I don't remember the manga playing out too differently as far as anything else is concerned (although the scenes are all backwards - that is, flipped - in the translated copy I have, presumably for the reading order. I don't think they do that with manga any more though).

Oh yeah, and don't forget that Season 2, episodes 1-3 should actually be watched before Shampoo's introduction.

I dunno what it was really. Perhaps the animation or the voice-acting or a combination of the two but everything just felt...slow and clunky? Not sure if that's the best way to describe it. All I know is that the episodes felt like they dragged on while I can get through a chapter or two in not ime and still quite enjoy myself.

Which did you watch, the Japanese dub or the English? In the Japanese, it takes Megumi Hayashibara a bit to find the right balance between sounding like a girl and sounding like a guy in a girl's body. That's one thing that can seem off. That aside, though, I do think the first season, while not usually going into outright filler, often had sections that were lengthened or subtly padded compared to the manga, which is one reason why it can feel slower.

Here I disagree. I LOVE the movies, both of them (I kinda like the first one more tho). I found them hilarious, the plots are genuinely engaging and fit well within the Ranma canon, the battles are awesome, and... yeah, they're great.

Do generally agree with the "manga is better than the anime" comments tho, but not by a huge margin.

Personally, I don't know why folks always seem to say that Anime Akane is so much nastier than the Manga Akane. Is it because the fact you can actually hear her shouting and see her in motion when she gets mad and slaps or punches Ranma, as opposed to it being a still panel and speech bubble, holds more weight or something? I don't know, honestly, to me, the Anime Akane may complain more, but she's ultimately nicer than the Manga Akane.

I mean, look at the Hypnotic Mushrooms arc; in the manga, Akane decides Ranma is going to try and rape her because they'll be home alone that night, and even after the whole confusion about the hypnotic command is sorted out, she's shown pointedly sitting away from Ranma, clutching a weapon and weakly justifying that they are still alone. In the anime, we have the two sharing a laugh that the hypnotic command is over and so the craziness is at an end, then staring in mutual weak shock at the plate of shumai and buns that Kasumi's brought home with her.

As for the whole ending... I don't know, I personally prefer the anime ending to the manga ending. Why? Because the anime ending honestly feels more optimistic to me - we have Akane trying to apologise for how, after all that happened, Ranma still hasn't been able to meet his mom, clearly upset and feeling heartroken for him... And Ranma just brushes it off gently and makes it clear that while he appreciates the sentiment, he's still convinced that, someday, he'll be able to present himself to Nodoka. It's a soft, gentle moment between the two; one of the rare occasions that they actually feel like they could work as a couple, and given I'm quite a skeptic about the Ranma/Akane pairing, that's saying something. Then we have the closing of the episode as the two bravely gather their things and head off into a new day together, a scene full of optimism.

And then we have the manga... {{Yank The Dog's Chain}} all the way back to before the whole Jusendo mess, with Akane blaming the whole disaster of a ceremony on Ranma, Ranma retorting that Akane was responsible too, and the two of them grudgingly striding off into the sunset. And I don't know where the claim that the last panel asserts they'll get married in a little while comes from; the official translation of the words there is "And so the game of love goes into overtime..." In other words, everything is right back to where it was before. How in the world is that a better ending than what the anime ended with?

Not to mention that the anime missed stories like the Musk because it got cancelled right after Nodoka was introduced to the series and Rumiko Takahashi continued writing it for three years afterwards. Hell, we could have gotten a Musk Dynasty OAV if the public hadn't voted to instead adapt the Ryugenzawa arc into the "Reawakening Memories" duology.

Emphasis mine. I think how you see the ending really depends on the filter you want to apply to it. You see them genuinely bickering and grudgingly going to school with one another. I see them fake bickering for appearances' sake and, for perhaps the first time, walking side-by-side to school instead of Ranma walking atop the fence like usual. Look at Akane and Ranma's expressions in the final panel (above the shot of them running to school). Akane looks plenty happy to me.

IIRC, the belief you are referencing is rooted in the observation that anime!Akane is generally more prone to violent retaliation (and more prone to excessive amounts of it) against Ranma than manga!Akane is, and overall is more of a Cranky Type A tsundere than the manga's relatively nicer Type B tsundere.

This.

edited 12th Feb '12 5:02:59 AM by MarqFJA

Anime Akane also has more episodes focusing on her nastiness as a plot moving device, like the one where she makes Ranma believe he's an actual girl. That episode is probably the anime's all-lowest point.

When was that?

Are you sure you aren't confusing that with the time Ranma bumped his head and so thought he was a girl? While I suppose Akane could be blamed for that, it certainly wasn't intentional.

edited 12th Feb '12 6:13:54 AM by Sackett

Wasn't that headbump amnesia technically the fault of Genma, who had knocked him down from the roof of the house and into the pond (which has several rocks in it) while they were sparring?

If I remember that episode correctly, it was a combination of many things that led to the head-bump.

When I'm at home I'll slip in the DVD and see.

But I personally never thought Akane was a bitch.

Considering what she had to put up with I always thought her personality was needed.... I mean seriously attacked by guys every morning, Ranma's rather massive jerkass moments, everyone else's constant antics, etc.

That said I liked S1 S2 Akane a lot more than stuff after that. (she had her moments in future episode though.)

It was Akane who did it in the anime both times.

edited 13th Feb '12 12:05:16 AM by Raso

But the second time was to get him back to being a boy wasn't it?

So the accusation that Akane wanted to make Ranma think he was a girl was all wrong.

Nabiki was the one who decided to profit from it if I remember right.

As I recall, Akane had had enough with Ranma acting like a girl and just shoved him, hoping vainly that he'd snap out of it. It was only by accident that he hit his head on the rock and came to normal.

Nobody intentionally made Ranma act like a girl, and they didn't intentionally hit his head to bring him back to normal—it was an accident both times.

edited 14th Feb '12 2:31:54 AM by MoeDantes

It wasn't a bad anime episode either. It was pretty ironic to see some of the stock standard genderbending humour in Ranma - Ranma One Half actually has surprisingly little since Ranma's identity usually transcends his form.

edited 14th Feb '12 2:41:30 AM by UltimatelySubjective

Wow, I didn't know this existed.

Can't find any English subs, but most of us are pretty familiar with this scene I would imagine.

Closest we'll get to seeing the manga ending animated? You know even just one more OVA would be nice...

Epic necro.

I finally got around to watching the live-action special. For any of you guys who still gave a shit, the best link is here. No downloads necessary.

Anyway, I found the special to be surprisingly alright. It is a little jarring getting used to the sheer amount of things done differently, and the drama feels a little too forced and cliche, but the stuntwork was very good (pretty much Power Rangers level, the little CGI used flowed surprisingly well, and the comedy scenes are funny as hell, if only because its attempt to copy the anime's comedic timing makes it look like a Japanese Scott Pilgrim Vs The World.

Overall, I'd say give it a watch if you're a fan of the series. Nothing extraordinary, but nothing offensive.

No! Not chi blasts in the first episode!

Thanks for the link. I wasn't going to say anything, but wow this is directed like it was supposed to be an anime wasn't it? It really seemed like when Genma burnt his hand, the reactions should have been bigger.

The subs said "Tofu-sensei(teacher)" so I thought he might be a teacher... but I'm pretty sure they just got an actual Doctor to work in the school nurse's office.

But the dialogue was okay when the pace was slow.

Yeah, but I'm glad this doesn't feel like it's raping my canon. Probably more faithful than what Hollywood would have tried to do.

The Japanese use the "-sensei" term to address doctors in medicine, too, not only teachers. Tofu has always been called "Tofu-sensei" in the original manga and anime.

I know, but is Tofu a school nurse/teacher or called Sensei because he's an actual doctor?

He's an actual doctor in the anime and manga. Dunno about the live action version since I haven't watched it yet.

One of the big changes in the live action is that Tofu works as a school nurse for Furinkan instead of his own office. I don't know if that still qualifies him as a doctor or not.