The first episode of the MAPPA-run reboot of one of anime’s most revered classics, Ranma 1/2 has dropped, and you’ll be happy to know that almost nothing has changed besides a very nice and glossy coat of new paint. The first episode of the new show does not quite shot-for-shot recreate the original, but it does not add nor subtract from it either. So what is all the fuss about?
If you’re not new to the Ranma 1/2 franchise, this is going to basically feel like a big nostalgia trip wrapped in a warm neon glow. The animation, style, backgrounds, and special (manga-like) effects enhance everything around the characters and this show. I especially like the use of various pastel colors during key action scenes. There is a particular reverence for the source material and by that I mean Rumiko Takahashi’s work. That’s especially evident in the OP/ED animations, which unfortunately do not feature their original music tracks from yesteryear, but are still good standalone tracks for the new show.
Probably the most important aspect of this reboot are the voices. Almost the entire original Japanese cast returned for this new show, with a couple new names. Genma Saotome was voiced by Kenichi Ogata in the original series, but he is now the narrator for the new series, and Genma is now voiced by Cho (Super Milk-chan, Great Teacher Onizuka, One Piece). Kunou Tatewaki will be voiced by Tomokazu Sugita (Dennou Boukenki Webdiver, Chobits, Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu) as unfortunately Hirotaka Suzuoki passed away in 2006. I didn’t scour the whole list, but almost all of the main character voices are there, and especially our primary duo, Kappei Yamaguchi and Megumi Hayashibara. If you’re a millennial weeb like myself, you remember Megumi being in almost every show and playing some of the late 90s and early aughts best characters. She was 22 when this show first aired, and is now 57 when the show second airs. An impressive career and still fits the role.
The English VA side, while I have not watched it in English, has completely changed from the original Viz dub. Under Netflix’s iyuno localization arm, Ranma Saotome is voiced by Suzie Yeung (Code Geass: Rozé of the Recapture, Final Fantasy VII Remake/Rebirth, Kimetsu no Yaiba) and David Errigo Jr. (Ridley Jones, Tiny Toons Looniversity, The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf), Valeria Rodriguez, Stephanie Sheh (Bleach, Naruto, Gundam SEED Freedom), and Laura Post (Persona 5 Royal, Batman: The Enemy Within, Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir) play Akane, Nabiki, and Kasumi Tendo respectfully. Fred Tatasciore (Star Trek: Lower Decks, Family Guy, Ultraman) is Genma Saotome, and finally J. Michael Tatum (Evangelion Rebuild, Date a Live, My Hero Academia) is Soun Tendo. Like many of Netflix’s other acquisitions, most recently the SEED Freedom movie, they opted not to reach out to the original cast of the dub and ran their own. Stephanie Sheh even gets to pivot from being Mary Sue Clyne to the trickster god Nabiki which is an interesting touch. Fred Tatasciore is just in fucking everything, either his agent is just that good or they really like throwing anything and everything at him. If you like English dubs, this is a lot of top talent on this side of the pond, a lot of anime and game veterans here.
Overall, I quite like everything here in this first episode. I admit, I kind of hope they deviate a little bit with this series from the original, or at least explore a few new things maybe they didn’t get to put in before. Don’t get me wrong, I am not a man who objects to the same kind of pizza over and over. You can give me the exact same Ranma 1/2 with new visuals and I’ll be fucking happy as can be. I’m just saying I wouldn’t mind some marinara to dip the crust in? Maybe some breadsticks? If we’re here, we might as well feast like 1990s kings. We’re only missing Blockbuster and VHS tapes.
Anything Goes School of Additional Observations
- The opening denotes that the show takes place “Sometime in the 80s”. That suggests that instead of modernizing the show and characters for current times, which some reboots and remakes do, they chose to preserve the setting. That’s interesting to me because I like to watch stuff set back before big tech, smartphones, and that sort of thing. I mean, Ryoga with GPS and still getting lost would be fucking funny.
- The new red-glowing-eyes animation they’re using as Panda-Genma emerges in a fight or enters into a room very menacing is one of the many neat touches they’ve added to this show.
- Likewise with the after-image effect when Ranma dodges Akane’s attacks. It sounds silly, but when you’ve watched older 80s and 90s anime to now, you appreciate the modern effects when they’re deliberately done to emulate older effects, with a modern twist.
