Intro
No matter how long they’ve been waiting for the remake of this classic, fans can now rejoice knowing that the first episode of Ranma 1/2 (2024) officially released on Netflix this past week! Considering what was done with Urusei Yatsura (2022) and shown in the trailers, there was much to anticipate from this fresh new Ranma 1/2. In this first English dubbed episode, fittingly named “Here’s Ranma”, we get an introduction to what much of that looks like. Some choices worked to revitalize the original, but others more distinguished the two versions very clearly. There’s a lot of cover, so let’s get into all that!
New Intro Theme
The intro for the Ranma 1/2 remake’s appealing new visuals pave the way for its youthful and fun atmosphere. Half of it is in a cute and colorful medium reminiscent of paper theater, and the other half is in regular 2-D animation that shines with its bouncy and fluid movements. A choice I found personally interesting was the way Akane’s perspective on Ranma’s life was portrayed like a level from the Super Mario Brothers games. It’s a creative way to showcase how absurd it all is.
It’s impressive that the intro was able to effectively express the pandemonium of Ranma and Akane’s life into the fun party it is – a notable feat considering how complicated that part of the show is. It covers everything that’s to come within the season including classic characters, the main settings and a few antics that will take place in them, and Ranma’s personal struggles due to his curse. The significance of Ranma and Akane’s relationship is emphasized as this aspect is interwoven into almost all of these elements. Of course, with this, the intro also introduces us to how their relationships with the other characters causes chaos that gets in their way.
As for the song, it definitely contributes to the atmosphere alongside the cute and colorful visuals. While a lot less energetic and fast-paced than the first intro song for the Urusei Yatsura remake, I think it captures a more wholesome feel associated with the intro of the original Ranma 1/2. If you listen closely, some of the beats even match the original song as well.
Writing and Structure
Before any of the events unfold, we are told that this story takes place in the 80s. This was a nice touch as, not only does it work to make the events of the show shine, it also defines this story as something nostalgic and special that occurred specifically during that time period.
Afterwards, we can see that the remake’s opening scene very much contrasts from the original. We are introduced first to Soun Tendo as he receives the postcard from Genma saying that he’s coming over from China with Ranma. We then see Genma in his panda form chasing after female Ranma before the two of them engage in a fight in the middle of the city. This is different from the original, where the two scenes are switched.
The pacing is very similar to the original’s, the only exception being that it lingers more on certain shots which makes things feel a little slower. The real issue is found in some of the dialogue as the characters sometimes over-explain things in a way that doesn’t sound too natural which distracted me a few times.
I particularly felt this way during the flashback of Ranma and Genma training at Jusenkyo. There is a point where we stay still on a shot of Ranma’s face as he listens to the tour guide’s lengthy explanation for why his father just turned into a panda. This is one of the points where the episode falters compared to the original as explanations like this felt quicker and more direct, which helped the audience grasp what was necessary.
English Dub Voices
While waiting for this episode to come out, I was so excited to see the characters grace my screen once again in a fresh new way. With this in mind, it was such a delight to hear how almost all the characters in the Ranma 1/2 (2024) english dub maintains the sound and demeanor from the original. The main character Ranma is the strongest example here as both his male and female form are given voices that sound almost like stronger versions of the original dub and so fitting for both personalities. In fact, with this, I feel like we get a fleshed out version of female Ranma’s personality right off the bat. In the original, it takes quite a bit to really notice the ways she’s distinguishable from male Ranma.
Unfortunately, the exceptions to this were Akane and her sister Nabiki. Their change in voice often caused their line deliveries to falter which was very distracting. Particularly with Akane, a beloved female character within the fanbase, her new voice takes away much of her trademark brashness that delivered a hilarious shock value when watching her. All throughout the original series, her situation with Ranma left her unabashedly angry all the time which many of her fans embraced about her. She was aggressive and loud, specifically when she was fighting. She was also sassy and sarcastic with a tendency to clap back at people. However, all of these attributes made us appreciate the way she showed the kindness at her core and her girly tendencies despite being her tomboy personality. Such dual qualities gave her a uniquely strong personality that always shined through so naturally even from the beginning.
In the remake, while Akane’s expression of anger is intense, it sounds rather surface-level and generic. It sometimes relies on what she says about her situation alone, which also falters quite a bit. That is, Akane’s hateful comments regarding her situation are expressed in more sassy and nuanced ways in the original whereas these thoughts are more simplified into general upset comments in the remake. The aspects of her personality that we see don’t really carry through from the original in a way that makes her mix of anger and kindness seem uniquely her own.
What I can say, though, is that the remake definitely delivers on showing us that she is indeed the tougher one of Soun’s daughters. With this, they at least accomplish the bare essentials of her dynamic with everyone else in the show. Although, I am nervous to see how Akane’s new sound will affect the entertainment quality of these dynamics in comparison to the original. Of course, these are only initial thoughts after watching the first episode so there’s definitely time to get used to this new version and find a different kind of enjoyment while watching it.
New Look and Atmosphere
Expanding upon what’s shown in the trailers, Ranma 1/2 (2024) gives us a full demonstration of its enhanced animation throughout this first episode. Alongside the more polished character designs, all the colors are refreshingly vibrant and the settings have more cleaner detail. Each movement is also very bouncy and fluid just as they are in the intro. All of these aspects work to deliver such beautiful animation and give the show a new visual quality.
What helps with this is the use of creative reaction shots as each one contains a specific color palette that helps make the show’s visuals pop. The remake takes full advantage of this feature to help draw the audience’s attention to specific instances.
My favorites are the ones used for Ranma and Akane, specifically their iconic “meet-hate”. The show dedicates a much more dramatic shot to their very first argument to highlight its significance in setting up their dynamic for the rest of the series. However, I did think this remake relied a bit too heavily on these kinds of shots sometimes. As opposed to just bright colors while capturing it in a single image, some moments simply needed more time and space within the episode to establish itself as an important plot point.
While all of these elements played major roles in creating the show’s cute and fun atmosphere, the lack of emphasis on the background music took away the variety in tone we get from the original. The music in original Ranma 1/2 has always been a staple within the franchise as it helped heighten the humor of chaotic moments and distinguish them from the softer ones – immersing us deeper into the characters’ experiences when watching them play out. It also helped the audience establish a certain familiarity within the settings we’re introduced to. In the remake, the background music belonging to certain moments aren’t as defined so we can’t connect to them as strongly.
I felt this the most at the end when Akane and Ranma are talking with their respective family members about the disgust they feel towards the other. In the remake, the silly music makes this moment come off as just another result of the silly antics that ensued. However, there’s a certain sincerity here missing that was present in the original. The soft music was much more pronounced, letting us know that there was something deeply meaningful going on underneath the surface as we spent time observing their thoughts on one another. For many important moments, the remake trades out these heartfelt emotions for a more fun and youthful feel that seems to dominate most of the episode.
The Fighting
When it comes to the martial arts scenes, however, I can confidently say that they were easily the best part of the episode. It was definitely one of my favorite changes made from the original. Every movement we watch is so precise and so much more attention is placed on each strike. Alongside these visuals, the sounds are also so crisp and timed perfectly with the characters’ hits and motions – which makes for a satisfying watch.
I noticed that the remake also took this as an opportunity to add a bit more personality to female Ranma when she fights. We see this pretty early on in the episode where we see her having a bit more fun fighting his father in the city. I personally think this choice gives us a better sense of his female self’s personality, especially when fired up, which was new and exciting to see expressed more prominently. Because of all this, I found it delightful to notice that the fight scenes in this first episode are also a lot longer compared to the original’s. It allows us to spend more time with such a visual and auditory spectacle.
Improved Representation and Censorship
Amongst all the ones mentioned thus far, there were a few changes that were necessary to make. One of the biggest examples is included in the original’s first episode, where the unnamed Chinese Jusenkyo tour guide speaks in a stereotypical accent with broken english. Fans of the show have always recognized this as one of the anime’s biggest flaws as it very clearly misrepresents Chinese individuals. This is especially true since, later on, this stereotype remained consistent with all the other Chinese characters that show up in the anime such as the fan-favorite Shampoo and her sisters.
Naturally, everyone was very much expecting the new Ranma 1/2 remake to resolve such an issue to achieve more Chinese inclusivity. Thankfully, this is what we get to see as the Chinese Jusenkyo guide in the remake is stripped of such a stereotypical dialect. This change essentially ensures the same treatment for Shampoo, which fans have been very eager to see ever since hearing about the remake.
Aside from all that, there was also a lot less nudity shown in the first episode compared to the original – which makes sense for a modern day release. While it showed up a lot more, I personally never thought nudity was a crucial aspect of the original anime. The remake seemed to have found other ways to accomplish what many of those scenes were trying to do without it. So, I was left genuinely curious as to why they cut it down to specifically only one scene where Ranma is getting ready to take a second bath in his female form instead of just scrapping nudity altogether. It leaves me curious as to how they’ll cut them down for future episodes.
Little Things
I found it important to mention a few smaller scale changes and elements that they kept from the original since, as a fan, I found them personally delightful! The first little change being Akane’s cute new hairstyle after she gets out of the bath. While she wears her long hair the same in the original, this remake added their own special spin on it to really show it off. I also loved Kasumi’s change in wording when describing Akane to Ranma for the first time, where she uses the word “thug” which was new and quite hilarious to hear come out of her. Finally, Genma’s panda form seems to have a new type of humor to him as the way he chased female Ranma in their first fight scene and his red glowing eyes had me giggling each time.
Something small they kept for this remake that I enjoyed watching were all the scenes where Nabiki is enjoying her popsicle. While it didn’t show up too often in the original, it’s just a funny little behavior I associated with her as it symbolizes how blunt and nonchalant she is compared to everyone else. I personally appreciated how much more often we see this in this first episode. Something else pretty iconic that was kept was Akane hitting girl Ranma with a table after he makes fun of her. That scene comes in just as suddenly as it does in the original and best shows the audience just how strong and ruthless Akane is.
Outro
Where the remake’s first episode lacks in sincerity, it makes up for in the sweet and adorable outro. Just by watching it, I could tell that giving us quality outros will be another strength of this remake as it’s already better than all of the one’s we’re given in the original. Along with a soft song and a consistent pastel color palette, this outro’s star factor are the simple doodles that not only come to life by moving, but also makes the characters come to life with their written comments. All of which combine to deliver the heartwarming undertones of the entire show that the music helped deliver throughout the episode in the original.
Conclusion
Despite a few changes that took away some of the charm from the original, overall I really enjoyed this first episode of the Ranma 1/2 remake! The beautiful visuals and fun atmosphere definitely helps to captivate modern day audiences who are being introduced to the world of Ranma 1/2. As for long time fans, while it is missing several beloved elements from the original first episode, it also gives us just enough to make it a worthwhile watch. Speaking honestly with that in mind, I am a bit nervous to see what it scraps from the original as I continue watching, but I am also looking forward to see what it keeps as well as what it amps up. I know I had a lot of fun seeing all of these characters again, and I can safely say that I am still left absolutely excited to watch what the rest of this remake has to offer.
