Answerman

Why is the nudity removed from the Ranma 1/2 remake?

The internet asks:

"Why is the nudity removed from the Ranma 1/2 remake?"

This wouldn't be an Answerman column if we didn't answer the odd “What's happened to my butt crack?” question. So! In the public interest, let's tackle the thorny issue of why a global Netflix anime exclusive that is almost a scene-for-scene remake may deliberately avoid including original fan-service* elements instead of focusing on those less important items like story, character, and plot.

I would like to provide some reasonable explanations why I think the producers of the Ranma ½ series remake may have made the creative decision not to replicate some of the “naughtier” scenes featured in the original anime below. It is also worth pointing out that those same fanservice scenes originally appeared in Rumiko Takahashi's manga. A lot.

*Before we get into it, I must provide a quick note for those of you who may be new to Answerman. Some of my predecessors have tackled questions around “censorship in anime and manga” with specific regard to the removal of what we often refer to as “fan-service elements,” which in this context is “the random and gratuitous display of a series of anticipated gestures common in manga and anime. These gestures include such things as panty shots, leg spreads and glimpses of breast" as defined by Keith Russell, the philosopher and academic in his 2008 essay, “The Glimpse and Fan Service: New Media, New Aesthetics.”

These days, we often refer to “fan service” as “content added to a work of fiction to appeal to an audience” but which eschews content of a sexual nature. For example, avid watchers of Disney's MARVEL and Star Wars output will notice a high concentration of easter eggs, nods, winks, and features the filmmakers drop into their work to please the hardcore fans of the original movies and comics. Heck! One could argue that the excellent 2024 animated series X-MEN '97 is peak fan-service execution. This is not the type of fan service we are talking about today.

I am writing all of this here for you, dear reader, to avoid upsetting or alarming you. When we discuss fan service in anime we are likely going to be discussing scenes of a sexual nature. I hope that this explainer has helped.

So! Why have they chosen not to include the boobs, the nipples, and the butt cracks that were freely on display in the original Ranma ½ series, which first aired in Japan in April 1989?

1.) Global anime audiences have moved on from traditional anime fan service. The audience mix is younger and more diverse both gender-wise, culturally, and ethnically than ever before, and with that comes different perspectives and standards as well as expectations. In 1989, anime creators wanted to make a hit anime that as many people as possible would enjoy, but that prism of success was very local and very specific: Japanese audiences watching the early evening anime slot on FujiTV (one of the original co-producers);

2.) The global audience for strong female leads in a long-running anime series no longer sees fan services as a necessary ingredient in their enjoyment of the aforementioned program. Fan service is a niche interest for a small segment of the audience and a mild distraction for the majority of the audience at best;

3.) A lot more women and girls watch anime these days. I would like to think that most anime creators welcome this development and want to make programming that is as attractive to this growing segment of the audience as it is to the male segment;

4.) As anime becomes more accessible and more popular around the world, the average age of anime audiences continues to fall, with some surveys claiming that as much as half the audience is aged between 10-18. It is understandable, then, that some shows created for mass appeal globally may tone down or remove fan service entirely;

5.) “Global” means global. It's easier when remaking a show to excise those parts of the original that often ended up cut or edited for local broadcast standards. A quick question for you. Did the original U.S. television broadcast include these scenes, or were they edited out? And! Did you watch Rama 1/2 on the telly-box or years later via file sharing or streaming? This may influence your personal view on whether or not fan service is important to this series or not and finally…

5.) Butt cracks, boobies, and panty-shots aren't necessarily considered essential to the overall narrative and character development of any anime series. Regardless of whether fan service is an important part of the overall entertainment some viewers get from the anime they choose to enjoy, it's hard to argue that it contributes anything substantial to the story.

And perhaps, just perhaps the creators of this pretty wonderful reboot preferred not to go down the fan service route creatively. Maybe they're just not that interested in drawing butt cracks and nipples? Stranger things have happened in the world of anime production and development after all.

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