All The Announcements from Anime NYC 2024

Ranma 1/2 Returns, The Same As It Ever Was

ANN's coverage of Anime NYC 2024 sponsored by Yen Press and Ize Press!

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Excitement was high at Anime NYC on Saturday for the premiere of the new Ranma 1/2 anime from MAPPA. Cosplayers gathered for photos at the front of the panel room. Before the screening, Viz Media's “Community Troublemaker” Godswill Ugwa Jr. gave out merch from Hot Topic, the co-sponsor of the premiere, to fans who could answer Ranma trivia questions (mostly pretty easy, except specific years kept tripping people up). After that, it was time to watch the reboot's premiere episode for the first time ever— or at least for the first time in HD without watermarks, given the unfortunate leaks.

The first episode of Ranma 1/2 2024 matches the first two chapters of Rumiko Takahashi's manga beat-for-beat and matches the first episode of the 1989 anime very closely. There isn't any attempt made to modernize it, with an opening title announcing the setting as “sometime in the '80s.” Just as well, perhaps, given how much Ranma was a product of its time and that updating it for an era more conscious about gender issues would require extensive rewrites. One positive change for contemporary sensibilities is the translation: Chinese characters are no longer subtitled in stereotypical broken English.

But why remake it if it's the same show we already saw? That might become clearer as the series progresses. Given how much the old show diverged from the manga as it went along, perhaps the new one is aiming for a more faithful adaptation in the long term — though adapting all 407 chapters of the manga sounds like a dare.

Visually, there are significant differences between the two anime, though comparisons more or less come out a draw. The reboot has a slight upper hand in its fluid action scenes, varied color schemes, and distinctive use of sound effects. The old-school version has somewhat cuter designs and much better background art (the white outlines around objects in the new version seem like an attempt to replicate the watercolor style of the original, but it does not look anywhere near as good).

The old version also had nipples, while the new one does not (what does it say about me and/or the internet that this was the only thing I knew from the leaks going in?). Blame changing censorship standards; most anime sticks to Barbie doll nudity these days, so nobody should be making a big deal out of missing two pixels. I was, however, slightly disturbed by one shot from behind wherein Ranma is clearly missing a butt crack — a “fix it for the Blu-ray” shot if there ever was one.

Did we need this remake? Probably not. Is it still enjoyable? Definitely. If you've seen or read Ranma 1/2 before, you know exactly what will happen in this premiere, but the comedy's still funny, the action packs a punch, and the characters remain as lovable as ever (Akane and Ranma's introductions, as well as every scene with panda-Genma, got cheers from the ANYC audience). The series will premiere on Netflix on October 5. Details about the simuldub have yet to be announced but are said to be coming soon.