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I adore Ranma 1/2. The show was brought to my attention by a school chum back in 1997, and I fell in love with it. By 1999 I was deeply embedded in the fandom: buying shockingly expensive VHS tapes, soundtrack CDs, and even writing fan fiction. Ah, those were good days that make me very nostalgic to think about.
For those who might not be aware of Ranma 1/2, the story is fairly simple, and revolves around 16 year old martial artists Ranma Saotome and Akane Tendo. Forced into an arranged engagement by their fathers, Ranma and Akane share a tumultuous relationship from the very beginning, which is further exasperated by a marching line of wacky suitors and lunatic rivals. There's also the small issue of an ancient curse inflicted upon Ranma while visiting a Chinese training ground: when splashed with cold water, Ranma transforms into a girl. Hot water reverses the effect, but only until next time.
And there you have it. That's the show's through-line.
In the early 2000s, Viz Media began releasing season box sets on DVD. They took up an immense amount of shelf space and were wildly expensive. I remember seeing the complete first season at Hastings for nearly $280. Suffice to say, I did not collect the original DVD release. A few years later, Viz re-issued the sets in slim packs with all the same content at significantly reduced prices, but I only managed to snag season 4 and the OAV Series before those DVDs started going out of print.
Over the last five or six years, it slowly became apparent that Ranma's popularity was all but depleted in the United States. The arrival of shows like Dragon Ball Z, Naruto and InuYasha (another Rumiko Takahashi franchise) pushed it out of the spotlight. The situation wasn't helped by Ranma 1/2's lack of direction in later seasons, or its lack of a satisfying conclusion (a result of the show overtaking the manga). The books, soundtracks and DVDs were all going out of print, and I for one was convinced that Ranma's time to shine had come and gone. I never thought I'd see it back on retailer shelves.
Happily, I was wrong.
In August of 2013, Viz announced that they would be bringing the newly remastered HD transfer of Ranma 1/2 stateside. Set 1 would consist of the first 23 episodes, arranged in the original broadcast order for the very first time. That meant that the weird "Akane flashes back to something that hasn't happened yet" moment from the VHS and DVD release would no longer be an issue.
In December of 2013, Viz released a trailer for the box set that some fans found concerning, and rightly so. While the Japanese transfer is beautiful, Viz's trailer featured heavily saturated colors with red in particular being a major problem. Things like Girl Type Ranma's hair and kung-fu shirt looked extremely burned, wiping out much of the line work and shading that was clearly visible in the original DVD comparison scenes.
I'm happy to report that the trailer was an aberration. A lot of care has gone into this release. The original title cards and episode cards have been restored and the image quality is simply stunning. The aspect ratio has been restored, the characters have actual flesh tones, the shading of backgrounds are rich and vibrant, and while the restoration team seems to have avoided using DNR to try and remove the original 16mm film grain, there's very little in the way of dirt or damage on the print. The whole thing feels alive and in motion even when the images are stationary. This is the best Ranma 1/2 has ever looked.
This release features the original Japanese audio track and Viz's original dub from the 1990s. Quality wise, both tracks sound richer than the original DVD version -- perhaps due to the extra storage space allotted by Blu-ray -- but the dub still has a little more kick than the original Japanese audio, which continues to sound slightly flat in comparison. I have always been a fan of the show's dub, but if you prefer the Japanese original, then you might be interested to know that an all-new subtitle track has been created for the re-release. It's a new translation, although I'm not sure how different it is as I've never watched it subtitled before. As is usually the case with Anime, there is no subtitle track for the English dub. If you're slightly hard of hearing and like to use subtitle tracks to help clarify dialog, be aware that the track will not match the English audio.
For those who prefer the dub but like having subtitles for signs and other on-screen Japanese text, there is a secondary option for just such a track. It's a nice feature, but it makes me sad that the opening and closing themes have been re-translated. I'm assuming that they've done this with the intention of bringing the translation closer to the original Japanese lyrics, but after 16 years of having one set of lyrics stuck in my head, it's a little disconcerting.
There's also a small issue with the re-inserted Japanese title cards. When the show was localized, the names of the episodes were changed. This means that the first episode is now called "The Strange Stranger from China", but the spoken dialog continues to call it "Here's Ranma". It's a minor issue, but it's one to be aware of.
The packaging for the Limited Edition blu-ray is gorgeous. The art on the blu-ray case itself is identical to the new DVD release, but the outer sleeve is red, gold and blue. The front panel is as you see in the Amazon photo, while the back panel is blue with gold trim and a drawing of Genma as a panda featured at the center. The material from which the sleeve is constructed is extremely sturdy as well. These will be very attractive sets to line up one-by-one once they're all out.
Included within the box is an episode guide/manga preview. It's all glossy and colorful, but otherwise it's really basic. The episode descriptions are brief and to the point.
Special features include pieces shot at New York Comic Con, as well as a "part 1" making-of that features Hope Donavan discussing the restoration process for the recently re-released manga series. There's nothing groundbreaking here, but it's more than we ever got on the VHS or DVD releases and the manga restoration feature is interesting for anyone who cares to look behind the curtain. If you're bored, definitely check them out. The set also includes the clean opening and closing title sequences, but the box art warns that the picture quality might not be very good. I haven't checked them out yet, but I've seen someone else mention that they're SD, which is a shame.
So now we come to the question of whether or not these blu-rays are worth picking up if you already own the previously released DVD box sets. In my opinion, definitely. The show has never looked this good, and considering Viz only intends a one-print run of the blu-ray, I'd say paying $50 now is preferable to paying outrageous eBay prices later. If you simply can't afford to pick up the blu-ray now, then take heart: the re-issued DVD is not limited to a single pressing, so you can always pick that up later if you feel so inclined. Even at the lower resolution, I'm sure the remastered quality of the source material would greatly improve the viewing experience of the original DVDs.
If you've never before experienced Ranma 1/2, give it a shot. It's a classic Anime that is near and dear to many hearts (including the fine folks at Viz). They've taken a financial risk with the decision to re-release an older, lesser known series. Show your support of classic anime and pick it up, stat!
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From the manufacturer
Missing Parts
Disc 1, 5, and 6 were missing sleeves. Had to send back set 6 once because it was missing 2 discs despite being in plastic packaging. Looks almost like it’s resealed. Discs themselves seem to work fine.
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2014
- Reviewed in the United States on April 9, 2024
- Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2014
Top reviews from other countries
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SquallMXReviewed in Mexico on December 17, 2015
Excelente set de colección de una serie animada clasica
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- JamesReviewed in Canada on May 25, 2014
Probably the best blu-ray set that Viz has released yet
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SimaxReviewed in Italy on October 31, 2013
Uno dei grandi successi degli ultimi 30 anni ad un ottimo prezzo!
