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Burned through all three of these recently, which is somewhat staggering since Ranma ½ clocks in at a whopping 161 episodes across seven seasons.
I really, really enjoyed this show. I'll definitely be rewatching it a few times in the future. There isn't a single one from its 26-episode run that I didn't enjoy. The dub is really good, too. Caitlin Glass, who would later dub Maya Ibuki (I'll bet you any amount of money she's Shinji's big sister) in the Rebuild of Evangelion, is excellent as Haruhi Fujioka and she does a good job of giving her a neutral voice. Not for a second did I doubt that they could think she's a guy. She essentially reacts the way the audience would ("Who told you to blow up my pictures without my permission?!" "Damn them... I hate rich people.") to a lot of the insanity that happens on-screen. Equally impressive is Vic Mignogna as Tamaki Suoh, the host club's leader. He's kind of dimwitted (he is the comic relief, after all), but one can't help but like him as the show moves along. In Covering the Famous Host Club, the newspaper club's president shows himself to be very delusional when he insists that Tamaki is "evil" and "stole" his popularity, despite the fact that the "newspaper" is nothing more than strife and scandal while the host club only sets out to entertain the female half of Ouran Academy. It's wholly absurd because simply put, Tamaki doesn't have an evil bone in his body and actually insists they help the newspaper club by allowing them to cover the host club. Granted, he's unaware that they're out to destroy him. It's also obvious he and Haruhi are into each other, though both are in denial, Tamaki claiming, "She's like a daughter to me!" even though they're roughly the same age. In Beware the Physical Exam (within the first three episodes!), he actually tells the other male hosts what kind of anime this is and how he and Haruhi are the leads who are going to end up together. The rest, including Luci Christian who would later dub Meryl Strife in Trigun: Badlands Rumble, Monica Rial who had previously dubbed Maya Ibuki in the Platinum Complete dub of the original Neon Genesis Evangelion, Brina Palencia who would later dub Rei Ayanami in Rebuild, and many more, are also excellent and the dub script is completely natural. I couldn't help getting a kick out of the self-awareness the show openly displays. I mean, they break the fourth wall on several occasions and it never once fails; my favorite example is from Honey's Three Bitter Days, when several of the hosts are discussing whether or not those with the AB blood type have an evil side and Haruhi says to the audience, "If you're watching this and you're type AB, please don't take offense to this." None of the other jokes fail, either. Bisco Hatori's story never fails, either. She gets pretty creative as various antagonists appear and (try to) mess stuff up, only to fall flat on their rear in all manner of amusing ways. The animation is up to par, too, which is unsurprising for a fairly recent anime. I watched this on Netflix in HD, which apparently comes from the same master(or masters if you count them individually for each episode) used by Funimation and Madman for their Blu-ray releases in the United States and Australia, respectively - each episode as presented on Netflix opens with the Madman logo - which is known to be upscaled. For an upscale, it looks really good. I'd think it was native HD if I didn't already know. The music is great, too; I'm unashamed to admit that I probably know Kiss Kiss Fall in Love by heart. It also sounds great; the Blu-ray set's Dolby TrueHD stereo track likely sounds even better, but still. If there's a single negative, it's that I wanted to spend even more time with Haruhi and co. Hatori's manga goes on for much longer to follow the hosts in college, so it's kind of a shame we never got a second season. Still, at least it ends on a high note and the ride is so much fun, I'll definitely be coming back to it.
It was good. The dub is really good, too. I can't name any of the other actors offhand, but Johnny Yong Bosch is excellent as the lead, Chakuro. The 14-year-old historian who cries at funerals even though he's not supposed to is quite the departure from Kaneda in the Pioneer dub of Akira and Vash the Stampede in Trigun, but Yong Bosch pulls it off handily. The animation is up to par. The story is solid and it's hard not to care what happens to the characters on-screen. The one strike against it is that there's not much replay value and it sort of just ends, but there's a lot to like here and it at least ends on a relatively high note.
What a fun ride (all 161 episodes of it!) this was. The jokes are frickin' hilarious, the fight scenes hold some genuine thrill, and Rumiko Takahashi has created a great cast of characters. The dub is really good, too; just remember to avoid the Animax Asia dub since the Viz Media dub is vastly superior. The dub script is completely natural. Sarah Strange is surprisingly excellent as Ranma's male half during the first 63 episodes and episode 69, as is Richard Cox during the remainder, his portrayal coming off as a natural extension of Strange's. The same can be said for Brigitta Dau during the first six episodes and Venus Terzo during the rest as Ranma's female half. Both lend his female half a very convincing masculine tone as a guy who's just turned into a girl after being hit with cold water, especially when Ranma says things like, "No way! I told you I'm a guy! I ain't wearin' no skirt!" and of course, his signature "What'd you do that for?!" Also, you'd never guess his female half switched voices if you didn't look it up since s/he sounds the same throughout the series. Myriam Sirois is also excellent as Ranma's fiancee Akane, as are the rest of the cast. It's clear from the beginning that they're exactly alike, which makes it all the more amusing as they trade insults and deny their true feelings for each other ("You are so uncute!" "I hate boys!"). As the two leads, it's only natural that there are a lot of great moments between them peppered throughout the series, like this one from season one:
"All right! I always wanted to eat one of these!"
"You're not telling me you've never had ice cream before."
"Guys never eat this kind. It's too embarrassing."
"Oh, yeah? A real girl wouldn't eat it like that!"
"Butt out! I'll eat it however I want!"
Ranma's curse makes for great humor, but Takahashi isn't content to rely solely on Ranma's curse for comical effect or rely on Ranma's curse solely for comical effect; she also mines it for some serious character depth during the "Sensitivity of a Cat's Tongue" arc where, in one of the worst, and I mean the worst, games of dirty pool to play, the old ghoul - I mean, Cologne attempts to force Ranma into marrying Shampoo if he ever wants to be able to turn back into a guy by using the Cat's Tongue technique to make even lukewarm water too hot for his skin, by showing the emotional torment he endures on his way to undo the technique and in Am I... Pretty? Ranma's Declaration of Womanhood by exploring the psychological effects such a curse could have on a person when, after hitting his head, Ranma thinks he's a girl who turns into a guy. There are also many times when Ranma uses the curse to help those close to him. Moreover, during the later seasons, there are also several episodes Ranma remains male throughout, which opens the door for other sources of comedy, be it something stupid Ranma's father did, having to stop the freak - I mean, Happosai in his tracks, or the principal trying to enforce his dumber-than-crap rules. All in all, Takahashi couldn't have written it better. Kenji Kawai's musical score is ways off from what he would later do for Ghost in the Shell, but that makes it all the more impressive and it fits the series' generally lighthearted tone. The various theme songs aren't half-bad either, though none of them will ever top the first one, Don't Make Me Wild Like You, in my view; okay, so, I guess Can't Stop It from season seven comes pretty close to matching it. I watched this free with ads on Vudu in HDX up to episode 120 and on Hulu in HD from episode 121 forward after Vudu completely removed the last few seasons, either free or paid, and I had to renew my Hulu account. It looked great on both, not as if it were animated yesterday, mind you, but still more than satisfactory and the same can be said for the audio, likely the same master(s?) Viz used for the Blu-rays. If there's one negative, it's the same thing that happened to Ouran High School Host Club, and that's to say I wanted even more time to hang with Ranma and co. Takahashi's manga goes on for much longer, so it's kind of a shame we don't get to see what happens after episode 161 wraps, but not enough of a shame to destroy the series since it at least ends on a high note - hell, I'm just glad it didn't end with Ranma having to commit seppuku because that would be depressing - and you'd better believe I'll be coming back to it in the future. Later, guys.
I really, really enjoyed this show. I'll definitely be rewatching it a few times in the future. There isn't a single one from its 26-episode run that I didn't enjoy. The dub is really good, too. Caitlin Glass, who would later dub Maya Ibuki (I'll bet you any amount of money she's Shinji's big sister) in the Rebuild of Evangelion, is excellent as Haruhi Fujioka and she does a good job of giving her a neutral voice. Not for a second did I doubt that they could think she's a guy. She essentially reacts the way the audience would ("Who told you to blow up my pictures without my permission?!" "Damn them... I hate rich people.") to a lot of the insanity that happens on-screen. Equally impressive is Vic Mignogna as Tamaki Suoh, the host club's leader. He's kind of dimwitted (he is the comic relief, after all), but one can't help but like him as the show moves along. In Covering the Famous Host Club, the newspaper club's president shows himself to be very delusional when he insists that Tamaki is "evil" and "stole" his popularity, despite the fact that the "newspaper" is nothing more than strife and scandal while the host club only sets out to entertain the female half of Ouran Academy. It's wholly absurd because simply put, Tamaki doesn't have an evil bone in his body and actually insists they help the newspaper club by allowing them to cover the host club. Granted, he's unaware that they're out to destroy him. It's also obvious he and Haruhi are into each other, though both are in denial, Tamaki claiming, "She's like a daughter to me!" even though they're roughly the same age. In Beware the Physical Exam (within the first three episodes!), he actually tells the other male hosts what kind of anime this is and how he and Haruhi are the leads who are going to end up together. The rest, including Luci Christian who would later dub Meryl Strife in Trigun: Badlands Rumble, Monica Rial who had previously dubbed Maya Ibuki in the Platinum Complete dub of the original Neon Genesis Evangelion, Brina Palencia who would later dub Rei Ayanami in Rebuild, and many more, are also excellent and the dub script is completely natural. I couldn't help getting a kick out of the self-awareness the show openly displays. I mean, they break the fourth wall on several occasions and it never once fails; my favorite example is from Honey's Three Bitter Days, when several of the hosts are discussing whether or not those with the AB blood type have an evil side and Haruhi says to the audience, "If you're watching this and you're type AB, please don't take offense to this." None of the other jokes fail, either. Bisco Hatori's story never fails, either. She gets pretty creative as various antagonists appear and (try to) mess stuff up, only to fall flat on their rear in all manner of amusing ways. The animation is up to par, too, which is unsurprising for a fairly recent anime. I watched this on Netflix in HD, which apparently comes from the same master(or masters if you count them individually for each episode) used by Funimation and Madman for their Blu-ray releases in the United States and Australia, respectively - each episode as presented on Netflix opens with the Madman logo - which is known to be upscaled. For an upscale, it looks really good. I'd think it was native HD if I didn't already know. The music is great, too; I'm unashamed to admit that I probably know Kiss Kiss Fall in Love by heart. It also sounds great; the Blu-ray set's Dolby TrueHD stereo track likely sounds even better, but still. If there's a single negative, it's that I wanted to spend even more time with Haruhi and co. Hatori's manga goes on for much longer to follow the hosts in college, so it's kind of a shame we never got a second season. Still, at least it ends on a high note and the ride is so much fun, I'll definitely be coming back to it.
It was good. The dub is really good, too. I can't name any of the other actors offhand, but Johnny Yong Bosch is excellent as the lead, Chakuro. The 14-year-old historian who cries at funerals even though he's not supposed to is quite the departure from Kaneda in the Pioneer dub of Akira and Vash the Stampede in Trigun, but Yong Bosch pulls it off handily. The animation is up to par. The story is solid and it's hard not to care what happens to the characters on-screen. The one strike against it is that there's not much replay value and it sort of just ends, but there's a lot to like here and it at least ends on a relatively high note.
What a fun ride (all 161 episodes of it!) this was. The jokes are frickin' hilarious, the fight scenes hold some genuine thrill, and Rumiko Takahashi has created a great cast of characters. The dub is really good, too; just remember to avoid the Animax Asia dub since the Viz Media dub is vastly superior. The dub script is completely natural. Sarah Strange is surprisingly excellent as Ranma's male half during the first 63 episodes and episode 69, as is Richard Cox during the remainder, his portrayal coming off as a natural extension of Strange's. The same can be said for Brigitta Dau during the first six episodes and Venus Terzo during the rest as Ranma's female half. Both lend his female half a very convincing masculine tone as a guy who's just turned into a girl after being hit with cold water, especially when Ranma says things like, "No way! I told you I'm a guy! I ain't wearin' no skirt!" and of course, his signature "What'd you do that for?!" Also, you'd never guess his female half switched voices if you didn't look it up since s/he sounds the same throughout the series. Myriam Sirois is also excellent as Ranma's fiancee Akane, as are the rest of the cast. It's clear from the beginning that they're exactly alike, which makes it all the more amusing as they trade insults and deny their true feelings for each other ("You are so uncute!" "I hate boys!"). As the two leads, it's only natural that there are a lot of great moments between them peppered throughout the series, like this one from season one:
"All right! I always wanted to eat one of these!"
"You're not telling me you've never had ice cream before."
"Guys never eat this kind. It's too embarrassing."
"Oh, yeah? A real girl wouldn't eat it like that!"
"Butt out! I'll eat it however I want!"
Ranma's curse makes for great humor, but Takahashi isn't content to rely solely on Ranma's curse for comical effect or rely on Ranma's curse solely for comical effect; she also mines it for some serious character depth during the "Sensitivity of a Cat's Tongue" arc where, in one of the worst, and I mean the worst, games of dirty pool to play, the old ghoul - I mean, Cologne attempts to force Ranma into marrying Shampoo if he ever wants to be able to turn back into a guy by using the Cat's Tongue technique to make even lukewarm water too hot for his skin, by showing the emotional torment he endures on his way to undo the technique and in Am I... Pretty? Ranma's Declaration of Womanhood by exploring the psychological effects such a curse could have on a person when, after hitting his head, Ranma thinks he's a girl who turns into a guy. There are also many times when Ranma uses the curse to help those close to him. Moreover, during the later seasons, there are also several episodes Ranma remains male throughout, which opens the door for other sources of comedy, be it something stupid Ranma's father did, having to stop the freak - I mean, Happosai in his tracks, or the principal trying to enforce his dumber-than-crap rules. All in all, Takahashi couldn't have written it better. Kenji Kawai's musical score is ways off from what he would later do for Ghost in the Shell, but that makes it all the more impressive and it fits the series' generally lighthearted tone. The various theme songs aren't half-bad either, though none of them will ever top the first one, Don't Make Me Wild Like You, in my view; okay, so, I guess Can't Stop It from season seven comes pretty close to matching it. I watched this free with ads on Vudu in HDX up to episode 120 and on Hulu in HD from episode 121 forward after Vudu completely removed the last few seasons, either free or paid, and I had to renew my Hulu account. It looked great on both, not as if it were animated yesterday, mind you, but still more than satisfactory and the same can be said for the audio, likely the same master(s?) Viz used for the Blu-rays. If there's one negative, it's the same thing that happened to Ouran High School Host Club, and that's to say I wanted even more time to hang with Ranma and co. Takahashi's manga goes on for much longer, so it's kind of a shame we don't get to see what happens after episode 161 wraps, but not enough of a shame to destroy the series since it at least ends on a high note - hell, I'm just glad it didn't end with Ranma having to commit seppuku because that would be depressing - and you'd better believe I'll be coming back to it in the future. Later, guys.
__________________
Look, Dr. Lesh, we don't care about the disturbances, the pounding and the flashing, the screaming, the music. We just want you to find our little girl.
Look, Dr. Lesh, we don't care about the disturbances, the pounding and the flashing, the screaming, the music. We just want you to find our little girl.
