The October entry of GME! Anime Fun Time isn’t exactly spook-tacular: Tom, Sean Forster, Dawn, and I look back on the early days of our fandom with a title that used to be terribly important to all of us: Ranma 1/2. Topics of discussion include Rumiko Takahashi’s other works, how our tastes have changed over the years, and how Hayao Miyazaki created the universe (not really). Is Ranma 1/2 a classic, or something that is better left to the past? CLICK HERE or on the Bluray cover above to download our review and find out.
The Greatest Movie EVER! Podcast 
Ah Ranma 1/2 technically one of the first random’s I stumbled into in the geocities days. One of the few shows I have watched in 3+ Languages. (That and Detective Conan.)
Can not wait to see how much you guys have watched/read and what you are going to say about the ending.
Very much like Tom, I watched the OAV’s & Movies first thanks to my local Blockbuster stocking them a decade prior to getting the TV show… actually our Blockbuster never got the TV VHS’s; I ended up checking out that dull-fully long series on Mexican bootleg tapes.
I think you can totally go into the Movies & OAV’s first then just… forget the TV show was ever made. As a teen I was looking for T&A, and that little “Not for Children” sticker on top of the ‘Desperately Seeking Shampoo(‘s tits in the shower)’ case immediately caught my eye.
Sure a lot the fluff, in particular the characters, won’t make sense when you come into the plot so late. But it doesn’t really detract from enjoying those few episodes & 2 movies. Considering Ranma was probably just meant to serve as Rumiko’s mental dumping-ground for wacky shit, pardon my Nipponese.
And it really feels that way, which is why Ranma & Akane never amount to anything past a hug… probably because the OAV & Movie directors plus its fan-base wanted to tear her Rumic-head off for the overdose of tomfoolery. I never read the manga but, I’d say the most conclusive and satisfactory explanation was given in the those short scenes where Akane & Ranma hug in the roof after the Christmas scramble, or when Ranma saves her falling from that Nihao my gusher spring.
Ranma to me’ll always be: Beating Around the Bush the Anime. But did I enjoy it? Well, if masturbating my puberty away to Ranma surfing while Akane builds a tent in a skimpy yellow one piece is any indication… I’d say it’s the best softcore 90’s anime I’ve ever seen. The film theme songs were delightfully romantic; definitely the best J-rock version of The Beach Boys’ spirit ever wrought.
As for my favourite Ranma girl… mine’s gotta be Peter Payne, or as his wife likes to call him P-chan.
Never saw this show when I was into anime (mid-late Nineties/early 2000s) – no idea why because I knew it existed, I was just more into Blue Seed, RahXephon and Lupin the Third.
So – should I take a look at the first season?