Anyways, let’s move
on. I finally got my hot little hands on the Ranma ½ Digital
Dojo. I ordered it from DVD Express and waited for the release. Sadly,
it wound up backordered, so I waited some more. Then they said they
shipped it… and I waited for about 10 days after they shipped it. It
finally arrived, and I ripped the plastic off of it.The packaging is pretty. It’s not the crappy case of the Ranma OAVs and the Tenchi Muyo boxset. This is your normal looking box set, with four DVD cases inlaid. All the boxes look very nice, too, with Boy-Type Ranma on the front.
The menus are… interesting. An animated DVD spins towards you, and then a menu appears. You select an item, and it spins more. Better grade for an original idea, I guess. There are very few extras. The extras that are added are nice, though… the original opening and endings without the Anglicized credits inlaid. Just a novel idea, I guess.
The best part of the package? You can watch the series with the original Japanese track and subtitles. The VHS copies of the Ranma series have been released in both Japanese and English… but the Japanese versions cost more. This is a relatively inexpensive way to “have your cake and eat it too”.
Even though this is my favorite series, there are certainly problems with it. The first being that it ran too long. I was surprised when I heard that Rumiko Takahashi, the creator of Ranma ½, along with Urusei Yatsura and Inu-Yasha, had decided to end the series. After watching the first six seasons, and reading as much of the manga as I can get my hands on, I realize that it was sort of a mercy killing. The story runs too long, and plots become redundant. The first three seasons are the best of the group, in my opinion.
The second problem with the series is that it’s out of order. Reportedly, the first season didn’t test well enough for a show in it‘s slot on TV, so they moved up the storyline featuring Shampoo, since her character is very popular. This creates a problem in that a flashback in the final few episodes makes NO SENSE WHATSOEVER, because the episode that the events chronicled in the flashback occur in isn’t released until the second season. But what are you going to do? That’s a hypothetical question, by the way.
*SPOILER WARNING*
About the story: Ranma Saotome is a young boy with a problem. Sure he’s the heir to his father’s self-defense academy, “The Saotome School of ‘Anything Goes’ Martial Arts“. Yeah, he’s engaged to a girl he can’t stand, and vice versa. His problem goes deeper than that.
His father (Genma Saotome) takes Ranma on a training trip to China, where they visit Jusenkyo, the Ground of Cursed Springs. Before letting the guide finish his story of Jusenkyo, they start sparring on poles above the springs. Their folly leads to disaster as they are both cursed after falling into two separate springs.
Now whenever Genma gets splashed with cold water, he transforms into a giant panda. And Ranma transforms into a busty girl whenever he gets splashed! So Ranma’s trying to continue living a normal life despite his curse… but his life really isn’t normal anyways.
Ranma and his father arrive at the Tendo Dojo, where Soun Tendo and his daughters live. Soun and Genma have decided to marry Ranma and one of Soun’s daughters, in the hopes that the couple will carry on the legacy of the Saotome School and the Tendo Dojo.
Soun’s daughters are not exactly thrilled with this prospect, but the older girls decide that the youngest, Akane, should marry Ranma. Akane believes Ranma to be a pervert (because she walked in on him in the bathtub… go figure), and is furious at their engagement. Ranma is furious, as well, and the two start off their relationship not on speaking terms. There is the backbone of the story, the relationship between two stubborn, immature teenagers.
Ranma has bigger problems, though. He has to face the wrath of people who desire Akane, and when Girl-Type Ranma finally appears to his classmates… he has to worry about people who desire after HIM. Not to mention that Ranma, despite being immature and brash, seems to attract attention from other girls. This drives Akane insane, because she thinks that Ranma likes the attention, and she’s quite jealous. She’s quite wrong, however, as Ranma just wants to be left alone until he can figure out a way to remove his curse.
The first season includes the introductions to: