This series is easily one of the most popular anime series ever and a good starting point for people interested in starting their own anime collection. It's all about a young man named Ranma Saotome and the changes in his life after a slight accident while training with his father in martial arts at the cursed chinese springs of Jusenkyö. Ranma now finds that his body transforms into that of a beautiful young girl when he's splashed with cold water and it changes back into his normal male form when splashed with hot water. It could be worse. He could have ended up like his father who changes into a giant panda and back again when splashed. Needless to say, this little curse ends up making Ranma's life very interesting. At the start of the series Ranma and his father, Genma, are on their way to the Tendo Dojo where Soun, who is an old friend of Genma's, is waiting with his three daughters. The purpose of the trip is for Ranma to pick one of the daughters to be his fiance in an arranged marriage. A prospect he is less than excited about. Alas it's raining and the chill rain has forced them into their alternate forms. Soun and his daughters, Kasumi, Nabiki, and Akane are as of yet unaware of the Saotome's little problem and are rather surprised when a giant panda and a small girl come calling instead of Genma and his son. After a bit of confusion they reveal the story of how they came to be cursed. Time for Ranma to pick a fiance. Alas, he's given little choice in the matter as both Nabiki and Kasumi pont to Akane as the best choice being that she hates boys and Ranma is half girl. Both kids are against the idea which, natually, results in the fathers agreeing it's the best match possible (dads are never wrong). Thus starts one of the funniest and most action packed martial arts romantic comedies ever. As the series continues new characters are introduced, some of whom are also cursed by the same springs as Ranma to turn into cats, pigs, ducks and other assorted animals, and new plot twists are introduced. The story takes on almost a soap opera air to it as various characters set their sites on each other for revenge or eventual marriage. Akane has Kuno and Ryouga seeking her hand while Ranma has Shampoo, Kodachi, and Ukyou after his male side as well as Kuno after his female side (Kuno being unaware that Ranma and "The Pig-Tailed Girl" are one and the same). Further characters twist the love triangles into whole new geometric shapes. In fact, there are so many characters interacting on so many levels that I've already used up more room in this synopsis than I had planned to. There are some excellent web sites that cover everything you could want to know about the series listed below if you're interested. For now, suffice it to say that the whole thing boils down to a love story between two people who refuse to admit that they really do care for each other: Ranma and Akane.  The series is available domestically in both dubbed and subtitled forms from Viz Communications which also puts out the translated manga in both single issures and collected trade paperbacks. In addition to the television series itself, there are also three Ranma ½ movies and six OAV videos which sell for a little more than the television series (usually between $29.95 to $34.95 for the dubbed versions). The manga on which the anime was based came to an end in 1995 and, as has been the case with Rumiko Takahashi's Uruesi Yatsura, the ending only hints at who will ultimately wind up with whom.

Les' Review: This is still my favorite anime in my collection and has eaten up a lot of my disposable income as well as my spare time. I just recently managed to get my collection of the videos caught up to the most recent release and will now have to chew my fingernails while awaiting each new release from Viz. I've collected the dubbed versions and am pretty happy with the dubbing quality, however, many people are not. More than one flame war has erupted in the anime newsgroups over Viz's dubbed Ranma tapes so you may want to check one out before purchasing it if you can. My first contact with Ranma ½ was in dubbed format so I suppose I could chalk my preference up to simply being used to the voices as many people who prefer the subbed tell me they just don't feel the dubbed voices are "right" for the characters. Beyond the issue of dubbed or subbed, the quality of animation is pretty good and gets better as the series progresses. The characters do evolve and grow over time albeit rather slowly. This series and it's related products is also the easiest to find due to it's popularity.

Hairboy's Review: Ya pa pa, Ya pa pa, la la erm, sorry. After watching only one episode you'll find yourself trying to sing the ultra catchy opening theme song from the first season of Rumiko Takahasi's second big manga/anime series. Although very similar to Urusei Yatsura in theme (love triangle with a twist) it has some very gender bending differences. I wish there was a good release of this series on tape. "But wait Hairboy what about Viz's tapes?" I suppose I can suffer through the dubbing, but after knowing what the voices and inflections were in the original, I can only wince at the waisted sounding Ranma. Although they are finally releasing more of the series in subbed form, they are doing it in a very money hungry way. With a series as long as this one is, it seems very inconsiderate of them to release only two episodes per tape as they have started with the newest release. That is way more money than I can afford. AnimEigo is putting four episodes of Urusei Yatsura on each tape, with extensive liner notes. Sorry Viz, I'll keep my copies of the original Japanese and my fan synopsis'. I didn't intend for this to be a Viz bash, but when I think of what they did to Ranma ...

Eric's Review: What can I say about a show that has as a regular member who is a panty stealing fetishist? I like it. Chock full of cartoon boobs (usually Ranma's), a ridiculously powerful pervert, two craven cowards who want to bring their children together to run the family dojo, shape-changing enemies, and a whole host of amorous, but usually dangerous women all of whom are wanting to be Mrs. Saotome. It is usually quite funny, sometimes touching, and almost always frenetic.

Mirahla's Review: I absolutely love this show! But only with Japanese voices - the dub I heard was a cringe factor off the scale - *shudder*. Anyway, this is another really unique story idea - it could save a lot of confused people from some very expensive surgery if all they needed to change sex was some hot or cold water! Think about it! This series has comedy, romance, action, and a host of characters with enough variety that ANYONE could find a favorite or three! Great artwork from Rumiko - although I expect nothing less from her! The characters are great (I just love the big panda - he's just too CUTE!) and the artwork is very nice - although like lots of anime the women suffer from the "large, gravity-defying breasts syndrome". Oh well, can't win 'em all. Definitely a must-see for anyone new to anime. Ranma ½ is a classic. And you gotta love the contagious music!

• The Ultimate Ranma ½ Homepage has just about everything you could ever want in the way of background material and character descriptions for Ranma ½. You can also find the Ranma ½ FAQ here.
• Ranma World is another nicely done Ranma ½ page with quite a bit in the way of images you can check out as well as the obligatory character info.
• The Tendo Dojo allows you to tour the home of the major characters in Ranma ½ learning about it's occupants with loads of great pics from the anime series.
• Kasumi's Cookbook is brought to you by the same folks who did the Tendo Dojo and features some real recipes for you to try out when you get hungry.
• Ranma ½ Screencaps Page is the place to go for loads of pictures captured from the various Ranma ½ series and OAVs as well as the movies.
• Ranma ½ Links Around The World this is the place to go to get links to all manner of Ranma ½pages from all over the planet. You should be able to find a page here for whatever aspect of Ranma ½ you want to learn more about.

Obligatory Copyright Notifications:
Images from Ranma ½ copyrighted by Viz Communications/Rumiko Takahashi/Shogakukan Inc./Kitty Films/Fuji TV.