Ranma 1/2 - The Movie 1, Big Trouble in Nekonron China

If this is your first time experiencing Ranma, this movie is not a good thing to start off with. Watch (or read) the series to understand all the wacky events. Just because it seems weird, doesn't mean it isnt good. On the contrary, weird things can always be excellent and interesting.

The story is simple enough (too much for the Ranma 1/2 world). Akane is kidnapped when a scroll is dropped into her hands. Kirin, the master of the scroll, arrives to take her as his bride. Ranma and Ryoga do not take kindly to this and along with the rest of the gang, and Lychee, who owns the scroll, set off to Nekonron in China to confront Kirin.

As usual the dubbing stinks (except for Shampoo), but the DVD soon fixes this problem by adding te additional language (Japanese) and English subtitles. Not only this, but there are other extra features: movie trailer, conceptual art, original japanese ending, information on the story and characters. Either way it is a great experience. I would rate the dubbed version 3 stars amd japanese version 4 stars (so I rounded it up).


Saotome School of Making Good Anime   November 11, 1999
6 out of 7 found this review helpful

To me, this is good collector's item for every Ranma fan. The intro at least cameos basically every character (including both cursed forms of the Jusenkyo victims) in the Ranma World. The fight scenes were stupendous, but could've been better had Ranma not gotten his clock cleaned in half of them and if Lychee would've fought at least once. As we all know, The Movie: II is better, but the first one's the classic. A decent question: Where's Ukyou? She cameoed at the beginning and that was it. It would've been da bomb if Ukyou would've lasted the whole film. This is a "must buy" movie!


A bit of a disappointment for the Ranma 1/2 series:   August 19, 1999
4 out of 5 found this review helpful

Again we find ourselves in the situation where a sequel is much better than its predecessor. I happen to own this video and it tends to collect a lot of dust sitting next to its more viewed Ranma 1/2 neighbors on my entertainment shelf. This movie seemed to be just a vehicle to inlcude as many Ranma 1/2 characters from the series as possible (watch the opening chase scene to view quite a few cameos). Unfortunately, it just never moves past the "Ranma and his Friends Back Together Again" genre. Another thing which is a bit stale is the rice and pickles jokes through most of the movie. Okay, I get it. I've eaten rice and Japanese pickled vegetables; it does get old after awhile. Don't get me wrong, "Big Trouble" is a competent attempt (why else would I have given it three stars) and there are some spectacular animations as well as larger than life fight scenes (but then again, isn't that the hallmark of most Ranma 1/2 climaxes). Nontheless, the animation in "Big Trouble" is improved for the movie release format, but I just found myself rather disappointed, especially after watching Ranma the Movie II (Nihao My Concubine) and the other OAVs available. In my opinion, Ranma the movie Part II has much more character development, is funnier, and has better animation than the "Big Trouble" offering. In short, save your money and get Nihao my Concubine instead (very little if no dust on top of that particular video). NOTE: This movie has nothing to do with the John Carpenter movie starring Kurt Russel.


Ranma's swell anime!   February 28, 2000
A girl name Frida (new J)
3 out of 4 found this review helpful

Don't buy this movie if you don't understand the plot. Surf the net to get info, then order. This movie was a slight disopointment in the art region (the OAV series has gorgeous art while the film has good art). On a scale of 1 to 10 for the laugh-factor, I give it an 8. It was really cute. Check it out!