Ranma 1/2 - The Digital Dojo - The Complete First Season (Box Set)

I have now watched the first 4 seasons of Ranma 1/2 in chronological order and I think seasons 1 and 2 are the best. Season one introduces you to the main characters and sets the background for following episodes. Yet each episode is entertaining and usually adds a new character or interesting story element. Someone who is very familiar with the series may find some of the first few episodes "thin" because many of the main characters don't get introduced till later. However, for those who are relatively new, I think the build up in history and character development is perfect. Enough time is devoted to each new character introduced to give them some depth. In the season 1 set, the story line is relatively linear from episode to episode (each episode continues where the last left off). In seasons 3 and 4 this no longer occurs quite as much with the some episodes becoming almost completely "stand alone".

In conclusion this is a set that all Ranma fans should have and anime fans that haven't yet watched Ranma should definitely start here.


A DVD boxed set that's truly worthy of the format   May 5, 2002
Joseph Rodriguez (Iowa City, IA United States)
14 out of 14 found this review helpful

Just in case you've never seen Ranma 1/2, here's the plot in a nutshell: on a training mission with his father, Ranma falls into a cursed spring and now turns into a girl (who happens to be red-haired and...er, well-endowed) when doused with cold water, and back into a boy with hot. Everything else is just a zany, ever-expanding web of elaboration on this main theme. It's closely based on the long-running, successful Japanese manga (comic book) of the same name.

The show has a huge cast of characters, including but not limited to: Ranma's reluctant fiancee, Akane; his father, Genma, and his rival, Ryoga, both of whom have their own curse; Tatewaki Kuno and his sister Kodachi, who are in love with female and male Ranma respectively; and about a zillion other characters who are introduced later in the series.

This first DVD set has the entire first season of the TV show. All of the episodes are good, with the exception of the last one (which is a "lousy clip show," to quote the Simpsons). It takes you through many of the major events of Ranma 1/2: Ranma and Akane's first meeting and the introduction of Ryoga, the Kunos, and Chinese amazon Shampoo.

The DVD format is ideal for anime, and this is no exception. Allowing you to see it both subtitled and dubbed, letting you skip to your favorite chapter, and creditless opening and closing segments are just a few of the perks with the DVD version. Just keep in mind that the animation (which was done about ten years ago) was not terribly high-quality to begin with - don't be disappointed if it doesn't look like more modern, glossy animation, and rest assured that it still looks much better on DVD than it ever did on VHS.


I've been waiting a long time for this one.   December 10, 2001
12 out of 12 found this review helpful

Finally, the first season of Ranma 1/2 on DVD. There are three major reasons to get this:

(1) The first few episodes introduce the enchanted spring phenonema and establishes the Ranma/Akane relationship. Nowhere else in the series was this done adequately.

(2) The introduction of the Shampoo character. Rumiko's blend of Love, martial arts and gags reaches its zenith here. This is perhaps one of the best anime episodes ever produced.

(3) I really love this first season because this is where creator Rumiko Takahashi has creative control. There is a subtleness in the humor and relationships that was unfortunately lost in the later seasons. Rumiko's mastery lets you actually feel what the characters are feeling as the story progresses.

This is an all time classic for people who wish to collect the best of anime.

Caution: This series contains "comic nudity". It's not kinky stuff, but just illustrates how Ranma doesn't have modesty after getting transformed into a girl after contact with cold water. It's not a "sex comedy" but a "gender comedy" focusing on relationship and gender roles.


Excellent, Excellent   December 9, 2001
celes_knight (United States)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful

I didn't really like the Ranma 1/2 OVAs and movies that I seen, but I decided to give the TV series a try anyway. I'm glad I did, because this is great. The video is good for a TV series, and both the English and Japanese voice actors are great. For once, I didn't mind watching the dub. The menu loads quickly, and it has some very good animation. The only problem with the set is that Pioneer didn't strain themselves thinking up extras. All it contains is creditless openings and endings. Oh well, at least the songs are subtitled, and the episode previews were left in.

This is the first season of Ranma 1/2. It contains 18 half-hour episodes, of which 1 consists mostly of clips from earlier episodes. However, the other 17 are excellent. Please note that it's four discs, not five. Also, the box says that it is region 1 encoded, not `ALL'.

Ranma and his father travel to china to train in the martial arts. While there, they are cursed. From now on, whenever cold water is tossed on them, Ranma will turn into a girl, and his father will turn into a panda. This causes problems because Ranma is engaged to marry another girl! A host of other characters soon show up to kill and/or marry Ranma. The plot is too complex to really explain, but sufficient to say, the series involves a lot of martial arts fights and romantic comedy. It's defiantly worth a look.