Ranma 1/2 (1987)

[らんま1/2]

Volume 1

Author/Artist: Rumiko Takahashi
Publisher: Shounen Sunday Comics

Synopsis:
A martial artist cursed to turn into a girl whenever he is doused with cold water is engaged to the daughter of a family friend who hates boys.

Story/Characters:
More recent arrivals to anime and manga fandom may not know that much about this series, but during the boom of the 90's, this was one of the hottest items out there. I'll no doubt get to reviewing the troubled anime adaptation one day, but for now we'll focus on the original manga. One thing I didn't find out until quite a few years later is that a lot of the characters and such are efforts by Rumiko Takahashi to rework her previous series, Urusei Yatsura. You'll see me coming back to this a few times in the course of these reviews. Honestly, except as a curiosity to fans, I don't think it's particularly helpful to view Ranma 1/2 through the lens of Urusei Yatsura. In many respects, it stacks up unfavorably. The art has improved, but the characterization often has not. It's best to take the series as its own thing. It's certainly not the greatest series nor even the best Takahashi has done, but there's a lot of good to be had and I tend to find that Takahashi's series are often at their best near the beginning when everything is fresh and new. I suppose that's part of the downfall of long-runners, not that there isn't good stuff later on. For now, though, let's focus on this first volume.

We get a good introduction to the main cast and the oddball circumstances we find ourselves in. I find it interesting that we establish the belligerent relationship between Ranma and Akane and start to show signs of softening that antagonism a bit, only for them to never really improve over the next 37 volumes. Oh, there's some progress, but commentators have noted that their extremely dysfunctional relationship makes it difficult to really root for them as a couple (except for the fact that most of their other options are even more dysfunctional). Given the joke character he becomes, it's amusing to see Kunou treated halfway seriously here at the beginning (and even that is somewhat limited). Given that Toufuu-sensei gets literally forgotten by the author later on, it's somewhat bittersweet to see how prominently he's featured here at the beginning.

Art:
The late 80s were an intermediate period in Rumiko Takahashi's art, more polished than her early work but still more organic-looking that her more recent stuff. One thing you have to be aware of going in is all the casual nudity. It doesn't really serve to titillate. It's just a matter of fact. Because hot and cold water trigger the Jusenkyou transformations, expect a lot of time in and out of the bath. (And with later characters who have cross-species transformations, they can't much help being naked if they're transformed back from some animal form.) It's not really a problem, I don't think, but the nudity taboo works on different people in different ways. You may not think your kids need to see it, but by Japanese standards, it's all tame enough to be shounen fare.

Other:
Most of my collection is the second run shinsouban release, which has these terrible covers that take a frame from the manga and print them in alternating colors. Elements of the original covers are on the back and inner flap, which only serve to remind you of how garbage the shinsouban covers are. At least in the case of the Urusei Yatsura bunkouban, you had the excuse that they were compressing the series into a fewer number of volumes and a smaller format. The only positive thing about the shinsouban covers is that the spines depict Genma in panda form doing a kata.

Conclusion:
This first volume does a good job of setting up the characters and the scenario. While not bust-a-gut funny, it's amusing enough and worth reading.

Rating:
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