One of the first anime shows I had ever seen was Ranma 1/2. I was new to the world of Japanese animation and didn't know what to expect. When my friend brought some VHS tapes over and told me I simply had to watch the show I was naturally intrigued. After a couple of episodes I fell in love despite a sub-par English dubbing and it drew me into the world of anime; a place that still firmly has its claws rooted in me.

Over the years Ranma 1/2 has been released at numerous times. Recently VIZ has taken a look at their catalog once again to bring the classic out on DVD. In case you're not knowledgeable about the world of Ranma 1/2 you're missing out on one of the most unique and entertaining shows ever to come from Japan. Created by Rumiko Takahashi (Inuyasha, Urusei Yatsura) the show stems from a manga and has a lofty 161 episodes under its belt. That number climbs even higher when you toss the OVA and movies into the mix but for the purposes of this review we're just looking at the first season

Originally airing in Japan during 1989 the first season of Ranma 1/2 introduced the whacky concept and adorable characters to the anime fan. On the surface this is a fighting show with a gratuitous amount of fanservice and a wild sense of humor. Each of these facets comes together to make a show that is a barrel of laughs the entire way through and the very definition of endearing. Through the seasons several characters were introduced and as things went on it's safe to say that situations just got weirder and weirder.

In the previous seasons we were introduced to Ranma, shown his world, and given a look at the bizarre fate that has befallen him. You see, Ranma is a master of kung fu. With strong dedication and a father who turns out to be a fantastic, if not unorthodox, teacher, Ranma has become a martial arts force to be reckoned with. Unfortunately during one particular training exercise Ranma fell into a cursed pool and emerged with the body of a teenage girl. If that doesn't tip you off then I'll just come right out and tell you that's the gimmick for the series.

Whomever falls into one of these cursed pools gains the form of the being that died there. This is triggered by cold water and in order to revert back into their natural body the person in question has to pour hot water on themselves. So Ranma turns into a girl, his father turns into a panda, another character named Ryoga morphs into a piglet, and so on. To be honest the series only gets sillier in this regard as it goes on but that's really just part of Ranma 1/2's charm; just when you think you've seen it all it springs something new upon you.

In the fourth season of the show Ranma had started to lose a little of its steam. The content had become much more episodic in nature and that certain "spark" started to fade somewhat. Not a lot changed either. Ranma's school principle returned from Hawaii and our hero had it out with Ryoga for some good times. More relationship gobbledygook sprung up and the tried and true sense of humor was present as well. Fort he fifth season of the series not much changes in that regard.

The problem with any series is that once it gets to a particular point the proverbial well has run dry. The creativity is gone and the content keeps running around in circles like it simply trying to survive. That's kind of the issue with the fifth season as we get yet another girl for Ranma to interact with, more insanity, no further developing of the characters, and a formula that brings the pacing to a crawl. Out of the 24 episodes of this boxed set there are only a few highlights and the show is truly becoming long in tooth.

I particularly had a good time watching the Niku Men try to steal Ranma's hair to craft a hair growing elixir. The arrival of the anime specific character, Frog Hermit, was a good time as well. Ranma also finds himself with an item that turns him into a lady's man as he begins to hit on every girl that he sees. Also keeping in step with the martial arts aspect is an episode where Ranma has to fight against his own shadow when it gains intelligence and a purpose.

Each of these episodes was very entertaining if you took them with a grain of salt and gave some space in between viewings. There is so much mediocrity crammed in between the good bits that watching this season was a frustrating experience. At this point the writers had lost sight of their original intent and strayed from Takahashi's manga. This left a lot of filler and bizarre situations seemingly pulled of out a hat. Fans of the series will find about a third of these episodes are up to par but the quality mix is very sparse. Ranma has been a favorite of mine for quite some time but like any show that runs for this long the value is waning.

Originally released nearly twenty years ago Ranma 1/2 is ancient by today's standards and as such it looks dated. The video quality is soft with grain, compression, and the occasional bit of dirt making its way into the transfer. There was no aliasing time and to be honest considering the age I was kind of expecting the aforementioned flaws. The look of the show is still intact though and you can expect to see some fantastic character designs mixed with some abrupt animation.

Ranma 1/2 receives an audio presentation that like the video is in step with its date of production. The dubbing quality for both the English and Japanese languages is decent though I found the Japanese one to hold more appeal. The English dub was ok but it didn't convey the humor and emotion as much as the original language did. As far as the technical quality is concerned both tracks are presented like you'd expect and offer little diversity on the soundstage. Music and sound effects are fairly dynamic and fortunately do not drown out the dialogue. Balance is otherwise fine and there is no distortion to complain about.

The bonus features for Ranma have been kind of skimpy and the trend continues with the fifth volume. Line art galleries, textless animation, and actor profiles are all you're going to find in the collection.

Ranma 1/2 is one of those classic shows that has been overlooked in recent years by many otaku. This fun-loving series has been a mainstay for quite some time but you can't argue that the series degraded over time. The first two seasons were great, the third lost some footing, and unfortunately that trend has snowballed into the fourth and fifth seasons. Out of the 24 episodes here there are eight or nine that truly stand out with the rest being either passable or not worth bothering with. If you have been collecting from the beginning then you'll probably want to pick this up for the sake of a complete set but otherwise the quality sadly begs for a rental.

Check out more of my reviews here. Head on over to my anime blog as well for random musings and reviews of anime, manga, and stuff from Japan!