Ranma ½ is definitely clicking for me in a way Urusei Yatsura didn’t. Which isn’t a huge surprise, given that I hold the manga in higher regard. I’d forgotten that director Uda Kounosuke did Ginga e Kickoff among his many other credits, but he’s doing a great job capturing the zaniness of the original without pandering too much to the nostalgia side. That’s always going to be a fine balance with a show like this one, where nostalgia is expressly the point. But if you’re just going to try to do a scene by scene remake – especially with the same actors (how trippy must it be for them to be delivering this dialogue again 35 years later?) – what’s the point? Just ask Gus Van Sant.

We have our first major exception to the same actors rule here, with Tomokazu Sugita playing Kunou Tatewaki in an Occam’s Razor situation. Kunou is a pretty important secondary character, and I have no issues with the choice. Sugita is good at zany, which is mostly what he’s going to be asked to deliver here. Kunou is pretty preposterous but of course, that’s the norm for Ranma characters. The whole bit with Akane’s admirers is preposterous, but it’s good for some laughs so who’s complaining.

Ranma’s perpetual dance to try and avoid getting wet and spilling his secret never fails to amuse me, even now. I also like how Nobiki (I’d forgotten how funny she is, largely because her personality is such a total polar opposite from almost everyone else) just blurts out the truth about the fiancee situation without a second thought. And Ranma writing “Baka” in bruise on Kunou’s forehead but spelling it wrong (he’s used to on’yomi readings at this point, I guess).

While  I am enjoying all this a lot, covering it is another question. I do have concerns over whether Ranma ½, by its nature, is going to give me enough to actually write about every week. I’m also a little hesitant about committing for what could be a very long ride (though with no announced episode count who the heck knows). For now it’s a definite watch. A really fun trip down memory lane, and as for the rest of it we’ll just have to wait and see.