The gender bending and comedy antics continue in the second DVD and Blu-ray set of Ranma 1/2, on shelves June 24th. Ranma and Akane are involved in even more love triangles as they navigate through their crazy adolescence.
Ranma is a martial arts student who accidentally falls into a cursed spring in China. As a result, every time he is splashed with water, he turns into a young woman. He’s not the only one cursed; his father, Genma, turns into a panda when drenched. Regardless, Genma promised his son to one of the Tendo sisters. Ranma’s fiancé ends up being Akane, the youngest daughter and martial art student. Akane hates men, and Ranma is no exception. However, over the course of the first released set of episodes from VIZ, Akane has grown found of Ranma, and Ranma gradually thinks of Akane as more than an annoying girl.
The second set picks up with episode 24, right after Shampoo has agreed to relinquish her hold on Ranma. This doesn’t give them much of a breather – Amazon fighters don’t back down that easily. Turns out Shampoo has a secret of her own similar to Ranma’s…and a Chinese man named Mousse after her own heart. In keeping with the Ranma 1/2 romantic comedy triangle plot, Shampoo is after Ranma, Mousse is after Shampoo, Akane refuses to let go of her fiancé, and Ranma just wants everyone to leave him alone.
The romantic complications don’t end with Shampoo and Mousse. Kuno and his sister Kodachi are still both after the heart of Ranma, yet neither one are aware of the curse inflicting Ranma. Ryoga, Ranma’s rival, does his best to win Akane’s heart without revealing his identity as a cursed man who turns into a pig when drenched with water.
Two new characters are introduced in this set of episodes: Shampoo’s great-grandmother Cologne and Ranma’s grandmaster Happosai. These two characters can be annoying and appear unnecessary, but are part of Ranma’s quest to rid himself of the curse.
Shown above: The Ranma 1/2 Set 2 Blu-ray set.
The second set of Ranma 1/2 anime is available in both DVD and Blu-Ray. The DVD set contains 23 episodes on three DVDs, fully dubbed in English with the original Japanese available. The DVD set presents the episodes in the original 4:3 aspect ratio and has clean openings and endings as well as trailers for the series. The Blu-Ray set has 23 episodes on three Blu-ray discs presented in the original aspect ratio. In addition, the Blu-ray box set comes in a collectible case with a 32-page booklet featuring episode guides and art. The Blu-ray contains the same features as the DVD set with the added bonus supplement – ‘We Love Ranma’ Part 2 – Favorite Scenes. Ranma 1/2 Set 2 is a great addition to any anime fan’s collection.
