RANMA 1/2 has certainly become an old mainstay of the North American anime scene. Airing in Japan from 1989-1992, the series stretched over two TV series (18 and 143 episodes, respectively) while also extending into OVA volumes and three movies. Viz has been releasing the TV series slowly over the last few years, two dubbed episodes at a time, plus other various re-releases and subtitled Japanese versions, including the OVAs on DVD. But until now, Viz has stayed clear of issuing the TV series on DVD. Released alongside their new VHS counterparts, the RANMA 1/2 RANDOM RHAPSODY DVD series now contains three episodes each (starting from episode 95 of the RANMA 1/2 NETTOUHEN TV series).

I looked back in the annals of EX to find some reference to RANMA, and I have to admit we have done a good job in avoiding reviewing individual VHS volumes (and there sure were a lot of them). To this point, I guess I must do the honor of a single paragraph summary of the RANMA Universe.

RANMA 1/2 stars a young man named Saotome Ranma. Cursed in the springs of Jusenkyo, he turns into a she when Ranma comes into contact with cold water. Hot water turns him back to normal. He's also a rather talented martial artist and picks up new skills rather quickly. His attitude and engagement to the tomboyish Tendo Akane results in many a fight. By this point in the story, Ranma has acquired a hefty collection of people in love with him, and an even larger collection of rivals and enemies. RANMA 1/2 can be generally described as a lighthearted action/romance/comedy of sorts, and it often is used in comparisons to other action/romance/comedies. (For more information, check out the Anime Web Guide, or the hundreds of fan pages that exist on this popular subject.)

The three episodes on this DVD volume are each separate stories. "The Secret Don of Furinkan High!?" has Ranma stumble over a hidden second store that no-one knew existed (and amazingly enough an entire school wing). Ranma and Akane get caught between a feud with Principle Kuno and the old man who still runs this store. I appreciated some of the various references and jokes to popular Japanese haunted school stories.

"Back to the Way We Were... Please!" stars Ranma, Ryoga and Mousse trying another way to return to normal. The only problem is that one of the three powder packets is the right one, and the only way to find out which is correct is for them to trust each other.

"Ryoga Inherits the Saotome School!?" has Ranma and Genma get into a really bad fight, so Genma decides to disown him and train Ryoga instead to take over the school. So does this mean that Akane is now to marry Ryoga?

I personally found these episodes to be very easy to watch. If you are tired of Ranma by now, these episodes will do nothing to change your mind with their repetitive nature. However, after my long break from the show, I enjoyed the humor and found myself smiling at the familiar character interactions that are trademark RANMA.

The new RANMA DVDs do have their share of annoyances to the hard-core Ranma fan though. No extras, only three episodes per volume (better than two, but not by much), pixilated English overlays, out of order openings/endings (episode 98/99 should have used Chikyuu Orchestra, not Nakanaide Mou, apparently) and a lack of volume numbers and episode numbers (this second DVD volume contained episodes 98, 99 & 100 of the second television series).

That being said, these DVDs are still better than their tape counterparts. The visual quality and compression of these disks seems good (in consideration of the age of source materials). The English and Japanese audio (with optional subtitles), and the noticeably improved picture, makes these disks worth the extra cost in my opinion.

If you have never seen RANMA before, my strong suggestion is to not start here. Instead you may want to check out the RANMA 1/2 DIGITAL DOJO DVD set (scheduled for release on Nov. 13, 2001) as the first season of RANMA is often considered the best by fans. Apparently Viz will also be re-releasing the rest of the series on DVD in boxed sets over the months to come as well. Bear in mind that the episodes on these two disks are rather late in the 143 episode TV series, and are more episodic and action oriented. Nevertheless, I enjoyed watching these stories (after a long personal RANMA hiatus), and if you have been collecting the series up to this point, the DVD is still the better way to go.