Ranma 1/2 (2024) ep1-2
Okay, I will admit I was all ready to put the boot into this one, everything I’d seen of it in the promo material turned me right off and I don’t think this remake needs to exist, but would begrudgingly concede that it’s good enough in its own right. It’s not Mappa’s finest hour; I feel it needed another pass in post-processing or something to get over that clinical digipaint look and I think the faded colours do it no favours. More original flourishes are creeping into the animation as it goes on, however, and I can appreciate that there is good work here, even if it feels derivative of what David Pro were doing with Urusei Yatsura.
Maybe if you want to watch Ranma and really can’t get on with the feel of 80s animation, this is the show for you, but I can’t imagine there being a lot of overlap in that Venn diagram.
Dan Da Dan ep6
Dragonball ep1-2
I think it’s a paddling offence in 23 states, but I’ve actually never seen the original Dragonball, so this was an interesting experience. With its fart gags and ‘girls are icky oh no’ schtick, It’s clearly aimed at a younger audience than Z was, but the tone feels wackier in a way that reminds me of Looney Tunes, and I kind of appreciate that. I do also prefer the little squashy character designs over Z’s musclebound shouty men.
How long I’ll stick with it, I’m not sure, I tend not to have great patience for shonen battle shows, but thus far, I quite like it.
