Rating: 
Summary: Solid start
Review: Being a teenage boy can be tough. Being a teenage boy who turns into a girl is even worse. The first volume of the talented Rumiko Takahashi's "Ranma 1/2" series introduces us to Ranma Saotome, a tough teenage martial artist, and one of the few guys for whom a cold shower actually works.Genma Saotome and his son Ranma appear at the Tendo home, after a lifetime of martial arts training. If Ranma marries one of the Tendo girls, the future of their training center will be secure. Only one problem: Ranma turns out to be a girl accompanied by a panda. After youngest daughter Akane bumps into a naked boy in the bathroom, Ranma (now a strapping boy) reintroduces himself. It turns out that Saotome Sr. and Jr. had a magical mishap in China's cursed springs, and now cold water turns Ranma into a girl, and his dad into a panda. Hot water restores them to their normal forms. He quickly finds himself affianced to Akane (who says she hates boys and calls him a pervert), and going to a school where the reigning athlete falls in love with him (in girl form) but wants to kill him (in boy form) To make things worse, an old schoolmate of Ranma's shows up with a mysterious grudge, fully planning to bash in Ranma's head. As this was the beginning of the series, the first stories are also the shakiest, since they have to establish the story and characters. The artwork is a bit smudgier. And the characters are somewhat different than they are later in the series: Akane is more belligerent (not to mention long-haired), Soun more dignified, and the slapstick comedy is less prominent. But by the time Ryoga appears, the stories have gotten their footing. (The old bread battle is a riot) Ranma is an essentially likable guy, even if he can be a jerk (such as saying that his girl body is better than Akane's); fans of Takahashi's "Inuyasha" series will see hints of that lead in Ranma. Akane's roughness is tempered with her teen crush on Dr. Tofu (who likes her sister). Supporting characters are given plenty of quirks that give them further dimension (like Ryoga's complete lack of direction -- he couldn't find his way out of a holey paper bag). "Ranma 1/2" is an entertaining martial-arts romantic comedy, with likably strange characters and plenty of unlikely fight scenes. A charming read.
Rating: 
Summary: Great comedy. Must for true manga fans
Review: I have all 38 volumes and I have to tell you this is the best comedy I have ever seen. FLCL is great, but it compair to Ranma 1/2's comedy. There comes times when there are dry parts but there is some parts it was funny I was still laughing on the inside the next day! They say a look of good media came from the 1980's and I think they were right for aleast ranma anyway. Check it out, buy the first volume, it's packed with 300 pages when the normal volumes are only 150 some. So it's a good begining book to get to know Ranma 1/2. Also the transitions are very good as well. Some are confusing between pics but ranma is easy to understand.
Rating:
Summary: Funny
Review: This comic book is hilarious, and fun to read!! This is definatly a good buy, and i'm someone who's not too into anime. I would recomend this to teens because there is some nudity in it.
Rating:
Summary: A great manga book
Review: This is the first ever time I've read a manga book. It was great. I first saw this book in my camp and read a little.
Right off the back I got addicted to it. I've been for at least 4 to 5 months.
This first one is about Ranma Saotome adn hi father Genma. They fall into the cursed spring in a training grounds. Genma fell into the spring of the drowned panda and Ranma fell into the spring of the drowned girl. From now on whenever they are touched by non hot water, Ranma turns onto a girl and Genma a Panda.
Ranma is now engaged to Akane. A girl he has never seen. Before Akane new about Ranmas secret she thought he was a she. THen the secret came out.
The rest of the book deals with the troubles of Akane, Ranma(girl form) and Ranma (boy form). I can't give away the rest of the book. Youll have to read this book and find out.Trust me, it's worth it.
Rating:
Summary: Enchantingly Addictive: Ranma 1/2 is sure to Please
Review: Writing good manga is like baking a perfect souffle: all the ingredients must be put in at the right times and the right quantites, or else the whole thing goes flat. Rumiko Takahashi has almost perfected the art of a good manga story with Ranma 1/2, a "gender-bending" comedy/drama/action manga. The protagonists of our story is Ranma Saotome, a handsome young martial artist, and Akane Tendo, a vibrant, and sometimes maladroit girl. During Ranma's training travels with his father, the two Saotomes are cursed, so now every time Ranma touches cold water he becomes a cute girl, and when his father touches cold water, he becomes a large (and somewhat ornery) panda. (Fortunately, hot water reverses the effect temporarily.) Ranma and Akane are engaged, both agaist their will. For reasons we don't know, Akane hates men. This is really quite ironic because she's the most elligible bachelorette in her school. Other characters are amusing: Kuno, who falls in love with Akane and Ranma's female self; Ryoga, a martial artist with a horrible sense of direction who's goal in life is to destroy Ranma; a lovesick chiropractor; and many others. The story has many twists and turns: girls falling in love with Ranma, boys worshipping his female self, and every guy who sees her, except for Ranma, wants Akane. The plot seems confusing, but it really isn't once you read the book. The humor, action, and romance are balanced perfectly, giving you suspenseful moments, lots of laughs, and lots of entertainment. Not only is the writing great, but it has a good foundation in the fantastic manga art. The pirtures are well-done, the characters are expressive. One convenient factor of the Ranma 1/2 series is that you really don't have to read the books in order. If you read the first two books, the framework should be perfectly in place for reading the rest. Some new characters emerge, but the mini-bios at the begining of the book will give you a decent explanation. There is an older version of Ranma 1/2 that costs about $16/$17 each when new, about $10 for used copies. However, there's a new reprint of the series in which each book is $10. There are at least 35 books in the Ranma series to date, but only the first 24 books have been translated into English. (Volume 24 makes its English Language debut in October 2003, and a new one comes out about once every month.) What are you waiting for? The "Add to Cart" button is calling your name. Read Ranma 1/2 and ENJOY!
Rating:
Summary: Ranma 1/2 is awesome!!!!!!
Review: This book is really good!!!! It is worth all of the money that it is being sold for. I read alot of manga in the is one of the best!!!! Anyways, in this book a boy named Ranma and his father are training in the accursed springs. Ranma and his dad fall into two different springs. Ranma's dad falls into one that turns him into a Panda, and Ranma falls in one that turns him into a girl. Now there is a martial arts, strong, fighter chick out in Japan so its whacky!!!!!!! Rumiko Takahashii is an awesome author. SHe also made a comic called Inu Yasha. I really encourage you to buy alot of Ranma 1/2 books (there are alot, there's already, like, 25 volumes!) and you should also check out Inu Yasha. Buy This Book Today, Before Every Coppy Goes Away!!!(new catch phrase. yes i did notice it's incedibly annoying!!)
Rating:
Summary: Ranma ½ Is one of the most crazy, and funny mangas ever!
Review: When I first heard of Ranma½ I thinked it was just another manga, but when I readed the first volume I was taken.. Ranma½ is a crazy/funny story, about a boy who turns into a girl. He falls in a cursed spring, and if you put cold water on him he will turn into a girl, and hot water will reverse the effect. I really, really, really recommend this book, its fun and serious at the same time.
Rating:
Summary: Heeeyaaa!
Review: In reply to a criticism, Ranma tells Akane that his figure, when he is a girl, is better than hers. She responds by upending the floor table and clobbering him over the head with it. Such is a typical occurrence in the Kendo household, where Ranma and his father Genma are staying. Which is not to say that there's ever a dull moment for Ranma and Akane anywhere. Every morning as she arrives at school, Akane, in her school uniform dress and Mary-Janes, has to vanquish a host of boys who believe that by defeating her in martial arts they would earn the right to ask her out. Ranma, for his part, is constantly getting challenged: By his father (who's training him), by Akane, by a befuddled upperclassman, and by an old schoolmate who has followed him to Tokyo. Despite winning nearly all his contests, he is constantly getting injured, chiropracticked, doused with cold water, doused with hot water. The many wonderful characters are the outstanding feature of this series, but the reader should be prepared for a tremendous lot of action. "Action" is, in fact, a title for the edition of books to which this belongs. Yet with all that is going on, you are reminded, in some rather subtle ways, that the characters all really do love each other. All the combat (and the melodramatic language that goes along with it), is just sparring. There's no real attempt to hurt anybody, and nobody really gets hurt.
But what does it all mean? I couldn't tell you. Please enjoy, (but don't pause even for a moment to reflect -- you might get kicked!)
Rating:
Summary: great manga
Review: this manga and the many other volumes are great. its humerous, and serious. i highly reccomend it.
Rating:
Summary: A great entry point to anime...
Review: Ranma 1/2 is far more than gender-bending wackiness. It's also an incredible parody of Japanese martial arts anime and a great study of how gender and appearances dictate how a society views an individual. The artwork is top notch, though this 1st volume pales slightly in comparison to later volumes(the lines are not as sharp and the figures not as well defined, but you won't care). There is nudity (drawn with anime proportions) and there are heavily anthropomorphized animals (also drawn with anime proportions). The blend of all these features results in a hilarious (you will laugh out loud), cute, erotic, and insightful package. The premise is very simple: a father and son accidentally fall into "cursed springs" while training in China. When the father gets wet, he turns into a large panda (who finds out quickly that "Augh! Pandas can't talk!"). Likewise, when the son, Ranma, gets wet "he" changes into a "she." Reality is thrown a greasy wrench many times with this premise. I would have loved to have read the first volume when it originally came out, with no clue as to what was going to happen. Knowing the story beforehand ruins the shock a bit (but, again, it's so good that you won't care). It may not be clear to those who have not read other anime that Ranma 1/2 is parody. Villians have ridiculous and exaggerated powers. Fights are started and honor is shattered over exceedingly trite events or insults. The fights are actually funny, but also maintain tension. It's a perfect tongue-in-cheek and tongue-out-of-mouth combination. Kuno is a great character and a parody of the sensitive yet fiery type often seen in anime. Some of the best moments are when Kuno and Ranma battle. The extra catch is that Kuno is in love with the "female" Ranma, but in a duel to the death with the "male" Ranma. In more than one case a battle becomes a pine for love, and it's amazing. Having a character that changes gender allows the author to play other characters off of the gender-changing character. This is the best part of Ranma 1/2: characters react to and interact with Ranma in incredibly different ways depending upon what gender Ranma is at a particular moment. Kuno is a great example of this: he truly loves and hates the whole Ranma. Battles will sometimes include a gender change with interesting results. There's much more to this anime than a review can contain. This first volume introduces the major characters (though one of the best characters, the old man who collects underwear, does not appear for a number of volumes) and introduces the story line that carries the series through at least 20 volumes. It's one of the best animes out there, and maybe one of the best introductions to anime for the uninitiated.
| 
