Summary

  • Rumiko Takahashi's iconic manga series Ranma ½ is making a comeback with a new anime project.
  • Details of the new anime project will be revealed on July 17, 2024.
  • The Ranma ½ reboot can follow Urusei Yatsura's example by modernizing the story and fixing some of its flaws.

Rumiko Takahashi is undoubtedly one of the biggest names in the manga industry, and her most famous work, Ranma ½, is set to receive an anime remake. The genre-busting and gender-bending antics of Ranma ½ made it a massive hit during the 90s, and while not to the same extent as other anime, it played a big part in shaping the culture of the medium for years to come.

Ranma ½ has long since become one of the most recognizable stories in all anime, and it’s set to make a big comeback. According to manga news reporter @MangaReporter on X, Ranma ½ has a brand-new anime project in development, with more details set to be revealed on July 17 at 6 PM Japanese Standard Time (JST).

Ranma ½ has always deserved a reboot, and if it's anything like the recent Urusei Yatsura reboot, then it should be a great way of modernizing such a classic anime, and it’s something old and new fans alike should be plenty excited about.

Urusei Yatsura’s Reboot Shows How Good Ranma ½’s Reboot Can Be

The main couple in Urusei Yatsura in an official key visual for the anime's remake.

The biggest case for how good the Ranma ½ reboot can be comes from the recent Urusei Yatsura reboot from David Production. Not only did David Production give Urusei Yatsura consistently great art and animation, but they also modernized Urusei Yatsura by giving it a more modern setting, reworking some of the writing that hasn’t aged too well, and streamlining the largely episodic narrative. Urusei Yatsura’s reboot shows that Rumiko Takahashi’s work can be adjusted to better cater to modern audiences to great success, so hopefully, the Ranma ½ reboot will do the same.

Ranma ½’s Reboot Needs To Fix Problems With the Anime & the Manga

Ranma ½'s New Project Can Improve the Granchise

Details are naturally sparse about the Ranma ½ reboot, but one thing it should strive to do is fix some of the problems with the anime and manga. For starters, the original anime changed a lot of character dynamics that gave a false impression of what the series was like, most notably in making Ranma nicer and Akane more aggressive. As such, the Ranma ½ reboot is a perfect chance to have the characters be closer to how they’re supposed to be in the manga, all of which would have a lot of value for old and new fans alike.

Another problem the reboot could fix is with the manga’s ending. Naturally, the reboot should adapt the entire story as opposed to the original anime, but with how contentious the manga’s ending was for not resolving any of the story’s relationship drama, including Ranma and Akane’s, the Ranma ½ reboot can be used to the story genuine closure. All of that, of course, is still speculation, but more specific details on the Ranma ½ reboot will hopefully come out once the project is revealed in full in July.

Source: @MangaReporter via X.