In a case of sheer irony, Ranma 1/2 (specifically this movie) often suffers the indignation where most of the insults and bad reviews come from the Ranma 1/2 fans themselves. Whatever. Of course it can't compete with Takahashi's brilliant manga, and the 1st TV season is the best Anime adaptation of the series. Just leave this movie alone - its great.
Now I have one question... WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY does everybody think "Movie 2: Nihao My Concubine" to be a better film? Sorry, but my money is on this, the first film. Sure, the plot is hackneyed; how many times exactly have we seen "guy saves girl" in animated films? But, heck, if Ranma was a serious psychological drama, that would be a problem. Too bad it isn't, and so long as it features Happosai getting whacked around, Kuno getting clobbered, and Genma's "sign language," I'm just peachy. As for other reasons its better than the second... Its a lot longer, it flows more like a feature film should, the pace is infinitely faster, there are more gags and they're a lot funnier, and fanservice is dead-zero. ZILCH. So go ahead and watch "Silicon Beach" with Ranma-chan bouncing every five seconds (ever wonder why female Ranma fans dislike it?).
Synopsis... oh, shoot, just consider it as more of like a bunch of fun and cool stuff that just happens. You'll be a lot better off than the fans who were expecting a visual tour-de-force that questions the existence of humanity, it seems...
Now I have one question... WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY does everybody think "Movie 2: Nihao My Concubine" to be a better film? Sorry, but my money is on this, the first film. Sure, the plot is hackneyed; how many times exactly have we seen "guy saves girl" in animated films? But, heck, if Ranma was a serious psychological drama, that would be a problem. Too bad it isn't, and so long as it features Happosai getting whacked around, Kuno getting clobbered, and Genma's "sign language," I'm just peachy. As for other reasons its better than the second... Its a lot longer, it flows more like a feature film should, the pace is infinitely faster, there are more gags and they're a lot funnier, and fanservice is dead-zero. ZILCH. So go ahead and watch "Silicon Beach" with Ranma-chan bouncing every five seconds (ever wonder why female Ranma fans dislike it?).
Synopsis... oh, shoot, just consider it as more of like a bunch of fun and cool stuff that just happens. You'll be a lot better off than the fans who were expecting a visual tour-de-force that questions the existence of humanity, it seems...