Friday, April 27, 2012

Most Awesome Anime: Ranma ½ (Manga Series)


This month we’re kicking off our new series of continuing posts called Most Awesome Anime. Here we will be sharing our top choices of both Anime and Manga.



To start things off this month we are featuring the manga Ranma ½. Written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi (also the creator of Urusei Yatsura and Inuyasha), Ranma ½ began as a publication in Shōnen Sunday where it ran from 1987 to 1996.

Ranma is definitely one of the funniest and well… more interesting manga stories that I have come across.

It begins as Ranma Saotome, a 16 year old martial artist returns to Japan along with his father after training in China.

At the request of Mr. Saotome’s old friend Soun Tendo, the two arrive at his Dojo of “Anything-Goes Martial Arts”. As per the arrangement made between the two fathers years ago, Ranma is to marry one of Soun Tendo’s three daughters and carry on the dojo’s legacy.

Only there is a slight problem.

While training in China at the accursed springs of Jusenkyo, Ranma and his father had a bit of an accident.

During a sparring bout they both fell into the springs and were cursed. Now Ranma turns into a girl every time he is splashed with cold water. And his father…let’s say has a bit of a panda problem.

After seeing this, Kasumi, Nabiki quickly volunteer their younger sister Akane for bridal duty. The same age as Ranma, Akane is a hot-tempered karate enthusiast who says she hates boys.  

But her sisters point out that Ranma is a good match since he’s half girl!

Obviously neither are too excited about the engagement plans. Ranma wants to return to China and lift the curse while Akane just doesn’t want anything to do with Ranma.

But unfortunately for them a constant stream of martial arts challengers and wacky suitors seem to only push them closer together.  

The love-hate relationship between Ranma and Akane though typical of the genre, still proves to be very entertaining. And Ranma’s “unique problem” creates some amusing situations of its own. As a splash of cold water will often change him into a girl at the most inopportune times.

But the real laughs seem to come mostly from the exotic cast of characters and bizarre types of martial art battles which they get caught up in.

Whether it’s fighting crazy Kendo captains, Amazon warriors, martial art magicians, or competing in anything from Rhythmic Gymnastic Wrestling to Figure Skating Battle Royals, the story remains hilarious and highly entertaining.

An extremely enjoyable manga. Lighthearted and funny with some added romance and a large dose of action, Ranma ½ is well worth picking up.

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Is Toonami Really Back?

A few months ago we posted an article about Cartoon Network’s anime block Toonami which ran for over a decade and ended in 2008 (What Ever Happened to Toonami). To our massive surprise Toonami made an unannounced return last Saturday night on CN’s Adult Swim.

From midnight to 6am some of Toonami’s classics like Dragon Ball Z, Gundam Wing, and Outlaw Star were back on the air. Even more surprising was that Toonami’s host T.O.M voiced by Steve Blum did a brand new review of recently released Mass Effect 3.  

The word quickly spread and the internet was buzzing with excitement over the news of Toonami’s revival. Only there was one problem: the date. 

Sadly, the day that Toonami had come back also happened to be April Fools. 

Many were quick to point out that Adult Swim was no stranger to April Fools and this was more than likely a prank. In the past Adult Swim had aired shows like Mr. T and Chuck Norris: Karate Kommandos for April Fools. And on one year fart noises were even added to the audio of regular scheduled shows like Fullmetal Alchemist and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.

Our opinion: Although many online have dismissed this as a somewhat cruel prank on Toonami fans, we feel that it’s something more. 

It’s true that Toonami may not be back for good at the moment. However, its brief return paves way for exactly that to happen. At the very least, April Fools was an opportunity for Cartoon Network to test the waters and see what kind of a reception Toonami would get in 2012.

After Saturday, night amidst a storm of attention they got there answer.

According to Wikipedia on April 2 Adult Swim posted a message to their Twitter page, simply stating, "Want it back? Let us know. #BringBackToonami". And on April 4, Adult Swim followed up this tweet with one stating, "#BringBackToonami We've heard you. Thank you for your passion and interest - stay tuned."

Our bet is that we have not seen the last of Toonami.


-SuperFan5




P.S
For those of you interested in getting Toonami back check out Adult Swim’s Twitter page and let them know what you want!