Ranma ½: Kessen Tôgenkyô! Hanayome o torimodose!!

Plot synopsis:
On a training journey in the Bayankala Mountain Range in the Qinghai Province of China, Ranma Saotome and his father Genma fall into the cursed springs at Jusenkyo (呪泉郷). When someone falls into a cursed spring, they take the physical form of whatever drowned there hundreds or thousands of years ago whenever they come into contact with cold water. The curse will revert when exposed to hot water until their next cold water exposure. Genma falls into the spring of a drowned panda while Ranma falls into the spring of a drowned girl.
Upon returning to Japan, the pair settle in Nerima, Tokyo at the dojo of Genma's old friend Soun Tendo, a fellow practitioner of Musabetsu Kakutō Ryū (無差別格闘流) or "Anything-Goes School" of martial arts which Genma passed on to Ranma. Genma and Soun agreed years ago that their children would marry and carry on the Tendo Dojo. Soun has three teenaged daughters: the polite and easygoing Kasumi, the greedy and indifferent Nabiki and the short-tempered, martial arts practicing Akane. Akane, who is Ranma's age, is appointed for bridal duty by her sisters with the reasoning that Akane dislikes men and since Ranma is only a man half of the time, they are perfect together. Both Ranma and Akane refuse the engagement initially, having not been consulted on the decision, but they are generally treated as betrothed and end up helping or saving each other on some occasions. They are frequently found in each other's company and are constantly arguing in their trademark awkward love-hate manner that is a franchise focus.
Ranma goes to school with Akane at Furinkan High School (風林館高校, Fūrinkan Kōkō), where he meets his recurring opponent Tatewaki Kuno, the conceited kendo team captain who aggressively pursues Akane, but also falls in love with Ranma's female form without ever discovering his curse (despite most other characters knowing it). Nerima serves as a backdrop for more martial arts mayhem with the introduction of Ranma's regular rivals, such as the eternally lost Ryoga Hibiki who traveled halfway across Japan getting from the front of his house to the back, where Ranma spent three days waiting for him. Ryoga, seeking revenge on Ranma, followed him to Jusenkyo where he ultimately falls into the Spring of Drown Piglet. Now when splashed with cold water he takes the form of a little black pig. Not knowing this, Akane takes the piglet as a pet and names it P-chan, but Ranma knows and hates him for keeping this secret and taking advantage of the situation. Another rival is the nearsighted Mousse, who also falls into a cursed spring and becomes a duck when he gets wet, and finally, there is Ranma's impish grandmaster, Happosai, who spends his time stealing the underwear of schoolgirls.
Ranma's prospective paramours include the martial arts rhythmic gymnastics champion Kodachi Kuno, and his second fiancée and childhood friend Ukyo Kuonji the okonomiyaki vendor, along with the Chinese Amazon Shampoo, supported by her great-grandmother Cologne. As the series progresses, the school becomes more eccentric with the return of the demented, Hawaii-obsessed Principal Kuno and the placement of the power-leeching alternating child/adult Hinako Ninomiya as Ranma's English teacher. Ranma's indecision to choose his true love causes chaos in his romantic and school life.

Tags: violence

Review:
Wonderful film, perfectly in-line with the series.
I must disagree with Techno Panda.
Though I haven't read the manga, I've seen much of the series (subbed and dubbed), and for me anyway, this movie was just the icing on the cake.
Albeit there were many breast shots, but it's not like you don't see many of those in the series as it is.
Every part of this movie was in keeping with the spirit of the series, especially the end, but I don't want to ruin it for anyone so I won't go into detail.
I thoroughly enjoyed this movie..
Fun and witty.
I enjoyed "Nihao My Concubine", and thought it was both fun to watch and had some good non-obvious humor in it.
Take the title - to "get it", you need to both be aware of the Chinese film "Farewell my Concubine", and know that nihao means "hello" in Chinese.Although there was some (very minor, very brief) nudity, I didn't feel it was gratuitous or offensive.
YMMV.I will grant the plot is tenuous at best, but I don't approach any of the Ranma 1/2 anime with an expectation of deep plotting.
They're just fun to watch.
Lighten up..
I liked it.
I'm not an otaku, so take that as a preface.
I'm more a casual fan who got exposed to Ranma years ago and I enjoy it.
The romantic dodecohedrans (rather than triangles) and the slapstick humor is always good fun.
And call me shallow but for an adult male skimpy bathing suits on the girls is no minus.
I write for those who don't follow anime so closely and say this is a fun movie and worth a rental if not a purchase..
Need a refresh after watching the Ranma TV series?
Ah Ranma, how much I love the manga and TV series as child.
Sure the bare boobs and shapely behinds are part of the attraction to the series but underlying personality conflicts to obvious solutions is what makes the series such a fascinating watch.But even at the time the TV series was ongoing the art and sound was a bit lacking in quality.
So if you have finished re-watching or even watching the first time the Ranma TV series than Nihao My Concubine is a nice refresh.The is still today of excellent quality and stands the test time with the style used (a more detail contouring of all the characters' body profiles).
The music is lively and the voice energising.
Best watched with English subs as the dubbing is not good even though the English voice actors do try their best with the lines given.
Let's just say you find it hard to differentiate quality of the dialogue from let's say La Blue Girl.Nihao My Concubine is probably one of the best examples of defining what Ranma is all about and the wackiness that goes with it.
Although, Ranma is flashing boobs some of the time the other characters are still dressed and they are not drawn in overly suggestive poses.
Think of how Runway and fashion magazines are shot.Overall, an excellent anime to watch or to used to introduce someone to anime.
Child safe despite the nudity which your kids have probably seen worse by cable TV or net..
Better than the first !.
To my taste, this film was better than the first (Big Trouble in Nekonlon, China).
The jokes are funnier and more silly.
The animation is pretty much the same.
The story is rather lame and could have been told in about 2 or 3 comic-chapters.
The plot girl-guy saves girl isn't really that much different from Movie No. 1.
The women's breasts are bigger and the legs are longer, and since all takes place in an exotic beach-environment, the creators have the opportunity of pointing this out to the viewer fairly often.
Better than the first, but still not that great.
Oh, but I must admit, I thought the main theme was kinda cute..
Beaches, Babes, Breasts, and Big, Big Fun!.
now here's somethin you don't see everyday, ranma girl breasts a jigglin!
the writers sure had a lot of fun.
this is a real cool moive, my favorite of the two.
the story is cool, stealing the girls for a man to marry.
akane is, of course, the choice of the head guy.
the animation is classic, the humor is still top notch, and the gilrs showing off their skin?
great!
i especially love the dragon fist and lionheart moves ranma and ryoga do.
then, there's shampoo...hubba hubba!
LOL.
all in all, see this for more great humor!.
Ranma goes exotic.
Ahhhh, Ranma.
For those of you not familiar with the Ranma situation, here's a quick explanation: It's the typical old boy meets girl, boy turns into girl, girl gets engaged to girl routine.Anyway, Ranma is a fine martial arts comedy based around a boy, Ranma, who changes between male and female form because of a curse laid upon him while training in the mountains of China.
This is the second Ranma movie (based on the TV series, which, in turn is based on the original manga).The Ranma 1/2 series is top-notch hilarity from start to finish, every time.
This movie, however brings a bad name to the name.
Nihao My Concubine is full of gratuitous breast shots, lame non-humour and a severe lack of plot.
The american dubbed version is (believe it or not) worse still, having ridiculous puns strewn about, thoroughly distracting and annoying to say the least, not to mention the acting standard.
As for the actual animation, it's more or less regular Ranma standard - that is, high quality, but relatively simple artwork, that does the job well.
If you must see this movie, make sure it's a fan subtitled edition, but better still, miss this movie altogether and pick up some of the original Manga ;).
"Baywatch" anime.
If you get your rocks off watching generously endowed cartoon teenage girls bouncing around in gravitationally-improbable bikinis, This Is the Movie For You!The Ranma series, as with much anime, offers two things: sex and violence.
Unlike the previous Ranma movie (released in the States as "Big Trouble...", this one concentrates on sex.) That's not to say that it is obscene; there's no full-frontal nudity, no tentacle rape.
Actually, no intercourse at all.
Just a lot of slavishly drawn teenage girls in bikinis and evening gowns.Oh, the plot has to do with the entire Ranma crowd being on vacation, and the girls all being kidnapped by a local prince who wants to marry one of them.
one of the best!!!.
on the line of the series, is a bit (even more) of the endless funny discussions among ranma, akane and ryoga, and the same desire to demonstrate who is best to martial arts kuno, mousse, shampoo etc..
a nice sunny boat trip is turned into a "LOST" like drama when all friends (i mean ALL) came to a desert island and kuno's boat has been destroyed by a storm, all girls in the island become fade of, starting by beauty kasumi, kidnapped by a illusion master's warriors, all but one, (ranma girl!) who's guide the rest of the "rescue team" to the mysterious prison island where the girls are caught, but all girls are in a fashion pretty party in order the illusion master can make a choice of a bride.
and guess who was the irreverent winner!!we can see brand new things, as night dressed nabikki very awesome!, interesting things: the hall fight where tendo, saotome, ranma, mousse, kuno, ryoga and hapossai fight together as a team, and expected things as the same "funny drama" between akane and ranma to express their love themselves where they are into an extreme situation, and after that, "anybody says anything" but they two know it in deep.
a film to remember and laugh highly recommended for series's fans.
This movie does the "Ranma 1/2" name proudly.
The following may contain some spoilers...be advised.I have recently completed watching every season of the Ranma 1/2 anime, including the movies, OAV's, and all the Manga.This movie by far I have enjoyed simply because, while it is still a rehash of Akane being a damsel-in-distress type of story...which really was a repeating arc in the series.
It is done at least freshly here outside of the confines of Japan, Furinkin High School, or Jusenkyo.
A fresh look that was a very rare occurrence in the series.
Besides it's "Ranma", you don't watch for deep plot lines or realistic stories.
You watch because of the comedy and to see the progression of the Ranma/Akane relationship.You can easily pick any of the Ranma characters and find something of yourself in one of them.The animation in this movie has been by far the best of the entire series IMHO.
For fans of the series, you already know there is a distinct style between all of the seasons, the movies, and the OAV's.
This particular movie has a distinct OAV style.
One thing to watch for all of the young female characters seem to have "grown up a bit", if you get what I mean).
The character design is blatant in targeting a specific demographic obviously...especially with the designs of Female Ranma, Nabiki, Shampoo, Akane, & Ukyo.
I would recommend watching at least the first 3-5 seasons of the anime series before watching this film.
(I personally watched all 7 seasons before I hit the movies.) Something that we have not seen before in this movie is the presence of dripping blood (Ranma) and weapons piercing the skin (Mousse).Speaking of Mousse.
His fight scene with the Bird-man for Shampoo is by far the best of the entire franchise.
For the first time we see real emotion out of Mousse as a serious character, not just the butt of jokes.
Excellent scene.Again, the storyline is basically the same as the majority of the anime series.
But if you are watching ANY part of the "Ranma 1/2" franchise for the plot...your missing the point.
With the twist in location, the superb animation, and updated character designs...this movie is by far very entertaining.The opening sequence is an eye opening experience.