MAPPA is set to release their reboot of Ranma ½ this week, and we have an early look at the series new opening theme. Check this out:

If the singer of the intro sounds familiar, that’s actually Jpop singer Ano, who’s best known for her work on Chainsaw Man ending song, Chu, Tayousei a.k.a. the ending of the episode where Denji eats puke. This ending:

There’s probably a good reason why Ranma has taken so long to get rebooted. The anime is fairly old, but it’s still considered a gold standard when it comes to action/comedy/romance. So much of the series is considered to be a monolith for all otaku fans, so anything attempting to reboot it will no doubt be met with hard scrutiny.

Plus, the original introduction was an absolute earworm:

After the successful reboot of Urusei Yatsura though, it does seem like a reboot of a classic series like Ranma 1/2could be the right time for this new anime audience; plus it will bring in some fans of the original. Millenials still watch the new anime right?

I’m just hoping they manage to maintain a lot of what made the original Ranma great while updating the series for more modern tastes. Fingers crossed they pull it off.

Catch Ranma ½ when it premieres on Netflix on Oct. 5.

AniTsumi reports:

https://twitter.com/AniTsumi/status/1821560028035219679

Netflix has yet to release an official statement of what exactly happened, but the leaked episodes seem to all be in terrible quality with all kinds of production details onscreen and blurring around the subtitles.

While shows like Terminator Zero and Ranma were expected to release this month, other series were expected to come out later in the year like Arcane 2 in November and Dan Da Dan this October.

Apparently, not all the shows got their full seasons released. There are some series like Arcane was said to have only had half of the season leaked. It was also said that only the first episode of Re: Zero Season 3 got leaked online.

Netflix isn’t the only streaming service that has suffered a leak in the past few weeks. Just before the finale officially aired on HBO, the last episode of House of the Dragon Season 2 had come out online via a “unintentional release from an international third-party distributor”.

Arcane Season 2 has been leaked

As per usual with these types of leaks, it's in awful low resolution and blurry, with all kinds of production text slapped all over it

This is the absolute WORST way to watch a show. Don't do yourself the disservice of viewing art in such a way

— ioki (@i0ki_LoL) August 8, 2024

For now, fans are trying to side with the animators, urging everyone not to share the leaks or post clips. If anything, they were pretty low quality anyway, and a series like Arcane that’s been applauded for its visuals can’t be fully enjoyed with low resolution and all the pesky numbers onscreen.

Hopefully Netflix releases a statement about these looks soon because someone will have to answer for this to several studios that were working hard on their shows.

Check out the reboot of Ranma ½:

The official synopsis translated reads:

Ranma Saotome and Akane Tendo are fiancées chosen by their parents. However, when Ranma is splashed with water, he transforms into a girl…? A slapstick fighting love comedy featuring unique characters is about to begin!

Besides the will-they-won’t-they tension between Ranma and Akane, the series has been lauded for its unique approach to action. With Ranma and his father being martial arts specialist, every arc in Ranma has him/her taking on all kinds of kooky characters who have specific kinds of martial arts—be it fighting gymnastics or specialized figure skating.

The series also has a roster of memorable characters. Besides Ranma being able to turn into a girl, there are also other characters who transform when they get wet. Ranma’s father turns into a panda; Ranma’s other fiancé Xian Pu (or Shampoo) turns into a cat; and Ranma’s rival Ryoga turns into a tiny black pig (who Akane adopts as her pet P-Chan).

It’s considered a classic series by a lot of old-school anime fans; and that’s probably the reason it didn’t get a reboot after so long. Hopefully MAPPA will be able to deliver when it comes to modern anime standards. I’m just eager to watch if a new generation of fans would come to enjoy Ranma with this reboot.

Watch out for Ranma ½ when it comes to Netflix on Oct. 6.