Ranma 1/2

Synopsis

Tendo Akane is a boyish girl of martial arts who is fervently determined to inherit her father’s dojo. However, her father makes a unilateral decision that his successor should be a man. Moreover, he has already chosen Saotome Ranma as Akane’s husband-to-be, unaware of Ranma’s one strange habitude...he changes into a girl when splashed with water!

Meanwhile, Ranma puts up a fierce fight against a dubious enemy as he tries to find the “hidden hot spring” which will help him transform into a normal man!! Akane’s necklace which was passed down from her lost mother seems to be the item that holds the key. Full of tussles, laughter, romance and maybe some tears...! This unique “action + love” comedy with all sorts of unique characters is definitely a must-see drama for all ages. --NTV

My Take

To be honest, I finished watching this drama last February but, as usual, there were a lot of things that made me hold back on writing a review on this drama. Although one thing was for sure, I immediately watched this the minute I got my copy.

Being a Ranma 1/2 fan of the anime, I found this drama a real treat to see this made into a live action drama. Although, I have to say that some factors were a bit disappointing, I certainly can't deny the effort that the actors put into their characters.

The plot of the story is not bland but I wish that they put more wackiness into the story line. The anime was one crazy show with all the characters and all their love triangle tangles, but the lack of characters is kind of disappointing. I was disappointed that the other main-supporting characters namely Ryoga, Ukyo, Shampoo, Mousse, Cologne, Happosai, and Kuno's annoying sister didn't get to be on the show. It would have been fun if they were added to the fray and I am stressing out the lack of Ryoga because I really like his character a lot. You could say he's my favorite character, but then again I like the RanmaXAkane pairing.

Speaking of characters, I found it amusing that some of the actors and actress I've seen from other dramas managed to get a role in this short film. Especially the actors Kaku Kento (boy-type Ranma), Nagayama Kento (Tatewaki Kuno), and Kanai Yuta (Gosunkugi Hikaru): all three of them have also co-starred in Asuko March! and I was really surprised that they ended up working together again in this drama. Other familiar actors are Aragaki Yui (Tendou Akane) from Smile (that mute girl), Tayama Ryosei (Okamada Kamoyo), and Namase Katsuhisa (Tendou Soun) both from Gokusen. I had a real kick in recognizing Namase Katsuhisa though since Sawatari (Gokusen)  only had that hilarious face minus the mustache. XD

I really like Kaku Kento as the boy-type Ranma since he was able to perform his role well. Well, to me that is lol. There was this one hilarious scene where Ranma was teasing Akane with the lack of her boob size and his gestures sent me laughing my head off. Natsuna as girl-type Ranma is so-so; I'm not really impressed with her acting but I guess she should've been more brash I suppose. Her cute face is perfect as girl-type Ranma though.

Aragaki Yui is somewhat the same as Natsuna, I just couldn't see Akane in her acting. Call me a sour-graping, ranting fangirl but Akane Tendou in anime form is much more than her acting. I can't say she did a bad job though. Also, her hair extensions distracted me to no end >_< The length of her hair didn't fool me one bit and I got distracted by how her shorter hair managed to stick out from the straighter long strands. Every time she goes onscreen, I would be annoyed at her hair. I don't dislike the actress but her hair extensions is another matter.

Saotome Genma's panda form is disappointing. I'm was fond of the panda anime version but the drama version made me sad. As for the rest of the characters, well, let's just say that I've watched every Gokusen show and prolly a lot of comedy jdramas there is and I'm quite used to how Japanese actors portray their roles in a quirky way. True, their acting might be a little kind of forced or they may tend to overreact, still the way they act makes the show all the more adorable and intriguing to watch.

I'm also a bit surprised with how they changed things and added a few elements. For example, Nabiki Tendou was supposed to be only a year or so older than Akane and also goes to the same school as Akane but in the drama, they turned her into a someone working as a hostess or a cabaret girl. I guess they only matched her role with her age since she looks a bit old to pose for a high school student.

I guess I've done enough raving/ranting about the characters. Despite of my (somewhat) negative outlook on the characters portrayed, I still say that this live adaptation is fun to watch. It's hilarious and light so it's fairly easy to watch during your free time.