Editing Ranma ½ (section)

== Reception ==
[[File:Ranma's mural in Vic (2022).jpg|thumb|upright|left|A ''Ranma ½''-themed mural featuring P-chan and female Ranma in [[Vic, Spain]]]]

By November 2006, it was reported that ''Ranma ½'' had sold over 49 million manga volumes in Japan.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.animenewsservice.com/archives/novx.htm|website=Anime News Service|title=Anime News Service – October 18 – November 9 Anime News|access-date=June 27, 2011|quote=RANMA has sold more than 49 million copies in Japan, and is one of the most recognized and acclaimed series ever produced.|archive-date=July 7, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707144036/http://www.animenewsservice.com/archives/novx.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> Shogakukan has printed 53 million copies as of November 2011,<ref>{{cite news|last=Loo|first=Egan|date=November 23, 2011|title=Live-Action Ranma 1/2 TV Special's 1st Ad Aired|work=[[Anime News Network]]|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-11-23/live-action-ranma-tv-special-1st-ad-aired|access-date=October 19, 2015|archive-date=November 20, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151120215500/http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-11-23/live-action-ranma-tv-special-1st-ad-aired|url-status=live}}</ref> and by April 2021 it had 55 million copies in circulation.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://magmix.jp/post/51730|title=4月15日はアニメ『らんま1/2』の放送開始日。いま振り返れば「完璧すぎる」声優陣|website=Magmix|date=April 15, 2021|access-date=May 25, 2021|language=ja|archive-date=March 1, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220301004718/https://magmix.jp/post/51730|url-status=live}}</ref>

The ''Ranma ½'' anime was ranked number 17 on ''[[Anime Insider]]''{{'}}s 2001 list of the Top 50 Anime,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2001-07-16/wizard-lists-top-50-anime|work=[[Anime News Network]]|title=Wizard lists Top 50 Anime|date=July 16, 2001|access-date=October 18, 2012|archive-date=April 2, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140402111019/http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2001-07-16/wizard-lists-top-50-anime|url-status=live}}</ref> although the list was limited to series that were released in North America. It ranked 36th on [[TV Asahi]]'s 2006 list of Japan's 100 favorite animated TV series, which is based on an online poll of the Japanese people,<ref>{{cite news|last=Loo|first=Egan|date=October 13, 2006|title=Japan's Favorite TV Anime|work=[[Anime News Network]]|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2006-10-13/japan%27s-favorite-tv-anime|access-date=October 18, 2012|archive-date=June 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180615044506/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2006-10-13/japan%27s-favorite-tv-anime|url-status=live}}</ref> up from the previous year's list where it ranked 45th.<ref>{{cite news|last=Macdonald|first=Christopher|date=September 23, 2005|title=TV Asahi Top 100 Anime|work=[[Anime News Network]]|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2005-09-23/tv-asahi-top-100-anime|access-date=October 18, 2012|archive-date=June 21, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140621064503/http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2005-09-23/tv-asahi-top-100-anime|url-status=live}}</ref> In November 2006, the [[New York Comic Con]] announced that it would host the first-ever [[American Anime Awards]]. Fans had the chance to vote for their favorite anime online during the month of January 2007. Only the five nominees receiving the most votes for each category were announced on February 5. Among the 12 different categories, ''Ranma ½'' was voted into the "Best Comedy Anime" category, and the ''Ranma ½'' OVAs were voted into the "Best Short Series" category.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.americananimeawards.com/news/pr_finalist.asp|website=American Anime Awards|title=New York Comic Con AAA Finalists|date=May 19, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070705050035/http://www.americananimeawards.com/news/pr_finalist.asp|archive-date=July 5, 2007}}</ref><!-- The awards ceremony will take place on Saturday, February 24 at the New Yorker Hotel in midtown Manhattan and will be streamed live over the internet via IGN.com. A fuller broadcast, including pre and post-ceremony coverage, will air later on cable’s Anime Network. OLD NEWS, REWRITE WITH RESULTS? Need cite for this – tagged.--> A 2019 [[NHK]] poll of 210,061 people saw ''Ranma ½'' and ''Ranma ½ Nettōhen'' named Takahashi's second best-animated work. Shampoo and Ranma were voted fourth and fifth place respectively in her characters category.<ref>{{cite news|last=Loveridge|first=Lynzee|date=November 19, 2019|title=The Results are in for NHK's Ultimate Rumiko Takahashi Poll|work=[[Anime News Network]]|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2019-11-19/the-results-are-in-for-nhk-ultimate-rumiko-takahashi-poll/.153413|access-date=February 7, 2021|archive-date=December 15, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201215231548/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2019-11-19/the-results-are-in-for-nhk-ultimate-rumiko-takahashi-poll/.153413|url-status=live}}</ref> The 2024 anime adaptation has been nominated for 6 categories, including Best Comedy, Best Romance, and Best Ending Sequence ("[[Anta Nante]]" by {{ill|Riria (singer)|lt=Riria|ja|りりあ。|}}) at the [[9th Crunchyroll Anime Awards]] in 2025.<ref>{{cite news|last=Mateo|first=Alex|date=April 3, 2025|title=Crunchyroll Anime Awards Reveals 2025 Nominees|work=[[Anime News Network]]|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2025-04-03/crunchyroll-anime-awards-reveals-2025-nominees/.223212|access-date=April 4, 2025|archive-date=April 4, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250404004718/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2025-04-03/crunchyroll-anime-awards-reveals-2025-nominees/.223212|url-status=live}}</ref>

Although [[Lum (Urusei Yatsura)|Lum]] from Takahashi's first series ''Urusei Yatsura'' is often cited as the first {{Transliteration|ja|[[tsundere]]}} character in anime and manga, Theron Martin of ''[[Anime News Network]]'' stated that ''Ranma ½''{{'}}s Akane Tendo is closer to how they would later typically be portrayed in the 2000s. He also suggested that one could argue ''Ranma'' is an early example of a [[Harem (genre)|harem]] or reverse harem series, due to the main character attracting suitors in both genders.<ref>{{cite news|last=Martin|first=Theron|date=April 2, 2014|title=Ranma 1/2 Blu-Ray – Review|work=[[Anime News Network]]|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/ranma/blu-ray-set-1|access-date=August 29, 2015|archive-date=September 9, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150909073559/http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/ranma/blu-ray-set-1|url-status=live}}</ref> The series's publication in North America proved highly successful as well, being many Americans' first introduction to manga and its anime adaptation one of the first Japanese animation shows to achieve popularity in the US.<ref>{{cite news|last=Silverman|first=Rebecca|date=March 19, 2014|title=Ranma 1/2 [2-in-1 Edition] GN 1 – Review|work=[[Anime News Network]]|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/ranma-2-in-1-edition/gn-1|access-date=March 25, 2015|archive-date=January 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125044159/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/ranma-2-in-1-edition/gn-1|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|title=The Rising Sun Responds|magazine=[[Electronic Gaming Monthly]]|issue=55|publisher=EGM Media|date=February 1994|page=24}}</ref> In an overview of the series, [[Jason Thompson (writer)|Jason Thompson]] called ''Ranma ½'' "the direct ancestor of all comedy-action manga, like ''[[Sumomomo Momomo]]'' and ''[[History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi]]''", although noted that it was not the first, but only spanned the period when manga and anime sales were at their height.<ref name="JasonThompson"/> Relating it to Takahashi's other works, he summed the series up as "At the start, the fighting is minimal and it's almost a semi-serious relationship comedy, like ''Maison Ikkoku''; then it turns completely ridiculous; and by the climax, when Ranma fights the evil bird-people of Phoenix Mountain in an excessively long and un-funny fight scene, it's like a warmup for ''[[Inuyasha]]''."<ref name="JasonThompson"/> Reviewing the final volume of the manga, ''Anime News Network'' remarked that "Every dimension of Rumiko Takahashi's storytelling skills come into play here: comedy, romance and introspection, and of course, high-flying fantasy martial-arts action."<ref name="ANNreview">{{cite news|last=Santos|first=Carlos|date=February 6, 2007|title=Ranma 1/2 GN 36|work=[[Anime News Network]]|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/ranma-1/2/gn-36|access-date=July 5, 2013|archive-date=June 8, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130608145311/http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/ranma-1/2/gn-36|url-status=live}}</ref> However, they felt some of the action scenes were hard to follow and noted that the mirroring to left-to-right format caused errors with the art.<ref name="ANNreview"/>

In their review of Viz Media's season five DVD box set, ''Anime News Network'' praised the Japanese cast's performance and the animation, but criticized the English version's slight script changes and minor voice actors while praising its main cast. They also remarked that while ''Ranma ½'' is a classic, after a hundred episodes, the same jokes are just not funny anymore.<ref name="AnimeReview">{{cite news|last=Dong|first=Bamboo|date=August 3, 2003|title=Ranma 1/2 Season 5 DVD box – Review|work=[[Anime News Network]]|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/ranma-season-5/dvd-box|access-date=February 16, 2013|archive-date=February 9, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130209104416/http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/ranma-season-5/dvd-box|url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[THEM Anime Reviews]]''' Raphael See called the television series and the OVAs "one of the funniest things [he's] ever seen, anime or otherwise" and also praised the English dub as some of the best.<!--NOTE: THEM Anime Reviews' reviews of seasons 1-3 and the OVAs were done all at once and use a single written review, but each are given their own ratings.--><ref>{{cite news|title=Ranma 1/2 (Season 1)|website=[[THEM Anime Reviews]]|url=http://www.themanime.org/viewreview.php?id=396|access-date=August 29, 2015|archive-date=March 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190307194528/http://www.themanime.org/viewreview.php?id=396|url-status=live}}</ref> However, he was much more critical of the first two films particularly for both using the same [[damsel in distress]] plot.<ref>{{cite news|title=Ranma 1/2 the Movie: Big Trouble in Nekonron China|website=[[THEM Anime Reviews]]|url=http://www.themanime.org/viewreview.php?id=394|access-date=August 29, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Ranma 1/2 the Movie 2: Nihao My Concubine|website=[[THEM Anime Reviews]]|url=http://www.themanime.org/viewreview.php?id=395|access-date=August 29, 2015|archive-date=August 27, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150827061625/http://www.themanime.org/viewreview.php?id=395|url-status=live}}</ref> Mike Toole of ''Anime News Network'' included ''Big Trouble in Nekronon, China'' at number 83 on The Other 100 Best Anime Movies of All Time, a list of "lesser-known, lesser-loved classics", calling it "a solid action-comedy and a good, well-rounded example of the appeal of ''Ranma ½''".<ref>{{cite news|last=Toole|first=Mike|date=April 2, 2017|title=The Other 100 Best Anime Movies of All Time, Part 1 – The Mike Toole Show|work=[[Anime News Network]]|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/the-mike-toole-show/2017-03-19/.113010|access-date=April 2, 2017|archive-date=April 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170401065553/http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/the-mike-toole-show/2017-03-19/.113010|url-status=live}}</ref>