Ranma is one of the better-known animes out there, right along with Dragonball Z and Pokemon (though I shudder to call that "anime"). This is because it has an adorable plot and cute characters. The plot is a bit interesting. Basically, there are these haunted hot springs somewhere out in the boonies where hapless people sometimes wander into. In the case of our amigo Ranma and his father, they were doing martial arts training and found the spot to be perfect. Until Ranma fell into the water of a pool where a girl had drowned and became a girl, and his father fell into a pool where a panda had drowned and became a panda. They can be turned back when doused in water. As luck would have it, they were also on their way to Ranma's father's best friend's home, so that the two dads could arrange a wedding between Akane, the friend's daughter, and Ranma. The two, unbeknowst to them, had been betrothed since birth. Ranma shows up in girl form, his father as a panda. The story revolves around the relationship between Akane and Ranma, as well as a few of their friends (one of whom, Ryoga, had the same hot spring experience and fell into the pool of the drowned piglet.. no one knows that the piggy called Pchan is actually Ryoga). There's a lot of gender-bending fun when Ranma begins attending school with Akane, and no one except her family knows about the "redheaded girl" who sometimes tags along instead. Lots of amusing situations and cute humor, bouncy enough to keep anyone entertained for hours on end.
