Ranma 1/2 the Movie: Big Trouble in Nekonron, China

Rating: 5/10

**Pros:**
Big Trouble in Nekonron China has quite a few issues, but before I get to those, I'll cover the positives the movie does have. For one the animation is stunning and you can tell it's a step up from the usual tv animation. The 16:9 resolution alone was a nice breath of fresh air after watching the anime. I also really liked all the references in the chase scene at the beginning of the movie. It made it feel that watching the anime up to that point was worth it. Another great thing that the opening sequence did was showcase the curses in a completely seamless way to those who may somehow be unfamiliar with Ranma.

Since this movie is the first time that the main cast [spoiler]has gone back to China, I was wondering how they were going to handle Jusenkyo or if it would get an appearance. The fact that they just forgot[/spoiler] about it was very funny. The one other aspect of the ending that I liked was [spoiler]how Happosai just lied about the power of the scroll and that the bride was going to be a sacrifice, which is a classic Happosai move,[/spoiler] that you don't see coming because this is a movie.

**Neutral:**
I think the movie's main flaw is its pacing due to its runtime. It was only 74m long instead of the standard 90m, which made the ending feel very rushed. The rest of the pacing feels fitting for a movie, but the result is that the ending suffers because of that. As soon as they [spoiler]reach China they're immediately fighting the 7 lucky gods.[/spoiler] That wouldn't be as big of a problem if [spoiler]Kirin as the final fight was decently grandiose. However, he gets dealt with way too quickly. Ranma figures out one trick and it's over. Villains in the anime got longer fights than he did as part of a whole movie.[/spoiler]

I did feel that there were also some notable omissions of the main cast in the movie. Given the size of the Ranma 1/2 cast, I guess it was to be expected, but I think it was very odd to omit [spoiler]Cologne going on a journey to China.[/spoiler]

**Cons:**
The way the plot got resolved was also frankly stupid even for Ranma, which made the ending even more disappointing. I guess I was just expecting something a bit more serious for a movie compared to the regular anime. [spoiler]The only thing Kirin cares about is the scroll, so as soon as Lychee gets the scroll, he just changes his mind. To make it make sense, there should've been some explanation as to why the woman holding the scroll was important to their culture. Since Happosai stole it, it would make more sense for them to retrieve the scroll from them and do the wedding ceremony for some bride they had already arranged.[/spoiler]