ranma 1/2

Happy Wednesday, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here with another Whatcha post. Today, our Geekly writers share which television shows and movies they’ve watched over the past month. Feel free to share what you’ve been watching. We’re all part of the Geekly Gang. I’ll get us started.

Kyra’s Shows

Yes! It’s a Whatcha Wednesday, and I’m mentioning the show, Wednesday. I watched Wednesday for the first time this month, so I’m late to the party. I enjoyed the first season. I may even need to do a deep dive for the Wednesday Addams character as she’s had an intriguing transformation through the decades (I even have some of the original comic strips). So good. I liked the nods Tim Burton makes to the original Addams Family television show throughout Wednesday while allowing the show to forge its own path.

Wednesday isn’t just a retelling of the Addams Family. It’s a reimagining. And I appreciate how Wednesday has created this new boarding school environment. With Joanne Rowling showing her colors as a transphobe, Wednesday offers a great alternative for an LGBT community left disenchanted with Hogwarts. Of course, Enid and Wednesday’s budding friendship drives Wednesday’s first season. While a little predictable, the first season’s murder mystery was fun.

Wednesday’s second season may have a more complex mystery, but it suffers from bloat. The first season weaved in small callbacks to the original series; the second season pumps in more callbacks to the original series, the Nineties movies, and Wednesday’s first season. This season also pivots away from Enid and Wednesday’s relationship, which makes sense for the story (I won’t spoil it here), but the lack of this pair’s chemistry hurts.

This may be an unfair assessment for season two. I’m trying to stay ahead of weekly Geekly posts so I’ll have more time to work on my novel (something I’m sure Wednesday would approve of), and I’m writing this entry a week before the second half of Wednesday’s second season releases. I’m sure there will be some great payoff during Wednesday’s second half. You may get a second post for Wednesday next month.

I’m enjoying Wednesday’s second season and can’t wait for this season’s conclusion.

I also binged Netflix’s Trainwreck series. This series (of about hour-long mini documentaries) varies in its watchability. Each episode of Trainwreck has excellent production, don’t get me wrong. It’s the subject matter for each Trainwreck episode that makes or breaks the show’s watchability. I couldn’t stand the Storm Area 51 documentary. I wanted to reach through my screen a slap the kid who started that trend. But I felt for the Balloon Boy’s parents. It seemed like an honest mistake, and it was clear Balloon Boy Falcon’s mother wasn’t fluent in English. P.I. Moms was eye-opening. While I don’t care for reality TV, it’s a shame this show fell apart. And the Poop Cruise made me second-guess going on a cruise ship. Yikes!

That’s all I have for Whatcha Watching this month. Let’s check in with Season and Skye.

Season’s Shows

I got nostalgic last month, Geekly Gang. I remember watching the original Fruits Basket anime (2001) on my CRT TV from a folding chair in the basement, using my Nintendo Wii, while taking notes for my ninth-grade physical science class. Good times. I was upset that the 2001 anime never finished the Fruits Basket manga, which continued way after the anime ended. Being stunned when the 2019 anime came out, a few years after I graduated from high school, doesn’t begin to describe what I felt at the time.

Nostalgia aside, there are aspects of the story that haven’t aged well. The premise is goofy enough on its own–people turning into animals of the Chinese Zodiac when hugged by a member of a different gender (male and female in this story). Many of the characters in Fruits Basket adhere to ideas of masculinity and femininity. The men suck at housework while the women are expected to do it. At least, as far as Tohru Honda (the female lead) goes. There is a character in the show who enjoys wearing women’s kimonos because he feels more at ease wearing them, but gets made fun of for it by some of the characters. If you’re willing to look past these things, Fruits Basket (2019) is an enjoyable watch that lets you turn off your brain.

Fruits Basket (2019) doesn’t take itself seriously in the beginning. Things ramp up toward the end, but there are still many comedic moments. Most of the characters have a lot of depth. Even the side characters who were around for, like, two episodes.

Fun fact: The original English cast of Fruits Basket (2001) reprised their roles for Fruits Basket (2019). I’m not sure about the Japanese cast.

That’s all from me. What have you been watching this week, Skye?

Skye’s Movies

I’ve never been a huge fan of The Conjuring franchise. While I enjoyed the first film when I saw it 5 years ago, it didn’t make me eager to watch the rest. Only after the recent release of The Conjuring: The Last Rites did I think, “It might be time to watch The Conjuring movies.” Over the past month, I watched 9 Conjuring movies. This includes the Annabelle spinoff trilogy, the 2 Nun films, and The Curse of La Llorona. What did I learn? Hollywood loves doing the same thing.

Are all the Conjuring movies the same? No, but they have striking similarities. Typically, there’s a cursed object, haunted house, or tormented family. Spooky stuff happens, experts show up, the spirits freak out, and the power of Christ compels them. I must admit, of The Conjuring films I watched, the ones bearing the “Conjuring” title were my favorites. These movies owe their watchability to the star power of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren (played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga). Every time they were on screen, they shared an unrivaled chemistry that made their relationship much more real and adorable.

Do I recommend The Conjuring series? It depends on what you’re into, but if you like spooky films involving ghosts, demon possessions, and haunted dolls, I’m sure you’ll like the Conjuring franchise. Also, I gotta admit that I have a soft spot for Annabelle Comes Home. It’s just a fun romp through a carnival of horrors.

Skye’s Show

Watching the Netflix Ranma ½ remake came as an accident last month. I hadn’t intended to watch it anytime soon, until I woke up one day and decided to binge the whole first season. Overall, I feel like Ranma ½ (2024) did the original series justice while reintroducing it to a new generation. As a fan of the original, the main thing I noticed was a lack of alterations. The Ranma 1/2 (2024) team made changes like modernizing the animation, changing voice actors, and adjusting the pacing of the story. The show’s story remains untouched.

Because of that, I can’t help but ask, “Then why remake it at all?” I have 4 seasons of the original series on DVD box set, so why wouldn’t I just watch that? I know modern film and TV culture has shifted media consumption to online streaming, but Netflix could’ve just as easily put the original series in their library. I still enjoyed Ranma ½ (2024), but that’s essentially the same thing as saying I enjoyed Ranma ½ (1989). Take that as you will, and feel free to watch Ranma ½ (2024) if you don’t have access to the original. Otherwise, just watch the original.

Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle again. Those are all the shows and movies our writers watched over the past month. What’ve you been watching, Geekly Gang? Let us know in the comments. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Hi, everyone. It’s been a while since this anime geek has gone on a tangent about anime and she’s raring to dive in with a three lists of three. This week’s three lists of three will look at various anime. All three lists of three will have similar themes, but look at different aspects of that theme.

Spoiler alert: some endings may be revealed. Ready to geek out over anime?

Overlooked anime

Paranoia Agent (2005)

Paranoia Agent may be a bit of a mixed bag since most of the reviews online are fan-made. That being said, Satoshi Kon is better known for his movie, Paprika. Paranoia Agent may seem nonsensical and weird for the sake of being weird at first, but as the series progresses, the audience learns that everything happens for a reason. Each occurrence in Paranoia Agent bears significance to future events, and eventually, the end of the series. The continuity in this series is detailed. If this one doesn’t sound appealing, the “happy” opening theme is certainly memorable.

Ranma ½ (1989)

Rumiko Takahashi is best known for her series Inuyasha. While Inuyasha isn’t a bad series, it contains a lot of tropes, and, wrap me in a straitjacket, but I don’t remember much of the story. Ranma ½ uses some of these tropes while taking a comedic spin on them (such as Akane being a tsundere (kind-hearted but beats up the object of her affection) and Ryoga constantly getting lost). Since Ranma switches between male and female, the series puts traditional gender roles to the forefront. The characters find themselves in hilarious situations and I think the series deserves more credit.

Mushi-Shi (2005)

Mushi-Shi is one of the stranger series out there. The main character, Ginko, travels from town to town, dispelling supernatural/fantastical occurrences that are causing problems. Mushi-Shi is easy to get lost in with its unique stories and visuals, and calming sound effects. This series is a good escape from reality and doesn’t receive a lot of attention.

Overrated anime

Sword Art Online (2012)

This one seems like it should be obvious, right? Depending on who you ask, Sword Art Online is either their favorite anime or their least favorite. I’ve heard someone say they like the light novels (books that have manga images but read like chapter books) as opposed to the anime, which I’m willing to give a go, since I’ve heard the original source material has better writing. Regardless, Sword Art Online has an inconsistent storyline that had an unnecessary number of episodes in the beginning. They should have condensed most of Season 1 into a couple of episodes as opposed to nine or ten. There are some things Sword Art Online does well, such as having the characters grow attached to an AI, which questions values. On the other hand, it doesn’t show the psychological effects of being trapped in an artificial world, not knowing who your true allies are. An anime that does a better job of this is Btooom!, which one of the characters has a mental breakdown.

Assassination Classroom (Ansatsu Kyoushitsu) (2015)

I’m going to be honest. I love Assassination Classroom. I even have a Nagisa hat and tee shirt of the gang. The reason Assassination Classroom made this list is primarily because of Koro-Sensei. He says he wants to educate the kids and asks them to kill him while simultaneously saying they’ll never be able to kill them and dampening their self-esteem, which is contradictory. Why would he build their confidence and smother it at the same time? On top of that he’s threatening to blow up the world. It isn’t clear throughout most of the series whether he cares about these kids and wants them to aspire to something, or if he’s busying himself with being a teacher so he won’t get bored. Granted, they explain his motivation toward the end of the series, but it isn’t timed well. This is right before—spoilers—Koro-Sensei dies. Despite this, they do an excellent job of giving each of the characters an adequate amount of screen time, which is difficult to do with twenty plus characters.

Ouran High School Host Club (2006)

Chances are if you’re into Shojo anime, there’s a good chance that this series has either been trafficked to you from streaming services or is one of the top results from an online search. It certainly was one of my favorite Shojo anime for several years. I watched the series five or six times, listened to the soundtrack, and looked up fanart. Yeah, I went a little crazy. The point of it was to break down Shojo tropes and make fun of them. This didn’t get across well in the anime and it ended up fortifying those tropes. The manga did a better job of deconstructing the Shojo genre, but not by much. It had a lot of editor’s notes to explain what was going on. Anyway, back to the anime, which did have some good episodes, one example being episode fifteen: “The Refreshing Battle of Karuizawa!” This episode gives the audience some much needed character development, but the series is already more than halfway over by this point. Most of the other episodes stuck to character stereotypes and overused themes. We don’t need another Alice in Wonderland parody.

Anime that were popular when they came out but haven’t withstood the test of time

Hetalia: Axis Powers (2009)

Remember that time when Hetalia: Axis Powers had a slew of fanart and doujins being published on a daily basis? What happened between the early to mid-2010s that sent this series downhill? So, what happened? Maybe the gimmick got old. Maybe people started to realize what they thought was cute was actually offensive to a lot of people. Whatever the reason, Hetalia: Axis Powers isn’t nearly as popular as it once was.

Free! (2013)

When Free! came out it was hyped by gals and made fun of by guys due to the main characters being sexy high school boys in Speedos. I’m not joking. Its popularity lasted for a few years, even spawning another season, titled Free! Eternal Summer. The series itself was okay and didn’t have as much fanservice as I’d anticipated. They took the time to develop the characters to some degree. However, Free! dropped off the map a couple of years ago.

Bleach (2004)

I know. Bleach is still a popular series, but it isn’t nearly as popular as it used to be. Neither is Naruto for that matter. In fact, Naruto was originally going to make this list due to its poorly placed filler, but after looking at several polls, Naruto was the clear winner in the vast majority of them. Bleach had a lot of filler too, but the timing of the filler was better than Naruto, so it was easier to watch. The writing got progressively worse after the Arrancar arc and ended up being an endless cycle of Ichigo losing and regaining his powers. If they decided to end the series after the Arrancar arc, I think Bleach would have left a better legacy.

There are a lot of anime out there that could make these lists. Do you agree with the ones chosen? Which anime do you think should be included in these lists? Let us know in the comments.

Tag: ranma 1/2

Whatcha Watching, Geekly? September 2025