A curse that turns you into the opposite sex isn't a problem to solve, it's a permission slip to break every romantic and martial arts trope at once. The show knows this, so it never stops finding new angles: slapstick that lands because the timing is meticulous, a love triangle that actually respects both people in it, fight choreography that doubles as comedy without sacrificing either. By the end you're not waiting for Ranma to fix himself, you're wondering why he'd want to.

Ranma Saotome, a prodigy of the Anything-Goes school of martial arts, falls into a cursed spring while training in China. Now cold water turns him into a girl, and only hot water brings him back. His father Genma suffers a similar curse and becomes a panda. At the Tendou dojo, Ranma finds out that Genma and Soun Tendo agreed long ago that he would marry one of Soun's three daughters. Soun picks his youngest, Akane, a capable martial artist known for disliking men. Neither of the young pair is happy about the match. The show mixes martial arts fights with comedy and romance as the pair face assorted opponents, meet new love interests and keep finding ways to annoy each other, all with the engagement hanging over them.