By: Jenna Morgan | @jennasoccerm

Author note: I refer to Ranma as “he” since that’s what he refers to himself as, even in a feminine form.

Nostalgia! Seems to be the ticket to our eyes, hearts, and wallets. Producers have been doing this for what seems like decades now—redoing everything that was made before that was deemed successful and loved. At this point, a lot of us are scared when we hear a “remake” or a reboot of a beloved show of ours is in the works. 

So, you might be able to relate, because when I heard that they were rebooting Ranma ½, I was so excited! As well as… a bit nervous, not gonna lie. I mean, what are they going to do? Are they going to make it live-action? No. Okay, good… but are they going to change the art style so that it becomes so different and cringey that I can’t watch it, like Teen Titans Go! or… what?

In fact, they actually kept it relatively exact! I was so relieved. Peggy and I had a day and binged the whole first season until more seasons get released.

I had my comments along the way about what they did change, but for the most part, it was so fun to relive this story again with my best friend—the one who watched the show with me the first time and read the manga with me way back in middle school. Man… if I didn’t already miss her all the time, every day, that really did me in, and I can’t wait to do it again!

There was a point where we paused the show and I asked Peggy, “Do you think Akane is a good representation of pansexuality?” I asked because, as I watched, I couldn’t help feeling that she might be pan and, after a moment of contemplation, Peggy had to admit she didn’t know or hadn’t even thought about it. So we continued watching and I felt this again a few times throughout the episodes—that Akane never really flinches after the first initial introduction to Ranma’s switching forms. 

Okay—so, she screams, stomps downstairs, and struggles at first (and with pure rage is able to lift the biggest boulder from the backyard to drop it on his head in the bath) but…after that, she doesn’t really seem to care. I mean, most of the family doesn’t really care after they understand the curse and everything, but the older girls immediately laugh it off and say, “No thank you, he’s perfect for Akane—that’s alllllll hers!”

The eldest is more mature, more traditional, and very gentle; she would have no interest in being engaged with the shenanigans of Ranma. The middle sister is egocentric, entrepreneurial, and seems to be ahead of the game in every situation; she would be too bored to start. They are the same age, so it makes sense, right? The tomboy that hates men? But Akane doesn’t give in. She immediately deflects and rejects any notion of being engaged at all, even if it’s not really her choice. The small connection they made as women at the beginning of the pilot gets muddled, and Ranma is visually disappointed. In the first couple of episodes, we see banter between the two seemingly not getting along, calling each other “perv” and “so not-cute,” but when there is an interruption, the real expressions of irritation show on their faces. The toxic, jealous high school stuff starts immediately, but after all, they’re in high school, so… I don’t know. 

He grows into his new body well, embracing his good looks and expanding his diva personality. He makes quips that he has a better shape than Akane, poking the different pride buttons of hers. He doesn’t really make a lot of other comments about her body or other girls’ bodies, though; he seems to not be too concerned with how women look at all. However, he does like to dress up how he looks! Peggy actually pointed out a great detail about his outfits compared to everyone else; I can’t wait to read a post about that if she writes one! There is also something to be said about how some of those who are cursed prefer their cursed form (Ranma’s dad and Ryoga, for example) and what that means for self-identity. The comparisons to that and avatars (not the manga/anime or the blue people, but, like, online), where people feel more comfortable being represented as these external beings than themselves, seems to overlap well here and is a point of interest for me.

Okay, okay, okay, okay—back to the point! So, there are moments when they are in battle and Akane is worried for Ranma (whichever gender), and they share these looks and glances that mean something to them—a connection and support. In the ice-skating arc, Ranma is badly hurt, and Akane is crying from being so worried about him, threatening to stop caring since he keeps pushing her away. After Ranma has changed into his female form from cold water, Akane doesn’t leave his gaze or change her tone, worry, or support. The back and forth between his forms, and their connection getting stronger and never wavering, no matter what form he’s forced to or chooses to express in at that moment, shows to me that Akane loves/likes Ranma no matter what form of his fluidity he is in—especially when it’s his safety that’s involved.

The best way pansexuality was explained to me as different from bisexuality was from Schitt’s Creek (which, I will be honest, I have not watched in full yet, but I get a lot of clips on my TikTok, so I know I’ll probably like it) where David was questioned about what kind of “wine” he preferred since there was a prior assumption. He goes: “I do drink red wine, but I also drink white wine, and I’ve been known to sample the occasional rosé. And a couple summers back, I tried a merlot that used to be a chardonnay, which got a bit complicated. I like the wine and not the label.” To me, in summary—you fall for the person, not the gender. The actual dictionary definition is not far off from this: “Pansexuality is defined as an attraction to people of any gender or to people regardless of their gender” (Trevor Project, “Pansexuality: What It is, What It Isn’t”).

Let’s try to be a bit more scholarly, huh?

I found a journal article that was pretty long by Emily Harvey called “Context and Safety Are Everything”: Exploring How Pansexual Individuals Mark and Express Their Identity, but I got some quotes that fit my argument rather quickly as a result. When discussing the lack of representation of pansexuality in literature, they noted that in what was available, “those who identify as pansexual tend to be predominantly younger individuals,” which Akane is—barely sixteen—and is often remarked upon as a tomboy and doesn’t claim to care for the same frivolous things other girls care about (Harvey, Journal of Bisexuality, vol. 25, issue 1). She doesn’t fawn over boys (she even claims to hate them), she’s invested in her martial arts, and (you don’t know this yet unless you watched/read the original series), and she’s a terrible cook! 

Now, we know these are not signs of anything but individuality, but with anime tropes, it pushes the notion that she is not overly “girly” or cares to be. She has all sorts of cutesy things, but we hardly ever see her in any of them outside of the house. The only crush she has is on her doctor, who has a crush on her eldest sister. Now, this isn’t close to non-binary, but I did think it was interesting to find this next quote when thinking about Akane’s self-identity: “… with evidence suggesting that individuals who identify as pansexual are more likely to identify as non-binary gender identities compared to those of other plurisexualities such as bisexuality (Belous & Bauman, 2017)” (Harvey, Journal of Bisexuality, vol. 25, issue 1).

So—there isn’t a lot of discourse on pan representation in the media in general, but we do have a decent handful of characters to look at, like Rick Sanchez from Rick and Morty, the previously mentioned David Rose from Schitt’s Creek, Klaus Hargreeves from The Umbrella Academy, and Deadpool, of course. It’s at least a start when trying to relate to our favorite characters. While Akane hasn’t openly been identified or said to be pan (really nothing about orientation other than just hating men), this is my theory until/if she says otherwise. 

While I watch the slow-burn love between Ranma and Akane, I can’t help but see her in this way—as she blushes from Ranma catching her in his arms as a woman the same as when she blushes when Ranma is a man and defends her honor against another man, not letting him grab and disrespect her. 

That being said, Season 2 of Ranma ½ (2024) is releasing on Netflix this season (Fall 2025) and I plan to be looking out for more to support my theory in this remake! I would love to learn more from others if they have a perspective they would like to share—not only from someone with a better understanding of pansexuality than I, but maybe a different perspective of the show. Thanks so much!

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Developmental edits by: Peggy Sue Wood | @pswediting

Copyedited by: Katherine Cañeba | @kcserinlee