# Ranma ½: The Movie, Big Trouble in Nekonron, China
**Ranma ½: The Movie, Big Trouble in Nekonron, China** (*Ranma ½: Chūgoku Nekonron Daikessen! Okite Yaburi no Gekitō-hen!!*, らんま1/2 中国寝崑崙大決戦!掟やぶりの激闘篇!!) is a 1991 Japanese animated martial arts comedy film, the first theatrical feature based on [Rumiko Takahashi](https://www.edgepedia.org/rumiko-takahashi)'s manga *Ranma ½*. Directed by Shuji Iuchi and produced by Studio DEEN and Kitty Films, it premiered in Japan on November 2, 1991, distributed by Argo Project.[1](https://eiga.com/movie/41181/) • [2](https://www.allcinema.net/cinema/151531)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Japanese title | らんま1/2 中国寝崑崙大決戦!掟やぶりの激闘篇!! (also romanized *Chuugoku Nekonron Daikessen!*)[3](https://themanime.org/viewreview.php?id=394) |
| Premiere | November 2, 1991, Japan; distributed by Argo Project[1](https://eiga.com/movie/41181/) |
| Runtime | 75 minutes in Japanese listings; 74 minutes (1h 14m) in English-language listings[2](https://www.allcinema.net/cinema/151531) • [4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ranma_12_the_movie_1_big_trouble_in_nekonron_china_1991) |
| Director / screenplay | Shuji Iuchi; screenplay by Shigeru Yanagawa, Shuji Iuchi, and Ryota Yamaguchi, from Rumiko Takahashi's manga[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101583/fullcredits/) |
| Production | Studio DEEN, Kitty Films, Shogakukan Production[6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101583/) |
| Main cast | Kappei Yamaguchi (male Ranma), Megumi Hayashibara (female Ranma), Noriko Hidaka (Akane), Kaneto Shiozawa (Prince Kirin), Sakiko Tamagawa (Lychee)[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101583/fullcredits/) |
| US release | June 22, 1994[6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101583/) |
| Sequel | *Ranma ½: The Movie 2, Nihao My Concubine* (1992)[6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101583/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
The story begins at the Tendo household, where Lychee, a girl traveling with her combat elephant Jasmine, arrives carrying a grudge against Happosai, the perverted master of the Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts. Long ago, Happosai gave Lychee's great-grandmother half of a legendary scroll said to bring happiness to its holder; the women of Lychee's family waited three generations for a prince to arrive, and he appears as soon as the scroll changes hands.[3](https://themanime.org/viewreview.php?id=394) • [7](https://aniorder.com/anime/ranma-movie-nekonron/)
Through a mix-up, Akane Tendo, Ranma's fiancée, is holding the scroll when Prince Kirin arrives in his floating airship. Kirin and his warriors, the Seven Lucky Gods Martial Artists, mistake her for the scroll's rightful owner and carry her off to China as his bride. Ranma and the rest of the cast pursue the airship to Nekonron, China, where they fight through Kirin's minions to rescue her.[3](https://themanime.org/viewreview.php?id=394) • [8](https://letterboxd.com/towerofbears/film/ranma-1-2-the-movie-big-trouble-in-nekonron/)
### Place in the franchise
This was the first of two theatrical films in the original [Ranma ½](https://www.edgepedia.org/ranma-1-2) anime run, followed by *Ranma ½: The Movie 2, Nihao My Concubine* in 1992.[6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101583/) The film also had a long afterlife in North American home video, where Viz's English-language release introduced the series to viewers who had not followed the television broadcast.[10](https://www.web.furinkan.com/ranma/anime/movie1.html)
## Production
The film adapts Takahashi's slapstick martial arts manga as its first theatrical installment, with character design and animation direction by Atsuko Nakajima, who held the same roles on the television series.[2](https://www.allcinema.net/cinema/151531) The main voice cast carried over from the 1989 television series: [Kappei Yamaguchi](https://www.edgepedia.org/kappei-yamaguchi) as male Ranma, Megumi Hayashibara as girl-type Ranma, and Noriko Hidaka as Akane.[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101583/fullcredits/) • [9](https://anibase.net/en/anime/lVV73/Ranma-%C2%BD-Big-Trouble-in-Nekonron%2C-China) [Screenplay](https://www.edgepedia.org/screenplay) credit goes to Shigeru Yanagawa, Shuji Iuchi, and Ryota Yamaguchi.[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101583/fullcredits/)
Music attribution differs between databases: eiga.com credits the group RABBIT, while AniOrder and Bangumi credit composer Kenji Kawai (川井憲次).[1](https://eiga.com/movie/41181/) • [7](https://aniorder.com/anime/ranma-movie-nekonron/) In Japan the film played as a double feature with *Urusei Yatsura 6: Always My Darling* (1991), another Takahashi adaptation.[6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101583/)
## Release and home video
The film reached the United States on June 22, 1994, licensed by Viz Entertainment, whose English title "Big Trouble in Nekonron, China" became the best-known name for the film abroad.[6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101583/) • [3](https://themanime.org/viewreview.php?id=394) • [10](https://www.web.furinkan.com/ranma/anime/movie1.html) Viz has announced a Blu-ray edition with Japanese and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 tracks, English subtitles, 1080p video, and the original 1.33:1 aspect ratio.[11](https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Ranma--The-Movie-Big-Trouble-In-Nekonron-China-Blu-ray/183179/) In the United States it is available to rent or buy digitally on Apple TV and Fandango.[12](https://www.moviefone.com/movie/ranma-the-movie-the-battle-of-nekonron-the-fight-to-break-the-rules/20011888/showtimes/)
## Reception
Audience scores have stayed favorable across databases: IMDb lists 6.9 from about 1,100 users, TMDB lists 7.1, and the Rotten Tomatoes Popcornmeter shows 86% from over 1,000 ratings, with no critic reviews tallied on the Tomatometer.[6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101583/) • [13](https://moviespack.com/similar/ranma-1-2-the-movie-big-trouble-in-nekonron-china) • [4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ranma_12_the_movie_1_big_trouble_in_nekonron_china_1991)
Reviewers describe the film as an extended episode of the series built on a rescue-the-damsel plot. The THEM Anime review credits the cast's comedy with keeping the familiar premise from becoming stale, praises the dialogue and one-liners, and finds the sequence of battles against the [Seven Lucky Gods](https://www.edgepedia.org/seven-lucky-gods) somewhat repetitive and the final showdown with Kirin over the top.[3](https://themanime.org/viewreview.php?id=394) Anime UK News called it an old-fashioned anime film in which slapstick comedy and an engaging cast make up for what may be the most over-used plot around.[14](https://animeuknews.net/2005/07/review-ranma-movie-1/) A Letterboxd reviewer notes that the film packs in nearly every character from the Ranma universe, which can overwhelm newcomers despite a cute introductory sequence, and observes that the gender-swapping is mined entirely for slapstick and mistaken-identity comedy.[8](https://letterboxd.com/towerofbears/film/ranma-1-2-the-movie-big-trouble-in-nekonron/)
## References
1. [らんま1/2 中国寝崑崙大決戦!掟やぶりの決闘篇!! (映画.com)](https://eiga.com/movie/41181/)
2. [映画アニメ らんま１／２ 中国寝崑崙大決戦！掟やぶりの激闘篇！！ (allcinema)](https://www.allcinema.net/cinema/151531)
3. [THEM Anime Reviews: Ranma 1/2 the Movie: Big Trouble in Nekonron China](https://themanime.org/viewreview.php?id=394)
4. [Ranma 1/2 the Movie: Big Trouble in Nekonron, China (1991), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ranma_12_the_movie_1_big_trouble_in_nekonron_china_1991)
5. [Ranma ½: The Movie, Big Trouble in Nekonron, China (1991) full cast & crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101583/fullcredits/)
6. [Ranma ½: The Movie, Big Trouble in Nekonron, China (1991), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101583/)
7. [らんま1/2 中国寝崑崙大決戦! 掟やぶりの激闘篇!! (AniOrder)](https://aniorder.com/anime/ranma-movie-nekonron/)
8. [Review by towerofbears, Letterboxd](https://letterboxd.com/towerofbears/film/ranma-1-2-the-movie-big-trouble-in-nekonron/)
9. [Ranma ½: Big Trouble in Nekonron, China (Anibase.Net)](https://anibase.net/en/anime/lVV73/Ranma-%C2%BD-Big-Trouble-in-Nekonron%2C-China)
10. [Ranma 1/2 Perfect Edition – Movie 1](https://www.web.furinkan.com/ranma/anime/movie1.html)
11. [Ranma ½ The Movie: Big Trouble In Nekonron, China Blu-ray, Blu-ray.com](https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Ranma--The-Movie-Big-Trouble-In-Nekonron-China-Blu-ray/183179/)
12. [Ranma 1/2 the Movie: Big Trouble in Nekonron, China, Moviefone](https://www.moviefone.com/movie/ranma-the-movie-the-battle-of-nekonron-the-fight-to-break-the-rules/20011888/showtimes/)
13. [Movies Like Ranma 1/2 the Movie: Big Trouble in Nekonron, China (1991), MoviesPack](https://moviespack.com/similar/ranma-1-2-the-movie-big-trouble-in-nekonron-china)
14. [Review: Ranma Movie #1, Anime UK News](https://animeuknews.net/2005/07/review-ranma-movie-1/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Films by genre, form, and subject › Animated and short films › Japanese anime features › Released 1932 to 1998*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license