The first TV series was canceled due to low ratings in September 1989, but was then brought back in December as the much more popular and much longer-running Ranma ½ Nettōhen.

Correlating to the manga storylines, the anime adaptations, put together, go only as far as halfway into volume 22 (out of 38).

Part 1: Nodoka Saotome, Ranma's mother and Genma's wife, is planning to visit the Tendo household.

However, if he fails to do so, he and Ranma are to perform Seppuku, a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment.

Ranma and Genma must stay in their cursed forms and hide their true identities from Nodoka.