Episode 10 – Ranma ½

I can only imagine the staff’s struggles when they realized how the figure skating arc was going to play out. They had to do a lot of editing to fit it all into two episodes, but a faithful remake will keep the final two chapters of the battle climax to themselves. The action-oriented nature means there’s only a few minutes of material, hanging awkwardly at the beginning of a new arc. So they did something bold: they wrote new material.

I know. I know! This is a shocking thought. decorate Rumiko TakahashiThis masterpiece was a risky endeavor, as evidenced by the serendipitous nature of the original animated material from the old series. That being the case, they moved the fight to the swimming pool instead of duking it out on the ice floes of the shattered rink. Here, they really only had to extend it a few minutes to allow the shampoo to break through the walls at the midpoint. They accomplished this by revisiting the final episode and adding more interactions between the two teams.

Perhaps most surprising…it works! In fact, it might even improve things a bit, as it adds more texture to Sanzenin and Azusa. Sanzenin assures Ranma that he is not a playboy; he simply loves and appreciates every woman, but that does not diminish or diminish his feelings for any cute girl who happens to be in front of him. Ranma, of course, thought it was nonsense and escaped from Sanzenin’s arms with a headbutt. While this reason is classic for flirtatious characters and isn’t even close to Kuno’s excuse for how he loves Akane and Ranma at the same time, it also speaks to his own arrogance. Ranma knew very well that he wanted nothing to do with Mizenjin’s kiss, but Mizenjin convinced himself that the problem was jealousy. He is so hot, how can a woman sincerely refuse him!

Meanwhile, Ryoga’s conversation with Azusa concludes what has long been… not exactly a plot hole, but a minor story thread that has yet to be resolved. Azusa notices that he is wearing Charlotte’s collar, this is just a one-time prank, but it is quickly dismissed in the heat of battle. Now that they had time to talk, Azusa wondered where her piggy was. Perhaps Ryoga’s reaction speed was a little unusual, and he came up with a story that he let Charlotte go because he felt bad about it, and kept the collar as a trophy. After all, quick thinking and creativity aren’t Ryoga’s strong suit. Still, Azusa’s rage is fun to watch and heightens the episode’s tension.

Meanwhile, Ryoga remains convinced that if he defeats Ranma here, he will win the right to date Akane. Uh-oh, Ryoga! You seem to be mistaking Akane for a championship belt instead of a living, breathing human being with thoughts and feelings of her own. However, even though he comes off as sexist and completely misguided, his desperation to avoid falling into the water and overcoming Ranma, combined with his superhuman strength, leads to some very solid action. Frankly, the corresponding fights in the manga are a bit confusing to read, but the consistently strong direction here makes it clearer and easier to follow.

The fight ends abruptly when Akane throws an ice cube at them, preventing Ryou from outright murdering Ranma in her name. She doesn’t know that this unrestrained masculinity has overtaken her, but she is frustrated and upset because the boys are supposed to be a team, but they are fighting for no reason! Ryoga promises to “have a nice chat” after the battle, but when his attack on Ranma breaks the ice, Akane falls into the water. Yes, you guessed it, she can’t swim and needs to be rescued. Ryoga jumped in without hesitation, and if Akane hadn’t been busy begging for death, he might have been caught in the act. Considering that he correctly recognized earlier that she might be shocked and horrified that she had unknowingly allowed a teenage boy to sleep in her bed, this was an honorable impulse that in other circumstances Things could get extremely bad for him.

In the end everything was resolved, Sanzenin was hospitalized, Azusa was distracted by a new cute thing, and the status quo between Ranma, Ryoga, and Akane was restored. Until a pretty girl with fuzzy hair wearing hanfu bursts in and announces that she’s going to kill Ranma.

If this were recorded in front of a live studio audience, this would be one of those moments where the audience claps and cheers so much that the actors would have to freeze for a long time before continuing with their lines. This is a fan favorite shampoo! Here she comes! She is so cute! She’s not even afraid of killing people! Needless to say, Ranma was not thrilled about her arrival. You see, she’s a Chinese Amazon (the word was invented for the English version, though I’m not sure what her tribe’s original name would translate to), ever since Ranma won her jackpot and defeated her in the tournament , she would be honored – she would chase him to the ends of the earth and kill him.

Discussion around shampoo and China’s overall performance at the show Ranma ½ It’s concerning, and this review is getting long, so I’ll save this conversation for next week. Now, I just grab my three-flavor bucket of Christmas popcorn and sit down to have a “best girl” conversation.

grade:

Ranma ½ Currently streaming on Netflix.