Episode 18 – Ranma ½

Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh? ?

If you may, this is my entire review. The moment we have always feared has arrived, and much earlier than necessary. Am I still angry that the production team skipped the plot of “Breaking Point” and “Martial Arts Tea Ceremony”? Absolutely. I’ll go crazy.

For all the series newcomers, this episode introduces Happosai, the worst character in the entire series franchise. Let me tell you about Babozhai: He is old. He trained Genma and Soun, both of whom were afraid of him. He is very powerful. He was a serial sex offender who sexually assaulted young girls without their consent. I know that “pervert masters” are common character archetypes in kung fu movies and media influenced by them, but it doesn’t make me feel better when I have to sit down and focus on them for an entire episode.

The animation team here has done their best to mitigate the damage that Happosai brought to the series. Now, instead of grabbing her breasts and buttocks, he was rubbing his face against the girl’s legs and lower back. He wasn’t committing a sex crime outright, but he was invading their personal space! This is what he tried to do to Akane, and successfully did to the girl-type Ranma when they first met. But honestly? I don’t think it’s much better. Violation is violation, and we should laugh at young girls who are terrorized by old men. Also, why was he so obsessed with Akane, who was only six years old when she was buried? She’s one of the three sisters…I didn’t want him on Nabiki and Kasumi.

I mean scared. Most of the episode consists of Babosai pulling himself into a pig suit and trying to disguise himself as P and go to sleep in Akane’s bed. This is one of those episodes where Akane is asked to be stupid, so she refuses to let Ranma protect her. This causes Happosai to use pressure points to knock her down and take her to the rooftop, where he and Ryouga continue to fight. An old man left a child unconscious so he could touch her body without consent! So funny! What a commotion!

I really don’t care if the joke is directed at him because she slept with him so violently that he was beaten all night long. I don’t want to laugh at Akane’s fear when she realizes she’s locked in a room alone with an adult who wants to molest her! No matter how much you downplay Happosai by avoiding him from touching real breasts, it doesn’t matter because the essence of the gag won’t change. I know some people will say I have no sense of humor because of this, but frankly, I don’t care. I never found Babao Zhai interesting.

But at the same time, I admit it’s hard to leave him out of the series entirely. As a resident of the Tendo Dojo, he was a recurring character who became part of the cornerstone of the series. Without him, the storylines throughout the series would have to be completely restructured, and we all know by now that that’s not really what this adaptation team is doing.

But then again, if they skip “breakpoint”, who knows?

Later in the episode, Ranma has Akane sew a patch on his shirt, releasing a foul smell that only girls can smell. Deprived of the opportunity to molest young women, Babozai begins to fade. Honestly, I’m rooting for Genma and Soun – to use this as an opportunity to get rid of him once and for all. Despite Hachibosai’s obsession with seeing Ranma in his underwear, poor soft-hearted Ranma took pity on him. But then an (in)convenient rainstorm occurs, Ranma smells the stench, and Happosai regains his strength.

You may have guessed that my overall opinion of this episode was not high, but there were two good laughs. One of them is when Happosai is trapped in a kettle after drinking all the hot water Akane planned to use to get Ranma back, as his stomach is now swollen. The other one is Happosai and Genma, their ki becomes huge and it’s like a monster battle, but they can’t move. That’s it! Two complete jokes that earned a slight chuckle! I prefer Ranma watching baseball while cutting his nails.

If we follow the manga order, then next is the Dojo Destroyer arc. However, given the importance of Romeo and Juliet in all the promotions this season, I thought we’d jump right to that.

grade:

Ranma ½ is currently live
Netflix.