Episodes 13-15 – Ranma ½

You know, it’s great that Cologne is here. She’s definitely not my favorite character – that honor belongs to Ukyo Kuzonji, who appears in the opening credits, but by my reckoning, she probably won’t show up until the end of the season. Still, a cunning old woman like her fills a void in a cast of characters who, on average, have the mind powers of a nematode. So far, Nabiki is the only character with two brain cells to rub against, but she’s only interested in what’s going on around her when she can profit from it. Cologne actively fights against Ranma and her relationship with Akane, her age and experience making her a threat.

Speaking of Nabiki, I’m surprised she didn’t appear in the first episode of the season – finding and selling information about Ranma’s weaknesses would be a great business opportunity. This episode tells the story of Hikari Itsuki, Akane’s minor emotional rival who lacks the fighting abilities of his peers, preferring to sneak, sneak, and futilely attack voodoo dolls. He made a deal with Kuno to find Ranma’s weakness and remove him from the picture.

It’s not the most exciting episode – there’s a reason Gosunkugi never joined the regular cast – but it’s a load-bearing one. Goshenkuji throws one basic phobia after another at Ranma, who remains untroubled by the various creepy crawlies. It turns out that while he’s not afraid of the dark or snakes, what he is afraid of…is cats. Not feral or unpredictable, but any cute little harmless kitten like the one sitting on my lap right now. This fear stems from when he was a young child, his father tried to teach him the “cat gift” by covering him with delicious poultry and fish and then throwing him into a cat pit.

I try not to think about the extent to which the harm Genma did to Ranma qualifies as child abuse. I suggest you do the same.

But just when Gosunkugi and Kuno thought they had the upper hand, it became clear that while the cat scratching hell had given Ranma a severe phobia of felines, the training was actually working. Once he loses his mind due to the fear of peeing his pants, his mind transforms into that of a cat, allowing him to perform superhuman feats, such as tearing Kuno’s Borken apart. He no longer suppressed himself, snuggled on Akane’s lap, kissed her cheek, and then came to his senses. Ranma’s cat-fuku doesn’t appear often, but his fear becomes an important factor in his relationship with Shampoo.

Yes, shampoo. She returns from China with a new understanding of the role of Ranma’s curse. Like almost everyone else on the show, she’s not the brightest bulb, so how does she discover that herself? Well, she got a whole new curse herself, as she fell into the Fountain of Drowning Cats in the Thirteen Gorges. As far as she was concerned, her engagement to Ranma was still valid, and her great-grandmother Cologne agreed. Mousse, a short-sighted boy from his hometown who fights with hidden weapons, disagrees and challenges Ranma, but when Shampoo rebuffs him again, he declares that Akane will be the prize in their battle. Ranma was sure he had mastered this, but Cologne stung one of his pressure points, making his body hypersensitive to heat, making changing back into male form an unbearable pain. The only antidote is the Phoenix Pill, and Ranma must take it from her himself.

In addition to introducing two new characters, this arc represents an important shift for the cast, as the entire school now knows about Ranma’s curse. They don’t think he’s a freak or weirdo – in fact, they think it’s pretty cool that their bud can turn into a hottie! They might even like him better like this, as his casual attitude towards nudity means they might get to see his incredible rack. After the first few episodes of the series, when he was trying so hard to keep his secret, it was almost comically anticlimactic. Most likely, it became inconvenient for Ranma to keep secrets, so this was a way to get around it.

The episodes are filled with stylistic flourishes. The passage of time is conveyed through page turns, key moments of retribution are presented through comic panels, Cologne emerges from the darkness like a ghost, and so on. Moments like this are fun and add some visual interest, but I find where these episodes are lacking Ranma ½ What should really be the most impactful: the fights.

Aside from a few interesting shots, such as the point of view of Mousse falling into a steam cloud in search of the male Ranma, the direction and storyboarding in the action sequences lack the weight needed to really work. Instead, the animation team relied on obvious shortcuts, such as mostly still or repeated shots against the backdrop of speed lines, cuts at the moment of impact, and other techniques that gave the impression of movement when little actual animation occurred.

On the bright side, dubbing The cast remains strong. Although I will always miss the old one dubbing Voice, I can’t complain too much when Cologne is voiced by a dubbing legend Barbara GoodsonShe has dozens of credits to her name, but is probably best known (at least among my fan base) for voicing Rita Repulsa. The mighty Transformers team and Naota FLCL. She plays the sly old woman, mockingly and slyly, brilliantly. Although it’s hard for me to hear other people’s voices Brad Swales As a mousse I can tell Zhao Chengyuan As an old school fan, he knows the character very well and had a lot of fun playing him.

I really hope the animation team can do something with the action because that’s what this version is Ranma ½This is the biggest advantage compared to previous versions of the story. Regardless, I’ll continue to enjoy watching it, but it’s hampered by sticking to the comics and pacing issues.

Episode 13 Rating:




Episode 14 Rating:




Episode 15 Rating:

Caitlin Moore has been an anime fan ever since two episodes of Ranma 1/2 were available on VHS for $30.

Ranma ½ Currently live broadcast Netflix.