Yeah, that was just wall-to-wall absurdity. But you’re certainly not going to hear me complaining. I even liked the cold open with Ranma and Ryouga on the swing, because it had no context and made absolutely no sense. They’re not buddies, you know? It was just there for the lulz, and there’s nothing wrong with that. That’s pretty much true of the whole show.
You can’t really ask “who’s the most ridiculous character in Ranma ½?” because the only real answer is “whoever is on-screen”. But the Black Rose is right up there. Starting with thumb tacks on the handshake. She’a absolutely and totally unscrupulous in a totally unrelenting way. She like, literally never isn’t cheating. And given the “rules” of “martial arts rhythmic gymnastics” she’s got plenty of opportunities. I love that Rumiko even thought of martial arts rhythmic gymnastics in the first place. Take the lamest, most docile sport imaginable and turn it into a death match. She might even have been taking a little dig at her pal Adachi Mitsuru, who knows…
“Anything Goes” was definitely the right martial arts school for Ranma to have a background in with this premise. The whole match is one preposterous construct on top of another, with Ichirou providing his usual unhinged commentary all along. I especially loved when Ranma’s dad showed up (why is he always in panda form?) with the hot tea. Because obviously. And then started in on an 11-course feast at ringside as Ranma flew around with P-chan chained to him trying not to get killed by one of Kodachi’s deadly “tools”. Tragedy is only narrowly averted as Akane pulls out the fire house just in the nick of time.
As things head towards a climax the Black Rose (after using her brothers as a projectile) even pulls out her version of the Thousand-armed Kannon, but I don’t think Senya has anything to worry about. Ranma ends up winning (I don’t know if Ranma ever loses a match, no matter their gender) but Kunoichi unsurprisingly cheats her way out of her pledge to give up on Ranma within a matter of seconds. But she’s got stiff competition on that front, and she doesn’t even know the half of it yet.
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