Ranma ½

Episode 18

If it were allowed, that would be my whole review. The moment we've all been dreading has arrived, and so much sooner than necessary. Am I still mad at the production team for skipping the Breaking Point and Martial Arts Tea Ceremony arcs? Absolutely. I will die mad.

For all you series newcomers out there, this episode introduces Happosai, the single worst character in the entire franchise. Let me tell you about Happosai: he's old. He trained Genma and Soun, both of whom are terrified of him. He's incredibly strong. He's a serial sex criminal who is physically addicted to assaulting teenage girls without their consent. I know that “perverted master” is a stock character archetype of kung-fu films and the media influenced by them, but that doesn't make it feel any better when I have to sit through entire episodes focusing on them.

The anime team here has done their best to mitigate the harm that Happosai brings to the series. Instead of grabbing bosoms and bottoms, he now rubs his face all over teenage girls' legs and lower backs. Instead of an outright sex crime, he's just invading their personal space! That's what he tries to do to Akane and successfully does to girl-type Ranma when they first meet. But honestly? I don't think it's much better. A violation is a violation, and we're supposed to be chuckling at teenage girls being terrorized by an old man. Also, why is he so obsessed with Akane, who was six when he was buried? She's one of three sisters… not that I wish him on Nabiki and Kasumi.

And I do mean terrorized. A chunk of the episode is taken up by Happosai zipping himself into a pig suit and trying to disguise himself as P-chan to go sleep in Akane's bed. This is one of the episodes that calls for Akane to be dimwitted, so she refuses to let Ranma protect her. This results in Happosai using a pressure point to knock her out and take her up to the roof, where he and Ryoga continue to fight. An old man rendering a child unconscious so he can touch her body nonconsensually! So funny! What a riot!

I don't really care if the joke's on him because she's such a violent sleeper that he spends the night being pummeled. I don't want to laugh at Akane's terror when she realizes she's locked alone in a room with an adult who wants to molest her! It doesn't matter how much you water down Happosai by avoiding showing him touching actual breasts, because the substance of the gag can't change. I know some people are going to call me humorless for this, but frankly, I don't care. I have never found Happosai funny.

But at the same time, I acknowledge that it would be difficult to fully cut him out of the series. As a resident of the Tendo dojo, he's a recurring character who becomes part of the bedrock of the series. Without him, story arcs that echo throughout the series would have to be completely restructured, and we all know by now that's not really how this adaptation team is doing things.

But then again, if they're skipping “Breaking Point,” who even knows anymore?

In the latter half of the episode, Ranma has Akane sew a patch on his shirt that releases a foul odor that only girls can smell. Deprived of his opportunity to molest young women, Happosai starts to wither away. Honestly, I'm with Genma and Soun – use that as an opportunity to get rid of him for good this time. But poor soft-hearted Ranma takes pity on him, despite Happosai's obsession with seeing Ranma in lingerie. But then an (in)convenient cloudburst happens, subjecting Ranma to the stench and allowing Happosai to regain his strength.

You may have guessed that I'm not big on this episode as a whole, but there are two funny gags. One is Happosai getting trapped in the kettle after drinking all the hot water Akane intended to use to turn Ranma back because his stomach is now bloated. The other is Happosai and Genma using their ki to grow huge as if to have a kaiju-style battle, but being unable to move. That's it! Two whole jokes that earned a mild chuckle! I was more entertained by Ranma clipping his nails while watching baseball.

If we're going by manga order, the Dojo Destroyer arc is up next. However, considering how heavily the Romeo and Juliet arc has featured in all the promotions for this season, I'm guessing we'll skip right to that one.

Rating:

Ranma ½ is currently streaming on Netflix.