Season
overview:
Season five was known as "Martial Mayhem" in the United States. Even though there is no change in the art team behind the animation, the quality continues its stready increase. By the end of this season the character designs have taken on a more OAV-style quality, and some episodes look better than the show has since early in the second season.
This marks director Koji Sawai's final season and the beginning of Junji Nishimura's work on the series. Sawai's previous work includes producing Irresponsible Captain Tylor, a few early Patlabor episodes, and character designs on F which used many of the voice actors from Ranma 1/2. The quality of the stories written solely for the anime are helped greatly by the improvement in animation quality, and the stories taken from Takahashi's manga truly shine in this season. Early manga stories that were initially skipped are added in at this point, and Sentaro's introduction proves to add some interesting episodes. Again, some episodes (episode 72) were moved around, in this case to the previous "season" (boxset) in the United States during the days of its initial VHS release.
Episode 71: 男の野望が尽きる時…
Otoko no yabou ga tsukiru toki... (When A Guy's Pride and Joy is Gone)
Ranma confides to Akane that when he was training in China, he stopped a man who was stealing rice gruel from the herbalist shopkeeper and quickly gulped down the stolen meal. The shopkeeper is relieved to see that Ranma is a girl, explaining that if a man ate the meal that was made with the Dragon's Whisker it would unleash all men's greatest ambition. Ranma doused himelf with hot water and the shopkeeper was stunned as Ranma's hair grew rapidly. It seems that the Dragon's Whisker is a cure for baldness that has been fought over by bald men for centuries.
In the school shed where Ranma is hiding, Akane gives him back the whisker, cutting off his excess hair and sealing it once again. Meahwhile the Niku-men have confided to Happosai about the purpose of the whisker and Genma has deduced its purpose after speaking with Cologne. Now both Happosai and Genma are seeking to take the Dragon's Whisker from Ranma. Genma initially beats up Happosai to protect Ranma, but it is merely a ruse so he can try to take the whisker for himself to cure his baldness. Genma manages to steal the Dragon's Whisker and when Ranma's hair starts rapidly growing again, Cologne arrives and splashes Ranma, turning him into a girl to prevent his hair from growing further. She explains that if Ranma does not get the Dragon's Whisker to seal the hair growing curse, Ranma's hair will run out within a week. Happosai manages to get the Whisker and learns from the Niku-men that he needs to make a broth with it in order to unlock its hair-restoring abilities. Ranma arrives to take it back, but when she is splashed with water and turned back into a boy, his hair grows uncontrollably.
Ranma ties garbage cans, tires, park benches and anything else he can find to the ends of his ridiculously long hair and swings them around to attack everyone. Finally Ranma's hair breaks and he panics, believing he has run out of hair and will soon go bald, however, Cologne realizes that the curse of the Dragon's Whisker has finally run its course and he no longer has to worry about his hair growing uncontrollably. Cologne takes the Dragon's Whisker and sells the broth at the Cat Cafe which Genma, Happosai and the Niku-men all happily eat, however she gets a call from the herbalist back in China that the 3,000 year expiration date on the whisker has just passed and it will no longer work to grow hair just as Shampoo serves her happy customers their soup.
There is a simple impact frame after Ranma kicks Genma when he tries to take the Dragon' Whisker from him.
"Gapyon!" - When Ranma knocks Genma though the roof and into the sky after Genma tries to figure out how to use the Dragon's Whisker, Genma makes an unusual sound, "gapyon!" Kappei Yamaguchi (the voice of male Ranma) would explain in an interview that when he was playing Sabato Rokudo in Kyokai no RINNE he wanted to inherit Ogata's "gapyon!". Kaito Ishikawa, who played Rinne Rokudo spoke about Yamaguchi teaching him to use "gapyon!" as well.
The sign on the grass next to the tree where Happosai has tied up the Niku-men says "do not enter" (立入禁止/Tachiirikinshi).
The sign on the garbage can says "garbage is trash" (ゴミはくずか/Gomi wa kuzuka).
In the anime adaptation the Dragon's Whisker has expired after 3,000 years, whereas in the manga it has expired after 4,000 years.
The guest voices in this episode are Tomomichi Nishimura (西村知道) as "The Herbalist" (rather than "The Shopkeeper" as this character was credited in the prior episode), Isamu Tanonaka (田ノ中憂) as "Wandering Monk #1" (Niku-man), Shigeru Chiba (千葉繁) as "Wandering Monk #2" (Curry-man), Bin Shimada (島田敏) as "Wandering Monk #3" (An-man) and Arihiro Hase (長谷有洋) as "Wandering Monk #4" (Pizza-man).
Episode 72: リンリン・ランランの逆襲
Linlin ・ Ranran no gyakushuu (Ling-Ling & Lung-Lung Strike Back!)
Rin-Rin and Ran-Ran return to Japan after hearing no further news about Ranma and Shampoo's marriage. Deciding to help ensure the two wed, Rin-Rin and Ran-Ran begin attacking Ranma's fiancées Ukyo and Kodachi. However, Rin-Rin and Ran-Ran are easily defeated but not before making Ukyo drop her okonomiyaki that was a gift for Ranma and being attacked by Kodachi's alligator, Mr. Green Turtle. When they find Akane, they imply that they defeated the other girls, and reveal their true reason for wanting to ensure Shampoo gets married- their Amazon tribal law says that they cannot marry until their older sister Shampoo is wed.
When Akane sees Ranma, she passes the girls off for him to deal with and manages to escape, but Rin-Rin and Ran-Ran demand for Ranma to explain if he really loves Akane. When Ranma denies it then murmurs to himself wondering why he is nervous (to admit to them his feelings for Akane), the two girls come to the mistaken conclusion that Ranma must be in love with them. Ryoga arrives but Rin-Rin and Ran-Ran decide to protect Ranma who makes his escape. With Ryoga left puzzled by who the girls are, they perform their ultimate attack- the Great Phoenix Dance of Fire. Rin-Rin and Ran-Ran catch up with Ranma, smirking when he asks what happened to Ryoga. Soon Rin-Rin and Ran-Ran find Akane at home and give her the kiss of death, explaining that she will have to challenge them if she wants to rescue Ranma. As they retreat, Ryoga stumbles out of the bushes with a red plus-shaped mark on his face. Cologne appears and tells Akane that this is the mark of the phoenix, the twin's technique. Cologne explains to Akane how powerful the ancient technique is and that historically it was used to drive out invaders at the Great Wall of China.
Akane travels to a neaby shrine to face off against Rin-Rin and Ran-Ran while Ranma is "held captive" by having a succulent Chinese meal off to one side of the temple. Soun, Genma and Cologne arrive to watch Akane do battle, and Rin-Rin and Ran-Ran's techniques prove to be a ridiculous flying contraption that they toss exploding eggs out of. Akane deflects the eggs back at them and then they unveil the technique that brought Ryoga low- the Great Phoenix Dance of Fire. In truth it is a large cut-out of a phoenix that topples over, the plus-shaped mark that was inflicted on Ryoga (and Souna and Genma who get in the way) is nothing more than the impact of the wooden cross-braces behind the phoenix cut-out. With Rin-Rin and Ran-Ran defeated, Akane explains that she did this for the honor of the Tendo Dojo, and not to marry Ranma.
Regarding their names, Rin-Rin and Ran-Ran is a direct phoneticization of the Japanese katakana for their names, however Viz anglicizes their names as Ling-Ling and Lung-Lung.
At the shrine where Akane prepares to battle against Rin-Rin and Ran-Ran there is a statue of a fox with a sphere. This is a Komainu (狛犬) with the sphere representing the world. These can be found at both Shinto and Buddhist shrines in Japan. During the Edo period, lions, dogs and foxes were sometimes used as guadian animals.
"This isn't the Nebuta float festival." - Ranma remarks about the Nebuta Float Festival upon seeing Rin-Rin and Ran-Ran's crude, mechanical phoenix. The Aomori Nebuta Festival (青森ねぶた祭/Aomori Nebuta Matsuri) is a festival in August with huge floats crafted in the shape of warriors and illuminated like paper lanterns.
Guest voices in this episode are Yuko Mita (三田ゆう子) as "Rin-Rin" and Yuko Kobayashi (小林優子) as "Ran-Ran".
Episode 73: 良牙のプロポーズ
Ryoga no puropousu (Ryoga's Proposal)
While wandering through the forest late one night, Ryoga finds Maomolin, the Ghost Cat, being hounded by a pack of wild dogs. Saving the ghostly cat, Maomolin, promises to grant Ryoga a wish. When Ryoga responds that he has no need of anything, Maomolin learns he is in love with Akane but has never confessed, so he possesses Ryoga in order to help him. Possessed, Ryoga sends Akane a package of cat food, leaaving her puzzled as to its meaning. Ryoga arrives at Fuinkan High as ominous weather moves in. Ranma immediately notice something is off about Ryoga as Akane invites him home. However, possessed as he is, he cannot help his catlike behavior as he paws at panda Genma's fluffy tail and devours fish. While watching TV after dinner, the possessed Ryoga proposes to Akane.
That night dozens of cats yowl on the roof with Ryoga/the Ghost Cat. Akane is not sure what to make of Ryoga's behavior, though Ranma is muted about the whole thing. Ranma falls asleep in class and is made to stand in the hall while Akane frets over Ryoga's proposal and is frustrated by Ranma's indifference. Ranma daydreams about Ryoga and Akane getting married and drops the bucket of water on his head. As a girl, Ranma goes up on the roof of the school to try to see what Akane thinks of Ryoga's proposal, but is interrupting by Yuka and Sayuri joining Akane for lunch. At home Ryoga rubs Soun's back, but the sound of a bicycle bell makes the Ghost Cat reflexively leave Ryoga's body for a moment. When Akane returns home, it makes Ryoga pounce on her and Ranma, having had enough, hits Ryoga, causing the Ghost Cat to come out. Realizing that Ryoga has been possessed, everyone is quick to grasp that this was the Ghost Cat and not Ryoga behaving badly. However Maomolin tries to convince Ryoga that together they can marry Akane. Ryoga runs away, saying he does not want Maomolin's help to admit his feelings. The next day outside of school, Ranma and Akane find Maomolin trying to sell his marriage bells again.
The ghost cat is a "bakeneko" (化け猫) literally a "changed cat". These are often confused for another supernatural cat creature (that has two tails)- the nekomata (猫又).
As in episode 41 Akane's bowl has the piyo-piyo chick from Maison Ikkoku on it. Ranma's, as usual, has the "Ran" (乱) kanji from his name on it.
"I'm sorry, I have a sensative tongue." - Ryoga is literally saying he has a "cat's tongue" (猫舌/neko jita), a Japanese saying for someone that does not like hot beverages. The mug has a kanji for "congratulations/longevity" (寿/kotobuki) written on it.
Holding water buckets in the hallways was a punishment in Japanese schools until the 1970s. The buckets are typically on hand because students are the ones to clean their classrooms, and they would be used for mopping. There was apparently some debate about making children stand in the hallway and as a result miss class lecture that caused this to be phased out.
The guest voices on this episode are Yoshiko Kamei (亀井芳子) as "Sayuri", Sayuri Haneda (羽田小百合) as "Yuka", Yo Yoshimura (𠮷村よう) as the "Ghost Cat" and Masamichi Sato (佐藤政道) and Momoko Ishi (石桃子) as unnamed characters.
Episode 74: 玄馬、家出する
Genma, iede suru (Genma Takes a Walk)
During an afternoon game of shogi, Genma becomes frustrated when Soun refuses to let him wait to rethink his moves. At dinner that night, the two fight over a potato and when Soun eats it, Genma angrily says he has had enough and that he is leaving and taking Ranma with him. Moving into the park and setting up camp, they are spotted by Sasuke who reports back to the Kunos what has happened. At school, everyone laughs when Ranma's stomach growls during a biology class frog dissection. Feeling sorry for Ranma, Akane buys him a big lunch, but Kuno interrupts, telling Ranma he no longer has the right to talk to Akane since he and Genma were thrown out of the Tendo home and have taken to living in the park.
Late that night, Ranma breaks into Akane's room and has to reassure her he only wants to talk about the situation between their fathers. Ranma and Akane agree to try to get their fathers to talk things out when Ranma, who's legs have fallen asleep, stands up to get ready to leave and then slips and grabs Akane's breast. She throws him out the window for his slip up. Ranma and Genma try to make money in the park in their cursed forms with panda Genma jumping through rings of fire at female Ranma's behest. Kodachi finds Genma and Ranma stuggling in the park and invites them to come and live at the Kuno compound which her brother, Tatewaki, immediately reports to Akane. Genma is all too happy to live in luxury while Ranma struggles under Kodachi's unwanted affection.
Meanwhile Kuno is visiting the Tendos and cannot help but judge their food as meager and their dojo as inferior which angers everyone. Later that night Ranma visits Akane, telling her to have her father out front so that he and Genma can bump into one another during their morning jog. Soon Genma and Soun are arguing about past slights as Akane forgot to encourage her father to apologize. When Kuno wanders out of the Tendo home and Ranma sees him, this leads to an argument between Ranma and Akane about him staying with Kodachi and Kuno staying with her. Later, Soun and Genma receive challenge letters forged by Ranma, making each of them think they were called to do battle against one another. The two face off and keep trying to execute elaborately named moves that the other keeps dodging. When Soun's foot crashes through the floor, leaving him open to Genma's attack, he begs for Genma to wait. This prompts Kasumi to remind her father that he refused to "wait" when Genma asked for a moment during their shogi match. Soun and Genma both laugh and soon have forgiven one another.
Shogi (将棋) is Japanese chess with military themed playing pieces that move in similar fashion to chess pieces through a grid-marked board.
The sign on the food cart that Sasuke is eating at says "yakitori" (焼き鳥).
The song Genma sings at karaoke is "The Dog Policeman" (いぬのおまわりさん/Inu no omawari-san), a children's song from 1960 written by Yoshimi Sato (佐藤義美) and composed by Megumi Oonaka (大中恩).
"You stole my cakes from a funeral, didn't you?" - Soun is commenting on Genma stealing his "manju" (饅頭) a steamed, cake like exterior filled with sweet bean paste on the inside. These are commonly given to grieving families as funerary offerings.
@yamaru_Japan pointed out that an animation error (miscoloring Soun's gi pants leg when he stomps his foot through the floor) was corrected in the ani-manga version of the story that was released in a special edition of Shonen Sunday.
The guest voices in this episode are Mitsuru Ogata (小形満) as "Shopkeeper", Koji Tsujitani (辻󠄀谷耕史) as "Man A", Momoko Ishi (石桃子) as "Woman A" and Masami Toyoshima (豊島まさみ) as "Child A". The man and woman are likely the ones yelling at Ranma and Genma for making noise in the park at night. The child is likely one of the children watching Genma's performance in the park.
Episode 75: これが格闘茶道でおます
Korega kakutou sadou de omasu (The Gentle Art of Martial Tea Ceremony)
A wild horse is galloping through the streets of Nerima in the rain, causing Ranma to toss aside his umbrella and become a girl before stopping the charging horse. On the horse's back is Sentaro, heir to the Daimonji School of Martial Arts Tea Ceremony. Sentaro slips Ranma knockout drops in a cup of tea and then kidnaps her, fleeing back to Kyoto as Akane watches them rush past in the street. When Ranma awakens, she is dressed in a bridal gown and Sentaro pledges to make her his wife. Ranma, of course, becomes angry and attacks Sentaro, only for Sentaro's grandmother to reveal the power of tea ceremony martial arts.
Later, Sentaro explains to Ranma that he is being forced into a marriage meeting and must marry the girl immediately despite his wishes, the only way to cancel the marriage meeting is if Sentaro can find a girl who can defeat his grandmother in a martial arts tea ceremony. Ranma is indifferent to Sentaro's plight, but when Sentaro's grandmother says that someone as low born as Ranma could never hope to defeat her, Ranma's pride demands that she answer the Daimonji matriarch's challenge. Of course, Ranma then reveals that she is actually a boy, throwing Sentaro into a panic. When Akane arrives to rescue Ranma, Sentaro throws his attention towards getting her to battle against his grandmother instead. Akane, however, does not have the coordination to compete in a martial arts tea ceremony battle, and so Sentaro reluctantly begins to train Ranma. When the day of the match comes, Ranma manages to keep up with Sentaro's grandmother, but Sentaro throws the match, poisoning Ranma and trying to abduct Akane to be his bride. Akane beats up Sentaro and his grandmother earns newfound respect for Ranma's skills.
The Japanese title of this episode uses the "to be" verb "omasu" (おます) instead of "arimasu" (あいます). This is because "omasu" is from the Osaka dialect of Japanese. We see from the skyline later that Sentaro is from the Osaka/Kyoto region. Sentaro also uses Osaka dialect phrases such as "ookini" (おおきに), which is "thank you" in the Osaka dialect. He also says things like "Ranma-han" instead of "Ranma-san" and "dosu" (どす) instead of "desu" (です) as does his grandmother.
The initial shot in this episode is of a misspelled "Shopping Plasa" sign in English.
"Each occasion comes but once." - Sentaro says "ichi go ichi e" (一期一会), a famous quote is paraphased from a similar saying made by Sen no Rikyu (千利休), one of the most important tea ceremony masters in history.
"Must save cherished Bizen ware." - Bizen ware (備前焼/bizen-yaki) is a type of Japanese pottery made in Bizen profence in present day Okayama prefecture.
The synthesizer song playing while Sentaro gallops away with an unconscious Ranma is not found on any soundtracks.
The pagoda shown is likely Yasaka Pagoda (八坂の塔/Yasaka no to) which was built in Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto in 678 CE.
The impact frame when Ranma kicks Sentaro says "mishi" (みし), a "creak" or "crash" sound. When written in hiragana as it is here, it is often considered a "softer sound" than when written in katakana. Thi sis followed by "meshi" (めし), another impacting sound, though one less commonly ued than "mishi". In English pairing the two sounds might like "bish bash" where "bash" is more familiar, but when heard in conjunction make sense.
"Several schools existed then. But now, only the Daimonji School remains." - this proves not to be the case as we will later establish the Miyakoji school of martial arts tea ceremony is still active in episode 112.
The Japanese tea ceremony (known as sado/chado (茶道, "The Way of Tea") or chanoyu (茶の湯)) is a Japanese cultural activity involving the ceremonial preparation and presentation of matcha (抹茶), powdered green tea, the procedure of which is called temae (点前).
"The Dragon God hasn't abandoned me yet." - It's unclear why Sentaro refers to the Dragon God (竜神さま/Ryuujin-sama). This is god that lives in the undersea Ryugu Castle according to legend. The setting feature prominently in the Urashima Taro (浦島太郎) legend.
What is translated as "proper seating" is called "seiza" (正座) in Japanese. This is a term specifically referring to sitting/kneeling on the floor so that you are sitting on the heels of your feet with the tops of your feet flat against the floor.
Walking on the feet and knees while in the seiza posture, known as shikko (膝行/knee-movement).
Sentaro's grandmother frequently refers to the "next lucky day" (吉日/kichijitsu). "Rokuyo" (六曜) is a category grouping of six different states that can occur on each day of the calendar year. These range from "tomobiki" (友引) which has good luck in the morning and evening but bad in the middle, "sensho" (先勝) which has good luck in the morning, "sekimake" (先負) which has good luck in the evening, "butsumetsu" (仏滅) which is bad luck all day, and "taian" (大安) which is good luck all day. The last is "shakku" (赤口) with good luck in the afternoon, but bad luck in the morning and evening. Sentaro's grandmother mentions at the conclusion of their match that today was a "taian" day.
During his training Sentaro forces Ranma to kneel on a triangular shaped object. This is called an "ishidaki" (石抱き). This is an old method of torture where the victim would kneel on the wedges and have weights placed on their lap to increase the pressure. The onomatopoeia shown, "bishi bishi" (ビシッビシ), is a whipping/smacking sound. The next image shows "pa-kon" (パーコン), basically a "ka-pow" type sound.
The guest voices for this episode are Bin Shimada (島田敏) as "Sentaro", Hisako Kyoda (京田尚子) as "Grandmother" with Mitsuaki Madono (真殿光昭), Michiyo Sasaki (佐々木みち代), Akira Ishida (石田彰) and Mitsuo Furusawa (古沢光夫) as unnamed characters.
Episode 76: 道場破りは女の子?
Dojo yaburi wa onna no ko? (And the Challenger Is... A Girl?!)
Ryoga wanders through town and finds himself in a strangely nostalgic, old-fashioned area of Tokyo that seems almost stuck in the past. He watches as a masked man plays an old card game and children run away at the distraction of a modern radio-controlled car as the man laments video games and changing times. Another masked man plays marbles and continues to lament by-gone days as their leader, clad in an Ultraman mask consoles them and then challenges Ranma who happens to be passing by.
At the Tendo Dojo, panda Genma plays with a young girl named Temari who practices a form of marital arts based on old-timey ways and nostalgic games. As she and Akane face off in the dojo, Temari tangles Akane in the string of a cat's cradle and then she begins to juggle bean bags and sings an old song that makes Akane momentarily think of her late mother. Temari defeats Akane and takes the Tendo Dojo sign, running past Ranma as he makes his way to the dojo after dealing with the masked men. Ranma arrives to find that Akane lost, but more than just minor injuries Akane's pride is badly wounded as she is ashamed to have lost to a child. It is only made worse when Soun asks Ranma to avenge Akane and get by the dojo sign. Sitting beneath the Tendo home, P-chan, covered in bandages, rushes off. Changing back into Ryoga, he seeks vengance for Akane, as he too was defeated by the masked men in a moment of distraction. Ranma catches up to Ryoga and they find the masked men and Temari preparing to burn the Tendo Dojo sign to warm the barrel-bath of the Ultraman masked wearing boss. Ranma asks if Temari will have a rematch with Akane and the little girl agrees to fight tomorrow, but Ryoga is worried that Akane is still too injured to fight again so soon.
In the dojo, Akane practices when Kasumi arives and shows Akane the beanbags and sings the song that their mother sang, which proved so distracting to Akane before. Arriving at a temple to do battle, Akane manages to defeat Temai's attacks by using scissors to cut her cat's cradle and a magnet to capture her exposive razor tops. Temari begins to attack with a cup-and-ball-on-a-string and Akane knocks it away. This gives Temari the opening to once again launch her Bean Bag Hell final attack. Akane concentrates and is able to discern the tossed bags, deflect them and knock them back at Temari, even jumping in to save Temari from a ricocheted bean bag. Temari apologizes to the man in the Ultraman mask for losing to Akane. The masked man reveals himself to be Temari's grandfather, Kumajiro Kaminarimon. The other masked mean reveal themselves as Tatsukichi Komagataya and Torahachi Kachidokibashi all of whom are trying to revive old-fashioned street culture, duty and humanity. Kumajiro apologizes and says that he has placed too much on his granddaughter and asks her to give up praticing Shitamachi martial arts. Everyone encourages Temari not to give up, and Akane invite Temari to train with her at the dojo. Kumajiro tearfully says that Temari will be able to train for the Tokyo Olympics with Akane's help. Everyone is puzzled by this, pointing out the next Olympics are in Barcelona.
The Japanese title of the episode denotes not just a "challenge" but a "dojo yaburi" (道場破り), a "dojo destroyer".
In the beginning of the episode Ryoga wanders through an old part of town and in the background huge towering smokestacks appear. These are the "Ghost Chimneys" (おばけ煙突/obake entotsu), four giant smokestacks that could appear to number anywhere from one to four depending on the angle they were viewed from. They belonged to the Senju Thermal Power Station (千住火力発電所/Senju karyokuhatsudensho) which was decommissioned and torn down in 1963, however they featured heavily in media of the era and symbolically represent that Ryoga has "stepped into the past" metaphorically as he asks "where am I" as if he has slipped through time into olden days.
The card shown by the man in the Hyottoko depicts Moonlight Mask (月光仮面/Gekko Kamen), the first live-action super hero on Japanese television. The card game being played is "menko" (面子) a game where a card is thown down to flip other cards over.
The masked men where masks that were popular in the 1950s era this episode is meant to evoke (the masks are still popular to this day however). Hyottoko (ひょっとこ) is a classic Japanese comedic character, with bulging eyes and a pipelike mouth, and commonly protrayed as a fool. Okame (おかめ) is a homely woman with a flat nose and bulging cheeks. Ultra (ウルトラ) is a mask depicting "Ultraman".
The song playing when the man in the Okame mask is playing marbles is not found on any soundtrack.
In the Japanese original, after watching the man in the okame mask shoot marbles the children run off saying they need to get to cram school. In the English dub this is changed to say they need to go watch Pokémon (which was not in existence when this episode originally aired in Japan).
As the masked men think about the past it shows children staring at a man with a drawing on a board. This is "kamishibai" (紙芝居) a "paper theater". The narrator would tell stories using the illustrations and was at its height of popularity from the 1930s to the 1950s. It is one of the origins of modern manga, as some kamishibai illustrators transitioned to become manga artists with Shigeru Mizuki (水木しげる) being the most notable.
The short jingle that plays when Temari challenges Akane is also not found on any soundtrack.
"Good Old Days Martial Arts" - The term being used in Japanese is "shitamachi" (下町). In a literal sense it would be "low town", but to the Japanese ear it conjures images of a by-gone working class and commercial neighborhood that no longer exists in modern Japan. It is a nostalgic, postive term in Japan, hence the "good old days" translation. This is why so much of the episode makes passing references to cram schools and video games, the things that have taken away modern children's time to play old fashioned games like hop-scotch, cat's cradle, marbles and card games such as menko.
The song Temari sings is an old folk song known to many Japanese of by-gone generations and is often called a "temari song". "Termari" (手毬) is a hand ball, bean bag juggling game, and this song was one of many sung while juggling the bags as Temari is doing in this scene. The song refers to the Seinan War and references the death of Saigo Takamori from Kagoshima, Kyushu. The lyrics vary slightly from region to region. The song title is typically given as the first few words of the song, "Ichi kake, ni kake, san kakete" (一かけ二かけ三かけて).
"It is said that even Miyamoto Musashi feared Good Ol' Days Martial Arts and never set foot in town." - Miyamoto Musashi (宮本武蔵) is a Japanese historical ronin and sword master who has passed into folk tradition as one of the greatest swordsmen that ever lived. He is said to have won 62 duels and was never defeated.
At the temple where Akane and Temari fight, there is a statue of a fox with a sphere resting in front of it. This is a Komainu (狛犬) with the sphere representing the world. These can be found at both Shinto and Buddhist shrines in Japan. During the Edo period, lions, dogs and foxes were sometimes used as guadian animals. These statues appeared at the shrine where Rin-Rin and Ran-Ran battled in episode 72, suggesting this may be the same location, though komainu statues are very common at temples in Japan.
"Aren't the next Olympics in Barelona?" - Temari wants to train for the Tokyo Olympics, referring to the 1964 Olympic Games. This was a nostalgic event in Japan, signifying their post-war resurgance and again suggesting that Temari and the others live in a metaphoric world of the past in their martial arts and mindset. Ranma mentions the next Olympics being in Barcelona, which would have been the 1992 Summer Olympics.
The guest voices in this episode are Minori Matsushima (松島みのり) as "Temari", Rokuro Naya (納谷六朗) as "Hyottoko (Tatsukichi)", Jun Hazumi (筈見純) as "Okame (Torahachi)", Koichi Kitamura (北村弘一) as "Ultra (Kumajiro)" and Momoko Ishi (石桃子) as "Child A".
Episode 77: 絶叫! 温泉バトル
Zekkyou! Onsen battle (Hot Springs Battle Royale)
While in town with Kasumi, Akane wins a ticket to the Zekkyo Hot Springs Race, with the winning pair promised a trip to any spring in the world. Akane immediately thinks that she and Ranma could win and this would allow Ranma to travel to China to remove his curse at Jusenkyo. Mousse and Ryoga win tickets a well, however Shampoo steals Mousse's ticket and invites Ranma. Akane then decides to invite Mousse since he lost his ticket to Shampoo. Saddened, Ryoga practices asking Akane to go with him, but does not realize that Ukyo is standing in front of him, and she mistakenly thinks he wants her to go.
The teams arrive at Zekkyo and find there are dozens of competitors. Ranma asks Ryoga if he is trying to get to Jusenkyo and quickly realizes that Ryoga had no idea about the race's prize is a trip to any hot or cold spring in the world. Suddenly Ryoga becomes serious about competing. The first obstacle is balancing on logs as they race down a raging river while you ankle is tied your partner. Shampoo and Ranma make short work of staying balanced, but Mousse and Akane are soon on the attack. At the starting line Ukyo and Ryoga have immediately fallen, as Ryoga tried to run the wrong way with Ukyo's leg tied to his causing them both to fall. It becomes obvious that the men in charge of the race had not planned for anyone to actually win at the impossible race and reveal that paying for a pair to travel anywhere in the world would bankrupt the town's coffers.
Mousse and Akane quickly make it past the waterfall and then Mousse swings over the alligator as well using his weapons. Ryoga and Ukyo soon catch up as Mousse and Akane get hung up briefly with the alligators. Soon, the inter-pair fighting causes the teams to swap partners with Akane and Ranma joining together. Soon Ranma and Akane's bickering causes them to separate from one another. When Ranma catches up he finds Akane sinking into quicksand as the chainmail yukata and weighted sandles he is wearing threaten to drag him beneath the sands should he attempt to rescue Akane. Akane realizes that Ranma never heard her invite him and they soon forgive one another. Akane pulls herself and Ranma out of the quicksand as they race to catch up with Mousse and Shampoo. When the Zekkyo citizens see that Ranma and Akane are about to cross the goal they carry the marker away, but Ryoga and Ukyo accidentally wander out of the bushes and appear within the goal, winning the race. While Ryoga hoped to go to Jusenkyo, he and Ukyo wind up going to Atami instead.
The game Akane wins is called "garapon" (ガラポン). Many stores have these wooden machines loaded with marbe sized balls in order to give away promotional prizes to their customers. Typically if you spend a certain amount in the store you get to turn the crank to see if you win a prize (denoted by getting a certain color ball).
Zekkyo (絶叫), the fictional hot springs town, means "scream" or "shout".
The music that plays during the imaginary scene in of Ranma and Akane's hands touching while the watch the snow fall is not found on any soundtracks.
Additionally, the song that plays while Akane eats ramen at the Cat Cafe, Ranma and Shampoo pack and Ryoga and Ukyo set off with her food cart is also not on any soundtrack releases.
Ukyo speaks the Kansai/Osaka dialect of Japanese and calls Ryoga "aho" (アホ) for "idiot" rather than the more standard "baka" (ばか).
Atami (熱海) is a city in south-central Japan in Shizuoka prefecture. The name means "hot ocean" and it is well known for its hot springs.
The guest voices in this episode are Fumihiko Tachiki (立木文彦), Toshihiko Nakajima (中嶋聡彦) and Takashi Matsuo (松尾貴司) as unnamed characters. Of note, Toshihiko Seki (関俊彦) is not credited as "Mousse" but by his duck name, "Mu Mu".
Episode 78: ミーが九能のダディです
Me ga Kuno no daddy desu (Me Is Kuno's Daddy, Me Is)
While running late for school, Akane and Ranma pass the Principal who is on a confiscation patrol, taking all sorts of things from the students as they come to school. Ranma and Akane slip past the Principal who gets locked outside the school gates as everyone else arrives on time. While everyone laughs at him, the Principal reveals that he is only hard on the students to prevent them from growing up to be selfish like his son who he has not seen in three years. The Principal tells everyone he spoiled his son, but his son became selfish and ran away, though the Principal's memories of his son are filled with abuse such as tying the boy up and cutting his hair. At school, Sasuke brings Kuno a bottle of sake to have with his school lunch and then watches Ranma and the Principal running across the school grounds. Sasuke immediately recognizes the Principal as Kuno's long lost father. Returning home, Sasuke shows Kuno a photograph of his father that was kept in an elaborate vault. Though the Principal is clearly Kuno's father, Kuno refuses to see the similarity between the old photograph and the lei-wearing, palm tree-haired Principal.
The next day at school, the Principal declares the "Campus Combat Festival", stating that whichever class wins will get a pardon from following the school rules. Ranma immediately decides that his class will enter and he and Akane begin training. When Akane asks Nabiki if she should be training she comments that Kuno will be fighting for their class. That night, Kuno trains for the combat festival and Sasuke admits that he discovered that Kuno's father relocated from the mainland of the United States to Hawaii, clearly indicating that he is the Principal. Kuno refuses to accept this, simply believing that his father has become an important man overseas.
The combat festival begins and a group of people in knight's armor arrive to join the festival. The Principal claims that these are new transfer students, though they are clearly ringers he has brough in to ensure no one wins the tournament. Akane, Ukyo and Ranma easily beat class after class and Kuno fights and wins solo for his class as Nabiki and her friends watch from the sidelines. However the knights are also winning all of their battles. When the Principal shows their school IDs to prove they are students, he drops a photograph of his son, which is clearly a picture of Tatewaki Kuno with his head shaved. The armored men face off against Kuno and soon ovewhelm him. Taking the photo to the Principal, he soon realizes that Tatewaki is indeed his long lost "Tacchi". Kuno, upon realizing that the Principal is his father, tries to fight him for all the abuse he suffered for years. Now the battle hinges between Ranma's class and the knights. They manage to take Ukyo and Akane out of the fight quickly, and the Principal plans on unleashing a cat on Ranma during the fight to ensure he loses, however Kuno cannot bring himself to allow such underhanded tactics. Eventually Ranma lures the knights up a high tension electrical tower, frying them and himself in the process, however his class manages to win. When Ranma takes the school rules pardon, he realizes it is a fake, and the Principal claims that the real pardon is written on Tatewaki's head and can only be used if they shave him bald.
Ranma running with toast in his mouth is a common cliche in many Japanese manga and anime, particularly from the 1970s forward. It is now something of a nostalgic callback to the Showa era.
The Principal confiscates a number of manga from the girl. One shows a frog and is called Mare Mare Marette-something with the last character obscured. She is also holding a volume of Ranma 1/2.
"But Master Kuno, I've been the Kuno family spy for years!" - Sasuke refers to himself as "oniwaban" (御庭番) here translated as "spy" or sometimes as "guardian of the garden" which is technically a literal translation of the word. However, "oniwaban" is a term for an undercover agent that was typically stationed in the inner castle (the garden). They are typically depicted as spies or ninja, though in reality they were typically more akin to inspectors that reported directly to the shogun. Urusei Yatsura's Shingo is also an oniwaban.
It is unclear if the student with glasses that keeps appearing is Kogawa though he strongly resembles him.
The guest voices in this episode are Momoko Ishi (石桃子) as "Female Student 1", Katsuyo Imahashi (今橋かつよ) as "Female Student 2", Mitsuaki Madono (真殿光昭) as "Male Student 1", Akira Ishida (石田彰) as "Male Student 2" and Akio Suyama (陶山章央) as "Male Student 3".
Episode 79: 格闘茶道・家元立つ!
Kakutou sadou ・ Iemoto tatsu (The Matriarch Takes a Stand)
On a rainy day in Kyoto, disciples of the Daimonji School of Martial Arts Tea Ceremony meet with their matriarch to discuss upcoming events. When one of the disciples mentions an upcoming hydrangea festival Sentaro's grandmother says that on the day of the festival she will stand up. This leads to a panic, as everyone interprets this to be a terrible omen, seeing as she has remained seated for so long. Sentaro rushes off and crashes through the Tendo home on his horse to ask for help from Ranma and Akane. Kasumi offers him tea which he graciously accepts, but none of his warnings or tales of ominous omens seem to make sense to Ranma and Akane. Kasumi encourages Akane to help Sentaro and Ranma offers to tag along so he can see Sentaro's grandmother stand up since it seems to be such an unusual occurance. He also says he'd like to conclude their martial arts tea ceremony battle as well.
Back in Kyoto, Sentaro meets with Take, Ume and Natsu, three elder members of the Daimonji school. They show him a scroll of the last time one of the Daimonji school leaders stood up, it was in 1716 when the 9th grandmaster stood. The scroll mentions that everyone was shocked by the act, and a disciple named Bo Ayabe presented the grandmaster with a maiden during the event. The old women interpret that this must have been done to soothe the master and avert some sort of disaster brought about by his standing up. The women believe that a girl must be sacrificed as that is what they think occured in the 18th century for the ninth grandmaster. Sentaro decides that he will offer Ranma as the sacrifice and save Akane for himself.
Akane and Ranma are both served tea in a ceremony and Akane watches as Ranma passes out, before she can react she too falls alseep only to wake hours later as Sentaro tells her she does not have time to save Ranma. Akane insists that she will try, and Sentaro warns her that the temple bell has rung 89 times, when it reaches 108 chimes his grandmother will stand up and Ranma will be sacrificed. He promises to teach Akane the secrets of martial arts tea ceremony, but instead he wastes time trying to hold her hand and trick her into confessing her love for Sentaro, resulting in Akane slamming him into the wall. Sentaro offers her to ride his horse, Tsukikage, to get to Ranma in time. When the horse behaves calmly for Akane she wonders if it merely hates Sentaro, who it usually tries to buck off violently. Sentaro immediately leaps on the horse's back and tries to elope with Akane. Akane manages to steer Tsukikage towards where Ranma is being held and crashes through Take, Ume and Matsu reaching the inner chamber just as the 108th toll of the bell. There she finds Ranma giving the matriarch a leg massage. It seems that all the sitting she does has been hard on her circulation and she convinced Ranma to give her a massage before they have their rematch. Before they can square off however, the Daimonji matriarch decides to punish Sentaro.
Many of the guest voices in this episode appeared regularly in other Rumiko Takahashi anime. Hisako Kyoda is Yukari Godai, Natsumi Sakuma is Mrs. Moroboshi and Natsuko Fuji played Jinenji's mother in Inuyashaepisode 96. The Tea Server is played by Koji Tsujitani who is a recurring background voice in Ranma 1/2 as Hiroshi but more famously plays Miroku in Inuyasha. Of note, "Tea Server" (茶坊主/chabozu), can also mean "flatterer" or "sycophant".
Matsu, Take, Ume and Sentaro all speak in Osaka dialect, words such as "ookini" (おおきに/thank you) and using "-han" rather than "-san" are common Osaka-isms that they use.
The kanji on the doors of the Daimonji manor is the first character of their family name, "大" (dai) meaning "big".
The 108th chime of a bell is a tradition often associated with the new year holiday. This is called Joya no Kane (除夜の鐘).
Sentaro's horse is unnamed in the manga, but he calls it Tsukikage (月影) in this episode. The name means "moon shadow".
As in the previous episode featuing the Daimonji family we see the use of an "ishidaki" (石抱き). This is an old method of torture where the victim would kneel on the wedges and have weights placed on their lap to increase the pressure.
The guest voices in this episode are Hisako Kyoda (京田尚子) as "Grandmother", Bin Shimada (島田敏) as "Sentaro", Chie Kitagawa (北川智絵) as "Matsu", Natsumi Sakuma (佐久間なつみ) as "Take", Natsuko Fuji (藤夏子) as "Ume", Koji Tsujitani (辻󠄀谷耕史) as "Tea Server" with Yasuyuki Hirata (平田康之), Akira Negishi (根岸朗), Mitsuru Ogata (小形満), Toshihiko Nakajima (中嶋聡彦), Takashi Matsuo (松尾貴司), Mitsuaki Madono (真殿光昭) and Akio Suyama (陶山章央) play unnamed characters.
Episode 80: レオタードは乙女の呪い
Leotard wa otome no noroi (A Leotard Is A Girl's Burden)
At St. Hebereke three individuals wearing cloaks arrive and push into the rhythmic gymnastics gymnasium, there they challenge Kodachi and, shockingly, defeat her. That night at the Tendo home, Kodachi erupts from the koi pond to attack Akane when Ranma catches her after she stumbles. Noticing that she is bandaged, Kodachi explains that she was defeated at school and that the Ball of Fury, one of the three sacred treasures of martial arts rhythmic gymnastics was shamefully taken from her. She begs for Ranma's help, even suggesting that he dress up like a girl to assist her (though she does not know this is a regular activity of Ranma's). He refuses and Kodachi departs, leaving Akane's room in a mess of flower petals.
The next day at Furinkan High the cloaked trio arrive to attempt to take the Clubs of Inscrutability that reside at Furinkan and reveal that they are a trio of male rhythmic gynmasts lead by Kimiyasu Daitokuji. Daitokuji explains that when they add the clubs to the two sacred treasures already in their possession they will take back rhythmic gymnastics for men, thus reclaiming it from being seen as exclusively a women's sport. Ranma balks at the idea of male rhythmic gymnasts and Tatewaki Kuno soon arrives to tell them that kendo is superior. He attacks with all of his fellow kendo club members but is soon beaten. Ranma impresses Daitokuji when he catches his ribbon, but laughs when offered a position on the male rhythmic gymnastics team. Daitokuji tosses the Ball of Fury at Ranma which explodes and one of the Furinkan High rhythmic gymnasts asks if Akane and the Pig-tailed Girl might battle against Daitokuji to protect Furinkan High's Clubs of Inscrutability.
That night Ranma watches Akane practicing using the clubs and ribbons and she manages to drop them and tangle herself up, and so Happosai spashes Ranma and insists that she put on a leotard and help out. On the day of the match, Kodachi sees (male) Ranma on the way to to join Akane and kidnaps him, unaware that the Pig-tailed Girl will not be able to help Akane if Ranma is not present. Kodachi takes Ranma home, suspending him over her pond as Mr. Green Turtle, her pet alligator, snaps at him. Kodachi explains that she will happily make her entrance against Daitokuji after he defeats Akane and the Pig-tailed Girl. Ranma manages to slip free of his bindings and escapes, arriving just in time at the gymnasium to tag in as the Pig-tailed Girl as Akane is nearly orbitted out of the ring by a spinning hoop wrapped around her. Daitokuji protests the tag, but the crowd cries out that it is "fair".
Daitokuji begins to unleash the powers of the sacred treasures in his possession. The Ball of Fury is imbued with all of the rage of girls who were so absorbed in rhythmic gymnastics that they never got boyfriends. He tosses the ball and it chases Ranma around the ring. He then uses the Ribbon of Solitude, which is powered by the absorbed resentment of boyfriendless girls, and causes a pink, gummy substance to leak from the ribbon, the so-called "Tears of Resentment". When Ranma steps into this pink substance it glues her feet to the ring. Ranma calls for the Clubs of Inscrutability that Furinkan High still have. When Akane asks what the clubs do, she is told that they too are powered by the negative emotions of girls who could never find boyfriends after being too focused on rhythmic gymnastics, causing their sense of abandonment to seep into the clubs. When Ranma waves the clubs around frogs, spiders and centipedes shoot out but immediately get stuck in the Tears of Resentment goop. Akane complains that this is completely useless as the Furinkan High gymnast weeps and says that it is the best their weak team could manage.
With Ranma trapped, Daitokuji rolls the Ball of Fury down the extended Ribbon of Solitude to knock Ranma from the ring. However, Ranma creates slack in the ribbon and shakes it, causing the ball to reverse course and travel back towards Daitokuji, nearly knocking him out of the ring. The duo battle back and forth with Ranma modifying the Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire supplemented with the Clubs of Inscrutability. However Daitokuji creates a shield with his spinning ribbon that blocks Ranma's attack. Ranma sees a gap in Daitokuji's attack where he looks out from the whirling vortex every so often and is able to slam the club through it, knocking him out of the ring.
Ranma has no time to celebrate her victory as Kodachi arrives to steal the Clubs of Inscrutability for herself. When she tries to get the Ball of Fury from the ring, she gets stuck in the gooey Tears of Resentment residue and Daitokuji and his followers manage to grab all of the sacred treasures. However, the Furinkan High gymnast warns that an old scroll claims that when all three of the treasures are brought together something terrible will happen. Suddenly the lonely spirits of girls who dedicated their youth to rhythmic gymnastics materialize and frighten the boys as Kodachi swears that her love of Ranma will avenge the girls who never found boyfriends.
The object with the streamers and the "へ" ("he" for Hebereke) hiragana on it is called a "matoi" (纏). In the Edo period they were used by firefighters who would climb atop a rooftop next to a burning building to signal firemen where they should come and to warn off bystandards. Today they are purely ceremonial.
The Three Sacred Treasures of Rhythmic Gynmastics are meant to call to mind the Three Sacred Treasures of Japan (三種の神器/Sanshu no Jingi) which are the sword Kusanagi no Tsurugi (草薙劍), the mirror Yata no Kagami (八咫鏡) and the jewel Yasakani no Magatama (八尺瓊勾玉). Respectively they represent valor, wisdom and benevolence.
Daitokuji's ribbon hits a ball with a message inside. The ball is a "split ball" (割り玉/waritama).
The ominous song that plays when Kodachi throws her ribbon around Ranma's throat is not found on any soundtracks.
The brief victory fanfare that plays when Ranma defeats Daitokuji is also not found on any soundtracks.
There is an impact frame when Kodachi steals the clubs from Ranma. The onomatopoeia "goki" (ゴキ) which means "crack".
The guest voices in this episode are Keiji Fujiwara (藤原啓治) as "Daitokuji" with Yoko Teppozuka (鉄炮塚葉子), Yuko Kobayashi (小林優子), Toshihiko Nakajima (中嶋聡彦), Takashi Matsuo (松尾貴司), Masami Toyoshima (豊島まさみ) and Midori Nakazawa (中沢みどり) as unnamed characters.
Episode 81: 恐怖の混浴温泉
Kyoufu no kon-yoku onsen (The Mixed-Bath Horror!)
The Tendos, Saotomes, Happosai and Ryoga all take a bus to the Royal Prince Okura Hotel, a rural vacation spot far from civilization. A rain shower causes Ranma and Genma to transform on the walk to the hotel and Ryoga runs ahead to avoid being seen as P-chan by Akane. While P-chan is heating up a kettle to change back he is attacked by the manager of the hotel. Ryoga catches up to the others who have gotten lost in the woods and brings the manager along with him. The manager guides the way to the hotel which proves to be completely dilapidated.
The manager tells the Tendo sisters that they should enjoy a soak in the outdoor hot spring, mentioning it cures all the usual aliments and adds that it even enhances martial arts abilities. Happosai overhears this and decides he wants to take a soak so he can spy on Akane, Nabiki and Kasumi, but Ranma and Ryoga refuse to let him. However, when they learn the hot spring allegedly can "cure all the usual ailments" they somehow conclude it just might rid them of their Jusenkyo curses. Nabiki points out that there are separate men and women's bath entrances causing Happosai to become greatly disappointed that it the outdoor bath is not co-ed. After the men and women go to their separate sides, Happosai splashes Ranma so he can see her naked, while on the girl's side, Nabiki keeps wondering if the strange sounds they hear are a monkey or other wild animal. Kasumi suggests it might be a bear and gives Akane a rock to smash the creature should it pop out. On the men's side Ranma soon senses something in the water.
At dinner that night, Ranma shares that he thought something was in the hot sping's waters but Soun merely laughs it off, suggesting it was most likely a monkey who had arrived to soak. As the girls get ready for bed, Nabiki tells ghost stories about a woman who was murdered at a hot spring hotel just like the one they are visiting which scares Akane, especially when Happosai turns off the lights and tries to snuggle up with her. The next morning Akane goes alone to the hot spring to soak and senses something in the water. As a black shadow moves beneath the surface, Akane flees and tries to confront the manager, but he is tight-lipped.
In the hotel arcade, Akane asks her father if they can leave as he plays the pachinko machines. Soun laughs and tells Akane there is nothing ominous about the hot spring as he and Genma go to take a soak. Soon however, both Genma and Soun are found unconscious. Happosai claims they merely succumbed to the heat, but Ranma and Ryoga go to investigate and tell the manager that they suspect he invited the Tendos under the pretense that the waters were good for "enhancing martial arts skills" simply to lure them there so they would defeat whatever is lurking in the hot spring. The manager finally admits that the "creature" is Yutaro Yudono, the heir of the hotel. It seems that Yutaro's father died three years ago, having hoped that Yutaro would marry and give him grandchildren before he passed away. In his frustration, Yutaro locked himself away in the baths, but as the rumor about the waters enhancing martial arts skills spread, only rugged martial artists would come, never a young, pretty girl that Yutaro would hope to marry. In his frustration, Yutaro would attack these men, and soon perfected a bath-style of martial arts.
Hearing Akane scream and disappear, Ranma decides to disguise himself as a girl and lure Yutaro out. Ryoga finds Akane tied up in the bushes and rescues her, but Ranma struggles against Yutaro who pelts him with washtubs. The heat of the bath soon has Ranma feeling dizzy, but a spash of cold water changes him back into a girl and Yutaro hesitates at the last moment, allowing Ranma to wrap him in a yukata and pummel him. Once they get a good luck at the elusive Yutaro, Akane is stunned at how handsome he is. Months later everyone returns to the Royal Prince Okura Hotel and are shocked at home much it has changed for the better as business booms. It seems Akane suggested Yutaro appear in a television commercial and now dozens of young ladies flock to the resort. Yutaro is now so busy with girls that he entirely ignores Akane who was responsible for the reversal of fortunes.
The Manager and Yutaro Yudono both debut in this episode. Yutaro's last name is an archaic word that means "bathing attendant" and both his first and last name have the kanji for "hot water" (湯/yu) in them.
This episode is something of a hybrid, it adapts some elements from the above mentioned manga chapters such as the bath setting and some of the gags, but is largely wrapped in an anime-only story with some original characters.
In the hotel room, Nabiki is reading a manga. Though it is impossible to say what the manga is supposed to be, when she closes the magazine it is revealed that it is Shonen Sunday.
Ranma and Ryoga are playing Space Invaders in the hotel arcade.
"Nice and hot, hot." - Soun and Genma are singing a song about how hot the outdoor bath is. This song is "Ofuro Chan Chan" (おふろちゃんちゃん).
Yutaro's name is a pun on a 1980s toy, Oyoge Yutaro (およげゆ太郎).
The guest voices for this episode are Masashi Sugawara (菅原正志) as "Manager" and Akira Ishida (石田彰) as "Yutaro".
Episode 82: カエルのうらみはらします
Kaeru no urami harashimasu (The Frogman's Curse!)
Akane has a nightmare of Ranma calmly slipping away into a reedy lake. The following day she and Ranma watch a street performance where frogs dance and fight for the amusement of the on-lookers. Everyone happily tosses a few coins to the Frog Hermit, the man responsible for the talented frogs, but Ranma explains that he has spent all his money on meat buns. The Frog Hermit takes notice when he hears Ranma's name as Akane offers to make a donation on his behalf. That evening Genma has fallen asleep under a bridge as frogs suround him and steal the groceries he was bringing hom for dinner. During a delievey of ramen, Shampoo wrecks her bicycle when she notices frogs on the delievery box. Ryoga's tent is also overrun by frogs. The next morning Soun and Akane are concerned that Genma never returned and Cologne and Mousse report that Shampoo has also disappeared. When Cologne found the spilled ramen delievery and Shampoo's bicycle, she found frog footprints all over and immediately suggests that this is the work of the Frog Hermit.
Cologne explains that the Frog Hermit has come to Japan to curse all Jusenkyo victims and turn them into frogs. Ranma proclaims that he will be ready, and that evening waits for the arrival of the Frog Hermit. Suddenly a scream from Akane's room draws Ranma to her side where they find three frogs that resemble Genma, Shampoo and Ryoga. Akane is unsure why Ryoga, who was not cursed by Jusenkyo as far as she was aware, among the transformed. The Frog Hermit tries to change Ranma, explaining that he will be a frog instead of a girl, but Akane interrupts the attack. Soon Ranma is battling against the dozens of frogs the Hermit unleashes, but eventually Akane sends him flying when she sees frog-Shampoo kiss Ranma.
Ranma has a dream of Akane leaving him after he is turned into a frog. Having dozed off in the bath, Akane wakes him, teasing him that he was afraid of being a frog when duck-Mousse arrives at the window. Ranma tosses him into the bath and he explains that he has found the Frog Temple on the outskirts of town, the location where the Frog Hermit is holding Genma, Shampoo and Ryoga. Ranma and Mousse keep standing up in the bath, exposing themselves as Akane tries to listen to what is going on. Reaching the drained pond of the Frog Temple, Mousse rushes ahead to try to save frog-Shampoo only to get splashed and turned back into a duck. The Frog Hermit, having changed into a frog, attacks with his tongue, and much to Ranma and Akane's shock is able to speak, even while in frog form.
Unleashing his frogs to attack, Ranma makes short work of them as Akane panics and flails her arms to fend off the amphibians. Soon the Frog Hermit's own explosives leave his frog allies stunned and knocked out and when Ranma asks why he is doing this, the Frog Hermit is shocked that Ranma does not remember causing him to fall into the Spring of Drowned Frog back at Jusenkyo, but the Hermit reminds him of breaking the bamboo pole he was perched on while trying to train his frogs over the springs. Ranma still claims to have no memory of this and so the Frog Hermit attacks, shooting his long frog tongue at Ranma and then throwing his vial of cursed water. Akane leaps in front of Ranma to protect him and Ranma is devastated to think that Akane will be cursed to be a frog. However, much to their suprise, they learn that the Frog Hermit spilled his cursed Jusenkyo water and that Akane, nor Genma, Ryoga or Shampoo were ever cursed. Instead, the Hermit just wanted to scare Ranma for causing his curse, the worst curse one could possibly get according to him. Ranma sends him flying, as the Frog Hermit vows to return the next time he is feeling sad about his curse. Akane smiles as she notices tears in Ranma's eyes and tastes one, confirming it is salty and not the tap water of the fake curse used by the Frog Hermit.
It is very unusual for an anime-only character to make a repeat appearance, but the Frog Hermit returns in one of the final episodes of the series, Nettohen episode 141.
"I skipped dinner to wait for him. What's keepin' that ribbit Hermit?" - Ranma calls the Frog Hermit as "kero kero Sennin" (けろけろ仙人). In Japanese "kero kero" (けろけろ) is the sound frogs make, which also sounds similar to "kaeru" (カエル), Japanese for "frog". Later the subtitle translations have Ranma call the Frog Hermit a "Rabbit Hermit", which he is angrily corrected about, however Ranma has actually just repeated his "Ribbit Hermit" line from earlier (rabbit is likely a typographical error).
The Frog Hermit placees the creation of the Spring of Drowned Frog (青蛙溺泉/Chiwaniichuan) to be 1,991 years ago. Perhaps not coincidentally, this episode was released in 1991.
The guest voices in this episode are Ryuji Saikachi (槐柳二) as "The Frog Hermit" with Mitsuru Ogata (小形満), Akira Ishida (石田彰), Mitsuaki Madono (真殿光昭) and Akio Suyama (陶山章央) as unnamed characters.
Episode 83: 逆襲! 怒りのお好み焼き
Gyakushuu! Ikarino okonomiyaki (Revenge! Raging Okonomiyaki...!)
Ranma is eating at Ucchan's Okonomiyaki as she happily gives him feebies, commenting on how difficult it must be for him to live in someone else's home. Akane arrives to order okonomiyaki for her family and Ukyo comments that Akane is Ranma's
"ex-fiancée". Akane comments on how slow business seems for Ukyo, who admits that many of her regular customers have not been by lately. Walking outside, Akane points to a good truck run by Crepe Joe, a crepe chef who has drawn away all of Ukyo's regulars. All of the students comment about how delicious Joe's crepes are, but Ukyo says he is nothing more than a novelty which infuriates Joe. Challenging one another, Joe and Ukyo get to work on a batch of crepes to take on her okonomiyaki. When they are tossed at one another, Joe's crepes tear apart Ukyo's okonomiyaki and Ukyo collapses to the ground, defeated. From the crowd an elderly monk steps forward and samples Ukyo's okonomiyaki, explaining that while they taste good they lack battle aura.
Sitting under the bridge by the stream, Ukyo realizes that she fell into okonomiyaki cooking after abandoning her womanhood after Ranma ran away. Now that she has found a way to love Ranma, her okonomiyaki has lost its edge. When Ranma tries to reassure her, she asks him if he would be willing to marry her even if her okonomiyaki was weak. Of course Ranma has no interest in marrying her no matter what and gives a non-answer. Ukyo decides that she will train harder and make her okonomiyaki worthy of Ranma. She heads off to a temple to train, practicing her culinary skills in solitude at Manpukuji Temple.
At the temple, Ukyo fears she may have to give up Ranma, feeling she can not make okonomiyaki that is worthy of him. The old monk from before appears, telling Ukyo that countless chefs have come to train at the temple. He adds that long ago a chef came and made an okonomiyaki so infused with battle aura it has remained fresh for a century. Ukyo realizes that this man was her great-grandfather, the founder of the Kuonji School of Okonomiyaki. Ukyo promises to train hard under the monk in hopes of becoming a chef to match her ancestors.
Back in Nerima, Akane and Ranma sit in Ucchan's Okonomiyaki, which is closed without Ukyo to run it. Realizing that Joe will put he completely out of business if they do nothing, Akane spashes Ranma to bring in male customers and then they try to run the store for Ukyo. Kuno arrives, thrilled at the prospect of having Akane and the Pig-tailed Girl cook for him, however when Ranma tries to prepare okonomiyaki he winds up throwing the spatulas at Kuno instead.
Back at Manpukuji Temple, Ukyo continues he strenuous training and the monk tells her to cook 108 okonomiyaki. Soon the old monk can take no more okonomiyaki, begging off that he is stuffed when Ukyo slaps the 108th towards his face. Back home Ranma has accepted Joe's challenge after Yuka, Sayuri and their school friends have given up on Ucchan's in favor of Joe's crepes. Joe goads Ranma into betting that if she loses a duel between them that Ucchan's Okonomiyaki has to become a subsidiary of Joe's crepe restaurant. Ranma uses the techniques she has seen Ukyo use time and again, but is only briefly able to stun Joe with them. Joe uses his crepes to attack Ranma, finally wrapping her up in the Golden Death Crepe. Ukyo arrives to free Ranma and face off against Joe on her own. Ranma can easily discern Ukyo's improvement as she fights with newfound passion, eventually even beaking out of Joe's Golden Death Crepe herself. Using her "Human Okonomiyaki Blow Wild Dragon" attack to encase Joe in a batter-shaped dragon, Ukyo makes him admit defeat. Later, Ukyo happily cooks for Ranma as Akane sarcastically says that it least they can save on the food budget. Back at the Manpukuji Temple, a sushi chef prepares to train under the old monk.
The stone at the temple behind Ukyo as she trains says "Kitchen Knife Mound" (包丁塚/Hochozuka).
Manpukuji (満腹寺) means "Full Stomach Temple".
The Buddha in the training hall is making th "abhaya mudra" showing one hand opened in a welcoming gesture.
"You've done well. Now fry up 108 okonomiyaki every day." -
The number 108 has special significance in Japanese culture connected to the Buddhist idea that there are 108 defilements. The 108th chime of a bell is a tradition often associated with the new year holiday. This is called Joya no Kane (除夜の鐘).
Ukyo calls the monk "Osho-han" (和尚はん) rather than "Osho-san" (和尚さん). The han suffix is used by people that speak in the Kansai/Osaka dialect that Ukyo uses.
"The original Naniwa product, Kuonji School Human Okonomiyaki Blow..." - Naniwa (難波) is the old name for the Osaka region where Ukyo and her great-grandfather are from.
The guest voices for this episode are Koji Tsujitani (辻󠄀谷耕史) as "Joe", Kohei Miyauchi (宮内幸平) as "Monk" with Akira Ishida (石田彰), Midori Nakazawa (中沢みどり), Mitsuaki Madono (真殿光昭) and Momoko Ishi (石桃子) as unnamed characters.
Episode 84: ナンパになった乱馬
Nanpani natta Ranma (Ranma the Ladykiller)
At Furinkan High, Ranma is cleaning up on the basketball court as Yuka, Sayuri and Akane watch from the sidelines. Akane's friends express their good-humored jealousy of Akane that she gets to be engaged to Ranma and Akane quietly watches until Ukyo comes up to towel off Ranma, then grumbles how much she hates him. After gym class, Shampoo waits outside the locker room and tosses a cat through the window, causing Ranma to hurry out in a screaming panic, begging her to take the cat away, even agreeing to take her on a date if she will. Seeing this trick of Shampoo's, Ukyo does the same, holding the cat towards Ranma to try to get him to go out with her. Ranma cries and pleads until they drop the cat on him, scratching his face and leaving him passed out with fright. Back at the Tendo home, Akane tends to Ranma's scratches, but when she puts a band-aid on his nose, he suddenly turns sweet and flirtacious until Soun and Genma interrupt and Akane and Ranma slip away.
Outside, Ranma wonders what came over him, but when he sees Kasumi he becomes flirtacious again until Soun arrives once again. Running off, Ranma is puzzled by his behavior, but each time he sees girls, his band-aid turns pink and romantic feelings overwhelm him. Seeing how happy Akane is, Kasumi asks if she accepted Ranma's proposal of marriage which flusters Akane. A badly beaten Happosai arrives home after being caught by some women and he searches the medical kit for his band-aids, though he finds his box empty. In the park, Shampoo and Ukyo are fighting when Ranma passes by with a hoarde of women he is fliting with. When both girls confront him, Ranma asks them both out, but Shampoo manage to pin Ukyo to a tree with forks and takes Ranma out on her own.
Taking Shampoo to the rowboats in the park, their romantic date is interrupted when Ukyo arrives and smashes the boat. Ranma leaps to safety, but Shampoo falls into the water, turning into a cat. Ranma leaves her and happily carries on with Ukyo instead as his band-aid continue to glow pink. Back home, Nabiki tells Soun, Genma and Akane that she has seen Ranma flirting all over town. Going to check on him, Ranma immediately flirts with Akane, then Shampoo and Ukyo, Nabiki and eyes up some girls playing tennis as well. Soun ties Ranma up and locks him in the dojo as Akane feels embarrassed that she mistook Ranma's feelings for the truth. Happosai decides to go and laugh at Ranma but is caught by Ukyo and Shampoo and admits that the band-aid Ranma is wearing is one of his special ordered from China. Happosai admits that the gauze on the band-aid is soaked in a powerful aphrodisiac triggered by his body temperature. Akane goes to check on Ranma, asking if he really likes the others more because she is too tomboyish, but Ukyo and Shampoo break in, fighting and taking Ranma away. Ukyo tells Akane she should come too if she really loves Ranma and they follow after Ranma and Shampoo as they slip into a construction site. Shampoo and Ukyo fight, but in the process knock Akane off. Ranma leaps to save her, taking the brunt of the impact and knocking off his band-aid. When he and Akane return home that night, Soun, Genma, Nabiki and Kasumi are there to scold them for being out all night.
"Ranma, it bad to lie. The god Enma cut off you tongue." - King Enma (閻魔大王/Enma Dai-Ou) is the god of hell in Buddhism and oversees the Ten Kings of Hell.
The park Ranma takes Shampoo too is Shakuji Koen (石神井公園) in the Nerima ward.
When Nabiki recounts seeing Ranma in town flirting, the restaurant behind him is "Most Barger". This is a reference to the real life Japanese burger chain MOS Burger (モスバーガー).
Shampoo wields her weapon, the sousui in this episode.
The guest voices for this episode are Yoshiko Kamei (亀井芳子) as "Sayuri", Sayuri Hata (羽田小百合) as "Yuka" with Rin Mizuhara (水原リン) and Momoko Ishi (石桃子) as in unnamed roles. This is one of the few times Megumi Hayashibara (female Ranma) is not listed in the end credits and does not appear at all in the episode.
Episode 85: 格闘将棋は命懸け
Kakutou shogi wa inochigake (Shogi Showdown)
At a late night shogi club, Sankichi Uragishi challenges a young player and badly defeats him, revealing the power of Martial Arts Shogi. In the following days he arrives at the Tendo home and interrupts a shogi game between Genma and Soun. Sankichi reminds Genma of the time they met in previous years and Genma cheated him by spinning the board around to claim victory. Sankichi is shocked by his defeat and his life spirals out of control as he believes that Genma is actually a supreme shogi master and not just a simple cheater. Sankichi turns to drink and his wife, Koharu, abandons him. Sankichi demands another game and once again Genma is on the cusp of losing when he manages to trick Sankichi into looking at P-chan while he spins the board around to take the win. Sankichi is shockingly unable to tell how Genma keeps defeating him.
Realizing that he is on the verge of humiliating himelf and losing his wife forever, Sankichi says he will battle Genma with Martial Arts Shogi. Sankichi dons a giant playing piece much to Soun and Genma's shock. When Ranma and Akane arrive home from school, Sankichi inists that Akane looks just like his wife, though in reality they look nothing alike. When Happosai explains that it would be better not to dabble with a martial arts shogi master, black-clad kuroko arrive and beging painting a giant sized shogi playing field. When Nabiki and Kasumi arrive home, Sankichi mistake them both for his wife and the kuroko attack them as if they were pieces on the giant playing board. Sankichi is able to steal Kasumi's groceries and when dinner time comes, eveyone is disappointed in the single tiny fish they have for dinner, which Kasumi cheerfully eats.
Having had enough, Soun challenges Sankichi who promises to battle against them at the nearby temple. There the board is drawn and Ranma, Akane, Genma and Soun battle it out against Sankichi's pawns. Ranma makes short work of them, but Genma is captured and taken off the board under threat of being returned and forced to play on Sankichi's side. When Ranma and Akane clear the board of the other pieces, Sankichi force Genma and Soun into play as his pawns and eventually forces the "beloved wife" outfit onto Akane. Sankichi magnetizes it so that Akane's suit sticks to his back and then he uses he to block Ranma's punches. With Ranma unable to attack, Sankichi calls forth his ultimate attack, "Deadly Shogi Crush" where all of his kuroko try to land on Ranma. Suddenly Koharu appears and wanders onto the playing field as Sankichi suddenly loses interest and decides to go home. With the match seemingly concluded Kasumi calls everyone home for dinner and Ranma dutifully don Sankichi's "king" outfit to carry the still magnetically attached Akane home on his back.
Sankichi Uragishi and Koharu both debut in this episode. The family name "Uragishi" (裏棋士) means "hidden shogi player".
Often referred to as "Japanese chess", shogi (将棋) features many similar concepts and movements for the individual pieces.
"Martial Arts Shogi even felled Shogi great, Yasuharu Inuyama!" - This is a fictional character, not a historical shogi player.
The text on the exterior of the building where Sankichi is playing shogi says "Matsuyama Shogi Club, Accepting Members" (升山将棋会 会員募孫/Matsuyama shoiki-kai kaiin tsuno mago).
"It was at the Tsutenkaku Tower in Osaka?" - The Tsutenkaku Tower (通天閣) is one of the major landmarks in Osaka. The original tower was built in 1912 but badly damaged during World War 2. The second tower was opened in the same location in 1956 and has long been sponsored by the Hitachi corporation.
"A knothole! There, too!" - In Japanese a knothole (節穴/fushiana) is the thing as a "peephole".
When Koharu leaves Sankichi, she takes off her shogi piece and on the back it says "beloved wife" (恋女房/koinyobo). Shogi pieces often have information written on the back of the pieces, but not "beloved wife".
"My loss to you has demoted m from king to gold general!" - In shogi the king can move one space in any direction, the gold general can move in the same way except not into the diagonal spaces behind the piece.
When Sankichi mistakes Akane for Koharu and then knocks Ranma down there is an impact frame that flashing up for a split-second.
Kuroko are (supposedly) invisible stangehands that help move the world towards a brighter influence. They are a frequent sight in Urusei Yatsua.
The temple where they battle against Sankichi and his kuroko is likely supposed to be the same temple from Nettohenepisode 72 and episode 76.
When Happosai explains to Nabiki that Sankichi's ultimate attack is stacking shogi pieces, the top piece in his demonstration pile has the first kanji of Ranma's name (乱) on it.
In the next episode preview, Akane says that the "agency denies any involvement" echoing a similar line from Mission: Impossible.
The guest voices for this episode are Katsuji Mori (森功至) as "Sankichi", Kachiko Hino (火野カチコ) as "Koharu" with Masashi Sugawara (菅原正志), Arihiro Hase (長谷有洋) and Mitsuaki Madono (真殿光昭) as unnamed characters. As in the previous episode, Megumi Hayashibara does not appear in this episode nor is she listed in the credits. Koichi Yamadera is only credited as "P-chan".
Episode 86: 佐助のスパイ大作戦
Sasuke no spy daisakusen (Sasuke's "Mission: Improbable")
Sasuke is summoned by Tatewaki Kuno and shown a plethora of new ninja agents who were sent by Kuno's uncle. Kuno explains that Sasuke has repeated been a failure in his assignments and that should he fail again he will not hesitate to fire him. Kuno sends Sasuke to a payphone and then calls him to give him his mission- to find the Pig-tailed Girl. In true Mission: Impossible fashion, the phone then detonates after Kuno says he will disavow any knowledge of Sasuke should the mission fail. Days later Sasuke manages to find the Pig-tailed Girl walking with Akane and Nabiki and complaining about having to go to the swimming pool as a girl. Sasuke has been waiting in a mail box for three days until Ranma passed by, and now the box is filled to the brim with his sweat.
Following them to the Tendo home, Sasuke watches as Genma and male Ranma get into a fight and spit watermelon seeds at one another, however he become too focused on stealing watermelons for himself after not eating for days and misses Ranma turning into a girl. When Sasuke watches the Pig-tailed Girl go to wash off, he nearly puts two and two together and realizes that she and Ranma are one and the same. Instead he gets stuck in the washing machine and loses track of Ranma once again. Kuno calls Sasuke on the payphone once more, telling Sasuke he only has one more day to locate the Pig-tailed Girl. He arrives back at the Tendo home just in time to see female Ranma and panda Genma emerging from the koi pond after fighting over food. Waiting until bedtime, Sasuke sneaks in and tries to tie up Ranma while she sleeps, but she moves her knee and hits him square between the legs causing him to leap around in pain. Without waking up, Ranma throws Sasuke out the window.
Feeling defeated, Sasuke wonders if he should retire back to the country and open a cracker shop instead. Happosai suddenly appears beside him, pointing out that many of the other ninja that Kuno hired are lurking about, hidden and observing Sasuke's work. Happosai teaches Sasuke a technique to hypnotize Ranma to go to the park to meet Kuno, and the pair follow her as she goes. Akane becomes concerned because Ranma leaves home without eating breakfast. In the park, Happosai tells Sasuke to have Ranma put on a dress, but as Ranma undresses Happosai becomes too eager and jumps on Ranma's breasts, licking wildly and waking he from her hypnosis. Akane arrives to check on Ranma as Sasuke begs for Ranma to stay long enough to meet Kuno. Ranma refues, but Kuno arrives and is kicked into the air. Sasuke goes to the payphone to call Kuno and offer his resignation but Kuno is thrilled that Sasuke brought not only the Pig-tailed Girl but Akane as well. He tells Sasuke he can work for the family fo the rest of his life and then tells him his next target to bring along is Akane before detonating the phone.
The episode's title references Mission: Impossible's Japanese title, Spy Mission (スパイ大作戦/Supai Daisakusen), hence why in English it is translated as such.
"A new spy?" - The term used is "oniwaban"(御庭番) here translated as "spy" or sometimes as "guardian of the garden" which is technically a literal translation of the word. However, "oniwaban" is a term for an undercover agent that was typically stationed in the inner castle (the garden). They are typically depicted as spies or ninja, though in reality they were typically more akin to inspectors that reported directly to the shogun. Urusei Yatsura's Shingo is also an oniwaban.
When the second payphone explodes on Sasuke he says "chudon!" (ちゅどーん). This is a sound effect particularly associated with Rumiko Takahashi. She discusses it a bit in this Twitter post.
"Then please call me 'Shining Prince.'" - After Sasuke asks if he can call Happosai "master," he then asks if Happosai will call him "Hikaru Genji" (光源氏) the character from The Tale of Genji (源氏物語/Genji Monogatari) who's name translates as "Shining Prince".
"It is the most frighteningly powerful of techniques. The Beautiful Dreamer." - The translated name of Happosai's sleep hypnosis technique is named after the second Urusei Yatsura film. Though that film uses the English title "Beautiful Dreamer" and Happosai uses a Japanese translation "yume kugutsu no jutsu" (夢傀儡の術), more literally "Dream Puppet Technique", so in truth the "Beautiful Dreamer" reference is a bit of liberal translation work.
The onomatopoeia impact frame when Ranma hits Sasuke says "ドゴッ" (dogoo/bonk).
The guest voices for this episode are Ryuzo Ishino (石野竜三), Toshihiko Nakajima (中嶋聡彦), Takashi Matsuo (松尾貴司), Matsuaki Madono (真殿光昭) and Akio Suyama (陶山章央) as unnamed characters.
Episode 87: ボンジュールでございます
Bonjour de gozaimasu (Bonjour, Furinkan!)
During lunch at Furinkan High, a blonde haired Frenchman arrives and begins eating everyone's food with amazing speed. Soon Akane, Nabiki and Kasumi all arrive after having received invitations from the foreigner, Picolet Chardin II. Ranma is annoyed when he learns that Picolet wants to marry one of the Tendo girls and tosses a piece of bread at him, which Picolet eats with such speed that it seems to vanish in front of his face. He challenges Ranma to a speed-eating contest after revealing he is a Martial Arts Dining champion. Picolet easily bests Ranma who is very quick but cannot fit all the food into his mouth, chew and swallow quickly enough to match Picolet who reveals he has an enormously large mouth. Because he lost, Ranma is stuck with the 100,000 yen bill for the pricy French fare.
The Tendo sisters ask their father about who Picolet is, and he nervously tells them that over 20 years ago, he and Genma ate at the Charin family's restaurant and were unable to pay the bill, hence Soun promised to offer one of his daughters to cover the cost. Female Ranma steps forward, vowing to step in as the "daughter" to wed Picolet in hopes of learning more about martial arts dining. Soun and Akane deliever Ranma to Picolet's mansion and he promptly kisses Ranma (by placing her entire head in his enormous mouth). At the mansion, Ranma is immediately confronted by the bridal trainer, Madame St. Paul, who smashes Ranma's head when she is unable to eat without showing her mouth as Picolet does. Akane and Soun depart, with Akane leaving Ranma a good luck charm to help him in his stuggles to learn Martial Arts Dining's secrets.
To begin training, Madame St. Paul squeezes Ranma into an steel corset, promising to remove it only when she masters proper dining etiquette. Ranma is taken to a dinner party, but all the other guests are dining martial artists who quickly scoop up all the food before Ranma can eat. When she tries to use her speedy hands to snatch the food away, Madame St. Paul smashes Ranma on the head with a frying pan. Later that night, Ranma is starving from lack of food and opens the good luck charm Akane gave her. Inside are two pieces of what looks like candy which Ranma happily swallows, however Akane actually left Ranma powerful digestive, assuming she would be gorging herself with French cuisine. Soon Akane returns to the mansion disguised as a maid to try to help smuggle food to Ranma, however, Ranma refuses on principal, not wanting to allow herself to eat as it will disrupt her harsh training. Soon Genma appears, having arrived because he allegedly wants to watch over Ranma while she trains, but in truth Genma just wants as much free French food as he can eat. Frustrated, Ranma leaps into the bath, planning to show Picolet his true self, however when he turns into a boy, the form fitting steel corset crushes his ribs, prompting him to immediately change back into a girl.
Ranma continues to struggle prompting Akane, Nabiki and Kasumi to consult Happosai's collection of stolen martial arts books and scrolls. There they find a reference to "Petit Bouche", "small mouth", a martial arts diner with a normal sized face and features that was still a formidable opponent when compared to the montrous faces of the other competitors. Petit Bouche practioners developed the Gourmet de Foie Gras technique as a way to counter the large mouths of their opponents. However, the pages describing the technique are missing from the book. When Ranma asks Picolet about the Gourmet du Foie Gras he merely explains the technique in the most literal way, that he is a "gourmet" and that "foie gras" is a fattened goose's liver, but his shocked reaction to hearing the term betrays that it is a powerful technique. When he tells Madame St. Paul that Ranma mentioned the technique, she becomes worried and insists that they move up the wedding day. After watching Genma steal Soun's foie gras, she belives she may have an idea about the Gourmet du Foie Gras technique.
Picolet (ピコレット) is named after a Japanese toilet/bathroom freshener, while his last name Chardin (シャルダン) is taken from "My Shaldan" air fresheners. Madame St. Paul's name (マダムサンポール) is a reference to "San Po-ru" floor cleaner.
Picolet speaks with a mix of French and Japanese. For instance he says "mademoiselle-tachi", with "tachi" being the method of making a word plural in Japanese.
When Ranma loses to Picolet and Nabiki presents him with the 100,000 yen bill, Ranma crosses his arms over his head and leaps into the air saying "Sheeeh!" (シェー). This is the signature gag of Iyami in Osomatsu-kun (おそ松くん). Iyami is an odd man that is a Francophile, hence Ranma parodying him after encountering a real Frenchman.
"How innnocent, to be frightened by my baiser." - "Baiser" is "kiss" in French.
The kanji on the fan Picolet is holiding after deciding to move up his wedding to Ranma says "congratulations/longevity" (寿/kotobuki).
The guest voices for this episode are Keiichi Nanba (難波圭一) as "Picolet", Yuko Mita (三田ゆう子) as "St. Paul" with Mitsumi Sasaki (佐々木菜摘), Toshihiko Nakajima (中嶋聡彦), Akira Ishida (石田彰), Mitsuaki Madono (真殿光昭), Rin Mizuhaa (水原リン), Midori Nakazawa (中沢みどり), Akio Suyama (陶山章央) and Momoko Ishi (石桃子) as unnamed characters.
Episode 88: ディナーはリングの上で
Dinner wa ring no uede (Dinner at Ringside!)
Ranma awakens from a terrible dream of marrying Picolet, only to find herself wrapped in a full body kiss by the large-mouthed Frenchman. Having pondered the Gourmet du Foie Gras, Ranma goes to the bathroom to train, asking Akane to make sure everyone except Soun and Genma stay outside. To perfect her speed and accuracy, she suspends a number of cold water pales and hot water kettles overhead, ensuring she strikes only the cold water. However, Ranma accidentally strikes a hot water kettle, changing back into a boy and having his ribs crushed by the steel corset. For days on end, Ranma continues this training, never eating but trying to perfect his accuracy. Madame St. Paul becomes suspicious after realizing that he has gained weight coupled with Ranma's refusal to eat may suggest she is trying to learn the Gourmet du Foie Gras.
Akane overhears St. Paul and Picolet discussing the unnatural deaths that the dangerous Gourmet du Foie Gras has produced and pleads for Ranma not to continue to practice the technique. Ranma is looking increasingly gaunt, haggard and thin as the training takes its toll. At the dining table, Ranma shows Soun, Genma and Akane his own spin on the Gourmet du Foie Gras, quickly making multiple slices of watermelons disappeaer before collapsing from exhaustion. Ranma leaves to challenge Picolet as Akane discovers a large slice of watermelon stuck to the wall. Suspecting what is coming, Madame St. Paul begins to train Picolet on the manner in which to counter the Gourmet du Foie Gras. Ranma goes to challenge Picolet, explaining that she must see if he is worthy of marrying her and if he should lose their battle, then he must cancel the wedding and remove the steel corset.
On the night before the wedding a huge banquet is held where Ranma and Picolet will square off in a battle of martial arts dining. Ranma unleashes the Gourmet du Foie Gras, which Akane immediately understands- Ranma moves with such speed that she is able to feed Picolet her own food, slipping it into his mouth as he devours his meal. However, Picolet realizes what is happening and puts an entire plate in his mouth as a shield. Ranma quickly tosses another plate in and passes food into the small gap at the bottom of the two side-side-side plate, even managing to make a tornado of soup and toss it into Picolet's mouth. The battle continues as Picolet lays his face down onto the plate to slurp up his food, making his mouth inaccessible for Ranma to use the Gourmet du Foie Gras technique. Finally Ranma begins to feed the onlookers her food before nearly blacking out from hunger. The last few plates she quickly realizes she is so hungry that she can simply eat them herself, allowing her to win before Picolet can finish his last plate.
As promised, Picolet cancels the wedding and gives Ranma the key to her steel corset, leaving Ranma and Akane to think that he is actually a decent guy, however he shows up at the Tendo home asking for them to pay the bill from Ranma's earlier meal of 100,000 yen or give him their future child's hand in marriage.
There is a blink-and-you'll-miss-it image of Ranma imagining losing the match and being stuck as Picolet's wife and holding their large-mouthed baby.
"Rubber face!" - When Picolet stretches his mouth to one side to avoid being fed food, he actually does not say his technique is called "rubber face", instead he calls it "Hyottoko" (火男) after the funnel-mouthed mask that is commonly seen in Japan.
In the original manga version, Ranma's dramatic weight loss from malnutrition allowed the steel corset to fall out naturally, that gag was omitted in the anime adaptation.
The guest voices for this episode are Keiichi Nanba (難波圭一) as "Picolet", Yuko Mita (三田ゆう子) as "St. Paul" with Mitsumi Sasaki (佐々木菜摘), Toshihiko Nakajima (中嶋聡彦), Akira Ishida (石田彰), Mitsuaki Madono (真殿光昭), Rin Mizuhaa (水原リン), Midori Nakazawa (中沢みどり), Akio Suyama (陶山章央) and Momoko Ishi (石桃子) as unnamed characters.
Episode 89: あかね、涙の水泳大特訓
Akane, namida no suiei daitokkun (Swimming with Psychos)
Akane is chosen to represent her class at the swim meet because she is such a good athlete, but does not tell anyone that she cannot swim because she is too ashamed. Ranma and Ukyo tease, her, telling her that she should confess to her classmates that they should choose someone else given her inability. Kuno looks forward to seeing Akane in a swimsuit, hoping its "high cut" and deluding himself into knowing she is doing all of this just for him. As Akane stands on the starting block poolside, pondering what she will do, the Principal rushes over, assuming she is trying to commit suicide but knocking her into the water in his enthusiasm. Akane flops into the water, coughing and sputtering as the Principal simply watches saying he was too late to save her. Thankfully Ranma runs over and tosses her a flotation ring and drags her out of the pool. The Principal realizes Akane can not swim and randomly tells her that no one will be allowed to graduate if they do not know how to swim.
At dinner, everyone is excited for Akane to try to learn to swim, though Ranma thinks it is all a waste of time to try and learn from the Principal. Akane confides that summers have been miserable as she can never go swimming in her new bathing suits and swears that this will be the year that she finally learns to swim. The next day, all the boys at school gather to watch Akane in her bathing suit and Nabiki sells Kuno a collection of beach photos of Akane. However, the Principal's swim training proves to be madness as he has Akane strapping a boulder to her back and goading her to swim with a giant bonito shark he calls Kamehameha. The principal insists this is the method Hawaiian people use to learn to swim. Frustrated, Akane kicks him into the pool and then leaps in to save him when it seems like the Principal might be drowning and in danger of being eaten by the shark. Of course the Principal lurks at the bottom of the pool with a scuba mask and Akane immediately starts panicing and is on the verge of being eaten by the shark when Ranma leaps in, kicking it in mid-air to knock it out.
Kuno arrives and decides that the Hawaiian style of swimming offers nothing to Akane and instead wishes to teach her the ancient Japanese method of swimming developed by the military. However, Kamehameha the shark, awakens and goes on the rampage again. Kuno tries to protect Akane to no avail and Ranma is knocked into the water, turning him into a girl until Ukyo helps smuggle her out of the pool and changes Ranma back into a boy before anyone notices. Akane refuses to give up and the Principal unveils a swan suit that is supposed to help Akane swim. Akane imagines the suit will be something beautiful, but in reality it looks like a ridiculous mascot costume. The swan costume automates Akane's legs to help her kick, but she winds up upside-down with her legs kicking in the air and her head underwater. Ranma has to rent a polar bear costume from Nabiki so he can jump in the water and change into a girl without anyone seeing.
Next, the Principal puts a mermaid costume on Akane that nearly drowns her until Ranma and Ukyo dive in to pull her out. Akane reluctantly realizes she is unable to learn to swim and tells Ukyo to take her place in the swim meet as she runs away.
The manner in which Akane is chosen to represent her class in the swim meet is a Japanese system/game called "Amidakuji" (阿弥陀籤) meaning "Amida Lottery", it is sometimes known in English as "Ghost Leg".
While Akane stands on the starting block, a song not collected on any of the soundtracks plays in the background.
"The Tales of Ise begins with "Once there was a man-" - The Tales of Ise (伊勢物語/Ise Monogatari) is a collection of 125 waka poems. Though the authorship has long been debated, Heian era poet Ariwara no Narihira (在原業平) is often considered the leading candidate.
Calling someone a "hammer" (金槌/kanazuchi) is a common phrase in Japanese for someone who can not swim. It is difficult to read what is written on th hammer that flashes on screen but the last two kanji are "venerable daughter" (翁娘/omusume).
"Oops, I almost forget Hawaii specialty. Kamehameha, please." - The Principal often speaks in gibberish with random English words tossed in. Kamehameha was the first king of the Hawaiian islands in the late 1700s through the early 1800s.
"This Westernized swimming isn't for Akane. In 1605 at the Battle of Sekigahara the enemy's swimming skills crushed Mitsunari Ishida's army." - Kuno's thought process connects to the original reason swimming was developed in Japan.
When Akane realizes the Principal has been working hard on a swan costume for her, the sound effect "jiiiin" (じ－ん) appears behind her. This onomatopoeia can be both the sound of "silence" or alternatively the sound of someone being "emotionally touched".
In Akane's fantasy she is shown wearing an elegant ballet costume which depicts the traditional outfit worn by Odette in Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake (1875–1876). The pose suggests the character Masami Hijiri, the protagonist from Kyoko Ariyoshi's (有吉京子) 1976-1981 manga Swan.
When Akane decides that if a tsunami strikes she will run into the mountains, the wave and mountain are stylized like the ones that appear in the ukiyo-e print by Hokusai entitled The Great Wave Off Kanagawa (1831).
The guest voices in this episode are Arihiro Hase (長谷有洋), Ryuzo Ishino (石野竜三), Akira Ishida (石田彰), Mitsuaki Madono (真殿光昭), Akio Suyama (陶山章央) and Momoko Ishi (石桃子) all as unnamed characters.
Episode 90: 良牙! 夕日に向かって走れ
Ryoga! Yuuhi ni mukatte hashire (Ryoga, Run Into the Sunset)
Ryoga is off wandering across Japan, thinking about how he constantly runs from facing the unrequited love of Akane, though he vows that he will soon top his wandering and confront his feelings head on. Back in Tokyo, Ranma, Akane and Genma watch a western on TV while Akane wonders why she has not seen Ryoga or P-chan lately. Ranma jokes that Ryoga might be lost in a western of his own somewhere. Ryoga is indeed lost on a farm where he is charged by a bull named Charlie that he quickly dispatches before being confronted by Anna and her grandfather who assume Ryoga is a cattle rustler. He assures them he is not, but then steps on a rake which slaps him in the face, allowing Anna and Farmer Brown to tie Ryoga up and insist that he will be working off his debut for attacking Charlie the bull. As they head back to their farm, they ae et upon by cowboys riding motorcyles. When they accidentally free Ryoga after attacking him, he uses his Bakusai Tenketsu to make short work of them. Anna and her grandfather immediately presume Ryoga is "Wandering Joe", a legendary figure who helps those in need.
Back at Anna's home, Ryoga is told about the Oshamanbe Clan who have been wrecking havoc on ranches in the area. Anna and her grandfather insist that Ryoga really is Wandering Joe, who has arrived to help fend off the Oshamanbe Clan. When Ryoga gets frustated and tries to leave, he cannot find his way out of their house and ultimately relents, promising to help them. Donning cow costumes, Anna, her grandfather, Charlie and Ryoga all go and grafitti the Oshamanbe's cattle and then steal their crops. Back home after a successful raid, Anna fixes Ryoga a bath as her grandfather and Charlie the steer try to give them some privacy.
Ryoga writes to Akane, telling her about his work as "Wandering Joe" and how he is helping protect people. Back in the western town, Ryoga eats noodles at a local pub when he is confronted by Ushinosuke Oshamanbe, a practictioner of "western martial arts". After Ryoga wanders off, Anna is kidnapped by the Oshamanbe Clan who deliver a message to her grandfather, telling him to send Ryoga to meet them at Hell's Gorge. It seems Ushinosuke is the eldest son of the Oshamanbe and their leader. Ryoga goes into battle, fending off Ushinosuke's axes and then being snared by his chain and dragged behind Kotaro, his eye-patch wearing bull. Ryoga manages to fight free and easily dispatches Ushinosuke with a leaping kick before freeing Anna. With the Ushinosuke Clan defeated, Anna tells Ryoga she wants him to stay forever, however he tells her that Akane is waiting for him and runs off into the sunset, tripping into a bucket of water. When Anna, her grandfather and Charlie all catch up, all they find is P-chan, which Charlie tosses away. Days later Akane finds P-chan wandering in the street and picks him up, telling him how much she missed him.
For some reason many names were changed or added in the English dub, with the unnamed grandfather being called "Farmer Brown" (and being changed fom Anna's grandfather to her father), "Charlie" became "Gertie" and "Ushinosuke Oshamanbe" was changed to "Ushinosuke Chumonmei".
The ball with a message inside is a "split ball" (割り玉/waritama).
Ryoga sticking a fish cake to Ushinosuke Oshamanbe face and the entire concept of a western ramen/noodle shop is likely referencing the 1985 comedy, modern Japanese western Tampopo (タンポポ).
The first kanji in Ushinosuke's name is, appropriately, "cow" (牛/ushi).
The guest voices for this episode are Yuko Kobayashi (小林優子) as "Anna", Ryuji Saikachi (槐柳二) as "Grandpa", Sho Hayami (速水奨) as "Ushinosuke", Takeshi Matsuo (松尾貴司) as "Gunman", Mitsuaki Madono (真殿光昭) as "Shopkeeper" and Toshihiko Nakajima (中嶋聡彦) as "Cowboy".
Episode 91: 夢の中へ
Yume no naka he (Into the Darkness)
As Kasumi begins to prepare dinner, Happosai asks for a taste before she gently shoos him away. As Happosai sits daydreaming and indulging in the smell of the beans Kasumi is cooking he dozes off and dreams he is a wandering monk who buries the skull of a deceased girl who's spirit visits him at an inn. In the waking world, Ranma and Akane doze off next to Happosai. Ranma dreams of easily defeating Happosai, while Akane deams of cooking sumptuous food for Ranma, who compliments her endlessly. When Akane goes to the kitchen to fix more food, panties spill out of the fridge and Ranma is suddenly defeated by Happosai, as they both realize they have slipped into Happosai's dream world instead. Trapped in Happosai's dream, Ranma and Akane find him mobbed by young women, living in a bizarre, opulent home and stuffing his cabinets with lingerie. Ranma also finds that hot water does not reverse her curse as Happosai threatens to make her wear lingerie. As Ranma and Akane flee they find a sign pointing to Nabiki's Dream.
In the waking world, Nabiki has fallen asleep as well. In the dream, Nabiki offers Ranma and Akane a way out but insists they pay her for the information. When she points them in the right direction they find themselves back at Happosai's home where Nabiki comes to massage his shoulders. Nabiki has decided the following along with Happosai is the best way to live in his dream, while Akane and Ranma struggle to come up with a way out. Akane convinces Ranma to put on a leotard to distract Happosai and convince him she'll do more for him if he wakes up, but all the dream girls convince Happosai to remain asleep. Nabiki tells Ranma and Akane that if they can knock Happosai out in the dream, he should wake up, but that proves impossible as he promises to stay asleep forever. Soon Genma and Soun fall into the dream after dozing off over a game of shogi. With everyone trapped, Nabiki soon reveals that if anyone gets knocked out they will wake up and be able to wake Happosai. Suddenly Soun, Genma and Ranma start kicking Happosai around like a soccer ball, hoping he will attack them and knock them out so they can awaken.
Happosai refuses to let them be knocked out no matter how much abuse he heaps upon them. It seems like everyone will be stuck in the dream foreve until a huge, goddess-like Kasumi appears in the clouds to tell everyone the beans are ready and dinner is served. Waking up, everyone beats up Happosai for trapping them within his dream.
As Happosai begins dreaming he is shown playing a flute and wearing an unusual basket hat. He is dreaming that he is a komuso (虚無僧), a "priest of nothingness". The komuso were wandering, lay, monastic Buddhists. The flute the Happosai plays is called a "shakuhachi" (尺八). The basket hat he wears is a "tengai" (天蓋).
The inn Happosai says at is called "Yume-ya" (夢屋), "dream shop".
The sign that pops up out of the ground says "Master Happosai's Dream" (八宝斎大先生の夢の中/Happosai-dai-sensei no yume no naka).
Much of the ethereal music used in this episode is not found on any of the soundtracks for the show.
The inscription on the tea cup says "If I don't do it, who will?" (やらればだれをやる/Yarareba dare o yaru).
The scroll in Happosai's dream home says "色" (iro) which is the kanji for "color" but also can mean "lust" or "sexiness".
The guest voices in this episode are Mitsuaki Madono (真殿光昭), Midori Nakazawa (中沢みどり) and Momoko Ishi (石桃子) all in unnamed roles.
Episode 92: 乱馬はなびきの許婚?
Ranma wa Nabiki no iinazuke? (Nabiki, Ranma's New Fiancée?)
Akane is chasing Happosai through the house after he stole one of her bras. Akane tosses a bottle of soy sauce at him, which goes astray and hits Nabiki's white jacket just as she's coming home. Akane is devastated until she realizes Nabiki borrowed her jacket (and a number of other dresses and clothes) without asking. When Ranma returns a rag he borrowed from Nabiki to clean the dojo, Akane becomes furious when she realizes Nabiki gave Ranma a sports towel that she took the time to hand embroider. At dinner that evening, Ranma comments that Nabiki did not ruin the outfit Akane looks best in. Flattered, Akane wonders which outfit Ranma could be referring to before he laughs and says her martial arts dougi. Furious, Akane refuses to talk to either Nabiki o Ranma. When both of them try to speak to her on the balcony, Akane punches it, causing it to give way. Akane manages to flip and land somewhat gracefully, while Ranma hurries to catch Nabiki and safely land on the ground. When Nabiki observes that Ranma saved her instead of his fiancée, Akane is even more angry. Ranma points out that Nabiki is a normal girl who would have gotten injured in the fall, but that does nothing to placate Akane.
Akane angrily says that Ranma and Nabiki should be engaged and Nabiki calls Akane's bluff, telling her that she will take Ranma for herself, stunning the youngest Tendo sister. Later, Soun and Kasumi ask Akane to at least patch things up with Ranma and leave him out of her argument with Nabiki. When Akane goes up to her room, she hears Ranma in Nabiki's room. Further infuriating her, she overhears Nabiki telling Ranma how she has been in love with him. Nabiki continues to toy with Ranma in front of Akane, coming by after he trains to wipe the sweat from him and flirting with him at school as he nervously is unsure of what to do to make her leave him alone. Nabiki sells nude photos of female Ranma and rents Ranma out to various athletic clubs all to make a quick buck.
When Nabiki bumps into Akane in town, she realizes how hurt Akane is over this whole mess and offers to sell Ranma back to Akane. However, Akane refuses, as she truly believes that Nabiki loves Ranma. Ranma, however, is growing more and more frustrated being stuck in the middle of this argument. Eventually Akane realizes all of this is an elaborate extortion when she overhears Nabiki trying to get Ranma to pay her to break up. Later, Ranma overhears Nabiki confessing to Kasumi that the whole thing is a scam. Infuriated, Ranma decides to press Nabiki and asks her out on a date. Realizing that this may get too messy, Nabiki agrees, but gives Akane the location of the the date with Ranma and tells her sister Ranma wants to make up. Ranma plans on getting revenge and embarrassing Nabiki just as he has with her, but telling he loves her publically. Nabiki is too shrewd and catches on and attempts to allude Ranma who chases her into a hedge maze. When he sticks his arms through the hedge to capture Nabiki, he graps Akane instead and confesses his love in the most over-the-top way possible. Realizing his mistake, he grovels and tries to explain, but Akane is stunned by his declaration. Soon she realizes what happened, but the two of them agree to continue their date regardless.
Ranma's bowl at dinner, as usual, has the "Ran" (乱) kanji from his name on it.
The song that plays as Akane holds Nabiki after the balcony collapses is not found on any of the series' soundtracks.
When Akane says she'll even gift wrap Ranma and give him to Nabiki, she sticks a piece of paper called a "noshi" (のし) on his chest. Gifts are traditionally wrapped in this fashion and tied with a "mizuhiki" (水引), a traditional Japanese string made of paper.
The song that plays when Akane overhears Nabiki confessing her love for Ranma is also not found on any soundtracks.
Shampoo, Ukyo and Kuno all appeared in the original manga storyline that this episode is adapted from, however they were omitted in this adaptation, likely to trim the story to fit into a single episode.
The freeze frame image at the end of the episode was later repurposed for the cover of Piyo Piyo's Niji to Taiyou no Oka single.
The guest voices for this episode are Takehito Koyasu (子安武人) as "Daisuke", Koji Tsujitani (辻󠄀谷耕史) as "Hiroshi", Sayuri Haneda (羽田小百合) as "Yuka" with Mitsuru Ogata (小形満), Mitsuaki Madono (真殿光昭) and Akio Suyama (陶山章央) as unnamed characters.
Episode 93: 天道家 消えたたこ焼きの謎
Tendoke kieta takoyakino nazo (Case of the Missing Takoyaki!)
Sasuke introduces each of the main characters as if showcase the suspects in a mystery. Then Kasumi stops off to purchase takoyaki from a vendor on her way home. While cooking she takes a phone call before coming back in and finding the takoyaki is missing. Sasuke explains that this is the "Aonori Seaweed Case". Soun calls everyone to the dinner table to investigate who ate all of the takoyaki as Kasumi explains that she took a phone call for three minutes before returning to the kitchen and finding a glass of water knocked over, the back door leading into the kitchen open and all the takoyaki had gone missing. Nabiki immediately suggests that it was Ranma, who she saw as a girl standing in the kitchen before quickly running away.
Soun instead suggests that pehaps Nabiki is framing Ranma, who actually walked in after she fled and found all the takoyaki had been eaten. Nabiki suggests that instead Ranma was in the kitchen as a boy, ate the takoyaki and was still not full, so he changed into a girl by dumping the glass of water on his head to become a girl with a smaller stomach and feel fuller. Genma belives this must be true, prompting Ranma to admit what he saw. He explains he went into the house to take a cold shower while training, thus turning into a girl. On the way out she saw Akane with food on her face hurrying up to her room after having left a rubber band on the floor that was believed to have been wrapped around the takoyaki container. Akane suspiciously says she is always in a hurry but does not say why she was rushing around. Happosai changes the subject, instead claiming to have seen Soun leave the kitchen eating something. When Happosai inspected the kitchen after Soun's departure, he found a toothpick with aonori seaweed flakes on it, suggesting it had been used to eat takoyaki.
Soun insists it was not him and Akane suddenly notices that Happosai has seaweed flakes on his mouth. Happosai is strung up, but tells a story from his childhood about the Seaweed Thief, the so-called Aonori Legend. However, when Happosai finishes relating his ridiculous story, Genma is seen with seaweed flakes in his teeth. Tied up, he tells nearly the exact same story as Happosai, changing the Seaweed Thief character into the Seaweed Goblin and explaining that instead of spreading aonori flakes on peoples mouths, this creature places it in their teeth to make them look guilty.
Suddenly Soun senses someone hiding in the ceiling and throws his tea cup at them, causing Sasuke to appear. Everyone immediately accuses him of being the real takoyaki thief. As the interrogate Sasuke, he reveals that he was hiding in the ceiling and photographed the real takoyaki thief. It seems Ranma had sensed him watched and tossed the water at him, but did not see Sasuke, which explains the spilled water. When Sasuke lays out the photos it shows that Ranma, Akane, Happosai, Soun, Genma and Nabiki all ate a piece of takoyaki. Each of them slowly departs, making excuses for having other plans. Sasuke tells Kasumi, the only remaining person, that he has one more photo and it shows her eating the extra piece of takoyaki that the salesman gave her. With the mystery solved the Takoyaki Thief and Takoyaki Goblin sit on the roof, lamenting that they did not get to eat any of the takoyaki before everyone else did.
This is the first time estimated ages for Soun and Genma are provided (stating that both are in their forties). Happosai's age is "estimated at 400 years old".
The sign beneath the line-up of main characters in the beginning says "Anything-Goes Martial Arts" (無差別格斗流/Musabetsu kakuto ryu).
"The Aonori Seaweed Case" - aonori (青のり) is the ground up, dried seaweed that is often sprinkled on takoyaki.
We see this sign in the Tendo home a number of times throughout the series, sometimes more clearly than others. There are a number of things that make this challenging to read, that it is kanji written in calligraphic handwriting, that it is written in migi yokogaki and that it flashes on the screen only for a few seconds. Rewritten the way modern readers of Japanese would read it would render the phrase as 敬天愛人 (Keiten Aijin). This means "fear and resepect the heavens, love people". This is a famous quote attributed to Saigo Takamori who lead the Satsuma Rebellion against the Meiji Government (depicted in the Hollywood film The Last Samurai).
"He ate people's takoyaki, yakisoba, tokoroten... even okonomiyaki." - Takoyaki (たこ焼き) are octopus dumplings. Yakisoba (焼きそば) are friend noodles with vegetables or meat. Tokoroten (ところてん) is a clear, agar gelaten. Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き) are savory vegetable and meat pancakes. All of these foods are often eaten with aonori seaweed flakes.
The Seaweed Thief's little red garment says "seaweed" (のり/nori) on it.
"You're the spy for the Kunos!" - Happosai calls Sasuke "oniwaban" (御庭番) in Japanese which is translated as "spy" or sometimes as "guardian of the garden" which is technically a literal translation of the word. However, "oniwaban" is a term for an undercover agent that was typically stationed in the inner castle (the garden). They are typically depicted as spies or ninja, though in reality they were typically more akin to inspectors that reported directly to the shogun. Urusei Yatsura's Shingo is also an oniwaban.
"P-Please wait, Lord Komon!" - Happosai, Genma and Soun are dressed as Mitsuemon and his two samurai retainers, Sasake Sukesaburo and Atsumi Kakunoshin from the long-running television series Mito Komon (水戸黄門). The three are actually high ranking officials who typically disguise themselvs as commoners and root out injustice. When Ranma then judges Sasuke, he is playing the role of Tadasuke Ooka from the long-running television series Ooka Eichizen (大岡越前). Mito Komon and Ooka Eichizen were both historical dramas (時代劇/jidaigeki) that aired in the same time slot on opposite channels from one another. Mito Komon ran from 1969 to 2011 while Ooka Eichizen ran from 1970 to 1999.
In this fantasy sequence with Ranma dressed as Tadasuke Ooka, he changes into the Pig-tailed Girl right in front of Sasuke. Seven episodes prior in Nettohenepisode 86 it was made clear that Sasuke did not know male and female Ranma were one and the same person. However given the nature of the scene in this episode it is difficult to tell if this is real or imaginary.
The guest voice in this episode is Toshihiko Nakajima (中嶋聡彦) as "The Takoyaki Shop Owner". No voices were listed for the Seaweed Thief or the Seaweed Goblin, suggesting they were played by one of the main cast members.
Episode 94: 対決! 乱馬VS影乱馬
Taiketsu! Ranma vs kage Ranma (Ranma Versus Shadow Ranma!)
As Genma and Ranma train, Happosai marvels over a bra that has become the pride of his collection, as it has taken him many years to finally steal it from the watchful woman to whom it belonged. When Ranma is knocked into the room, Happosai's stolen bra drapes over Ranma's face and he rips it apart before rejoining his sparring session with Genma. Infuriated, Happosai attacks Ranma, launching him all the way to the Cat Cafe. At the restaurant, which is closed, a traveling peddler laments he cannot sell his Chinese products to Cologne or Shampoo. Instead he treats Ranma's injuries and offers to sell him the Shadow Clone Insence to help him get stronger. The insence will allow Ranma to spar against his own shadow, which will be as strong as he is.
Ranma purchase the Shadow Clone Insence and the burner and heads back to the dojo. With Akane watching, he summons his shadow clone and begins sparring. Finding the work out to be invigorating, he summons the shadow again and again over the course of the next three days. Kasumi comments on how hard Ranma is training and even Soun thinks he might be going overboard as Ranma looks exhausted. Akane happens upon Ryoga who is camping nearby and tells him about Ranma's new training method. Ryoga offers to stop by and see the Shadow Clone Insence for himself. When he does, Ranma is all too happy to show Ryoga how powerful he has become and arrogantly defeats him. As Akane watches Ranma in the aftermath of his match with Ryoga, she watches as his shadow slips out of his body and Ranma seems obsessed with the insence to an unhealthy degree. In the morning Soun and Genma watch Ranma doing his stretches and notice his shadow does not move in sync with him and then at breakfast Ranma's appetite is voracious.
That night, Ranma's shadow leaves him and raids the kitchen, devouring all the food in the house and leaving wrappers and junk in his bed. Everyone blames Ranma but he is confused as to how this could happen. Later when Akane is in the bath while Ranma naps, she sees him peeping at her, mistaking his disembodied shadow for Ranma. Later the shadow breaks into Happosai's room and buns his underwear collection in the yard. Everyone blames Ranma, but he is confused as to what is happening. On th way home from school, Akane and Ranma realize that his shadow is no longer with him, and they quickly realize what is the source of the strange happenings around the house. Ranma vows to stay awake to ensure his shadow does not cause any problems and Akane even leaves him some homemade rice balls to help him get through the night. However Ranma dozes off and the shadow breaks into Akane's room. When she sceams, Ranma rushes to help her and he and his shadow battle one another as everyone watches in the yard. Nabiki surmises that the shadow is doing all the things Ranma secretly desires but would never bring himself to do, like spy on Akane or burn Happosai's lingerie collection.
When Ranma stuggles against the shadow, Soun and Genma try to step in but find they are no match for black silhouette. When Akane tries to fight the shadow it grabs her, but does not attack. Nabiki realizes that she shadow shares Ranma's desires and feelings and when everyone starts to scold the shadow, telling it that Akane does not like pushy guys and that they are disappointed in its behavior it fades away, resuming its proper place as an ordinary shadow. With that, Ranma throws away the insence and burning so they will no cause anymore problems.
There is a fairly noticable animation style change that is fairly far off-model of the typical character designs in the sequence where Ranma initially spars with his shadow clone.
The sign in the interior of the Tendo Dojo says いろは (iroha). In a literal sense it means the traditional ordering of the Japanese syllabary, but it should be interpreted more to mean "the fundamentals" or "the ABCs". However, to express the age and long traditions of the Anything-Goes Martial Arts school this is written and read right-to-left (rather than left-to-right). This is an example of how Japanese script was uncommonly written in a horizontal fashion prior to the 1920s and 1930s. This is called migi yokogaki (右横書き).
"Gapyon!" - When Shadow Ranma knocks Genma though into the sky after Genma tries to blow him away by waving a fan, Genma makes an unusual sound, "gapyon!" Kappei Yamaguchi (the voice of male Ranma) would explain in an interview that when he was playing Sabato Rokudo in Kyokai no RINNE he wanted to inherit Ogata's "gapyon!". Kaito Ishikawa, who played Rinne Rokudo spoke about Yamaguchi teaching him to use "gapyon!" as well.
"How about this? Once I call out your name, the Legendary Gourd will suck you in!" - The gourd is an item from the Chinese legend The Journey to the West and weilded by two demonic brothers Ginkaku and Kinkaku. In the story the crimson gourd (紅葫蘆/benihisago) can be used to suck in anyone who's name is said. Similar versions of the gourd have appeared in Dragon Ball and Naruto.
The guest voices for this episode are Midori Nakazawa (中沢みどり) as "Woman A" and Toshihiko Nakajima (中嶋聡彦) as the "Traveling Peddler". This is on of the few episodes where Megumi Hayashibara, the voice of female Ranma, makes no appearance and is not credited.
