I Hate Men!
Episode 2 of Ranma 1/2 begins with Genma telling Ranma he’ll be attending the same school Akane’s going to. Nabiki and Akane walk passed Ranma and Genma. Nabiki suggests Akane go to school with Ranma, much to Akane’s dissatisfaction.
Akane and Ranma travel to school together. She tells Ranma not to act like they know each other. Ranma says he doesn’t plan to. He calls Akane a violent person and Genma arrives to argue with him. Ranma knocks Genma into a river.
Genma transforms into a panda and he and Ranma fight. Ranma sends Genma flying into the sky. Ranma returns to Akane’s side and laughs. An elderly woman splashes him with water and Ranma transforms into a girl. Ranma wants to go home because he refuses to attend school as a girl.
Akane understands and plans to help Ranma transform back. While Akane speaks with the elderly woman, Ranma reflects on her day. Then, Dr. Tofu arrives and startles Ranma with his skeleton specimen. Akane greets Tofu. Meanwhile, Ranma uses the water to turn into a guy again.
Ranma and Akane travel to school. Akane tells Ranma Tofu is a chiropractor. Ranma is more interested in Tofu’s skills. Akane tells Ranma she visits him a lot for treatment purposes. Ranma notices Akane’s slightly infatuated with Tofu and asks why.
Akane says she still despises men. Then, several male classmates rush at Ranma and Akane. Akane fights the men and Ranma, Nabiki, and Nabiki’s friends observe her fight with them from afar. We learn through Nabiki’s friend that Akane always fights with the guys in the morning.
After Akane defeats the boys, Tatewaki greets her. Tatewaki believes the boys want to defeat Akane because it’ll allow them to request a date with her. Tatewaki wants to challenge Akane next and Ranma gets involved. Tatewaki questions Ranma about his affiliation with Akane.
Ranma doesn’t give Tatewaki a great response. Tatewaki shares more details about himself with Ranma. He tells Ranma he’s the Kendo Club’s undefeated captain or the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High School. After that, Ranma tells Tatewaki he’s living with Akane and her folks.
Ranma shares details about his martial arts school. Tatewaki attacks Ranma, but Ranma dodges his assault. Ranma tells Tatewaki that he’ll fight him. Tatewaki and Ranma clash and Tatewaki has a tough time harming Ranma. Ranma gets in Tatewaki’s face after Tatewaki assumes Ranma and Akane have something going on.
Ranma ensures Tatewaki that he isn’t interested in Akane. Then, it starts raining and Ranma uses a finger technique on Tatewaki. Genma arrives and sends Tatewaki flying into the sky. At the same time, Tatewaki grabs Ranma and heads to the school’s PE Equipment storage room. Ranma is a girl because of the rain.
Ranma believes she would’ve won if Genma hadn’t interfered. Then, Akane arrives and tells Ranma she got a bruise from Tatewaki’s kendo stick. Genma pours water on Ranma and turns her into a boy. At the same time, Akane argues Ranma and Tatewaki’s battle would’ve ended in a draw.
After that, Ranma and Akane head to class. The teacher introduces Ranma to the class. He tells Ranma and Akane to stand outside the classroom because they are late. Ranma and Akane discuss their situation. Meanwhile, Nabiki tells Tatewaki that Ranma is Akane’s fiancé.
Tatewaki yells and his teacher tells him to stand in the hallway. Tatewaki grabs his garment, kendo sticks, and buckets and heads to the hallway. Meanwhile, Akane and Ranma discuss the former’s ongoing battles with Tatewaki. Akane says she wins every time and Ranma believes fighting girls will rust anyone’s skills.
Ranma refuses to fight Akane because he doesn’t fight girls seriously. Akane threatens to splash Ranma with water so they can fight as girls. Tatewaki arrives to fight Ranma. He’s not happy that Ranma and Akane are engaged. Ranma and Akane’s classmates hear Tatewaki’s remarks.
They try interviewing Akane and Ranma about their engagement. Ranma entices Tatewaki to follow him. He wants to fight in a better location. Tatewaki complies. Ranma and Tatewaki jump out the window and land in the school’s swimming pool. Ranma turns into a girl again.
Tatewaki’s unconscious so Ranma tries using him to hide himself from the other students. Goofy shenanigans occur between the two. Ranma slams Tatewaki to the ground and departs from the area to avoid being spotted. Tatewaki reflects on what happened.
He argues Ranma fled the scene. Akane spots Ranma in a tree. Ranma mocks Akane and Akane threatens to dispose of the container filled with the water she needs to become normal. Tatewaki enters the area. Akane hands Ranma the water container. Akane challenges Tatewaki to a fight.
She hopes Ranma will return to normal soon. Akane flings Tatewaki toward Ranma but Ranma hasn’t returned to normal yet. Ranma challenges Tatewaki to a fight. Tatewaki accepts and vows to request a date from Ranma if he wins. Ranma defeats Tatewaki.
She tells Tatewaki that Ranma is stronger than her. Ranma says this to hide her identity. She and Akane head home after school concludes. We flash-forward in time. Ranma (who is a boy again) is training with Genma. Meanwhile, Nabiki and Akane continue discussing the latter’s qualms with Ranma.
Some time passes. Nabiki chats with Tatewaki about the pig-tailed girl (Ranma’s female identity). Tatewaki writes a letter and wants Nabiki to deliver it to the pig-tailed girl. Nabiki delivers the letter to Ranma. Ranma learns Tatewaki wants the pig-tailed girl to meet him at a specific location.
Ranma heads to the location as his female self. Tatewaki charges at Ranma and gives her flowers. He declares his love for Ranma and departs. The episode ends with Ranma turning to dust.
The Episode Review
Ranma and Akane get into some funny school mischief in this week’s chapter of Ranma 1/2. As with Urusei Yatsura, Ranma 1/2 contains the same style of humor Rumiko Takahashi is known for implementing in her stories. From hilarious misunderstandings and wonderful slapstick, this episode will bring a smile to most fans’ faces.
Additionally, Ranma 1/2 introduces viewers to interesting characters like Tatewaki. Seeing him go from Ranma’s rival to his lover was strange yet amusing. It’ll make audiences wonder how things will go once Tatewaki uncovers the truth about Ranma’s gender-swapping abilities.
New characters aside, the episode delivers wonderful action scenes. Seeing Ranma and Akane hold their own in fights was astonishing from beginning to end. Mappa Studios did a wonderful job of capturing what fans loved about the original series.
While some scenarios in this episode will make viewers question the authenticity of things, others may not find those segments bothersome. But all in all, this was a fun follow-up chapter of Ranma 1/2.
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