Season
overview:
Series Director Tomomi Mochizuki had previously worked on the Maison Ikkoku Kanketsu-hen and Kimagure Orange Road, but his most celebrated work is Umi ga Kikoeru (I Can Hear the Sea) which is an excellent film he directed for Studio Ghibli. Additionally Tsutomu Shibayama also served as director for only the first season before exiting to move to work on Doraemon projects and Chibi Maruko-chan in 1990. The first season is considered by many fans to be the high watermark in quality. The stories stayed very close to Takahashi's original vision with added artistic flourishes and beautiful background shots. In English, the first season was marketed as "Digital Dojo".
Episode 1: 中国から来たあいつ! ちょっとヘン!!
Chuugoku kara kita aitsu! Chotto hen!! (The Strange Stranger from China)
This marks the introduction of the Saotomes and Tendos. Akane is nominated by her sisters to become Ranma's fiancée after discovering his curse. After seeing one another naked in the bath Akane's initial kindness towards (female) Ranma immediately disappears. Ranma and Genma recount how they became cursed at Jusenkyo while on a training trip to China.
"Yapapa, yapapa, iishanten..." - Iishanten (ーシャンテン) is the state of a hand in mahjong. When you are in iishanten you are one tile away from tenpai (テンパイ), which is itself one tile away from a winning hand.
As the opening shot pans down the telephone pole we see a sign that says "orthopedic clinic" (骨つき医院/honestuki iin). This is probably a sign for Dr. Tofu's Clinic.
When Genma emerges from the alleyway and everyone is shocked to see a panda, a number of people stammer through the wonder "panda". The man in the shop with the little girl holding the panda balloon is of note due to the shop sign behind him. It says "Pan Dango" (パン ダンゴ) which means "Bread Dumplings". However his body obscures part of the sign so that it reads simply "Pan-da" (パンダ).
The fish in the Tendo family garden pond are koi fish (鯉). This particular breed are "kohaku" known for their red and white patterning.
The sign outside the Tendo home reads "Tendo Dojo Anything-Goes Martial Arts" (天道道場 無差別格闘流/Tendo Dojo), or more clunkly and literal, "Indiscriminate Hand-to-Hand Style".
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".
As Nabiki walks out of the dojo after speaking with Akane we see the sign above the entrance that says 館武天. 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). Consequently, despite being written 館武天 in a modern fashion it would be written in the reverse direction and read left-to-right today: 天武館 (Tenbukan). Tenbukan is a term that is often associated with martial arts that does have a particularly literal meaning. The kanji mean "heaven warrior building", you see the term used with various dojo names or martial arts style names somewhat regularly.
The petals that are fluttering through the air are cherry blossoms. This episode aired in April and cherry blossoms are often a symbol of springtime in Japan.
"You study kenpo, right?" - Kenpo (拳法) is a Chinese style of martial arts.
When Kasumi takes Ranma upstairs to her room there is a bit of calligraphy on the wall for decoration in Ranma's new room. It says "earth" (地/chi).
The sign on the bathroom door says "knock!" (ノックさよ！/nokku sa yo!).
"It was in the Bayankala Range, Quinghai Province..." - Now known as the "Bayan Har Mountains" this range of mountains is in northwestern China. Quinghai province is one of the most rural provinces in China.
Jusenkyo (呪泉郷) is written with kanji meaning "cursed spring village".
The signs that the Jusenkyo Guide holds up give the names of the cursed springs that Genma and Ranma fall into. For Genma it says "Shonmaonīchuan" 熊猫溺泉 (bear cat drown spring [bear cat is the combined kanji for "panda"]). For Ranma it is "Nyannichuan" 娘溺泉 (girl drown spring).
When Akane returns to bathe again the camera pans over a skin with the label TQTQ. This obscuring a true bathroom fixture manufacturing company, TOTO. TOTO manufacture toilets and bidets as well as sinks.
Playing male Ranma served as voice actor Kappei Yamaguchi's debut. Yamaguchi would go on to play many notable roles and be a recurring player in every subsequent Rumiko Takahashi anime adaptation. After Ranma 1/2 he will go on to play Inuyasha in Inuyasha and Sabato Rokudo in Kyokai no RINNE.
Episode 2: 遊びじゃないのよ学校は
Asobi ja nai no yo gakkou ha (School is No Place for Horsing Around)
Genma informs Ranma that he will be attending school with Akane and Nabiki at Furinkan High. Ranma and Akane argue on their way to school where Ranma is accidently splashed. Akane and Ranma stop by Dr. Tofu's clinic for some hot water. Ranma realizes Akane likes Dr. Tofu. When they arrive at school, Akane must fight her way through all the boys trying to ask her out. Tatewaki Kuno and Ranma begin their rivalry and Akane explains that Kuno is the one that told the students whomever could defeat her in combat could date her.
In a interview in August 2022 between Noriko Hidaka (Akane), Kappei Yamaguchi (male Ranma) and Mayumi Tanaka (Urusei Yatsura'sRyunosuke), Tanaka mentioned recording an audition in hopes of playing both male and female Ranma. This was mentioned by Shigeo Kubota, Takahashi's first Ranma 1/2 era editor. Kubota said despite being the person that would have passed the audtion along to Takahashi at the time, he never received the audition tape.
"The sound of the bell at Gion echoes the impermanence of all things." - Kuno's quote after he tosses a rose to Akane is a a passage from The Tale of the Heike (平家物語/Heike Monogatari) from approximately 1330 CE. The full quote is "The sound of the Gion Shoja bells echoes the impermanence of all things; the color of the sala flowers reveals the truth that the prosperous must decline."
Episode 3: いきなり愛の嵐ちょっと待ってョ
Ikinari ai no arashi... chotto matte yo (A Sudden Storm of Love)
Kuno and Ranma fall into Furinkan High's swimming pool while fighting. This is Kuno's first meeting with "The Pigtailed Girl," Ranma's female version. Akane fights Kuno to keep him distracted while Ranma tries to change back into a boy. Ranma (girl) beats Kuno and he immediately becomes infatuated with her. Nabiki delivers a message from Kuno addressed to female Ranma, and when Ranma meets Kuno for what he believes is a fight, Kuno confesses his love to female Ranma.
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.
When Genma goes to use the bathtub after Ranma splashes him with water there is a green item rolled up with the sign "do not use" written on it. This is the shutter-style bathtub cover (風呂ふた/furofuta).
The sumo wrestler that attacks Akane at the start of the school day says "doskoi" (which is translated as "slam" in the subtitles). "Doskoi" (どすこい) is an exclamation made by sumo wrestlers, that does not have a particularly literal translation other than a shout of exclamation/excitement that is associated with the sport.
"Let's dance to the Oklahoma Mixer of love..." - The dance club member that attacks Akane mentions the Oklahoma Mixer (オクラホマミキサー). This is a dance performed to the American song "Turkey in the Straw". The song that is not well known in America anymore, but was taught in Japanese physical education classes following the occupation post-World War II. You can watch it being performed here.
"The countryside lies in ruins and yet the mountains and rivers remain as they were." This is a line from "Spring View" (春望/Chun Wang) a Chinese poem written by Du Fu (杜甫) written in 755 CE.
"Pride goeth before a fall" is a proverb from the Bible (Proverbs 16:18).
"It shows that all which prospers must also decline." A comment on the impermamance of the world. This is a famous Buddhist saying (盛者必衰/Jousha hissui) which can also be found in referenced in Heikei Monogatari (平家物語) and volume two of Nin no Ugyo (仁王経).
"What happened to your wooden stick?" - Ranma literally asks what happened to Kuno's "bokuto" (木刀) which is his wooden training sword. This is the proper name for it.
Episode 4: 乱馬とらんま? 誤解がとまらない
Ranma to Ranma? Gokai ga tomaranai (Ranma and Ranma? If Its Not One Thing, It's Another)
Ranma has a nightmare about Kuno confessing his love. Nabiki talks to Kuno while he is in the nurse's office and decides to take some photos of Ranma and Akane to sell to Kuno. Kuno invites Nabiki to lunch to get her to deliver a doll to Ranma. Nabiki sells her photos to Kuno for ¥1000 each. Nabiki then tells Kuno that "The Pigtailed Girl" belongs to Ranma body and soul.
As Akane is lifting weights in front of the dojo as Nabiki photographs her we see the sign above the entrance that says 館武天. However, to express the age and long traditions of the Anything Goes Martial Arts school this is written right-to-left 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). Consequently, despite being written 館武天 in a modern fashion it would be written the reverse: 天武館 (Tenbukan). Tenbukan is a term that is often associated with martial arts that does have a particularly literal meaning. The kanji mean "heaven warrior building", you see the term used with various dojo names or martial arts style names somewhat regularly.
"Hello, it is spring. What glories lie in store?" - Kuno's letter to Nabiki begins with a "seasonal word" (季語/kigo), this is typical in Japanese letter writing and haiku.
After meeting with Kuno at the cafe Toramaru (とら丸) where she eats a dessert bean soup (zenzai/ぜんざい, made with beans and mochi rice cakes or dango rice flour dumplings), Nabiki asks to be treated to some spaghetti. This takes place as a restaurant called "Casserole" (キャセロール).
The song that plays at Casserole during Nabiki and Kuno's meeting is a mystery we have been trying to unravel. The song is not available on any of the series' soundtracks unfortunately. You can read more about our attempts here.
When Nabiki asks for ice cream the sign on the restaurant says "三十一" (31). This is likely meant to suggest this is a Baskin-Robbins who are known for their thirty-one flavors of ice cream.
When Kuno is told he should have the doll delivered to Ranma he pulls out an ink stone (硯/suzuri) and ink stick to begin writing his letter.
In Kuno's performance about what he imagines male Ranma has done to female Ranma a small flower falls at the end. This is symbolic of female Ranma's "loss of innocence" (or more appropriately her "deflowering").
Episode 5: 骨まで愛して? あかね恋の複雑骨折
Hone made aishite? Akane no koi no fukuzatsu kossetsu (Love Me To The Bone! The Compound Fracture of Akane's Heart)
After Akane injures Soun, Kasumi makes her promise never to strike someone in anger again. After Ranma cracks a joke about Akane's tomboyish behavior, she quickly breaks her promise and injures Ranma. Dr. Tofu repairs Ranma's contusions, but Akane ends up having to carry him home after his legs go out. The male students at Furinkan High stop fighting Akane after they realize Ranma's beaten Kuno. Akane returns a book Kasumi borrowed to Dr. Tofu, where they find Genma working. It is revealed that Tofu loves Kasumi.
In this episode we see the debut of Dr. Tofu. He is played by Yuuji Mitsuya, who was likely cast because he played Noriko Hidaka (Akane)'s love interest in the anime Touch. Similar casting is done for Takahashi's next anime, Inuyasha where Noriko Hidaka is cast as Kikyo to Kappei Yamaguchi (Ranma)'s Inuyasha.
The signs outside of Dr. Tofu's office say "骨接ぎ" (honetsugi/chiropractor) and "はり/灸" (hari/kyu) which is "accupuncture/moxibustion". Moxibustion is the burning of mugwort leaves close to the skin, a traditional form of Chinese medicine that is supposed to aid healing and is often used in conjunction with accupuncture.
"I thought we were having nikujaga tonight." - Nikujaga (肉じゃが) is meat and potato stew.
After Akane pours hot water on Ranma when Soun sees her topless we see them eating their breakfast. Akane has a bow with the baby chick made famous by Kyoko Otonashi on it, while Ranma's bowl has "乱" (Ran) the first character in his name.
The book Kasumi borrowed from Dr. Tofu is entitled, "The Vital Spots of the Human Body" (人体の急所/Jintai no kyuusho).
Episode 6: あかねの失恋だってしょうがないじゃない
Akane no shitsuren Datte shouganai ja nai (Akane's Lost Love... These Things Happen, You Know)
Dr. Tofu spaces out at the sight of Kasumi and inadvertently injures Ranma's neck. Akane gets depressed about Tofu and Kasumi, so Ranma tries to make her feel better. Ranma and Akane eat burgers in the park, while Akane explains to Ranma how long Tofu has liked Kasumi. Genma recounts the time he broke a girl's heart, and Ranma tells Akane she is cute when she smiles.
The old woman who is often seen scattering water in front of her home makes her first appearance in this episode. Her eyes are drawn in the same fashion that Takahashi drew Soichiro's eyes in Maison Ikkoku.
The magazine the old woman in Dr. Tofu's office is reading is "Women's Eight" (女性エイト/Josei Eito).
We see Ranma and Akane reflected in a street mirror. These are common in Japan where narrow alleys and roads can sometimes be impossible to see around when making a turn in a vehicle.
Akane and Ranma get hamburgers from a restaurant with an upside down McDonald's logo. This is WcDonald's which is seen frequently in her later series such as Inuyasha and Kyokai no RINNE.
The magazine Genma was reading, Monnm is a reference to the Japanese women's magazine Non-no, which began publication in 1971.
The other actors appearing in minor roles in this episode include: Koichi Yamadera as "store owner" (主人), Reiko Suzuki as the old woman, Fumihiko Tachiki as Mr. Zen and Yuko Kobayashi as Atsuko.
Episode 7: 登場! 永遠の迷い子・良牙
Toujou! Eien no mayoigo ・ Ryoga (Enter Ryoga! The Eternal "Lost Boy")
Ryoga stops a wild boar from rampaging through Shikoku. After many days of travelling he finally makes his way to Tokyo. Ranma has trouble remembering who Ryoga is, until Ryoga reminds him of the fight they never had due to Ryoga getting lost. Ranma tries to give Ryoga some bread to replace all that he had taken from Ryoga in junior high, but Ryoga insists that Ranma has put him through hell and that their grudge is much deeper than Ranma beating him out for bread at their old school. When Ryoga tries to fight Ranma, he rampages through Furinkan High, but becomes confused and gets lost again and finds himself back in Shikoku.
Ryoga's appearance as he wanders through the sand dunes wearing a hooded cloak is likely a visual homage to Kenshiro from Fist of the North Star (北斗の拳/Hokuto no Ken).
"You're in Shikoku." - Shikoku is 750 kilometers from Tokyo, about a 10 hour drive.
"Then it's... Hokkaido?" - Hokkaido is 1,281 kilometers from Tokyo, about an 18 hour drive. Ryoga would have had to physically pass near Tokyo to arrive in Hokkaido from Shikoku. We see the farmer with his cow in Hokkaido which is known for its quality milk and dairy farms.
"That road connects to the Seikan tunnel." - The Seikan tunnel (青函トンネル) runs beneath the sea floor and is a shinkansen tunnel connecting the main island (Honshu) with the northern island of Hokkaido. It is the longest undersea tunnel in the world at 54 kilometers.
Genma and Soun are playing shogi (将棋) which is often called a Japanese version of chess.
The empty lot where Ryoga and Ranma were supposed to meet for their fight has a stack of large pipes in it. These are known as dokan (土管). Dokan can be seen frequently in manga and anime, most prominently in Doraemon (ドラえもん) as a playground for Nobita and his friends. Dokan are leftover sewer pipes from the construction boom after the post-World War II Japanese Economic Miracle. They also served as the inspiration for the warp pipes in Super Mario Bros..
"What? No, this is Enoshima." "Don't be absurd! You're in Asakusa!" "Look around you! This is Yokohama!" - Enoshima is 53 kilometers south of Tokyo. Asakusa is within the larger Tokyo megalopolis but still roughly 25 kilometers from the city center. We then see Tokyo Tower and Studio Alta, a shopping mall area in front of Shinjuku Station. Yokohama is about 47 kilometers south of Tokyo (slightly north of Enoshima).
"It's bread." - Dr. Tofu's joke here is that he notices Genma has bread in his paw and says "it's bread" (パンだ。/Pan da.) which sounds like the animal name "Panda" (パンダ).
Beside the main cast, the other voices listed as appearing (without roles assigned) in this episode include: Ikuya Sawaki, Atsuko Mine, Fumihiko Tachiki, Tomohiro Nishimura, Satohiko Nakajima and Mitsuru Ogata.
Episode 8: 学校は戦場だ! 対決 乱馬VS良牙
Gakkou wa senjou da! Taiketsu Ranma tai Ryoga (School is a Battlefield! Ranma vs. Ryoga)
The Furinkan High Chemistry Club plots against Ranma while Ryoga makes his way back to Tokyo. Once Ryoga arrives, the school comes out to watch Ryoga and Ranma fight, and Nabiki promptly starts taking bets. The Chemistry Club tries to cost Ranma the match, but to no avail. Once Nabiki realizes Ryoga might lose (and she will lose all her money) she tries to convince Ryoga to take some steroids (actually just vitamins, but Ryoga believes her). Ryoga finds out about Ranma's curse and Akane's hair gets severely cut.
The primary member of the chemistry club has his name written on his jacket- Kogawa (小川).
Sayuri and another girl with shorter brown hair that does not seem to be Yuka, Akane's two friends, appear in this episode. Yoshiko Kamei (Sayuri) is cited as a voice in this episode, however the only other female voice is Yuko Kobayashi (rather than Masashi Toshima who is Yuka's voice) which seemingly indicates the short-haired girl is not meant to be Yuka.
It must be a continuity error that Ryoga was shown emerging from the sea in Okinawa without transforming, because he would have already visited Jusenkyo at this point in the story.
The fighting-while-handcuffed is likely a reference to the manga Men's Group (男組/Otokogumi) by Takahashi's favorite mangaka, Ryoichi Ikegami. In an interview, Takahashi shared her love for the series and stated, "The tools used in the story were very cool. Handcuffs and Chinese martial arts. I thought that kind of thing was really cool. It's kind of a big deal."
The two men at the zoo have on green hats that simply say "animal" (どうぶつ/doubutsu) on them.
Takahashi has spoken about her decision to cut Akane's hair. "Akane was a pretty tough character for me. I had her first appear as she did, but there was just something that didn’t fit. But the story kept moving, and there was the Dr. Tofu stuff and all that. Throughout it all, I was slowly developing her as a character, and somewhere along the line I began to think I’d like to change her hairstyle. I was able to work it in with Ryoga’s introduction story, and that’s how she got her short hair. Man, was Akane tough…." Her editor at the time, Shigeru Kubota, also speaks of the importance of this scene.
The sign on the cage where Genma was put at the zoo says "PaPanda" (パパンダ), putting together "papa" and "panda".
The other voices beyond the main cast include: Koji Tsujitani, Takehito Koyasu, Yuko Kobayashi, Yoshiko Kamei, Tomomichi Nishimura, Fumihiko Tachiki, Matsumi Oshiro, Akiko Hiramatsu, Satohiko Nakajima, Junichi Igarashi and Koji Yamada.
Episode 9: 乙女白書・髪は女のいのちなの
Otome hakusho ・ Kami wa onna no inochi na no (True Confessions! A Girl's Hair is Her Life)
Ryoga and Ranma apologize to Akane for what happened to her hair. Kasumi tries to even out Akane's hair. Ryoga tries to help an old lady, but ends up taking her across Japan. Dr. Tofu tells Akane her likes her hair better now, and Akane gets over her crush on him. A few nights later Ryoga makes his way back to the Tendos' home where it is revealed that he followed Ranma to Jusenkyo and was cursed himself. Akane finds Ryoga transformed into a pig in her room, and adopts him and gives him the name P-chan (Akane does not realize that P-chan and Ryoga are the same person).
"Thankfully, she didn't get injured." "She wasn't injured... but her hair just got the cut of its life!" - The word play of this joke works well in Japanese but is difficult to translate with the same humor into English. In Japanese Ryoga says, "ケガなくて良かったじゃないか。" (Kega nakute yokatta janaika.) to which Ranma replies, "ケガはなくても毛がなくなったんだぞ。" (Kega wa nakutemo ke ga nakunattanndazo.) The pun is "injury" (ケガ/kega) and "hair is" (毛が/ke ga). The joke has a nice repetitive rhythm where it sounds like "X is not, but X is," while having two different meanings.
The flowers Akane walks past are hydrangea which would have been in bloom when this episode aired in June. Additionally, the flower has an apologetic meaning in Japanese. "According to a Japanese legend, the hydrangea became associated with heartfelt emotion, gratitude for understanding, and apology after a Japanese emperor gave them to the family of the girl he loved to make up for neglecting her in favor of business and show how much he cared about her."
"This wouldn't happen to be Mount Aso in Kyushu?" - Mount Aso (阿蘇山) in Kumamoto prefecture, on the island of Kyushu, is the largest active volcano in Japan, and one of the largest in the world as well.
When P-chan first appears in Akane's room and she swats him away, we see a bag that says "Deen" on it. This is a reference to Studio Deen, the animation studio that worked on Urusei Yatsura, Maison Ikkoku, Ranma 1/2 and Ranma 1/2 Nettohen.
The additional voices in this episode include Yuko Maruyama as the old woman while Matsumi Oshiro, Takehito Koyasu, Shigeru Shibuya and Koji Yamada played unnamed roles. No word on who voiced Bess.
Episode 10: ピーピーPちゃん ろくなもんじゃねェ
Pi- pi- P-chan rokuna mon ja ne (P-P- P-chan! He's Good for Nothin')
Ranma realized that Ryoga is P-chan and that he knocked Ryoga into the spring. Akane takes P-chan to bed with her causing Ranma to break into her room in the middle of the night. Akane takes P-chan to school with her where Ranma tries to attack him. Ryoga tells Ranma that he loves Akane which makes Ranma angry and jealous. P-chan gets lost and is taken in by a rich family who rename him "Tonkichi" and try to make him the heir to their fortune before Ranma and Akane arrive to rescue him.
Animage magazine had a small article on Ryoga/P-Chan's debut in the anime from their September 1989 issue. You can read Rumiko Takahashi's comments on Ryoga from that article on the site.
Ryoga angrily tells Ranma that he followed him to China and got lost, wandering randomly across the conntry. We see scenes of Ryoga's travels including a desert with Buddha carvings which is likely the Yungang Grottoes (云冈石窟). Ryoga also wanders in front of the bicycle-filled Tiananmen (天安门) at the gate in front of the imperial city in Beijing.
The Spring of Drowned Black Piglet is called "Heitowenniichuan" (黑豚溺泉) and is 1,200 years old.
The anime-only characters of the Mr. Ogane, Mrs. Ogane and their servant, Sasaki appear in this episode.
"In for a penny..." - When Ranma is preparing to confront the Ogane family's servants to take back P-chan he mutters this phrase, a shortened version of "in for a penny, in for a pound" meaning that he might as well go through with it since it has already begun. In the original Japanese he uses an idiom that has essentially the same meaning. "Once you've boarded the ship..." (乗り掛かった船/Noritakatta fune), which means "once you've boarded the ship, you can't get off."
The other voices in this episode include Yoshihiko Kamei (亀井芳子), Yuko Kobayashi, Akiko Hiramatsu, Tomomichi Nishimura, Fumihiko Tachiki and Takehito Koyasu.
Episode 11: 乱馬を激愛! 新体操のスケバン登場
Ranma wo gekiai! Shintaisou no sukeban toujou (Ranma Meets Love Head-On! Enter the Delinquent Juvenile Gymnast!)
Akane and Ranma come across Kodachi thrashing the Furinkan High Gymnastics Team. The defeated gymnasts beg Akane to replace them, and Akane accepts. Ryoga arrives and offers to help train Akane. Kodachi sneaks into Akane's room in an attempt to injure her before the competition. Ranma saves Kodachi from falling off the roof, and she immediately falls head over heels for him.
This is the first appearance of Kodachi Kuno. In 2024 Saeko Shimazu, the voice of Kodachi, would discuss how she was cast for the role and what it was like working on the series.
Kodachi's moniker, "The Black Rose" is likely taken from the name of the girl gang in the 1973 film Terrifying Girls' High School: Animal Courage (恐怖女子高校 アニマル同級生/Kyofu Joshi Koko: Animaru Dokyusei) where the girl gang is known as "The Black Rose Society".
The field where Kodachi has her confrontation with the Furinkan High girls is filled with large pipes. These are known as dokan (土管). Dokan can be seen frequently in manga and anime, most prominently in Doraemon (ドラえもん) as a playground for Nobita and his friends. Dokan are leftover sewer pipes from the construction boom after the post-World War II Japanese Economic Miracle. They also served as the inspiration for the warp pipes in Super Mario Bros.
Ranma's visor hat has the character 中 on it. This is the first character in "China" (中国/Chuugoku).
St. Hebereke - In Japanese "hebereke" (へべれけ) means "dead drunk/blotto". In the English manga they sometimes try to address this by saying "St. Hebereke, also known as St. Bacchus" after the Roman god of wine to try and impart this alcoholic connotation.
The additional voices in this episode were: Yoshihiko Kamei (亀井芳子), Rika Matsumoto, Yuko Kobayashi, Akiko Hiramatsu, Shinobu Kawada and Miyuki Suzuki. Though no roles are identified, they would have played the various Furinkan and St. Hebereka rhythmic gymnastics club members.
The ending animation for "Platonic Tsuranuite" changes with this episode.
Episode 12: 女の恋は戦争よ! 格闘新体操でいざ勝負
Onna no koi wa sensou yo! Kakutou shintaisou de iza shoubu (A Woman's Love is War! The Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics Challenge!)
Kodachi attempts to attack Akane at school. Kodachi and Akane decide that whomever wins the match gets Ranma. Kuno tells Ranma to take care of his sister, which comes as a shock to Akane and Ranma. While training with Ranma Akane injures her ankle. Akane decides that Ranma is the only one who can replace her, so Ryoga and Ranma pull an all-nighter training fo tomorows match. Ryoga makes his way to St. Hebereke where he is accidentally splashed and chained to Ranma in order to give Kodachi the edge.
No new episode of Ranma 1/2 will air for the next two weeks.
The weapon Kodachi attacks Akane with is a shinai (竹刀), a bamboo practice "sword" used in kendo.
"The ancients note that one who always wins, may not be virtuous." - This is a paraphrase of a poetic quote by Sun Tzu. Literally Kuno says, "A hundred victories in a hundred battles is not necessarily a good thing." (百戦百勝は善の善なる者に非ず/Hyakusen hyakushou wa zen no zen narumono ni arazu.) This means that even a hundred victories is not better than not fighting at all.
Momiji Manju and Nama Yatsuhashi - Manju (饅頭) is a confection with a sweet, red bean center covered in a soft outer layer made of flour-based pastry. It is different than mochi which uses a rice-based outer layer. Nama Yatsuhashi (生八ツ橋) is an unbaked mochi-like sweet that also has red bean paste in the center. As Ranma says these are associated with Hiroshima and Kyoto respectively.
Ranma's rice bowl has the first character of his name "乱" (Ran) written on it.
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.
When Kuno learns the pig-tailed girl's name he takes out his inkstone and inkstick and begins grinding to make ink he can use to write her name down.
The other voices listed for this episode include You Inoue as the announcer, Satoko Yasunaga as the referee and Yoshiko Kamei, Yuko Kobayashi, Koji Tsujitani, Takehito Koyasu, Matsumi Oshiro, Akiko Hiramatsu and Shinobu Kawada as background voices.
Episode 13: スケバンの目に涙? ルール無用の格闘新体操決着
Sukeban no me ni namida? Rule muyouno kakutou shintaisou kecchaku (A Tear in a Girl Delinquents Eye? The End of the Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics Challenge)
Kodachi and Ranma continue to fight while P-chan does his best to cause Ranma to lose, because if Kodachi wins Ryoga can ask Akane out without Ranma being in the way. Kodachi's dirty tricks come close to defeating Ranma, but in the end Ranma's sheer skill wins the day.
The signs in the crowd at the beginning of the episode say "Do Your best" (がんばれ/ganbare) with a drawing of a black rose.
Among the crowd are Kogawa and the other members of the Furinkan High School science club from episode 8.
The other voices listed for this episode include You Inoue as the announcer, Satoko Yasunaga as the referee and Yoshiko Kamei, Yuko Kobayashi, Koji Tsujitani, Takehito Koyasu, Matsumi Oshiro, and Akiko Hiramatsu as background voices.
There is no next episode preview for this episode.
Episode 14: 骨盤占い! らんまは日本一のお嫁さん
Kotsuban uranai! Ranma wa Nihonichi no oyomesan (Pelvic Fortune Telling! Ranma is the No. 1 Bride in Japan)
When Dr. Tofu's mother, Kin, comes for a visit, Akane realizes that she is going to pessure Tofu into marriage, so she claims to be Tofu's bride-to-be. When Nabiki hears the news she offes to post as Tofu's bride for a fee. Not knowing Akane was planning the same, Tofu accepts Nabiki offer. When Kin decides "the biggest hips" win the right to marry the doctor, Ryoga forces Ranma to join so Akane will not have to marry the Doctor.
This is the first wholly original episode of the series that was not based on a manga chapter, though some previous episodes had large portions of original content added. It marks the debut of Kin Ono who did not appear in the original manga.
Dr. Tofu's mother is carrying the family altar, a butsudan (仏壇), with her.
The song playing while Dr. Tofu and Nabiki are meeting in the Pand Cafe is Heart Secret/2 (ハート ないしょ/2/Haato naisho/2) sung by Noriko Hidaka, Akane's voice actress. The song is from the Music Dojo soundtrack.
There are two trucks that drive by extremely quickly outside of the cafe. The first truck that drives past Akane and Ranma says "Asia Oil" on its tanker. It is followed by a truck with P-chan on the side for a company called "Kurobuta Cargo" which translates as "black pig". This is a pun based on the Japanese cargo company "Yamato Transport" who's logo is a "kuno neko" (black cat).
"Ueno Zoo must be low on money to send pandas out to work." - Ueno Zoo, built in 1882, is Japan's oldest zoo and is located in Tokyo. It does have pandas as part of their menagerie, the most famous of them being Ling Ling, the panda who passed away at the age of 22 in 2008.
"Praise the name Amida Buddha." - Dr. Tofu's mother is invoking Amida Buddha, the primary buddha of Pure Land Buddhism (浄土仏教/Jodo Bukkyo).
When Akane and Nabiki are visiting Dr. Tofu, he is wearing a formal outfit called a "kamishimo" (裃). It is an old, ceremonial outfit popular in the Edo period (so it was outdated and very old fashioned in this scene).
The song that plays while Dr. Tofu dances with Betty is not included on any of the soundtracks to the series.
Episode 15: 激烈少女シャンプー登場! ワタシ命あずけます
Gekiretsu shoujo Shampoo toujou! Watashi inochi agemasu (Enter Shampoo, the Gung-ho Girl! I Put My Life in Your Hands)
Shampoo arrives in Japan with one thing on her mind- killing female Ranma! This is all because Ranma defeated Shampoo as a girl in China, and Shampoo's Amazon law states that any woman that defeats an Amazon must be killed, and any man that defeats an Amazon becomes their bethroded. Unfortunately for Ranma he is a boy the second time he defeats Shampoo.
The cafe, Pand, that is shown at the beginning of the episode is the same location Dr. Tofu and Nabiki were meeting in episode 14.
The white-rock mountain called Amesores that is considered a deity in China has no connection to anything in real life. The TV reporter that is discussing it is played by veteran Takahashi voice actor Shigeru Chiba. The Pand Master is played by Reizo Nomoto and Shampoo's Amazon opponent is played by Fumihiko Tachiki. Her breastplate says "big lady" (大娘).
Shampoo's village is called "Joketsuzoku" (女傑族) in Japanese, though in Mandarin it is pronounced "Nujiezu". It is written with kanji meaning "Amazon clan".
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).
Akane has a flashback to Ranma at the skating rink telling Mikado that Akane is his fiancée. This has long confused fans due to the fact that this episode has not yet taken place. How can Akane remember something that has not happened yet? In the manga the Golden Pair chapters take place before Shampoo arrives (as indicated by the presence of this flashback). When the anime was made it originally followed this order as well, having Shampoo debut after the Golden Pair. However the Golden Pair episodes were delayed due to cultural sensitivities at the time. Serial killer Tsutomu Miyazaki (宮﨑勤) was on a rampage between August of 1988 until he was caught in July of 1989 (just a month before this episode aired). The Japanese media portrayed Miyazaki as an anime obsessive and a witch-hunt against anime and manga was in full effect at the time, the implication being that the content Miyazaki consumed shaped him into a serial killer. Because Miyazaki had kidnapped and raped children, any anime that hinted at abductions might be on thin ice. Consequently, Nettohenepisode 7 "The Abduction of P-Chan" (which was planned to air before this episode) was a title that was imagined to be too provocative at the time. As a result the episodes were removed and shuffled later in the sequel series after things had calmed down in the media.
"The series ran into ratings trouble, however, and was retooled to speed things up and incidentally to introduce the sexy character of Shampoo sooner than intended in hope of sparking viewer interest. (...) As a slight oddity, two episodes originally meant for the first series were shown later as part of Nettohen, so there is a flashback in one of the Shampoo episodes to a later episode, which as far as the viewer was concerned hadn't happened yet!"
This article is mostly correct, ratings were struggling, but there is no evidence to suggest that Shampoo was introduced earlier to help with ratings. Her introduction was moved up simply because her episodes were next in line to appear after the removed Golden Pair episodes.
Episode 16: シャンプーの反撃 必殺指圧拳は身も心も奪う
Shampoo no hangeki. Hissatsu shiatsuken wa mi mo kokoro mo ubau (Shampoo's Revenge! The Shiatsu Technique that Steals Heart and Soul)
When Shampoo uses a shiatsu scalp massage and a magical shampoo on Akane, she manages to wipe all memories of Ranma right out of Akane's mind. When Ranma tells Shampoo he will do anything to cure Akane, Shampoo tells him to kill female Ranma.
"That the word for time-out, when you play hide and seek!" - "Tanma" (たんま) is what Ranma points out Akane is thinking of.
"A fish that you traditionally catch in fall!" - "Sanma" (サンマ), a mackerel pike, is the fish she mistakes Ranma for.
"An exclamation you use when you're surprised!" - "Arema" (あれま), translates to "good heavens" or "gee whiz".
"Father! I'll win this game!" - Ranma responds "That was Hyuma!". Hyuma Hoshi (星飛雄馬) is the main character from the manga Star of the Giants (巨人の星/Kyojin no Hoshi) created by Ikki Kajiwara and Noboru Kawasaki. One of the first manga Rumiko Takahashi ever created was a parody of this.
When Genma is pantomiming what he saw, he holds up a yam (おいも/oimo) and then crosses it out and says "uneasy/scared" (おもい/omoi).
The Sai Fang Heng Gow Shiatsu Attack (洗髪香膏指圧拳) translates as "Hair Washing Balm Shiatsu Fist".
Episode 17: 乱馬大好き! さよならはいわないで!!
Ranma daisuki! Sayonara wa iwanaide!! (I Love You, Ranma! Please Don't Say Goodbye)
Ranma convinces Shampoo to allow him to "almost kill" female Ranma and sets out to encourage Ryoga to pummel him to near death. Ryoga is only too happy to oblige until Ranma gives up hope, but manages to restore Akane's memories with some unforgettable insults. When Shampoo walks in, Ranma reveals to her that he is actually female Ranma. Upset, heartbroken, and confused Shampoo heads back to China.
"Aren't you that stuff they put on ramen?" - Ranma replies that Akane is referring to "menma" (めんま) which are bamboo shoots that are preserved in salt.
"The actor who knows so much about the spirit world? He's in that epic drama..." - Akane is referring to Tetsuro Tamba (丹波哲郎) who is best known to western audiences as "Tiger Tanaka" from the 1967 James Bond film You Only Live Twice. He wrote a number of books on psychic phenomena.
"Dunno why not. It meets Japanese Industrial Standards." - Ranma looks at a logo on the bottom of the shampoo bottle as she says this. This symbol is the (now old) Japanese Industrial Standard (日本工業規格/Nihon Kogyo Kikaku) logo 〄. It was in use until 2008 when it was updated. The JIS is a committee that helps standardize various processes across Japan.
In Japan, 110 is the phone number to contact the police. 119 is the number to contact the fire department or an ambulance.
Hair Formula 101 - The item Genma asks Ranma to purchase for him is an actual Chinese product that is supposed to regrow hair. In Chinese it is known as Zhang Guang 101.
Episode 18: オレは男だ! らんま中国へ帰る?
Ore wa otoko da! Ranma chuugoku e kaeru? (I Am A Man! Ranma's Going Back to China)
Ranma's patience has been exhausted when he gets into an argument with his father and announces he is going back to China to try to cure himself. During this arguement Genma and Ranma discuss what has happened since their plunge into Jusenkyo. This episode recaps the previous seventeen.
This episode marks the highest audience viewership rating of the entire series. For more information please see our article "Ranma 1/2 Top 10 Highest Rated Episodes".
This marks the final episode of the original Ranma 1/2 anime series. Ratings were a challenge as the show was competing against the popular gameshow Quiz Derby (クイズダービー) and the anime Obocchama-kun (おぼっちゃまくん). We have made a video about the series' cancellation, return and the fan anger directed at mangaka Yoshinori Kobayashi (the creator of Obocchama-kun) over the cancellation of the initial series.
"The sound of the bell at Gion echoes the impermanence of all things." - Kuno's quote after he tosses a rose to Akane is a a passage from The Tale of the Heike (平家物語/Heike Monogatari) from approximately 1330 CE. The full quote is "The sound of the Gion Shoja bells echoes the impermanence of all things; the color of the sala flowers reveals the truth that the prosperous must decline."
"The countryside lies in ruins and yet the mountains and rivers remain as they were." This is a line from "Spring View" (春望/Chun Wang) a Chinese poem written by Du Fu (杜甫) written in 755 CE.
When Ranma slams Genma for falling asleep a series of images flash past for a fraction of a second. These include a dog's face, dolphins, a star, eggplants and Azusa Shiratori.
When Ranma and Genma are thinking back to Ryoga's fall into Jusenkyo, Ranma puts Genma into a pro-wrestling hold known as the "manji gatame" (卍固め/swastika hold). In English it is often called the "Octopus Hold".
Shampoo's Amazon opponent wears a breastplate that says "big lady" (大娘).
As the episode ends we see the sign above the entrance that says 館武天. 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). Consequently, despite being written 館武天 in a modern fashion it would be written in the reverse direction and read left-to-right today: 天武館 (Tenbukan). Tenbukan is a term that is often associated with martial arts that does have a particularly literal meaning. The kanji mean "heaven warrior building", you see the term used with various dojo names or martial arts style names somewhat regularly.
