Appare-Ranman!

Episode 7

Gee Appare, how come your car gets to have two engines?

With that crusty old meme out of the way, we pick back up where last episode left off. Having retrieved Hototo and snagged themselves a new prairie dog mascot, Team Appare blasts off the starting line to race down Gil and Chase so they can warn everyone of the duo's impending trap. They pull this off thanks to Appare's latest invention: a hybrid engine! Using the gasoline engine both for propulsion and to enhance their steam engine is a pretty clever idea, and while I have no clue if that's actually something that could work or if it's based on historical inventions, it's a smart way of making our leads' car competitive in the race without robbing it of the uniqueness of being a steam-powered boat-car.

What follows is easily the best episode of Appare-Ranman! so far. While previous episodes have offered endearing characters and some brief but fun racing hijinks, it's here where both come together to be the best versions of themselves. First is the racing, which features the most fun the show's had with its custom hot wheels since Appare turned his engine block into an airplane, as the racers barrel through Death Valley dodging rubble and dynamite. It's an infectiously fun setpiece that, while short, gives the story the shot in the arm only a well-executed action beat can deliver. It also leaves TJ and Dylan stranded on the wrong side of the explosion and forced to take the long way around, which is both funny and a good way to take the most competitive drivers out of the running while the rest of the episode's plot to play out.

Because after that adrenaline rush, it's time for another pit stop this time as Jing and Al help tow Team Appare's busted car to the next checkpoint, and it finally lets our major players just sit around and bond. There's something wholesome about all these characters with such disparate designs just hanging out around a campfire, complimenting Kosame's cooking and helping eachother out as best they can. We also get to see Appare out of his element for the first time as he waddles around trying to be helpful without really managing it. The capstone is when he Kosame have a heart-to-brain about the whole adventure, and Appare admits he doesn't understand why he risked their car to help everyone when tailing Gil would have been the smarter option, or why their rivals are hurting their own chances to help an opponent. In a lot of ways Appare's the archetypal Eccentric Genius character, but moments like this allow him to be the awkward teenager he really is, along with reinforcing Kosame's pseudo-big brother role as he walks the younger man through basic human empathy.

Speaking of brothers, turns out Gil and Chase aren't quite who they say they are! It makes sense – there was always something strange about how Chase did all the talking despite Gil being the towering outlaw, and outside of some underhanded tactics they never seemed particularly bloodthirsty, nor as trigger happy as Dylan or TJ. The reveal is also just great. Hototo's tearful confrontation reminds us that for all the deadpan humor and talks of revenge, he's still just a little kid who's lost someone he loved, and the rest of the adults coming to his defense is really heartwarming, with even Gi-, er, Tristan comforting the kid as he reveals he's not the one who killed his father. Heck, with just a few lines and a crooked smile Tristan's become yet another lovable weirdo in this cast, and the final punchline of Appare disassembling the Bad Brothers' car while everyone was distracted is the perfect cherry on top of it.

“FAKE” delivers pretty much everything I've been hoping for from Appare-Ranman! since it premiered and then some. It's sharply written, funny, heartfelt, and consummately entertaining from start to finish. I can only hope the rest of the show can stay this good as we enter the back half.

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Appare-Ranman! is currently streaming on Funimation.