Ranma ½

Episode 5

Let's talk about Dr. Tofu.

This is something that escaped my notice when I first watched the series at 12 years old, but there's something fishy going on here. He's a licensed chiropractor (which isn't actually a doctor) who is in love with a 19-year-old. Okay, that's fine, most of the world agrees that 19-year-olds can consent to a relationship, even if we don't actually know how old Tofu is. But in this episode, there's a flashback to when Akane decided to grow her hair long. Akane looks very young in this flashback, definitely in elementary school, as Tofu patches up her injuries from getting in a fight. Kasumi comes to pick her up, scolding her for her tomboyishness. As Tofu fumbles about, we can see that Tofu is already in love with her.

The problem? Kasumi is only three years older than Akane. Maybe Furinkan has a middle school with the same uniforms? But she's a first year in high school, fifteen years old or so, at the very oldest, and Tofu is already a practicing chiropractor. This means he was in love with a teenager when he was a grown-ass adult. J'accuse!

The obvious answer is, of course, that Takahashi wasn't thinking very hard about the timeline when she drew this chapter. The ages just don't line up. If we're thinking about diegetic reasons, there are all sorts of excuses -- Tofu is emotionally immature, it was more socially acceptable for grown men to date high school students in the '80s, and so on – but the fact is that in the modern age, it's just not a great look, even if Ranma 1/2 is technically a period piece in the year 2024.

The good news is, that doesn't really matter, because Tofu's role in the narrative is complete and we'll probably never see him again, assuming they don't adapt the anime-only storyline about his mother coming to look for a bride for him. Akane grew her hair out long to make herself seem more feminine and appealing to her crush, and now she's ready to move on. Cutting your hair as a sign of accepting rejection may be a more powerful symbol in Japan, but regardless of cultural context, the cleansing power of a fresh haircut cannot be underestimated. Everyone has their own opinion about which hair length suited Akane better, but regardless of how you feel, it cannot be denied that her iconic haircut set her apart from the largely long-haired temperamental beauties that dominated 80's shonen rom-coms.

Since this anime faithfully follows the manga's pace, the episode ends up divided into two parts, resolving Akane's crush at the midpoint and moving on to new Ryoga-related matters. I'm not wild about the disjointed feeling, especially when at times it feels like they're rushing through the jokes without giving them a chance to land. Pacing for TV is difficult to be sure, when every second of footage has to be accounted for, and I understand that they wanted to finish the haircut last episode. Still, I feel like there has to have been a way to end the episode more cleanly at the end of one plot arc instead of cutting it in half like this.

In the latter half, Ryoga once again shows up at the Tendo home, still determined to fight Ranma. Through various happenstances, we learn two things: he became cursed after falling into the Spring of the Drowned Black Piglet at Jusenkyo, and it is 100% unambiguously Ranma's fault. Suddenly Ryoga's borderline-homicidal rage makes sense, especially when Ranma complains about his cursed body. But then he discovers a shining light that just might make it all worth it: being Akane's pet P-chan, without her realizing that the creature she's snuggling to her bosom is her fiance's rival.

Listen, I love Ryoga. In terms of story structure, he's an ideal foil to Ranma: similar in that they're both socially maladjusted teenage boys cursed to transform, but prone to misfortune instead of Ranma's happy-go-lucky tendencies. In terms of characterization, he's pathetic and kind of stupid, two qualities I greatly enjoy in a man. But there's no denying that what he's doing here is pretty messed up. Akane hasn't consented to having a teenage boy cuddle her and sleep in her room, and if she knew the truth she would be horrified and humiliated at the vulnerability she showed when she thought it was just her and her pet with a limited understanding of human emotion. Even if Ryoga closes his eyes when she changes in front of him, which he probably does, it's a massive violation. He's acting like swine, and I mean that both literally and metaphorically.

It's one of those things that really doesn't hold up once I loosen the nostalgia goggles that are normally firmly affixed to my face. I didn't give it much of a second thought years ago because Ryoga is funny and cute in both forms and it's a rich vein for humor. I really only realized how dark the situation was in my most recent rewatch, and modern audiences tend to be more conscious of problematic comedy than we were back in the '90s. While that still won't overshadow my affection for Ryoga, it's something I'll be thinking about.

Rating:

Ranma ½ is currently streaming on Netflix.