Ranma ep 1.3: "A Sudden Storm of Love... Hey, Wait a Minute!"

Summary | Dub & Animation | Notes & Comments | Screencaps

Characters in this ep:
Ranma
Akane
Genma
Soun
Nabiki
Kasumi
Kuno


Summary:

We open on a lovely sunlit day, with the wind blowing cherry blossoms across the pool outside of Furinkan High School. Piano music plays quietly. Panning through the window into the school, we see Ranma and Akane, who are studiously not looking at one another. There's a dreamy quality to this that gives it the impression of a scene in a shoujo anime; for some bizarre reason it looks like it's meant to be romantic, but I can't find anything romantic in it aside from Ranma and Akane's UST. ^_~ Anyway, cut now to Kuno, running through the halls with two pails of water and looking quite pissed off.

Yep, it's a recap of the end of the last ep; anime standard. The interesting thing about this one though is that it doesn't reuse footage; this is actually different animation than what was shown before, like a retelling of the scene. Weird. The basic action is the exact same, though; Kuno attacks Ranma, shouting that he will never accept Ranma's engagement to Akane Tendo. This informs the whole school to the secret Akane and Ranma have been trying to keep. Ranma accepts Kuno's challenge but tells him they have to take it outside; they jump out the window, only then discovering they're on the third floor. Which doesn't bother Ranma; the fact that they're above the pool, however, does.

Everyone is stunned when Kuno and Ranma fall into the pool. Kuno floats to the surface straightaway, apparently unconscious; Ranma is nowhere to be seen, though. Meanwhile, under the water, girl!Ranma is swimming in a panic to the end of the pool, when a semi-revived Kuno attacks her. He grabs her from behind and Ranma gets groped, yet again; Kuno is stunned for a moment, and Ranma reacts instinctively and grabs him, jumps out of the pool holding him, and then slams him down on the edge of the pool before stomping on his face and dashing off. Kuno meditates with his head half in the water.

As Kuno contemplates the fact that he felt a girl's breast (and probably for the first time), Akane finds Ranma hiding in a tree, wringing out her clothes. Akane's brought hot water, and when Ranma insults her she threatens to pour it out. They fight/flirt for a few moments, until Akane hears Kuno on his way, looking for Ranma. She tosses the kettle up to the tree and takes off to buy time. Unfortunately it takes some effort from Ranma to catch the kettle...

To stop Kuno from finding out Ranma's secret, Akane challenges Kuno. Kuno takes this as an invitation to date her, and accepts; Akane gets to be cool again, leaping about in the air as she fights Kuno. She beats him, sending him flying - over to the tree Ranma has been hiding in. Kuno lands headfirst and upside down on the kettle Ranma's still trying to use the hot water from, so girl!Ranma is face-to-face with Kuno, who tries to keep some non-existant dignity.

Kuno recognizes the redheaded girl, but doesn't put two and two together regarding her relationship to Ranma Saotome. He asks her if she's seen Ranma, and she declines; Kuno rants about how "That man is NO MAN! He is NOT a MAN!" Ranma drops him to the ground, then follows him down and challenges him to a fight. Kuno is easily trounced, and regards the "tree-borne kettle girl" with awe as she takes his bokken and walks off with Akane.

Back at the Tendo household, Nabiki pumps Akane for information about Ranma's first day at school. Akane is unenthusiastic about the whole thing. Meanwhile, Genma scolds Ranma for being ungrateful to Akane after she helped him out of a few jams at school that day. Ranma's insolence leads Genma to a bout of melodramatic self-recrimination about the kind of son he raised, which Ranma cuts short with a bucket of water. Panda!Genma wanders out to take a bath, and finds that the bath is out of order. I mean REALLY out of order. *G* I cannot describe how much this scene made me giggle. ^_~

Akane and Nabiki talk in her bedroom, while Akane tries to do her homework and Nabiki does some odd stretches and workout moves. Apparently Nabiki is in better shape than we ever really get to directly see. ;) Ranma, on his own, decides he does owe Akane at least a thank-you... she really did help him out. But just as he goes to knock on her door, he overhears Akane ranting to Nabiki that she's "engaged to my worst nightmare!" Ranma pauses, stung, and then writes her off and leaves.

The next day on the way to school, Ranma offers to help Akane fight off her suitors, but she reminds him that they agreed that they don't know each other at school. He watches her fight what seems to be an even larger crowd than before, looking almost sad; Akane smashes her way through all the guys and looks way cute doing it. So I can understand why he'd stare. ;) When she finishes, he notices that Kuno's nowhere to be seen. In fact, Kuno is standing on the roof of the school, in his own samurai movie, wondering "whither the pig-tailed, tree-borne kettle girl?"

Nabiki discovers that Kuno wants to see the "kettle girl" again, and informs him that "she's like a sister to me." Kuno expounds on how he MUST have a rematch; no one humiliates Tatewaki Kuno and walks away! So Nabiki, ever the evilly amused one, accepts a letter of challenge to give Ranma later. She finds Ranma sparring with Akane in the dojo (by "sparring", I mean "dodging out of her reach over and over, and really pissing her off") and gives him the letter, specifying that it's to the girl half since Kuno doesn't know they're the same person. Ranma debates on whether or not to go, and finally can't resist a challenge. She waits, in the evening, on the school grounds at the place Kuno specified.

Kuno shows up as the sun sets, spouting poetry, weaponless. He doesn't stay long, just long enough to formally introduce himself, and deliver to Ranma a bouquet of roses and the message: "I love you." Then he takes his dignified leave, and Ranma collapses in shock and horror.