Ranma ep 1.6: "Akane's Lost Love... These Things Happen, You Know!"

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Characters in this ep:
Ranma
Akane
Genma
Kasumi
Dr. Tofu
assorted Old People

Summary:

Immediately after the last ep ended, we go back. Ranma is surprised to learn that Tofu is in love with Kasumi, who is on her way over to the house. Akane says that Tofu has never said he loves Kasumi, but you can tell by how he looks at her... From this statement, you'd think Tofu just gets all mushy when he sees her or something. OH no. *G* At this point, however, Akane misses her chance to sneak out without explaining to Dr. Tofu, as he comes looking for them and insists that they come back in so that he can take a look at Ranma's bruise.

Inside, he says that from the indentation that the softball left on Ranma's cheek, it looks as though Akane hit the ball. Akane is humiliated, and more so when Tofu admits he was just teasing, but it's turned out to be true. Akane and Ranma argue loudly, and Tofu is amused - "It's nice to see you so full of spirit!" he tells her.

Finally, everything is interrupted when Kasumi arrives. Dr. Tofu's patients make a run for it when she enters, and as soon as Tofu sees her, we find out why; his glasses fog over and he goes into a sort of dizzy haze. Ranma, who was still having his cheek examined, quickly feels the negative effects: Tofu jerks his head and Ranma's left with his neck stuck at an angle. Meanwhile Tofu is oblivious to everyone else in the room, but can't make serious conversation with Kasumi, either, despite her best attempts.

She's brought his book back, and to thank him she brought him food; he takes the cloth covering the basket and ties it around his face and thanks her for the mask; and so on, and so on. Kasumi assumes he's being playful, but to those who saw him a few moments ago it's clear that this is not intentional - just weird. Akane jumps up and leaves, and after a moment, Ranma runs after her.

Akane finds herself at the reservoir, watching the river go by. She works off some frustration by tossing increasingly large rocks into the water, and ends up heaving a boulder in. Ranma, seeing her from behind, wonders if she's crying. He pops up in front of her, making a face, and she responds by slamming him to the ground in a punch. Oddly enough, this fixes his neck.

Ranma tells her he's there to cheer her up, and although she claims she doesn't need it, he won't leave her alone. She tries to leave, and he follows her. "You're annoying me!" she snaps. "That's okay," he answers, and she grits her teeth - then comes to another realization. If he's here, being this persistant, she says coyly, he must like her after all! She laughs, and Ranma is horribly embarrassed and denies it, but Akane now will have none of that. She runs off laughing and he chases her, and she tricks him into jumping into the water.

Akane, now with girl-Ranma, is suddenly in high spirits. She tells Ranma that she doesn't want to go home; she's starving, and if Ranma will lend her some money, she'll treat them both. ;) They end up getting a bag of hamburgers and sitting on a bench eating; after a few moments, Akane's mood drags back down, and they get into a discussion about how Tofu has always been like that around Kasumi. He gets even worse, in fact, she says; last time Kasumi came by, he danced around town with Betty-chan (his medical skeleton) on his back. Ranma finds that a bit hard to believe, until Tofu dances by behind them, singing and twirling Betty-chan.

Awkward pause. Ranma tries to sympathize, but Akane shuts off, and says he has no idea how she could be feeling. She tells him to leave her alone, and goes home; Ranma now is angry enough to sit alone and eat hamburgers, until he realizes he left his backpack at Tofu's clinic. When he gets there, Panda!Genma is alone reading a magazine with the headline "How His Thoughtless Words Broke My Heart!" Genma gives him some hot water to change back with, and then changes back into a human himself and tells him he has to stop breaking Akane's heart with his thoughtless words.

Genma takes Ranma on a walk, back down to the reservoir, and tells him of a time when he, too, was guilty of breaking a woman's heart. Flashback to a much younger Genma, wearing a really goofy-looking hat, with a beautiful girlfriend named Atsuko. Unfortunately for poor Atsuko, Genma is dumping her, and explains to her that he's found someone else who is better-looking, kinder, and richer than she is... Atsuko responds with violence, just as Ranma does in the present-day.

When Ranma returns home, Akane is in the dojo working out. Ranma joins her to spar a bit, and she makes use of the distraction to work out her frustrations. Midway through, however, he asks her if she doesn't get tired of being angry all the time - because, when she smiles, she's pretty cute. Akane is caught off-guard by the compliment, and Ranma uses the opening to knock her over and then walk off, whistling innocently.

Later that night, Akane comes out of the bath, thinking about what Ranma said. She's puzzled by it... did he mean it, or was he just saying it? She's pleased though, and looks in the mirror, smiling at herself. Then she notices Ranma at her window, who makes fun of her for admiring herself in the mirror for so long. Ranma goes flying, and lands on his head. A short while later, his father tries to fix his neck, which is stuck again at the same angle.