Ranma ep 1.9: "True Confessions! A Girl's Hair Is Her Life!"

Summary | Dub & Animation | Notes & Comments

Random notes:

• Wow, Ranma's really hangin' out there. The funniest part of all this shirt business is that it takes him hours to change the damn thing.
• Brief discussion as everyone wonders who the hell the redhead is and where Ranma went... I guess Ranma's jumping onto Akane's problem being "more important" mostly to deflect suspicion. Though really, who is gonna suspect the truth here? :P
• Okay, for the longest time I've been certain that there was some kind of untranslateable pun in here, and I'm even more sure now. When Ryouga says "what's the big deal, she wasn't cut", every translation I've ever seen has Ranma reply something along the lines of "SHE wasn't cut, but her hair got the cut of its life!" Fair enough. But look at everyone's reaction (it's like this in the manga, too): there's the pause, Ryouga does the "urgh" face, and everyone is speechless for a moment. That's a pun reaction, and it's a BIG one, and it doesn't warrant the line. Now I'm pretty sure that what Ranma says is a pretty direct translation, but in Japanese does it have some other meaning? Because if not that reaction is just - WAY too big.
• HAHA something about Ryouga being all noble, and "you may hit me as well" really cracks me up. He has NO idea what he's in for. Dunno if he thinks he's being a gentleman, or if he really feels bad, or what.
• I think the pummeling of the pole is the first time we see Akane really a slave to her uncontrollable rage, like SERIOUSLY.
• Ahhh, I love Kasumi's overreaction to Akane's hair. I also find it quite interesting that Akane doesn't tell Kasumi what really happened, even a little. I mean, I know she doesn't want to say she was involved in a fight or that Ranma was careless but she really, REALLY plays it down by saying she wanted to do it but screwed it up herself. It's really an interesting side of Akane, and not the first time we've seen that side (though we see it less as time goes by and her character evolves).
• A different little old lady! Heh, Ryouga's look of sudden horror at being asked for directions - "so where is a police box? Show me where the police box is!" and he's like "Good GOD no!"
• She looks SO CUTE with short hair. I like her with long the best, but it's not as if this doesn't last or anything. ;)
• Akane's so totally freaked out by Ranma being so polite. "I was going to cut it anyway" is an obvious lie but otherwise she seems okay. Awww, "want a piggyback?" "Don't be so nice. It's creepy."
• "You've gone short again!" That's really cute, too.
• About five thousand notes on the Ranma/Akane exchanges that all had to be put into their own section!
• "Feel the guilt washing away?" She's so damned cute!
• Oh, that look on Ryouga's face while he's staring down at the volcano is... just... someone stop me. It's funny, is what I was going to say. Honest.
• And now we begin the next chapter of the manga. I like the fake-out, that Ryouga will still travel in the rain 'cause he has his umbrella. Who would suspect? Nya-ha-haaaa!
• As much as the use of the little old lady to get Ryouga out of the way for a while was a bit irritating to me, I like this flashback. He spent all this time carrying her around looking for a POLICE BOX. And he finds one across the street from her destination. I love the "I'm happy for you, ma'am..." bit he tries to pull at the end... yeah, happy to see the back of her. ;D
• Oh look, he found more walnuts.
• Is it just me or is Ryouga sneaking into Ranma's bedroom at night alllll wrong? (But it feels so very right!)
• Screaming doesn't wake up Ranma! I love the nod that Ryouga gives Genma. "Yeah, hey, what up."
• HE WAS STILL ASLEEP UNDER THE WATER.
• "You change when you get wet." Ranma actually seems to find this ever so slightly wonderful. I can't tell if he wants to laugh or if he's like "you too? cool!"
• "It's only Ranma's little friend!" Another situation where I know just enough Japanese to not be able to figure out what she's really saying. *G* I got "Ranma-kun" and "otomodachi" but not anything that sounded like an equivalent of "little" - but this being Kasumi, and from the look on her face, I think that's an appropriate line translation anyway.
• I love that Ryouga's undies are in there too. Blue boxers. Bwahahahaha! Good fakeout with the dog.
• "Sure, they need to finish their fight, but at this hour?" Akane is amazingly tolerant of this whole fight thing. If it were me I'd be like "are they seriously STILL going to finish that stupid fight?" but then that's me, and I'm not a martial artist with Serious Honour.
• Akane's Spidey-sense is tingling!
• LOLOL! Although the dog looked threatening at first, it's the gooniest lookin' dog ever in the light!
• I guess we can all sorta figure out that the piggie is Ryouga by now. I wonder when people who weren't me, and who watched it the first time, knew? I wonder if you can tell from the episode previews? (I couldn't when I saw the previous ep. But then I jumped ahead by a few episodes.) I mean, by the point when he's blushing and all it's probably obvious... I kinda wish I had seen this one before I saw the Kodachi ones and it was made clear. Ah, well.
• Ranma is bad with animals. Steppin' on the poor piggie, then SLAMMING him into the water! Oh man do I love that entrance from Ryouga. Geh heh heh! Too cool! He's so. pissed. off. :D Should I even mention the fact that there is extensive close-contact nudity in the next ep? Naw.