Not much needs to be said about this reboot except “it makes me laugh”. Consistently so, as much as any show this season (which, while busy, is not especially rich with pure comedies). Getting a really good director like Uda Kounosuke was such a key here for MAPPA. This is Ranma ½ – it has to capture the sheer absurdity and zaniness of the original if it’s going to work. It’s not exactly Death Parade but this is not the sort of series you can fake it with. It has to be balls-out and full abandon, and it has to be that with style.

What you realize as you get deeper into Ranma ½ is that Ranma and Akane are actually sane compared to most of the people in this cast. That certainly includes Kunou Kodachi – the “Black Rose” as she calls herself. This is one of the roles they recast (which makes both Kunou siblings) – I don’t know whether Shimzau Saeko just wan’t into it or what (she was already 30 when the first series aired). But Sakura Ayane blends in pretty seamlessly, I have to say. Kodachi introduces herself taking down the Furinkan rhythmic gymnastics team (what is this obsession mangaka  have with rhythmic gymnastics?) in a showdown that has very little to do with rhythmic gymnastics.

Indeed Kodachi is Tatewaki’s little sister, and if anything she’s even loopier than her brother. The long and the short of it is Akane gets roped into replacing the rhythmic gymnastics team for the official battle with the Black Rose, which is a small problem as she’s utterly hopeless at the actual rhythmic gymnastics part. Meanwhile P-chan has been sleeping with her every night, which understandably has Ranma a little pissed off (I still don’t get why he doesn’t just tell her the truth). Seeing an opportunity P-chan hops in the bath with Souun (who doesn’t bat an eye) and declares that he’s going to be Akane’s instructor.

All of this is just so relentlessly dumb that I can’t help but go along. Kodachi swinging that giant mochi hammer around, and totalling Akane’s room in the process – then later we see her sleeping on a futon as her bad is caved in. Then Kodachi does one of her grand entrances on the street in front of a random couple on the way to the bathhouse, who take “wary” to a new level. When Ranma accidentally bonks her with the kettle while chasing P-chan across the rooftops Kodachi wakes up in his arms and goes into full shoujo mode, including some impressively bad damsel-in-distress acting.

In the end Ranma himself turns out to be a pretty good rhythmic gymnastics instructor, and he’s highly motivated as the Black Rose has declared that the winner of the showdown will be awarded him as a prize. But Akane’s lack of grace won’t be denied and she ends up tripping on the gymno-ball (or whatever the hell it’s called) and spraining her ankle. Where can they possibly scare up another girl with the grace and martial arts skills to take on Kodachi? Well, again – Ranma should be motivated, if nothing else…