Spy X Family Season 3 – 06
It’s truly stark just how much more charming SpyFam is when it focuses on the kids. You couldn’t ask for an episode to spell that out much more clearly than this one, which had Eden segments on either end with a big steaming turd in the middle. There wasn’t a lot to the first one – just a three or four-minute farce about Anya, Damian, and cakes. But the silliness which works with 1st-graders just comes off as insultingly stupid when it’s adults. And the dynamic between Damian and Anya – the tsundere and the esper – is the most fun in the series, Anya is actually pretty clever to try and work the hanky thing into a house visit – anything to stay ahead of Mama and Plan C – but Damian isn’t biting.
That whole middle segment can suck it. Another preposterously stupid adult acting stupid for the sake of the plot. Annoying Fiona being annoying, a brilliant plan that anyone could see through in seconds. It’s not like SxF is incapable of decent chapters with the adult cast (Loid more than Yor generally, though last week was pretty good). But only when those chapters are at least semi-serious.
The final chapter – a cliffhanger – is interesting because it goes to a place the series goes relatively rarely. That is, a deadly serious arc set at Eden and starring the chibis. It starts out larky enough, with the kids on a field trip and Anya trying to work her own version of Loid’s clinic scam on Damian (with zero success). Bill and George – two of the funniest characters in the series – even make an appearance. Damian is planning to give Anya some cakes – ostensibly to shut her up about the handkerchief, but obviously other reasons too. But his henchmen spot them and put the kibosh on that plan.
The kidnapping thing? We’ll see – serious and the kids is a rare combo so we don’t have a huge track record to go on. Still, anything that gives us DamiAnya, not to mention in the sort of environment we’ve never seen it, has the potential to be a level-up.
Ranma ½ (2025) – 06
There’s no sugarcoating it – Happosai is awful. Manga readers and viewers of the original series have been dreading this moment from the start, but no amount of wishing could make it not happen. Rumiko wrote it, he’s gonna show up. One might have hoped Happosai might get toned down to reflect a different era, I suppose, but judging by this episode that doesn’t seem to be the case. He’s here, he’s the worst character in the series by a parsec, and he doesn’t get any better.
If there’s any saving grace, it’s that Inoue Kazuhiko is playing Happosai this time, as his original seiyuu – the great Nagai Ichirou – passed away in 2014 (as fans of Hunter X Hunter know well). Inoue is about as good a voice actor as anime has ever seen, but I don’t think even he can make a silk purse out of this pig’s (and not P-chan, either) ear. Nagai couldn’t, and he was one of the few in history I’d rank on Inoue’s level. It’s a thankless duty, but I’m not worried about it tarnishing his career or anything – he’s well beyond worrying about that.
I have no idea why Rumiko found Happosai funny, but it’s not as if this was an uncommon trope for animanga of the time. I don’t have a lot else to say about the episode – what else matters, really? At least we got a bit of Ryouga, which feels like the first time all season. For me, I just have to make peace with the fact that Ranma ½ simply isn’t going to be as good a lot of the time. Happosai isn’t in every episode thank Goc, and he’s not usually the main focus. But he’s here and will be a frequent presence going forward. It’s a shame, but blame the mangaka, not the anime.
ahnold11
November 13, 2025 at 1:21 amHapposai dread is real. My partner and I have been watching this one and have been pleasantly surprised. Ranma was one of her first anime, and she shared it with (many years later) after we first started dating. I appreciated the comedy, but eventually the meanness of the show got to me and there was only so much I could take. Happosai is just the icing on the cake of that one.
We had little hope for the remake, but took the plunge more out of curiosity (the series is dated, will they attempt to modernize it, and if so, how much?) And Season 1 was an honest to goodness surprise. The throwback more to the manga, and it seemed like they smoothed out some of the rough/sharpness of the mean spirited parts. I mean it’s still the same show, all the beats are there, it just felt a little less problematic. Ranma was just a touch more sympathetic, at little less misogynistic etc. It actually spurred some interesting conversations (could just be us now in the later part of our lives, being more aware of social issues) but you can see the role Ranma’s upbringing (Genma) had on his views on strength/value and what it means to be a man vs a woman. You could feel a certain amount of sympathy for where his character is, and perhaps exposure to someone like Akane, who is not at all what being “female” is about, could potentially open his eyes up for some growth.
But yeah, Season 2, has to hit the arcs, new characters introduced at a blistering pace and it doesn’t seems as different from the original series. The lack of Ryoga is also tough. Shampoo seems to be treated a bit better which is nice, but not nearly as enjoyable as last years outing. This mean our fears for Happosai were even worse, if the show is already faltering a bit, this might push it over the edge.
So yeah Happosai is just as reprehensible, not really toned down in any appreciable form. You hate him, hate how he doesn’t face any real consequences and is just allowed to run rampant. He gets beat up of course, but everyone does, that seems to be the shows emphasis on slapstick humor.
So it got us talking, what is the point of this character? In the original series, I’d agree, lecherous old man = comedy. I didn’t see the appeal then, certainly not now, and it felt like that is the point. This time around though I don’t think his antics are played for as much comedy. It’s villainous, he’s a villain and you are supposed to hate him. He does make the show “worse” I agree, but that is what sparked out discussion. My partner (who is a woman) made a good point, yes the show would be better without him, but maybe that is the point? As a woman in modern society she has plenty of experience of how male action under the patriarchy often isn’t treated fairly or equitably. While Happosai is an exageration, women are exposed to behavior like that from men on a regular basis. So the character of Happosai is very much a “reality” for actual women, so why shouldn’t it be in the show? It kind of shines a spot light on it. We as the viewer don’t want him ruining our show, just like many women don’t want these interactions from men “ruining” the lives they are trying to live. Obviously the show isn’t taking out a billboard or anything, it’s a slapstick shonen comedy from the 80s of course, it’s aims are pretty simple. But it was an interesting read she had on the show, that I found thoughtful.
So was Rumiko going for that at the time? Hard to say. Are the remake’s show runners taking a more modern lens to this character now? I honestly don’t know. But I as a viewer certainly am now. We’ll see if this holds, or if Happosai’s behavior starts to be excused inside the text of the show. But I thought it an interesting idea that hadn’t occurred to me and that I only got as the benefit of watching it with a woman willing to share their perspective.
Guardian Enzo
November 13, 2025 at 7:27 amThe question of what Rumiko was thinking interests me, but it’s not like Happosai was a unique character for that era. I know reboots like to be more faithful than first adaptations but some creative license would have been welcome here.
ahnold11
November 13, 2025 at 11:08 pmAgreed. _I_ definitely would enjoy the show more if Happosai was tamed down a bit, just not so graiting. Which is why that conversation struck a chord with me. Because it mirrors the experience of many women. _They_ can’t get rid of the problematic issues with me, and we can’t get rid of Happosai on the show. Felt like there was some sort of underlying truth in that.
Definitely in the 80s that type of problematic behavior was normalized (and honestly, still is some now) and so it being purely for comedy makes sense. I’ll be watching intently for the next few episodes to see how this remake does it. If everyone accepts his villainous behavior as normal and start to brush it off, then that will probably turn me off complete. Here’s hoping 🙂
Joshua
November 15, 2025 at 5:10 amAt the very least, the original 1990 Ranma tried to kick that can down the road for a few more episodes by pushing several stand-alone manga arcs forward and adapting those before getting to Happousai, which they did in piecemeal bits to lessen the inevitable pain of his presence in the filler arcs that brought down that original series. Ugh. And the remake chose to speed through the entire introduction arc that it barely had any room to breathe at all which made things even more unpleasant.