English Dub Review: Ranma ½ “Kodachi, The Black Rose”

OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)

Akane faces a new rival, Kodachi, who soon falls for Ranma and is also Tatewaki’s sister.

OUR TAKE

We’re at half a dozen episodes into this new adaptation and we already have a couple love interests for Akane and one for girl Ranma, so why not throw in one for boy Ranma? Kodachi is now the first of the girls who will be going after him in his regular male form and I don’t think I have to tell you that she will not be the last. And so far, it’s interesting to see how those who are going after each character seem like they contrast the other protagonist in specific ways. Tatewaki is significantly more disciplined than Ranma while Ryoga has a less convenient cursed transformation, and now we have Kodachi who is clearly a lot meaner than Akane and naturally is similar to Tatewaki since they’re siblings. Both like to settle things in duels, hence why Akane is now dueling her in some sort of ribbon or whipping combat or whatever for Ranma’s hand in marriage. And while fights have been shown to give Ranma next to no trouble at all, Akane may have a bit of a challenge here…but probably not since this is very clearly not meant to be something she’s supposed to lose.

While this duel is meant to carry over into the next episode, it kind of says all that it really needs to already, don’t you think? The fact that Ranma (and Ryoga to a smaller extent) is dedicated helping Akane beat Kodachi tells you everything about how this is going to go, especially if she’s up against someone who has feelings for HIM. Like, okay, she’s from an all girls school so he’s the first hot guy she’s seen in forever that wasn’t her brother. Not exactly the most compelling reason for a crush and so very unlikely to lead anywhere. You don’t need to be an expert in anime romcoms to be able to point that out. So really, this is just another opportunity for Ranma and Akane to bond and grow closer with one another…until the next love interest comes along, which will then do the same thing. That’s kind of the phase we’re in with the show right now as it explores (or adapts this specific period of) its premise and dynamics. Not sure when it will start developing into something a little more complex, but I’d sure like for that to happen sooner rather than later.