The sixth broadcast season of Ranma 1/2 includes some of the
silliest entries in a continuity known for its silliness: a seaside
resort is terrorized by a ceramic octopus trap, and
upperclassman/school gasbag Kuno is stricken with amnesia after a
watermelon gets stuck on his head. But at times, the premises feel
decidedly thin. When Akane is kidnapped by a Minotaur-like monster
(the adult version of a baby Happosai bathed in the most accursed
spring at Jusenkyo--the one in which a Yeti riding an ox carrying a
crane carrying an eel drowned), Ranma and the gang discover there
are worse fates than turning into a girl--or a monster. Director
Junji Nishimura spoofs Japanese monster movies in "Scribbled Panda,"
as a Kabuki-style spider and demon emerge from a Chinese scroll to
attack a carnival. But the most horrible beast is an icky-cute
little drawing who develops a crush on Ranma: it's like Hello
Kitty on a rampage. Ranma's furious when a newcomer who
practices Martial Arts Calligraphy won't accept a challenge because
Ranma's handwriting is so atrocious. The filmmakers balance the
slapstick by making kindness an element in the way Ranma, Akane, and
Ryoga defeat a Snow-Woman (Yuki-onna) and a bizarre
Abominable Snowman who threaten to turn Furinkan into an outdoor
icebox. Telepathic boy Satori sums up the series when he visits the
Tendo-Saotomi household and screams, "The people in this house are
weird!" (Rated 13 and older: brief nudity, slapstick violence)
--Charles Solomon
