REVIEW: ‘Ranma 1/2’ Episode 12 — “Shampoo Cleans Up”

The amnesia plot is speedrun in Ranma 1/2 Episode 12, the season finale of the MAPPA adaptation. Shampoo (Rei Sakuma) remains the major foil to both Ranma (Megumi Hayashibara and Kappei Yamaguchi) and Akane (Noriko Hidaka), though in significantly opposing ways. As Shampoo continues to declare Ranma her husband, Akane seemingly loses all memories of him and only him. Due to the nature of the series and its comedic tone, we don’t expect any real consequences from this amnesiac state. However, it does lead to a somewhat muted and abrupt ending.

In its own peculiar, hyper-energetic way, Ranma 1/2 is essentially a slice-of-life anime. It’s just that the slices of life come with larger-than-life battles and ridiculous, make-it-up-as-you-go-along style combat logic. Ranma 1/2 Episode 12, like the rest of the season, focuses on the characters reacting to one significant plot development. In this case, it’s Akane’s amnesia and Ranma’s determination to regain her memories of him.

Shampoo is the culprit, using her special technique, Xi Fa Shiang Gao Shiatsu. Essentially, it literally scrubs her opponent’s brain of any particular memories she wants to be erased. She takes away any memories Akane has of Ranma in order to have an easier shot of securing him as a husband. Ranma decides that the only way to help is to find the 119 Herb Extract. The first half of Episode 12 is focused mainly on everyone’s reactions to Akane’s memory loss. Ryoga, of course, likes this development, as he believes this is his ticket to winning Akane’s affections.

For a series that has been so consistently strong, Ranma 1/2 Episode 12 feels, for the first half, like its only misstep. The jokes don’t land as hard and are repetitive. The storyline moves quicker once Ranma realizes that Shampoo possesses the 119 Herb Extract and bargains with her to have it. She’ll hand it over, but only if he kills female Ranma.

Ranma 1/2 Episode 12 finds humor in an otherwise muted finale.

This is the funniest moment of the episode as we, along with Ranma, realize that Shampoo has yet to learn that girl Ranma is the same Ranma standing in front of her. He partly agrees, saying he’ll leave girl Ranma half dead, and Shampoo agrees. Through this, we get our first real bout of action as he begs Ryoga to beat him up to achieve that status, though Ryoga initially refuses. The gag of Genba and Akane’s dad instead joining in is fantastic and reminds us just how invested they are in their kids’ relationships.

But the real emotional moment comes at the very end when Akane interrupts Ranma’s plan. Akane, who at the very least recognizes the lengths he’s going for her, even if she doesn’t remember him. His usually nagging and calling her not cute eventually pulls her memory back. This perfectly fits these characters, who are more open and accustomed to fighting than getting along. We know that when Ranma is shouting that she’s plain and “not cute,” he means the complete opposite, even if he hasn’t caught on.

The finale ends with the tag of Shampoo learning the truth about girl Ranma and seemingly running off heartbroken, while Ranma and Ryoga later rest on the roof. It’s an oddly inconsequential way of closing out the season. So much so that it wouldn’t be surprising if people didn’t realize it was the season finale.

While there’s some forward momentum with Akane regaining her memories and her and Ranma’s relationship, everything else feels like an afterthought, especially the conclusion to Shampoo’s story. No doubt she’ll reappear in Season 2, but ultimately feels like we’re being left hanging.

Regardless, even the weaker episodes of Ranma 1/2 are still entertaining. Ranma 1/2 Episode 12 might not be a perfectly executed finale, but it finds its regular charms through the interactions between the protagonists. While the closing moments are lackluster, missing the usual energy of the series, we remain engaged with the characters and happy to follow their journeys.

Ranma 1/2 Episode 12 is out now on Netflix.