Ranma 1/2 (1994)

[らんま1/2]

Volume 31

Author/Artist: Rumiko Takahashi
Publisher: Shounen Sunday Comics

Synopsis:
Happousai gets a new apprentice. Ryouga tries to juggle Akane and Akari when they visit him at his house. An umbrella that makes people fall in love with each other causes havoc at school. Hinako-sensei offers to teach Akane how to swim. The Nekohanten devises an eating contest to get rid of a shipment of foul-tasting noodles. Akane is possessed by a doll seeking revenge on Ranma. Ranma's class is stranded on an island by Principal Kunou.

Story/Characters:
There are times when I wonder why I even like this series. This volume both feeds those doubts and reminds me of why I do like it. We start with the bad. Blighting us with Happousai is bad enough, but Takahashi saw fit to have two with the addition of Rakkyousai (who thankfully doesn't return after this three-chapter story; if only the same were true of Happousai). You give me a double-barrel dose of Happousai and you're lucky I don't toss the entire tankoubon into the fireplace. I'm also not too fond of the next story with Ryouga, mainly because him trying to two-time with both Akane and Akari is about the most dirtbag thing he does in the series. I suppose I can forgive him for holding some doubts about settling for Akari, who's about as made for him as someone can possibly be, if it means giving up on his longtime crush on Akane. I also suppose the rival has to have his dirtbag moment to take him out of the running. Same thing happened to Mitaka in Maison Ikkoku. The umbrella story is a harmless bit of fluff, as is Hinako-sensei's swimming lesson (which also feels a bit like a retread of the earlier story when Principal Kunou tried to teach Akane to swim) and the noodle-eating contest. I guess when we've gotten these good plot-heavy arcs, the comedic one-shots really leave you wanting more substance. While only two chapters, the possessed doll story is what makes it all worthwhile. (Here's that reminder of why I love the series I was mentioning.) It's an outstanding story and rightfully made into an OAV episode (which was particularly cool because Noriko Hidaka used what would later become her Kikyou voice). We close on a dumb Principal Kunou story, which actually gets pretty creepy given the effect of the Aloha Virus. It's played for laughs and the girls present are all capable of taking care of themselves, but it's a bit uncomfortable.

Art:
The possessed doll story has some really effective panels. Otherwise, the art is as good as you'd expect.

Conclusion:
We've got several forgettable one-shots and an absolutely garbage Happousai story. Were it not for the possessed doll story, this one would go right in the bin. These two chapters and these two chapters alone are worth reading. They're so good that the entire rest of the volume gets a pass.

Rating:
Read It (if only for Chapters 9 and 10)