Ranma 1/2 12
らんま1/2

Spoiler Summary/Synopsis

Akane does not remember Ranma, though she does vaguely remember fighting Shampoo. When some of her classmates arrive, she does remember them. They are shocked that Akane doesn’t know Ranma. As such, Ranma grabs P-Chan and flees, returning him to his Ryouga form. Ryouga has no information on what Shampoo did. However, Ranma’s father does. Apparently, Shampoo used a shampoo to make Akane forget.

After consulting with Tofu-sensei, Ranma grabs Akane to go find Shampoo. That evening, they return home, where Akane gets furious that this stranger (Ranma) is in her home. Shampoo comes busting through a wall to cuddle with her “husband.” Instinctively, Akane’s jealousy causes her to attack Ranma, leading Shampoo to try attack again. She’s stopped by Ranma.

Tofu-sensei says Shampoo’s shampoo isn’t the one he needs. As such, Ranma decides to head to China. Shampoo stops him with the right shampoo blend. To obtain the shampoo, Ranma promises to grant Shampoo one wish, providing it isn’t to marry her or kill Akane. She agrees, wishing for Ranma to kill female Ranma. To that end, Ranma seeks out Ryouga, but Ryouga doesn’t want to help Ranma by giving him a beating.

Soun starts beating on Ranma, leading to Akane intervening. When Ranma calls her ugly, it triggers something in her. As such, Ranma lays on the insults, causing Akane’s memories to return. Shampoo arrives, so to save Akane, Ranma reveals his secret. The sight of female Ranma and the truth crushes Shampoo’s heart. With tears in her eyes, Shampoo leaves. Ranma feels for Shampoo’s hurt.

Thoughts/Review

In the OG anime adaptation, I never really cared for Shampoo. However, not only has this 2024 adaptation made her look cute, but Ranma 1/2 12 made me feel for her as well. For Shampoo, Ranma is the perfect husband. Since he proved strong enough to defeat her, then baring this man’s offspring will surely lead to strong children. Thus from that perspective, she truly loved Ranma.

I have to give it to MAPPA for depicting Shampoo in this fashion. It makes her more sympathetic as a character. I could actually relate to her as the truth about Ranma crushed her heart. To be honest, I don’t remember the original anime adaptation leaving me with such feelings. Kudos to Ranma for feeling Shampoo’s pain. He did lie by stating his female form was his true form.

As to the rest of the episode, it is the usual mix of action-comedy hijinks. Per usual, this was the topping for a story where Ranma is desperate to get Akane back to normal. You know what? I’m fine with that for this episode.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

In the end, Ranma 1/2 12 was an entertaining episode that actually caused me to feel badly for Shampoo.