Akane's Lost Love... These Things Happen, You Know

Akane no Shitsuren Datte Shōganai Janai (あかねの失恋だってしょうがないじゃない) is the 6th episode in the first season, Digital Dojo, of Ranma ½.

Akane is finally forced to confront the fact that her feelings for Dr. Tofu were nothing more than a pipe dream, whilst Ranma is able to reach out from behind his own defensive walls in sympathy at her distress. Whilst neither of them are happy about the way that things are, both Ranma and Akane manage to call something of a truce.

Relation to the Previous Episode
This episode leads directly from the previous episode, continuing the plotline begun in that last episode. Tofu's joking comment about Akane being the one who injured Ranma may be a callback to Ranma's own proclaiment of his injuries at Akane's hand in the previous episode.

Continuing from the Previous Episode
Akane at last admits that the girl that Dr. Tofu is in love with is none other than her eldest sister, Kasumi. Ranma asks if Akane is certain of this, and Akane agrees. Tofu comes out of his office and calls Ranma in to take a look at the bruise on his cheek, with Akane trying to politely excuse herself, but unable to avoid the doctor's invitation to stay for tea.

Peeling off the bandage on Ranma's cheek, Tofu jokes that the injury looks like Akane's handiwork, noting the angle of the ball's impact and the depth of the stitch pattern imprinted into Ranma's flesh. Ranma remarks in wonder that even the stuff Akane hits seems to have her name on it, which prompts Akane to emotionally proclaim that Ranma shouldn't say such things as if it was done deliberately and insists that, if anything, it was Ranma's fault he got hit. This greatly startles Tofu, who is shocked to hear it truly was inflicted by Akane and explains he was merely joking.

In Tofu's waiting room, the old lady who was previously waiting for her appointment is terrified to see Kasumi enter the clinic and, as politely as possible, races to escape before Kasumi bumps into Dr. Tofu. Outside, she meets an elderly man coming in for a treatment for his sore back, warning him that Kasumi is in the clinic and he sadly notes he'll have to reschedule.

Inside the clinic, Tofu has just taken hold of Ranma's head to examine the injury when Kasumi comes in. At once, Tofu's glasses fog over and a stupid smile appears before he unthinkingly bends Ranma's head to lie at a roughly 90 degree angle to the left. As the agonized Ranma watches, Tofu proceeds to act like an utter idiot around Kasumi, babbling like a fool, confusing various peoples' identities, and bending Ranma's head so that it now lies on his right shoulder before Akane excuses herself and leaves, Ranma deciding it's best to follow.

As they leave, they pass by the two elderly people, now joined by two more, who recoil in horror at Ranma's injury and note that while Tofu is normally a fine doctor, to go in for an exam now could cost them their lives.

Talking to Akane
While Ranma is several minutes behind Akane, he finally finds her sitting on a riverbank and throwing in progressively larger stones. Approaching her from behind, wondering if she's crying, he sneaks up on her and pulls a stupid face, which prompts her to slam him into the ground and demand to know what he's doing. Ranma idly declares that Akane's reaction is more what he's come to expect of her, and, aside from a brief moment of relief to realise Akane has set his neck back in its proper alignment, he expresses his satisfaction that Akane is actually back to normal, which makes Akane even more ticked off.

The two set off back to the Tendo household, Akane growing irked in Ranma's presence, though Ranma calmly waves off her various protests. This causes Akane to stop in realisation, bad mood evaporating as she teases Ranma with the possibility that maybe he does like her after all, playfully leading Ranma to unthinkingly jump into a river. Akane's mood is now much better, though Ranma is rather puzzled by this change in attitudes from what she is used to.

While the two begin heading home, Akane makes a suggestion, borrowing some money from Ranma to buy the both of them burgers and milkshakes from WacDonalds. The two eat in silence before Ranma's idle comment of surprise at the sight of Akane tucking into a second large burger prompts the Tendo girl to angrily ask what the big deal is if she's not all dainty like Kasumi, much to Ranma's confusion as she points out she never said anything like that.

Akane then begins to explain that Dr. Tofu has been flipping out in the manner that Ranma saw over Kasumi for as long as either girl can remember, describing one encounter presumably not too long before the Saotomes arrived in Nerima where Akane tenatively began to tell Tofu about her crush on him, only for Kasumi's arrival to reduce him to a blithering idiot who ended up electrocuting himself at one point. And then, as Akane tells Ranma, Tofu ended up grabbing "Betty", his model skeleton, and running all over town while carrying the model on his back. As she laments that Tofu would never do something so ridiculous for her sake, Ranma unthinkingly comments that this leaves Akane with a really broken heart, looking aghast as the realisation of what she just said hits her.

Akane stands up and makes to leave, clearly hurt, as Ranma tries to apologise for her words -- but the sight of Tofu running past with Betty, giggling madly, merely ensures it's a lost cause. Ranma tries to comfort Akane by telling her that she might stand a chance with Tofu yet, then sadly tells her she has to be aware that things like this happen sometimes when Akane tells the boy-turned-girl to give it a rest. This, needless to say, ensures that Akane leaves in a bad mood, while Ranma remains behind in a similar state. Realising that she left her schoolbag at Dr. Tofu's clinic, Ranma returns there to retrieve it.

Returning to Dr. Tofu's
At the clinic, Genma is flicking through a lady's magazine while Tofu is out, stumbling across an article titled "How His Thoughtless Words Broke My Heart" and reading it as Ranma comes in and grabs her bag. At her request, Genma douses Ranma with hot water, then does the same to himself to ask Ranma where Akane is. When Ranma casually declares Akane to be "boohooing her eyes out somewhere", Genma grows angry with Ranma's attitude. He asks if he's heard the title of the article somewhere before, refusing to let Ranma's sarcastic querry about where he heard such a cheesy phrase deter him, and tells Ranma that he should look out for Akane and make her feel better when she's upset, particularly as Ranma is old enough to know how women can be some time.

On the way home, Genma tells Ranma that they sometimes hurt the ones they love and that even he, Genma, has been known to make mistakes. He spins the tale of his dumping a lady love of his named Atsuko for another girl, describing himself as bluntly telling her that the "other girl" is a snappier dresser, sweet, kind, innocent, beautiful and very rich, as well as telling Atsuko not to go making trouble for him. Needless to say, it is no surprise that Ranma belts Genma in the head at the exact same moment the probably fictitious Atsuko clobbers Genma with a mallet in the story.

In the garden of the Tendo household, Akane smashes a brick and then thinks to herself that she needs to snap out of this funk. She is brought out of her thoughts when she realises Ranma is standing on the wall, turning as he leaps down and swings an obviously broadcast punch at her, which she dodges, and then a kick that she leaps over. Angrily declaring Ranma should fight for real if he wants to challenge her, she attacks back, with Ranma casually dodging. This makes Akane angrier, and she asks how Ranma expects her to work off her frustration if he won't fight back. Ranma, in turn, merely asks if Akane ever gets tired of being angry all the time, and, when she declares she likes being angry, he declares it a shame and goes on to tell her that she's really cute when she smiles. This startles Akane so much that she freezes, and Ranma gently tags her with a tap on the forehead. After she mentally reboots, Akane complains that this win didn't count, as she was distracted, and Ranma says nothing.

That Evening
Whilst taking a bath, Akane remembers Ranma describing her as cute when smiling, and wonders if he really meant it. After she finishes, she begins examining her smile in a mirror, stopping only when she hears Ranma asking her why she's pulling such goofy faces. Looking up, she is not pleased to find him perched in her window, and even less to hear him insulting her, promptly giving him a punch that sends him flying into the garden and causing him to retwist his neck when he lands on his head.

In their shared bedroom, Genma wonders how Ranma redamaged his neck, though Ranma doesn't give him a straight answer, and notes that Ranma's injury will probably take about a week to heal.

Trivia

 * This episode reveals why Akane grew her hair long, so that she could appear more feminine to Dr. Tofu in the hope he'll become attracted to her.
 * This was the last episode featuring Brigitta Dau as the voice actress of female Ranma, though she continued to be credited for a few more episodes and she returned in Shampoo's Sudden Switch - The Curse of the Contrary Jewel and Tendo Family Christmas Scramble.
 * STAFF:
 * Script: Hiroshi Hashimoto
 * Storyboard: Tomomitsu Mochizuki
 * Director: Shinji Kouboku
 * Animation Director: Asami Endo