A Teenage Ghost Story



A Teenage Ghost Story (Tsuiseki! Temari Uta no Nazo, 追跡!手まり唄の謎) is the 21st episode in the sixth season of Ranma ½, Random Rhapsody, and is the 133rd episode overall.

Relation to the Previous Episode
None.

After School
Another day at Furinkan High School has ended and Ranma is with Tatewaki Kuno in Toramasa's room, listening to him talk about he defeated Napoleon. When Toramasa finishes, Kuno begins to cry and exclaims that if he was there he would've used the "Sword of Kuno" to defeat all his enemies singlehandedly. He continues to curse his fate of not being there. Ranma then interjects and tells Kuno and Toramasa to stop making up stories and tend to the business at hand.

Akane shouts for Toramasa and asks him if he's shop is open or not, to which Toramasa replies that he hasn't been feeling well so the shop's closed. Regardless Akane enters and angrily explains that the notebook she bought earlier is completely useless she also adds that it seems to be over 100 years old. Ranma examines the notebook (which Akane had placed just placed in front of Toramasa) and begins to wonder just how old it really is. Toramasa attempts to sneak away, but Ranma stops him and rhetorically asks him where he's going. With nowhere to go, Toramasa tries to get out of the situation by saying that old doesn't necessarily mean it's worthless and that, like him, its true value lies in "it's artistic depth and innate beauty".

These words touch Kuno, who compliments Toramasa and lays down a pile of cushions for him to sit on. Toramasa then begins laughing, which causes Ranma to pull out on of the cushions and makes Toramasa fall over. Ranma continues by calling Toramasa a scam artist, angered, Kuno attacks Ranma with his Bokken as well as calling Ranma an insulting cretin. In response to Kuno's outburst, Ranma defends himself with the cushion.

While the two struggle against each other, they accidentally knock over some tea onto the notebook. Annoyed, Akane tells the pair that if they're going to act like little children then they should go and fight outside, she then bends down to get the soiled notebook. Akane flips the book open, where writing suddenly starts to appear so she calls over the others to come have a look. When the others gather around her, Akane reads what's in the notebook and soon notices that it seems to be a song.

Just then a dark shadow along with two floating blue fireballs appear behind the group. A voice then sounds out and begins to sing, soon followed by a girl appearing in the shadow. Naturally everyone is shocked and afraid by this, except for Kuno who tries to use his Bokken to try and hit the girl, while telling her to begone. Before Kuno can hit the girl, however, she disappears and reemerges in another corner of the room. Kuno then repeatably tries to hit the girl, only for her to disappear and emerge somewhere else. Out of breath, Kuno begins to look everywhere for the girl. Eventually the girl disappears again, but doesn't reappear. Kuno then declares that she must be afraid of him so begins to laugh. This scene causes an unimpressed Ranma to note that Kuno looks slightly insane, he then notices that Toramasa has fainted standing up shortly before he collapses to the floor.

Later at the Dojo
Back at the Tendo residence, the family is eating dinner and Akane has already told them of their experience. Kasumi tells then that it must've been exciting for her and Ranma, while Nabiki hopes that they were at least able to get a refund on the notebook. Akane explains that she couldn't since Toramasa fainted. At the other end or the table, Soun wonders why nothing like that ever happened to him when he was young. Then a voice comes out of no where, and the girl appears in the corner. Kasumi exclaimes that shes really cute.

Soun, a little freaked out, tells Akane to ask the girl to leave, and Akane replies that she can't, while Ranma wonders why she followed them. Nabiki goes over to the girl and asks her name and what she wants, to which the girl only replies 'The Racoon on Kukuri Mountain'. Nabiki tells her not to change the subject and answer her and the girl starts to cry, afraid of her. Kasumi tells Nabiki not to scare her while the others wonder why she came here. Akane suggests that they ask her, to which the ghost explains that she forgot something, but when they ask what she says she doesn't remember. Kasumi feels sorry for her and says that she could stay until she remembers, and Nabiki says she can sleep in Akane's room. Soun asks if he's the only one that realizes that she's a ghost, and Akane replys that if a Panda is allowed, why not a ghost. Ranma pokes his dad and points to the girl, but Genma turns his back and refuses to share his meal. Soun invites the girl to the table, and she thanks them for their hospotality. Soun ask how many people could say they had a ghost over for dinner, to which nobody replies.

Later, Genma goes to take a bath, but when he enters the dark bathroom he finds the ghost girl is already in the bath. She turns around and says she sees him, and Genma faints. While the others try to wake him, the girl appolagizes, explaining that she thought she could take a bath without asking first. Akane counters and says its not her fault, and Kasumi says just to turn the light on next time. Later that night, Akane and the ghost are in her room. The girl asks if she could just sleep in the closet, explaining that she liked the dark, causing Akane to comment that it looks like a morgue with her in there.

The Next Morning
Everyone is eating breakfast, when a teapot floats in the air (which is actually the ghost girl's doing) and refills Ranma and Genma's cups, to which they thank. Kasumi looks toward the ghost and that she doesn't need to stay invisable, and Akane adds that she need not feel like the weird one there, saying that Ranma had already filled that position. The girl reappears next to Genma, who freaks out, and thanks them.

Kasumi then thanks the girl for the song she sang earlier, and Akane asks if she knew it. Kasumi replies that she used to sing it when she was little, and explains that Kokkuri Mountain is right behind their school. Nabiki says she remembers that, and Kasumi goes on to tell a story about a raccoon and fox that played on it, and that the raccoon lost and fell down the mountain. Ranma comments that the story is stupid, but Soun says that the other day he heard that there was a shrine to a raccoon on the mountain, so the story might be true.

Nabiki exlaimes that there might be a clue to finding the ghosts lost item in the song she sings, and that if they learned the lyrics, they might be able solve their mystery. Ranma tells them to be realistic, but Nabiki egnores him and continues that one they found the item, the girl could crossover, and Kasumi finds the whole situation exciting. The ghost appolagizes for being a burnden, but Ranma says that going to the mountain sounds fun and asks if anyone wats to go and leave with Akane is persute.

Trivia

 * For some reason, while Toramasa is talking about defeating Napoleon, his moustache is completely black instead of grey.
 * In the sub, Akane compares Kogane being in her closet like a Buddhist Altar, while in the dub she compares it to a Morgue.
 * Oddly, Kasumi's knowledge of the song varies between the sub and dub, as in the sub she doesn't know the song (having only heard about the "Badger of Mt. Kokkuri") while in dub she does know the song.