Shogi Showdown

Kakutō Shogi wa Inochi Gake (格闘将棋は命懸け) is the 16th episode of the fifth season, Martial Mayhem, of Ranma ½ and the 103rd episode overall.

Relation to the Previous Episode
None.

Battle... Shogi?!
After wandering through a large city during the dead of night, a man named Uragishi Sankichi eventually stops walking to look at a piece in his hand before muttering the name "Koharu". Uragishi then heads off to a Shogi parlour where he loses continuously to another younger player who soon tires of Uragishi's multiple requests for him to wait a moment. Once the other player refuses to wait, Uragishi challenges the other player to a game of "Battle Shogi". Despite the parlour owner's description of the game, the other player is far from impressed and accepts but soon falls foul to Uragishi's skills when he uses his final attack to leave the other player lying defeated on the floor (whilst also destroying most of the Shogi parlour).

A few days later and Genma is playing one of his many games of Shogi against Soun. Seeing that he's going to lose, Genma sneezes in order to knock off several pieces from the board, but reassures Soun that it was a mistake and asks if he wants another game.

While Genma begins picking up the pieces, Soun warns his friend that if he cheats again then he won't play Shogi with him ever again, although Genma reassures Soun that has fooling around earlier and that he's going to be playing seriously now. Just as the pair start their new game, however, Uragishi appears from the garden and asks Genma if he's the Shogi master Genma Saotome. Once Uragishi comes close enough for the pair to make out who he is, Genma convinces himself that he's seen Uragishi before, but fails to put his finger on exactly when of where.

With Genma's memory failing him, Uragishi explains that they met a year ago where they had a game of Shogi against each other and when Uragishi had won, Genma requested he wait a moment although Uragishi refused his request. Genma then proceeded to distract Uragishi so that he could quickly flip the board around and declare his victory. When Genma got up to leave Uragishi requested his name to which Genma replied that he was "Shogi Master, Genma Saotome" and told Uragishi to train for a few more years before trying to beat him.

Uragishi then adds that his defeat to Genma broke his winning streak and killed his pride. He also reveals that he started drinking to try and lessen his defeat, but just ended up losing his caring wife.

Back in modren day, and Uragishi finishes his story by explaining he trained for all it's worth so that he could one day defeat Genma. Just then Uragishi notices Soun and Genma have stopped listening and have instead resorted to stacking the Shogi pieces on top of each other out of boredom. Outraged by this Uragishi challenges Genma to a game which Genma more than happily accepts. Unfortunately for Genma he swiftly loses to Uragishi, but this doesn't deter Genma who yet again resorts to trying to distract Uragishi. Despite initially being too clever to fall for Genma's tricks, Uragishi eventually falls for them when Genma points out there being a pig in the garden and Uragishi notices P-chan wandering past.

As Uragishi contemplates eating P-chan, Genma seizes his chance and switches the board around again so that it appears that he's won. Whilst Soun whispers to Genma that he can't win like that, Uragishi hangs his head in shame before requesting another rematch, but is shocked when he sees that Genma has disappeared - leaving behind a panda in his place.

Uragishi's Challenge
With Uragishi now becoming more infuriated with his lose, Soun tries his best to keep the situation calm. However, Uragishi declares that to him Shogi is a game of life or death before also exclaiming that he will now demands they have a game of Battle Shogi before proceeding to don a costume designed after a Shogi piece.

Just after Uragishi explains that his defeat has dropped him from King to Golden General, Ranma and Akane return home. Upon seeing Akane, Uragishi immediately mistakes her for his wife. Ranma tries to protect Akane, but is quickly knocked to the ground by Uragishi's Shogi costumes. Annoyed at being compared to a woman who has no resemblance to her, Akane asks her father just who this man is, causing Soun and Genma to tell Akane that he's a "disciple" of Genma's.

Uragishi, however, is irritated at this label, but Genma starts talking about how he's now resigned from Shogi (although not even Soun knows what Genma is trying to say). Unconvinced with Genma's apparent declaration of retirement, Uragishi prepares to strike, but is quickly left powerless when Happosai easily knocks him onto the floor thus leaving Uragishi to flounder in his Shogi outfit.

After telling Happosai that he shouldn't do such things, Akane runs over to help Uragishi, but gets irritated when he mistakes her for his wife yet again; prompting Akane to send Uragishi flying through the garden.

That afternoon, as the group enjoy some clod drinks, Soun asks Genma if he's going to clean up this mess with Uragishi since he was the one who started it all, although Genma tries his best to change the subject. Akane, meanwhile, asks Happosai what he knows about Battle Shogi. Happosai explains that in Battle Shogi players dress up as pieces on a giant Shogi board he then adds that given how strange the school is it is also the first and last of it's kind. As Happosai warns that they shouldn't take the technique lightly, Genma tells his son the same thing, although Ranma doesn't understand why he should have to care about a rival that isn't one of his own.

Trivia

 * Koharu is renamed Clarabelle in the dub.
 * Sankichi's name is never spoken in the English version.