Ranma 1/2 - Martial Mayhem - The Complete Fifth Season Boxed Set
If the fifth broadcast season ofRanma 1/2doesn't quite match the  consistent inspiration of the third (Hard Battle), it's much better than  the fourth (Outta Control), with more imaginative writing and fewer weak  episodes. A spoof of American Westerns, with Ryoga as the wandering hero who  confronts the villain in a saloon-cum-ramen parlor, is simply hilarious, as is  a spoof of Japanese historical dramas with Ranma in formalhakama. An  aphrodisiac-impregnated band-aid turns Ranma into a suave ladies' man; the  cord binding his trademark pigtail turns out to be a charm that grows hair,  something Happosai, Genma, and four characters with heads likebaorolls  desperately want. The entire cast brings the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts  style to such improbable activities asmen'srhythmic gymnastics,  Japanese chess,Okonomiyakicooking, Bath House-Fu, and the "Gourmet de  Foie Gras" technique of fine dining. Ryoga sets new records for geographical  confusion, getting lost in a three-legged race and inside a log cabin. Even more  improbable is Sasuke's suggestion that Furinken High's pidgin-speaking  Principal may be the long-lost father of Kuno and Kodachi.A few gentle moments  provide the needed balance to the insanity: Ranma apologizes--sincerely--to Akane in  "Hot Springs Battle Royal" and admits he thinks she's cute in "Ranma the  Lady-Killer." Richard Cox, the voice of boy-type Ranma (and Inu-Yasha), has grown  more comfortable in the part, effectively conveying the sullen and likeable  sides of Ranma's personality. (Rated 13 and older: slapstick violence, nudity,  mildly risqué humor)--Charles Solomon