Finally, Appare-Ranman is getting the two things it really needed to go from a show with some inherent potential to a show actively worth your time! The first of these things, of course, is some actual damn rubber to the ground racing which despite being the backbone of the show only just truly kicked off at the end of episode 5, which admittedly has the best of the anime so far. Appare-Ranman Episode 6 has brought to the show a component so obvious and so necessary yet one I could not have imagined; An indistinct animal mascot with a mohawk! This whole time my biggest complaint with the show was lack of racing, but it wasn’t cars but instead a weird groundhog-like creature that would fill the void.
While I’m slightly exaggerating the quantity of what our new furry friend brings to the show, how he comes into Appare-Ranman Episode 6 is actually a pretty fun bit. Hototo, the spunky youth member of the team, goes after a group of bandits he believes may be connected to his father’s murderer and promptly gets himself capture. Local Samurai father figure Kosame goes out searching for him and, due to some shenanigans you’re better off watching than having me describe, has to pretend this little rat creature is indeed Hototo. They do share spikey green hair, so it’s not all the hard for the master samurai. Despite his often cautious and somewhat self-serious default, the scene hints at some sharp critical thinking skills he doesn’t often let surface.
Quick pet adoption skills aren’t all we see of Kosame this time around. Another scene Appare-Ranman Episode 6 whips up, one that is unfortunately all too short, is a Japanese Kendo versus European Fencing practice match between Kenzo and the self-assured British lad Al who wanted to test some mettle. They trade a few blows and the scrimmage was beginning to heat up but in a flash, Al knocks Kenzo’s wooden sword out of his hand. That might make it look like the young Al’s a better fighter, but you’ll come away with a sneaking suspicion that Kenzo let it happen. Al comments that he felt like the samurai’s skills were shrouded by fog. Between his quick thinking when rescuing Hototo and knowing how to hold back with Al, it’s clear there’s a side to Kenzo we don’t know.
For being so excited we’re finally in the thick of the race, I’ve barely talked about it! That’s because in Appare-Ranman Episode 6 Appare, Xialin, and the rest of the racers are only at it at they beginning and the ending of the episode. Guess they do all need to get some dinner and get some sleep along the way. We do get to see young Appare go into ‘Math Mode’ when determining whether or not he should wait for a train crossing the tracks to pass or try to out-flank to the side. It would be interesting to see some more indepth Math schematcs as the races go on, because a bit of pseudo-science is always fun.
You can watch Appare-Ranman Episode 6 on Funimation now.