Because of a classmate, Gosunkugi, taking pictures of Akane during gym class--and Akane losing her balance when she gets distracted by the flash of the camera--she has to spend three days at the hospital. Ranma, who knows that the accident is partly his fault, tries to work up the courage to apologize and to visit her and spend time with her in the hospital, but is foiled by his own shyness and the fact that he and Akane are so awkward around each other that every conversation turns into a fight. But all throughout this episode there's a tenderness and softness that isn't found in most of the noisier, more plot-heavy episodes. This episode kinds of drags the way time in the hospital would, if you were the one injured or if you loved someone who had been injured. Eventually, when friends come to visit Akane and are treated to dinner at the Tendo house (courtesy of Kasumi, Akane's sister), they spend more time thinking of fun things to do at the Tendo house rather than of things to comfort Akane and to help her pass the time. In the middle of all this merriment and noise is the quiet Ranma, who's restless and who doesn't know what to do with himself--who's paralyzed both by longing and fear, but who can't even identify these feelings, much less act on them. He is such a boy.
This blog entry doesn't really have a point. It's just, I identify with a lot of things in this episode, and I think it encapsulates the most endearing things about this series that I grew up with. I even wrote a story once that was inspired by this episode--not that it ever saw the light of day or was read by anybody but me. Ranma and Akane are young, and always will be, but I'm not anymore, and I don't have their excuse when it comes to having feelings I don't know how to deal with. I should be able to tackle my moods and my maudlin sentimentality with greater finesse by now.
But sometimes it's nice to remember when it was okay not to know how :)
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