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Ranma ½ (Ranma Nibunoichie) is arguably Takahashi's most popular manga series. Ranma ran in Shonen Sunday from 1987 to 1996. At the series conclusion there were 38 takoubons, 161 anime episodes. Ranma also spawned 3 movies, 8 OAVs and 12 video games.
Ranma Saotome is an extraordinary teenage martial artist who has a slight problem. Every time he gets splashed with cold water (which happens at the strangest of times) he turns into a buxom girl.
The story of how this most unfortunate situation (or fortunate situation depending on your point of view) is quite a tale. Ranma and his father Genma were training at the Jhusenkuo or The Training Ground of the Accursed Springs. Each pushed one another into hot springs that were the sites of two tragic deaths. Ranma was knocked into the Nyannichuan (Spring of the drowned girl), where a young girl died 1,500 years ago. And Genma fell into the Shonmaonichichuan where a panda drowned two centuries ago. The only way for Ranma and his father to assume their personas is to be splashed with cold water.
The story really gets interesting when Genma and Ranma movi in with Genma's life long friend Soun Tendo, the founder of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts. When Soun and Genma were younger they made a promise that in order to keep the martial arts school going they arranged for their children to be married.
Soun has three daughters Kasumi, age 19, who is a kind young woman, has assumed the responsibility of caring for her family since her mother died. Nabiki, age 17, the entrepreneur of the Tendo family, exploits her new living situation to gain extra income. And finally, Akane, a 16 year old, superb martial artist, who is the same age as Ranma, and therefore is the most logical marriage partner. But just one problem Akane hates boys and her uncomfortable first meeting Ranma starts the road to a very turbulent love/hate relationship.
One would think being sixteen in an arranged engagement with a girl who hates boys and a boy who is half girl was traumatic enough. But when every boy in your high school (good ol' Furinkan High) fights your fiancée everyday for a date, and your principal is a Hawaiian gear loving psycho who wants to cut off your ponytail, life becomes downright hell.
Ryoga Hibiki is a sixteen year old who also fell into a cursed spring when a young girl chasing a panda accidentally knocked him into the Heituenniichuan, where a pig drowned tragically 1,200 years ago. So when Ryoga is wet with cold water he turns into a cute little black pig.
Needless to say Ryoga has been prancing all over trying to find Ranma to revenge his curse. It has taken him some time to locate Ranma because his sense of direction is so bad he could not find his way out of a paper bag. But upon finding Ranma, at the Tendo Dojo, Ryoga immediately falls for Akane; unfortunately Akane does not feel the same. So to get close to Akane, Ryoga turns himself into a pig, and becomes Akane's pet P-Chan.
Akane's second wanna-be suitor is Tatewaki Kuno, age 17, a Kendo Master, and son of Furinkan High's principal. He has declared himself a mortal enemy of Ranma, or does he? Apparently Kuno is the only person at Furinkan that does not realize that the little pigtail girl is actually Ranma plus some cold H20. So poor Kuno is eternally torn between Akane and the female Ranma.
While Akane's suitors are obsessive, Ranma's are mental. There is no way to better describe this motley set of girls who are totally in love with Ranma. Case in point Ukyou Kuonji, a skilled martial artist, and owner of an Okonomiyaki restaurant (Japanese style pancake restaurant). As a child Genma promised her father that Ranma would marry Ukyou in exchange for an Okonomiyaki cart. But instead Genma took the dowry and left with Ranma. Hurt and vengeful Ukyou came to find Ranma and avenge her father and their honor. Ukyou does not like Akane, but she really wants to fight Ranma. She enjoys fighting with an oversized Okonomiyaki spatula.
Then there is the downright evil Kodachi Kuno, sister of Tatewaki Kuno. She is a master Rhythmic Gymnastics Martial Artist, where no one fights with their hands or feet, but with gymnastics tools. She was saved by Ranma after an attempting to ambush Akane in her sleep. Kodachi is totally unaware that the pig-tailed girl is actually Ranma, and believes that both of them are after THE male Ranma.
Then there is the very cute but annoying Shampoo. Shampoo is a sixteen-year-old Chinese Amazon, who was defeated by Ranma in male and female form. So she is dedicated to defeating Ranma and becoming his bride. Shampoo also fell victim to the cursed springs (Maonichuan cursed spring) while training with her grandmother Cologne. Now when wet with cold water she becomes a cute little cat. Cologne and Shampoo own the Cat Café, a Chinese restaurant.
Happosai is the dirty old sensei of Soun and Genma who loves women's bras, panties, and the beautiful women in them, including the pig-tailed Ranma (who he knows is a boy). He is great comic relief and an excellent martial arts teacher when he is not trying to cop a feel.
Cologne is Shampoo's extremely old grandmother who will do anything to see Shampoo married to Ranma. She too is a martial artist and runs the Cat Café with Shampoo.
Mousse grew up with Shampoo and must defeat her in order to marry her. He also fell into a forbidden spring (Yaazuniichaun the spring of the drowned duck) while training, and when splashed with cold water becomes a duck, with glasses.
It is uncertain as to whether Ranma and Akane can manage to remain engaged despite all of this. But what is certain is that there seem to be some feeling between the two that they cannot seem to bring to surface. This sexual tension mixes great with the variety of whacked out martial arts situations, including gymnastics, cooking, and dancing. The combination makes Ranma an entertaining and hilarious take on martial arts.
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