Ranma ½ (らんま½, Ranma nibun-no-ichi, "Ranma one-half") is a manga series created by Rumiko Takahashi with an anime adaptation. The story revolves around a 16-year old boy named Ranma Saotome who was trained from early childhood in martial arts. As a result of an accident during a training journey, he is cursed to become a girl when splashed with cold water, but hot water will change him back into a boy.
In Japan, the manga was serialized in Shogakukan's Shōnen Sunday where it ran from 1987–1996. Takahashi has stated in interviews that she wanted to produce a story that would be popular with children. Ranma's main audience was boys from elementary to junior high school age.
Ranma ½ was extremely popular among American anime fans in the 1990s and popularized many of anime's most common visual gags. The infamous 'cursed springs' plot device has even come up in anime-themed custom role playing games as a quick transgender device. The anatomical logistics of the cursed condition were purposely glossed over by Takahashi to avoid complications or detractions from its comedic effect.
In November 2006, the New York Comic Con announced that it would host the first-ever American Anime Awards. Anime fans had the chance to vote for their favorites online during the month of January 2007. Only the five nominees receiving the most votes were announced February 5th for each category. Among the 12 different categories, Ranma ½ was voted into the "Best Comedy Anime" category, and the Ranma ½OVA series was voted into the "Best Short Series" category.[1]
Features
Ranma ½ is best known for its novel comedic formula. In part highlighting martial arts hijinks, sometimes formed by comically treating traditional or fictional martial arts practices, but often stemming from the device of transforming a non-martial arts activity like fast food preparation, Ping-Pong, or Chinese takeout delivery into an "anything-goes" martial arts contest. Ranma ½ is perhaps even better known for its gender-swapping main character,who often willfully changes into a girl to advance his goals. Finally, Ranma ½ contains many other equally unusual characters, whose intricate relationships with each other, unusual characteristics and eccentric personalities drive most of the stories. Although the characters and their relationships are complicated, they are for the most part static and rarely change once the characters are firmly introduced and settled into the series.
Plot
Sixteen year-old Ranma Saotome has lived most of his life as a wandering martial artist with his father and frequent sparring partner Genma. On a training journey in the Bayankala Mountain Range in the Qinghai Province of China, the two fall into the cursed springs at Jusenkyo. When someone falls into a cursed spring, they take the physical form of whatever drowned there hundreds or thousands of years ago whenever they come into contact with cold water. The cursed will revert when exposed to hot water until their next cold water exposure. Genma fell into the Spring of the Drowned Panda while Ranma fell into the Spring of Drowned Girl.
The story opens with the pair coming to settle in the dojo of Genma's old friend Soun Tendo, a fellow practitioner of Musabetsu Kakutō Ryū or "Anything-Goes" martial arts which Genma passed on to Ranma. Genma and Soun agreed years ago that their children would marry and carry on the Tendo Dojo. Soun has three teenaged daughters: the "Buddha-like" homemaker Kasumi, the selfish materialist Nabiki, and the hot-tempered, but compassionate and helpful, martial arts practicing Akane. As the youngest, Akane, is both Ranma's age and "hates boys" (actually just the horde attacking her every morning to "win" her affection), she is given the dubious "honor" of marrying the "half girl" Ranma. Although both initially refuse the engagement and often (but not always) play-down their engagement, they are generally treated as betrothed and end up helping or saving each other on numerous occasions (often on a pretext). They are frequently found in each other's company and are constantly arguing in their trademark awkward love-hate manner that is a franchise focus.
Ranma goes to school with Akane at Furinkan High, where he meets his recurring opponent Tatewaki Kuno, the kendo team captain who is aggressively pursuing Akane, but who also falls in love with Ranma's female form without discovering his curse. Furinkan serves as a backdrop for more martial arts mayhem with the introduction of Ranma's regular rivals, the eternally lost Ryoga Hibiki, the nearsighted Mousse, and Ranma's perverted grandmaster Happosai. His prospective paramours who are thrown into the mix include the martial arts rhythmic gymnastics champion Kodachi Kuno, the okonomiyaki vendor and his first fiancée and childhood friend Ukyo Kuonji, along with the Chinese Amazon Shampoo, supported by her great-grandmother Cologne. As the series progresses, things become more eccentric with the return of the Hawaii-obsessed Principal Kuno and the placement of the power-leeching alternating child/adult Hinako Ninomiya as Ranma's English teacher.
TV Series Plot Deviations
The TV series stays true to the above description. The TV series does diverge from the rest of the series by keeping Ranma's gender transformation a secret to the high school students at least throughout most of its length (in both versions, the Kuno family act as if there were two Ranmas). The TV series also fails to introduce geeky, voodoo-practicing Hikaru Gosunkugi until very late in the series. Gosunkugi is an important rival for Akane's affections in the early manga. Instead, the TV series introduces a major recurrent character: Sasuke Sarugakure, diminutive ninja retainer of the Kuno family. Sasuke fills a number of Gosunkugi's roles in early storylines but is a major character in his own right.
Manga
Origins
Takahashi drew inspiration for Ranma ½ from a variety of real-world objects. Some of the places frequently seen in Furinkan are modeled after actual locations in Nerima (both the home of Takahashi and the setting of Ranma ½). In addition, links have been shown between the manga and people, paintings, and even films.[2]
Japanese publication
Ranma ½ began publication in September of 1987, appearing in Shōnen Sunday 1987, Volume 36, following the end of Takahashi's previous major work Urusei Yatsura. From September 1987 until March of 1996, Ranma ½ was published on a near weekly basis with the occasional colorized page to spruce up the usually black and white manga stories. After nearly a decade of storylines, Ranma ½'s final chapter was published in Shōnen Sunday 1996, Volume 12.[3]
Following publication in Shōnen Sunday, the storylines are then grouped and published into small collections known as tankōbon. These are published several times a year, and color pages are converted to the normal black and white. Ranma ½ was eventually serialized into 38 of these volumes. In 2002, Shogakukan opted to republish these under a new format, the shinsōban. These were essentially the same as the tankōban save for a different cover and the inclusion of the original colored pages in Shōnen Sunday.
In addition to the regular storylines, Ranma ½ has had several special releases. First, The Ranma ½ Memorial Book was published just as the manga ended in 1996. Acting as an end-cap to the series, it collects various illustrations from the series, features an interview with Rumiko Takahashi,[4] and includes tidbits about Ranma: summaries of his battles, his daily schedule, trivia, and a few exclusive illustrations. Second, a Movie + OAV Visual Comic was released to illustrate the OAV episodes "The One to Carry On" (both parts) and the theatrical movie "Team Ranma vs. the Legendary Phoenix." It also included information on the seiyū, character designs, and a layout of the Tendo dojo. Finally, guidebooks were released for three of the Ranma ½ games; these included more than just strategies, also featuring interviews.[5]
Ranma ½ Volume 1, second edition (English)
United States publication
VIZ Media, a company owned by Shogakukan and Shueisha, published the English version of the Ranma ½ manga. Viz started publishing the Ranma ½ in 1993 in a monthly comic book format. Because of the time needed to accumulate material, subsequent volumes became relatively slow to come. Each graphic novel covers roughly the same amount of material as a tankouban, but Viz incorporated minor differences in grouping so that the English language version spans 36 volumes rather than the Japanese number of 38. Volume 36, the final volume, was released in stores on November 14, 2006,[6] thus making it Viz's longest running manga, spanning over 13 years.
On March 18, 2004, Viz announced that they would be reprinting a number of their graphic novels. This was more than just a simple reprinting, with each title slightly reformatted. The content remained the same, but the novels moved to a smaller format with different covers. In the case of Ranma ½, the covers shifted from a variegated style to a more uniform cover. In addition, the price dropped to $9.95.[7]
However, the title would still retain its "flipped", left-to-right format, like the first edition.
The popularity of Ranma ½ among early otaku was such that several scanlations and manga summaries in various forms have existed for years before the completion of the official release.
Ranma ½ features a large and diverse cast of characters, the largest cast of any Rumiko Takahashi series created so far.[citation needed]. The following table lists the major characters present in both the manga and anime series with images taken from the manga. Japanese names are in the Western order (given name, then family name).
Training with Genma at Jusenkyo in China, Ranma was thrown into a spring called Nyanniichuan. He emerged as a young girl, according with the spring's curse. When splashed with cold water, he turns into a girl, but when splashed with hot water, he changes back to a boy again. Martial arts is the 16-year-old's hero/heroine's life. He also possesses a very large but easily wounded ego, believing his physical strength to be his only virtue. Whenever his pride is damaged, Ranma will go to great lengths to rectify the situation. He can come across as petty, insensitive and arrogant, as he is prone to cheat or give insults, often acts out of unthinking selfishness, and is a frequent braggart. However much of the above is caused by awkward immaturity. He's also very self-sacrificing when he needs to be. Ranma has an extreme fear of cats, resulting from when his father trained him in a dangerous technique. If Ranma is isolated with a cat in a very small space, he begins behaving like a cat himself.
Genma Saotome (早乙女 玄馬, Saotome Genma)Voiced by: Kenichi Ogata (Japanese); Robert O. Smith (English)
Genma is Ranma's insensitive, selfish and greedy father. He originally took Ranma to Jusenkyo because he'd heard about it in a Chinese brochure even though he can't read a word of Chinese. He also got cursed, turning into a panda. Unlike Ranma, he doesn't have much trouble with it, especially because he can get away from his problems in his panda form. While Genma frequently preaches duty and honor as a martial artist, he seems to be a poor example to set those standards by. For all the wrongs he has committed, he usually tries to get Ranma to shield him from the consequences whenever any of those actions catch up with him. While he's usually either too lazy or scared to show it, he's an incredibly powerful martial artist, who invented the Umisen-ken and Yamasen-ken and possesses a towering battle-aura.
Nodoka is Ranma's loving mother. She hasn't seen him and Genma in over a decade though, when they left on their training trip. Stating that a doting mother would hinder Ranma's training, Genma made a contract with her to raise Ranma as "man amongst men", and if he failed, they would both commit seppuku. However, because Ranma's curse makes him a woman half the time, they spent most of Nodoka's appearances hiding from her as Ranko Tendo and her pet, Mr. Panda. Nodoka's heart was constantly broken by knowing that she wanted nothing more than to see her son again. Eventually in the manga, she does meet Ranma and Genma and discovers their curses. However, she was more accepting than they expected. Mostly because she eventually began to suspect that Ranma and Ranko were, in fact, the same person.
Akane is Soun's youngest daughter at age 16. She is a very insecure, awkward and sensitive girl with a hot temper and a big heart. After first encountering Ranma's male form as a naked stranger in the bathroom and becoming further upset by his insults, the engagement isn't off to a good start. With time, both Akane and the relationship mellow out, and she helps or risks her life for Ranma on several occasions. Akane regularly feels inferior to Kasumi in beauty and feminine pursuits, to Ranma and his other fiancées in cooking, martial arts ability or gymnastics, and to other students in swimming. She is trying hard to excel in everything, but is either clumsy or completely inept at all except for schoolwork and certain sports activities. When someone, frequently Ranma, belittles her lack of success, or calls her ugly, over-muscled, unfeminine and tomboyish (which she agrees with, but has complexes about) she often gets upset. She is shown as very friendly towards people who are polite and don't insult her and has consistently risked herself to help or save Ranma.
Soun Tendo (天道 早雲, Tendō Sōun)Voiced by: Ryūsuke Ōbayashi (Japanese); David Kaye (English)
Soun is the head of the Tendo household and one of the two families to practice Anything Goes Martial Arts. He is also a widower, left to single-handedly take care of his three daughters. He has a large house that is occasionally in need of repairs due to the fights that take place. While he owns his own dojo, students have not been explicitly shown. Oddly he may not have a recurrent source of income and, in the anime, spends most of his time playing Shogi (Japanese chess) with his old training partner Genma. Community representatives frequently approach him when they have problems with unusual phenomena, so this may provide some of it. However he is shown to be quite careful with the expenses and gets upset when Nabiki spends his savings on expensive gifts, or when Ranma throws the dinner on the floor. Soun is anxious for his daughter to say she loves Ranma, or the other way around, to continue the legacy of his school. He'll start announcing wedding plans if Ranma and Akane seem romantically involved. Soun is able to manifest himself as a ghostly, floating oni head, whenever he is upset. He generally assumes most incidents are Ranma's fault. He's shown as extremely protective of his children, especially Kasumi, and becomes sad if their affection is in doubt. Miss Hinako is attracted to him, but he is very loyal to his dead wife and visits her grave in memorial.
Nabiki is the middle daughter of Soun. She loves money above all else and is willing to sacrifice anyone to gain more of it, even ruin her family to win a bet. In most stories that she plays a vital role, she either attempts to extort money from someone, or sets up dangerous situations for her own amusement, or both in combination. In different translations, she has been outright stated to have 'no maidenly feelings' or be 'completely heartless', but she isn't above using her classy and highly attractive appearance as a lure for potential suitors/victims. She has a sarcastic, materialistic, egoistic, manipulative, sadistic and completely amoral attitude that is a sharp contrast to her older sister. Nabiki has been stated to invest at least some of her earnings in personal stocks, but is extremely unwilling to spend her own money. She would rather steal Akane's wardrobe, get spoiled by an admirer, or empty Soun's savings by buying expensive gifts for herself. She was briefly engaged to Ranma after Akane got frustrated and also played a role in bringing the two back together, when he seemed to turn into more work than her profits warranted.
Kasumi Tendo (天道 かすみ, Tendō Kasumi)Voiced by: Kikuko Inoue (Japanese); Willow Johnson (English)
Kasumi is the eldest of the Tendo girls, and the most traditional in the Japanese sense. She has graduated high school and spends most of her day looking after the Tendo household, acting as the family's substitute "matriarch" ever since her mother's untimely death; by cooking, cleaning and helping her family. Sweet, innocent, caring, self-sacrificing and seemingly unaffected by the lunacy that is surrounding her, Kasumi is one of the few characters who never gets hurt at any point in the series, if you don't count her temporary possession by a mischievous oni. She's occasionally shown as wiser and more perceptive than readily apparent, and can see through Nabiki's schemes. Beyond taking care of the household, she's been shown to go out to meet friends and has borrowed a pressure point book from her good friend Dr. Tofu, who is in love with her.
Shampoo came to Japan to kill the female Ranma after he defeated her in an annual martial contest, so he and Genma could eat the prize, a fully stocked banquet table. She gave Ranma the "Kiss of Death", a promise to track her down and eventually kill her - until she realized Ranma was a boy. Now due to Amazon law, she must marry him. She returns home to be retrained at Jusenkyo by her great-grandmother Cologne, but she became cursed and turns into a cat — the one thing Ranma fears most. Having returned to Nerima, Shampoo waits tables at the Cat Cafe (Neko Hanten), her great-grandmother's restaurant, and delivers ramen by bicycle, occasionally running down people—particularly Ranma—on the streets and rooftops. She has stated variations on 'obstacle is for killing' as a personal motto, which even included Akane when the latter was captured and tied up by Pantyhose Taro.
Cologne (可崘, Koron, Pinyin: Kě Lún)Voiced by: Miyoko Aso (Japanese); Elan Ross Gibson (English)
Cologne is Shampoo’s great-grandmother and an elder (the leader?) of the Chinese Amazon tribe. She came to Nerima to see what this “future son-in-law” was made of, but she ended up staying and opening a café so that she could aid Shampoo in winning Ranma's heart. Though an extremely old woman, she remains an immensely dangerous martial artist who has taught Ranma the Kachū Tenshin Amaguriken and Hiryū Shōten Ha. Unlike the rest of the cast, Cologne seems to prefer to sit in the background and watch the madness unfold. If she has a motive, whether it is to help Shampoo in her efforts or to aid Ranma in his battles, only then will she step into the fray. She also runs a Chinese restaurant called the Cat Cafe, where Shampoo and Mousse both work.
Mousse is a long-time friend of Shampoo, though she might not view it that way. He has been in love with her for most of his life, but she finds him annoying at best. He can't see very well without his glasses, often mistaking someone for something else! He comes to Nerima in search of this "new fiancé" that Shampoo has, and he stays to attempt to woo his sweetheart. Shampoo rebuked his advances when they were children and this still holds true by Amazon law, even if he manages to defeat Ranma in combat, but he remains persistent. Now a waiter at the Cat Café, he turns into a duck thanks to his own Jusenkyo curse. When in human form, his clothes contain weapons of drastic proportions, including needles, chains, swords, and just about anything else imaginable. In duck form, Mousse can hide knives in his feathers.
The Jusenkyo Guide turns up at odd points during the series. Though he speaks in somewhat broken Japanese (like Shampoo's accent), he is very knowledgeable about subjects concerning all things Chinese, especially the Jusenkyo Springs. Although he seems to genuinely care about the well-being of the people he guides, most of them end up falling into a spring and getting to hear him recite a very tragic story. For this reason, he keeps a list that contains the names of everyone who has been cursed. He also has a daughter named Plum and remains uncursed despite the long period of time he has been there and the number of people he has watched get cursed.
Tatewaki Kuno is an upperclassman at Furinkan High and was the big man on campus – at least until Ranma came along. Hailing from a very wealthy family, he is also captain of the kendo club and wields both his fortune and sword with equal ease. Given to spouting off Shakespearesque poetry (he quotes Confucius in the Japanese original), he is madly in love with Akane. He also falls for Ranma’s female half and never realizes that she is really his mortal enemy in girl form. He once overhears her called by name, and attempts to write it down for future reference, but never makes a connection and continues to refer to her as the "pigtailed girl" for the entire series.
Kodachi Kuno is the sister of Tatewaki and attends an all-girls school. A champion of Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics, she is defeated by Ranma (female) and thus earns her hatred. She believes that the female Ranma is in love with male Ranma, with whom Kodachi fell in love after he saved her from a fall, and thus a rival. Over the course of the series, she shows up with various plots to make him love her, usually through some sort of deviousness: paralysis gas in roses, sleeping pills in cookies, that sort of thing.
Principal Kuno (九能 校長, Kunō-kōchō)Voiced by: Tatsuyuki Jinnai (Japanese); Scott McNeil (English)
Principal Kuno is the long-absent principal of Furinkan High. Apparently off in Hawaii for quite some time, he returns rather suddenly and proceeds to make as much trouble as possible for the students. He is forever trying to discipline Ranma, especially in regards to his braided ponytail. Given to affecting Hawaiian speech and culture, he is also the long-lost father of the Kunos. His children are not particularly happy to see him, though.
Ten years ago, on a training trip in the country, Genma stole Ukyo's father's okonomiyaki yatai (food cart), leaving her behind and breaking the arrangement he and her father made. However, before this Ranma and Ukyo were friends, though Ranma never knew she was a girl. Shamed and ridiculed by her peers, Ukyo decided she wouldn't like boys, dressed and lived as one, and devoted herself to okonomiyaki-style martial arts. After a heated battle, Ranma discovers her true gender. Meanwhile, she discovers that he does not get along with his "uncute" fiancée Akane. They reconcile, and she falls in love with him again. Ranma still treats her as only an old friend, and her plots to win him over have been almost consistently non-violent, unlike those of his other suitors. She has been willing to give up her house and restaurant, or rescind her craft for Ranma's sake, if it would mean that they could be together.
"Voodoo Spike" Gosunkugi is the least popular student in Furinkan and a student in Ranma's class. He's a painfully shy boy with few friends. Like many of the Furinkan students, he loves Akane and attempts to win her by doing away with Ranma through inefficient Voodoo magic or outrageous plots. He also enjoys taking photographs on the sly and teams up with several other characters, notably Kuno, in various plots. Most of his parts were given to Sasuke, the ninja servant of the Kunos, in the anime.
Dr. Tofu Ono (小乃東風, Ono Tōfū)Voiced by: Yuji Mitsuya (Japanese); Ian Corlett (English)
Dr. Tofu is the resident chiropractor and well-liked by the residents of Furinkan. He is also a martial artist, though never seen practicing, and is quite competent at tending Ranma and Akane in their various scrapes. He is also madly in love with Kasumi and becomes quite dangerous (albeit unintentionally so) when she is around. In these instances, he becomes an incompetent fool, sometimes harming his patients. Sadly, she doesn't feel the same way. He always seems to know what to do—until Kasumi arrives. The anime gives him a larger role, though in both mediums, he becomes a very minor character after the first few stories.
Hinako is an English teacher hired by Principal Kuno for the purpose of reforming Furinkan High's many delinquents. Due to Happosai’s intervention when she was a small child, she has an unusual metabolism. By sucking out her enemy's battle aura through a circular opening, usually that of a five-yen coin, she transforms from an innocent child into a rather provocative woman. As a child, she is spastic and acts absurdly. In her adult form, she tends to be a bit cold and forward. Either way, however, she tries to take her job seriously, and has a crush on Soun. She's been shown to have bad housekeeping skills and a penchant for junk food.
Ryoga is a childhood rival of Ranma's and is famous for losing his way thanks to a horrible sense of direction. After spending months looking for male Ranma for leaving before their planned duel, he finally finds him in China but gets pushed into a Jusenkyo spring by female Ranma and now changes into a small piglet. He seeks Ranma out with a large grudge, and discovers Akane who thinks that little “P-chan” is quite cute. Of course, she doesn’t know that it’s really Ryoga, but that doesn’t stop him from falling in love with her. When not upset he's usually shy, humble and polite, especially around women. His anger lessens with time, first into a fierce rivalry, then shifting back and forth between tense competition, uneasy allies or non-serious conflicts. Finally they became on friendly enough terms for Ryoga to repeatedly risk his life to help Ranma, but the competition between the two will likely persist forever. Ryoga spends his time wandering through the wilderness, training and amassing new techniques to exceed Ranma — if he can ever find his friend and nemesis.
Happosai (八宝斎, Happōsai)Voiced by: Ichirō Nagai (Japanese); Paul Dobson (English)
The very definition of a dirty old man, Happosai is the grandmaster and founder of the Anything Goes Martial Arts school. Genma and Soun were his original disciples, but they got fed up having to steal lingerie for the old lecher and decided to try and finish him off. They were quite surprised when he showed up many years later to make them miserable and find a successor in the Art. Unfortunately for Ranma, he was the incorrigible old freak's choice. He is an immensely skilled and powerful martial artist, with but one weakness: bras and panties. Happosai is so obscenely addicted to his perversion that he suffers from withdrawal if he goes without them for an extended period. It seems as though he always shows up at the most inconvenient moments. Happosai can go to great lengths to ruin the life of anyone that displeases him, but usually chooses silly methods. He nonetheless shows a soft spot for children.
Pantyhose Taro (パンスト太郎, Pansuto-Tarō)Voiced by: Shinnosuke Furumoto (Japanese); Matt Hill (English)
Pantyhose Taro has possibly the most unique curse in the series, having been baptised in the Spring of the Drowned Yeti Holding an Eel and Crane while Riding an Ox after his birth. Unfortunately, it was Happosai who performed the honor after helping his mother give birth while he was in one of his rare good moods. In Taro's society, the baptiser also receives the honor of naming the child, and he chose "Pantyhose," believing everybody would like it. Taro enjoys the power his cursed form possesses, even going back to Jusenkyo to get an octopus curse to add tentacles to his back. A cold, sadistic and thoroughly ruthless individual, he is driven entirely by his desire to capture Happosai and be renamed.
Shogakukan
