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Template:Infobox Ranma Character Ranma Saotome (早乙女 乱馬 Saotome Ranma) is the fictional main character in Rumiko Takahashi's anime and manga series Ranma ½.
History
Template:Spoiler Ranma Saotome, the son of Genma and Nodoka Saotome, was taken from his home at an early age by his father on a decade-long training trip to perfect his martial arts. Along the way, he encountered many things, and many people, which is revealed later in the series.
When Ranma was young, he befriended Ukyo Kuonji, the daughter of a travelling okonomiyaki chef and martial artist, though Ranma didn't know she was a girl. Genma engaged Ranma to Ukyo in exchange for the vendor's cart of her father, but he abandoned Ukyo and ran off with the cart, without telling Ranma about the engagement or correcting him about Ukyo's real gender.
Later, near the end of the training trip, Genma took Ranma to a training ground in China named Jusenkyo that no one used anymore because the springs there were cursed. Falling into them would turn you into whatever drowned there and cursed the spring before. Not knowing this, Genma attempted to train with Ranma atop the bamboo poles which jutted up out of the pools. When Ranma knocked Genma into Shonmaoniichuan, or the Spring of Drowned Panda, he was surprised to find that instead of his father, a panda jumped out of the pool and prepared to continue the fight. Genma, now cursed, was able to hit Ranma into another of the cursed pools, Nyannichuan (Niángníquán 娘溺泉), or the Spring of Drowned Girl. Thus he turns into a girl with cold water, which is only reversible through hot water.
Genma trained Ranma in the style of Musabetsu kakutō ryū karate ("School of Indiscriminate Grappling", more commonly known in the West as "Anything Goes Martial Arts"). This style was developed by Happosai in antiquity and then taught to Genma alongside his friend Soun Tendo. Ranma is seen as the primary heir as master of the school, and he commonly proports himself to be able to win any competition, if there is martial arts involved.
Before this incident, Genma had made an arrangement with Soun, that Ranma would marry one of Soun's daughters, and carry on the Tendo Dojo. Although Soun's daughters Kasumi and Nabiki declined the engagement, the engagement was handed down their younger sister Akane, who is the same age as Ranma, and as a tomboy was seen as the appropriate fiancee to a man who transforms into a woman. Although they were initially unwilling to be engaged, they both later developed feelings for each other, which they struggle the whole series to express.
Ranma and Genma then moved into the Tendo dojo. Since then, Ranma has endured, among other things, Amazons, old rivals, Dojo destroyers, and even evil demons. Ranma has also received several male suitors, such as Tatewaki Kuno, because of his female counterpart's buxom body.
After receiving a letter from his wife, Genma told Ranma that he had promised his mother that Ranma would return "a man among men." and that if she were to discover that he were anything less, that they would both be forced to commit seppuku (ritual suicide). Therefore, whenever she came to visit, Ranma would change into a girl and was known as "Ranko," presented as a visiting cousin of Akane's. Accompanying "Ranko" on these visits would be her pet, "Mr. Panda," played by Genma's cursed form.
Later, Ranma talked to his mother as a man (not revealing his curse) and to show that he was manly (not a cross-dresser), had to do several perverted things (mostly to do with Akane). However, these efforts failed, so his mother told him that she would return later to check on his 'manliness.' Eventually, after he saved her life, Nodoka accepted him as a man amongst men despite the curse, for which he has not yet found a permanent cure. It is still possible for Ranma to eventually do so because the Spring of Drowned Man, also located at Jusenkyo, would effectively reverse his curse. He has occasionally obtained access to such a cure, only to lose it during a fight over who would be able to use it.
Personality
Under normal circumstances, Ranma is laid back and fairly carefree. But because his childhood and adolescence were completely dedicated to his martial arts training, he lacks experience in social situations and often speaks without thinking of the consequences. Often he does this by insulting people by telling them the blunt truth. For instance, he once pointed out his female form had a larger bust than Akane, who had just taken pride in her growing bosom. Early in the manga, he borrowed Akane's overalls while his own clothes were in the laundry and casually mentioned that the waist area had plenty of room and was tight at the bust. Ranma often will give people insulting nicknames like Old Hag (Cologne), Violent Tomboy (Akane), etc.
Due to the unique nature of his training, Ranma has little respect for authority figures, such as his father and teachers, Hinako Ninomiya and Principal Kuno. His willingness to fight back against Principal Kuno seems to have made him a hero of the hallways. Other than that, he is quite irresponsible, often dodging situations that don't involve battle or his personal goals. Examples of this include juggling his various love interests or avoiding people he considers to be pests, whether they mean well for him or not.
His poor social skills have also made it relatively easy to anger or embarrass him. When faced with an embarrassing situation, he lashes out at his accuser, generally coming across as gruff and very short-tempered. Nabiki has sometimes taken advantage of Ranma's naïveté, playing situations to her advantage. He would like to lead a normal life now that his ten-year training voyage has ended, although his unique curse and family situation make that impossible.
He takes great pride in his martial arts ability and likes to brag about his talent. He usually has the skills to back it up, though his overconfidence can also lead to some comical trouble. Although he can be dense, he is adept at learning from his mistakes in a fight and can usually fix them before or during the next encounter. Ranma is quick to prove himself, and will not back down from a fight, even if he is in danger of losing, or unsure of how to beat his opponent. This trait often results in him being unable to accept defeat and becoming preoccupied with trying to beat his opponent. Ranma will sometimes refuse a match if he deems the opponent too ridiculous to fight.
A hardcore martial artist, Ranma is quick to use insults, intimidation and/or violence when dealing with those who upset him, typically worsening the problem instead of solving it. Using money, diplomacy or blackmail are ideas that never even come to mind. Instead, he sometimes uses his sexy female form, in conjunction with a fabricated innocent persona, to convince hormonal boys to do as he wishes. Ranma says he doesn't like fighting women, perhaps because he is much stronger than most of his female opponents. He has battled women (or those he thought were women) on numerous occasions, however, in both male and female form.
While he sometimes blames others for his problems, Ranma also will take responsibility for things that are not mainly his fault, such as Akane's hair being chopped off during his first fight with Ryoga, or Ukyo's rage at being left behind. He's protected all of his fiancees at different times, with one of the best examples being when he saved Akane from the hungry Yamata no Orochi, though she returned the favour and has saved or helped him a comparable number of times. He's even rescued enemies at times, such as Herb, who was trying to kill him. Ranma has a low tolerance for people who try to steal from him or otherwise treat him badly, though he's often very forgiving. For instance, his father frequently stole food from him and subjected him to the Cat-Fist technique when he was small, yet he usually seems no more than irritated. He may get mad, but he usually does not stay that way for long. The main exception to this rule would be Happosai, whom he's been stated to truly hate and consider a personal archenemy (in the Memorial Book/The art of Ranma½ chart), never misses an opportunity to trick or torment, and explicitly attempted/expected to kill (by punting him and a 5m diameter sized Happo Fire Burst over a cliff) even before he almost turned Ranma powerless for life through a weakness moxibustion point.
Though he also has a petty side to his character, and will occasionally howl revenge at the moon, cry on the floor, or stoop to great lows in trickery if he's repeatedly defeated, humbled or feels humiliated. For example, he couldn't stand seeing Akane become more powerful through the use of super-strength soba, and was explicitly stated to hold a grudge after she turned back, which he satisfied through gloating while repeatedly defeating her in arm-wrestling.
His feelings for Akane have varied. When they first met, he was a girl and seemed to feel a shy friendship with her. When Akane began insulting him upon learning of his masculinity, he changed his mind, although he retained a fondness for her, even challenging Sanzenin, who threatened to kiss her. Even though they often argue with each other, he has never caused Akane any actual physical harm, and has often taken a hit for her. The most notable example of this is when he risked breaking his hand to avoid hitting Akane while trying to remove the living battle suit. Outside of their introductory stories, he has also never caused physical harm to Shampoo, Ukyo, and Kodachi.
He can be romantic, but Ranma has a difficult time expressing his feelings. He becomes nervous when confronted with romance, such as with Shampoo during the Reversal Jewel story, or in numerous moments with Akane. Because the latter's feelings changed frequently in the series, he was unsure whether she was interested in him and feared rejection. His softer side started to emerge in the latter half of the series. He became somewhat more romantic to Akane, even having fantasies about proclaiming his love.
One of Ranma's worst habits is that when fighting or training with his father, he is generally oblivious to his surroundings. The most notable consequence of this is when Ranma—in girl-form—accidentally kicked Ryoga into the "Spring of the Drowned Pig" while pursuing his father at the cursed springs of Jusenkyo. Kuno is probably his favorite "stepping stone," although this appears intentional, since Kuno and Ranma despised each other at first sight. Another victim of his obliviousness is the Frog Hermit, who was knocked into the "Spring of the Drowned Frog" when Ranma accidentally kicked out his bamboo pole from under him.
While he has often professed his wish to become a normal person (i.e., all male) again, this has not stopped Ranma from using his girl identity to his advantage. He has often used his female form to conceal his true male identity from others, including his mother, Nodoka. Other times he has used it to obtain information from somebody who is enamored with "her" (usually Kuno) or to reach a desired goal in a place where being female would benefit him. Sometimes (actually, quite frequently; he does so about once per episode of the anime), he even declares his girl form to be more attractive than Akane. In the anime, he enjoys ice cream Parfait, though he is always in his girl form when he does this because he considers it embarrassing for men to consume such a food.
Ranma's speech is casual and unrefined, using a coarse form of Japanese (or English in the case of the American-translated anime and manga). He rarely uses -san, -kun, -chan or any other traditional Japanese honorifics. He does use -sempai (elder student) for Kuno, but that is more for sarcasm. Others he uses honorifics for include Soun (Ojisan or "Uncle"), Ukyo (Ucchan, his childhood nickname for her), Kasumi (usually -san) and Ojiisan and Obaasan for Happosai and Cologne when he's not mad at them. And while Akane usually uses honorifics for other people, she rarely addresses him with one. This is amusing since it would denote that the two are particularly intimate with each other.
Ranma's Fears
Ranma is generally fearless, or so he would have others believe. However, he does suffer from one weakness that leaves him paralyzed in its presence: ailurophobia, the fear of cats.
When Ranma was young, his father tried to teach him the Nekoken (Cat Fist) technique. The training technique described the trainee being covered in fish sausage and thrown into a pit of starving cats, but that only made him afraid of them. Only then did Genma read the final page of the training book, which stated that the technique should never be used, as it only results in severe mental scarring. Genma then tried to make his son less fearful of felines by repeating the training, covering the boy in some other fish-based food each time. His efforts failed to cure the phobia, but they did teach Ranma the intended technique, albeit with potentially dangerous ramifications. Ranma became permanetly afraid of cats; he couldn't even get near one and would faint if one touched him. While his phobia seems to have gotten slightly less drastic over the course of the manga, it does not help that Shampoo, who is obsessed with him, is cursed to turn into a cat when hit with water.
If his fear reaches a critical point—the result of being surrounded by cats and/or unable to get away from them for an extended period of time—his mind retreats into a state of galeanthropy, the delusion that he is a cat. Ranma can only use the Nekoken when in this state, which manifests as an increase in speed and agility, and the ability to attack enemies—or anything else that annoys him—with invisible claws sharp enough to slice through seemingly anything - wood, metal, stone and ice all fall to his claws. He has even shredded water. He has willingly entered the Nekoken on a few occasions in order to help him win a battle, most notably in a beachside fight with Cologne for the Phoenix Pill that would allow him to tolerate hot water again. To do so, he tied Shampoo to his back and dashed back into the surf.
As a cat, Ranma is temperamental and generally wishes to be left alone after he is done shredding whatever annoyed him or was foolish enough to attack him. However, he usually comes out of it after taking a nap, something he only does in the lap of someone he trusts. An old woman who lived near the Saotome home was able to handle him when it happened as a child, but now he generally sleeps on Akane's lap, much to her embarrassment. Splashing him with water can work as well. Ranma remembers nothing of what goes on while he is in the Nekoken, which can cause great problems if his behavior was unacceptable by human standards.
A less obvious, but possibly greater fear that Ranma has is that of defeat. If he suffers a loss that he knows he cannot do anything about, he becomes despondent. Extremely proud of his abilities, he feels humiliated by even one setback. When this happens, he becomes obsessed with avenging his defeat in another battle. He fears only the possibility that he might not be able to do so, even with sufficient training, under these circumstances. But that has not yet prevented Ranma from trying anyway.
Love Life
Ranma leads one of the most bizarre love lives in anime and manga. Thanks to his father's foolishness and some bad luck he has multiple fiancées, none of whom seem willing to give up on him and all with a legitimate engagement to him.
The first fiancée featured in the manga is Akane Tendo, to whom he has apparently been promised from a young age thanks to a deal made between his father, Genma and his father's oldest friend, Soun Tendo. Their relationship gets off to a rocky start thanks to Ranma's curse, Akane's quick temper, and his smart mouth, but they do end up coming to love each other even if they rarely openly show it. They constantly bicker, but nonetheless repeatedly help each other out of tight spots, and are always willing to risk their life in an instant to ensure the other's safety.
The next fiancée to show up was Shampoo, a Chinese Amazon, who went from trying to kill Ranma in his female form, courtesy of some extremely strict tribal laws, to wanting to marry him after Ranma accidentally knocked her unconscious in his male form to stop her from attacking Akane. He temporarily drove her off by using his curse to confuse her, but she soon returned, now cursed to turn into a cat with cold water, making her aware of his situation as a male cursed to become female. Accompanying her this time was her great-grandmother Cologne, who caused Ranma considerable trouble with her knowledge of the martial arts and obscure pressure points upon her initial appearance. Shampoo has stated variations on 'obstacle is for killing' as a personal philosophy, and made occasional failed attempts to kill Akane, Ukyo and even Nabiki or Hinako, to prevent them from getting close to Ranma, whom she considers to be her husband. She hasn't been above attempting to permanently enslaving Ranma into loving her through the use of a magic pills or surikomi eggs.
The third and final fiancée to appear was Ukyo Kuonji, a childhood friend of Ranma's. He did not know about the arrangement Genma had made with her father and believed Ukyo was male at first. She initially wanted revenge, thanks to Genma's abandoning her and stealing her dowry, leading her to be considered a social pariah, and believing Ranma was an accessory. During the subsequent fight, Ranma finally learned she was a girl by accidentally grabbing her breasts, then pouring hot water on her to confirm she did not have a Jusenkyo curse. Ukyo was still upset, but became embarrassed when he said she was cute, to give her faith in her femininity and let go of the grudge. When he explicitly presented his 'uncute' fiancée Akane and they didn't seem to get along, Ukyo immediately forgave him and, to his surprise, handed over an okonomiyaki with a heart on it to indicate the restoration of their friendship. She has since treated their engagement very seriously and often has romantic visions of their future together. She helped him recover his strength from a 'weakness moxibustion', but was willing to marry him even if he remained weak for life. She also offered her restaurant as collateral to help him win against the Gambling King and was willing to give up her work and greatest passion to be a proper wife for Ranma. She's taken pity on and offered room to Konatsu, a poor, mistreated male kunoichi who gives her unrequited love in return.
There are others who have tried to win Ranma over--both male and female, depending on the form he was in at the time. Although he does not return their affections, he's not above using them to get what he wants either. Two of his more determined suitors are Tatewaki Kuno and his sister, Kodachi. The anime introduces other suitors as well, though they are mostly for laughs and not meant to be taken very seriously.
Despite his stubborn protests and his pride, he does hold strong romantic feelings for Akane. By the end of the manga, he has admitted to himself that he loves her, even if he can't muster enough courage to admit it out loud. Despite this, Ranma will often go to great lengths to avoid making any decision on the matter at all. He also shows no real interest in rectifying the situation with his other fiancées. In fact, in several instances, he has gone out of his way to ensure that things don't change, since he needs to feel attractive; or, at the very least, to ensure that his status as a "man among men" remains uncompromised. During the 'Reversal Jewel' story for example, he went out of his way to ensure that Shampoo didn't give him up, and demanded an expression of love from Ukyo for pure ego gratification. Ranma was also unwilling to hurt Shampoo's feelings during the onsen race, or Ukyo's during the 'secret sauce' arc, so his feelings on the subject seem torn between selfishness and consideration. But beyond Shampoo's introduction story, he's never made a serious effort to set either Shampoo or Ukyo loose, though it's unclear if he ever could in the former case. He's also occasionally saved them both from danger, though not nearly as frequently as Akane.
The end of the manga strongly implies that Ranma and Akane will marry once they have sorted out their personal affairs. After the final fight with Saffron it is implied that Ranma is more careful with his words to Akane.
Sexuality
A running gag through the series is that Ranma is sometimes accused of doing perverted things but rarely actually committed the accused act. During P-Chan's (Ryoga's cursed form) first appearance, Ranma tried to threaten him to get out of Akane's room, but was manoevred into falling on top of Akane's sleeping body. In an attempt to find the Japanese 'Spring of drowned man' he also disguised him-/herself to gain entrance to the girls' locker room while they were still changing clothes, and accidentally tipped Happosai's stash of stolen underwear over himself in front of his classmates. Other examples include when Shampoo has turned up naked and hugged him in the Tendo bath, crept into his bed without his knowledge or when they both ended up in the Kuno bathtub. Usually right before Akane sees him through the open doorway. Another double misunderstanding happened when Kodachi once doctored a photograph to show them kissing, and Ranma-chan tried to get the negative from Tatewaki by offerring to bathe with him. In reality he's a bit prudish, though not close to Ryoga's level, and has been heavily flustered by the concept of even kissing Akane during a school play or simply through receiving a heartfelt hug because he survived the battle against Herb. Though his defences have been shaken, for example when Kiima or a spirit doll assumed Akane's form and made sexual advances, when Nabiki assumed a cute face and declared her deep love for him (actually just sadistic play-acting), and when Shampoo soothed and cuddled him during her first appearance.
Though Ranma turns into an attractive woman, he has a very strong heterosexual male gender identity, such that even while female himself, he still feels uncomfortable in the presence of naked women. His masculinity is so strong that he prefers to wear boxer shorts under his clothes even when he dons feminine garments such as dresses. During the moxibustion story arc, however, he accepted his female form and posed for pictures in lingerie as part an effort to defeat Happosai. Men who try to get grabby (even accidentally), such as Kuno or Happosai-who especially disgusts him-generally get pummelled. However as Ranma is a man, he has little feminine modesty. He sometimes removes his shirt in public, as he is generally unaware of the effect that the sight of his unclothed female body has on others. The guys at school appreciate this side of Ranma as it offers them a free glimpse of his exposed chest, and they openly wish there were more girls like him. His worst nightmare is being kissed by a man, and he even has a hideous dream in which he was a girl and married Kuno, spawning several children. Ranma does however receive his first kiss, excluding Shampoo's kiss of death, while a female from Mikado Sanzenin of the Golden Pair of Martial Arts Skating, an occurrence that, by Ranma's own admission, made him truly angry for the first time.
Rivals
Ranma has several rivals. However, his main opponents are:
- Tatewaki Kuno is his rival at school, as well as his suitor (for his female counterpart, often referred to as the "pigtailed girl"). He gave Ranma a challenge during their first serious battle, but has since always been easily overcome, except when Ranma has been weakened, when Kuno has used magic items, or when his battle skills were immensely powered up through the combination of watermelon-splitting training and amnesia, but he never stops trying. Kuno is also the only student at Furinkan High School who doesn't know that Ranma can change into a girl. When Nabiki tells him that the 'pigtailed girl' belongs to Ranma, body and soul, he predictably reaches the conclusion that Ranma has enslaved her.
- Kodachi Kuno, Tatewaki's sister, and a mistress of 'martial arts rhytmic gymnastics'. She sees Ranma's female half as a rival to gain the affection of the male half. Kodachi and her brother share a strong sibling rivalry, in part because they are each in love with the other's object of hatred: Kodachi for Ranma and Tatewaki for the enigmatic "pigtailed girl." She is fond of using paralysing concoctions, and isn't above ambushing people in their beds, or using illegal weaponry and outside help to win her competitions.
- Ryoga Hibiki is Ranma's primary rival in the martial arts and the only one he has stated outright that he considers as an equal. He was also fighting for Akane's affection until the end of the series, when he got a girlfriend of his own. Many times, Ranma has put on a disguise to fool Ryoga, mostly to get him away from her. Although they constantly fight or banter, Ranma eventually comes to regard him as a friend and helps him out of many situations, most notably hiding his secret of turning into a pig from Akane, who keeps his pig form as a pet. Ryoga has also repeatedly risked his own life to assist Ranma during serious conflicts. He is the strongest, swiftest and most skilled of Ranma's regular opponents and has bested him several times during the series. But with the exception of the 'koi of love' arc or ice rink battle, Ranma has usually managed to grasp a slight victory in the 'final' conflict, though he sometimes has to use strategy or trickery to do so.
- Mousse is angry at Ranma for taking Shampoo away. At first, Akane convinced Ranma to lose on purpose so Shampoo would give Mousse a promised date and get attached to him. But Ranma won anyway, since his pride refused to allow himself to be defeated. Later, Mousse actually got the desired date, when he for once tried to fight honourably while Ranma repeatedly cheated, but severely botched up the opportunity. He doesn't always use his great speed and vast arsenal of weapons fully to his advantage.
- Happosai is the perverted founder of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts and is possibly the most powerful character in the series. He frequently tries to force Ranma to become his student or model lingerie for him, but the pigtailed boy continues to refuse his requests. He is technically far too dangerous to be considered a rival, rather than merely an irritant and adversary, as he has effortlessly simultaneously beaten Ranma, Ryoga, Genma & Soun without even using his skyscraper-sized battle aura, or repeatedly downed Taro's monster form through single attacks. However in certain respects, he's also a complete idiot and is easily overcome through similar types of trickery, especially if they use lingerie as a distraction.
Ranma had other rivals throughout the series, though most of them only appeared in a single story arc, such as Herb, Ryu Kumon, and Saffron. They all fought and/or played tricks on Ranma for various reasons, such as for debt, honor, love, or revenge. But unlike his primary foes, most of them have no motivation to visit the Nerima area after being beaten by him.
Special Techniques
Ranma is a master of many styles of martial arts, utilizing a blend of Chinese and Japanese techniques, which he incorporates into the Saotome family's style of Musabetsu Kakutō Ryū kenpo (無差別格闘流 "School of Indiscriminate Grappling"). The other School of Anything Goes, the Tendo School (無差別格闘天道流 — Musabetsu Kakutō Tendō-Ryū), is practiced by Sōun and Akane.
A practitioner of the Anything Goes Martial Arts is expected to be prepared to do anything to triumph, regardless of the challenges (or humiliations) involved. This versatile combat style can produce a warrior who is strong in virtually every aspect of battle, both mentally and physically, with no discernible weaknesses. Due to the philosophies of his highly adaptable fighting style, Ranma, though stronger in his male form and faster as a female, is a very balanced fighter who is rarely surprised, even by opponents whom he has never fought before. His impressive physical abilities include incredible strength, and outstanding speed. Ranma also has superhuman endurance, enabling him to continue fighting even after he has taken many powerful blows or fallen from a great height.
His naïveté and overconfidence have been taken advantage of by new foes. Unless he has to actively do so to win—or utterly humiliate an opponent—he never uses trickery and fights fairly with all his power, never holding back, all the while expecting his opponents to follow the same conduct. Craftier opponents have often used this naïve assumption to their advantage against him. An example of this is when Cologne held back her true power, allowing Ranma to believe that he had the advantage. With this she was able to trick him into a deal: if he lost, he would marry Shampoo immediately. Flushed with his success in the fight so far, he recklessly accepted. Afterwards, Cologne unleashed her true power, surprising and nearly defeating him. It often seems that when he has won, or is on the verge of victory, Ranma cannot, or will not, acknowledge the possibility of defeat. So keen is he to be the best that he takes every opportunity to flaunt his superiority, regardless of the possibility of payback, a mistake he has often made after temporarily defeating Happosai.
As the story progresses, Ranma learns and uses numerous martial art styles, many of them unusual or even ridiculous, such as Martial Arts Figure Skating—even though he cannot skate—Martial Arts Tea Ceremony, Martial Arts Dining, and Martial Arts Cheerleading. He incorporates elements of these new styles into his personal martial arts style, improving his already-formidable prowess in combat. With every challenge he overcomes, Ranma understandably believes that there is nothing he could not defeat.
- Saotome Secret Technique: Fast Break: The "secret attack" of the Saotome School, which Genma says is based in the concepts of "motion, contemplation, and opposition." In other words, the user runs away from his opponent, buying time to think of a better way to attack. Ranma used this only once, contributing to his victory over Ryoga after the eternal "lost boy" learned the Breaking Point.
- Nekoken (貓拳 — Cat Fist): A condition Ranma is subject to when his fear of cats reaches an unbearable level. When this happens, he becomes considerably more physically powerful, and starts acting like a cat, with swipes of his "paw" that can shred everything around him. This doesn't seem to be the result of ki-blades, since no visual effect has implied it, while they were clearly distinguishable when generated by Haabu, but rather powerful air pressure swipes, somewhat similar to those of Kuno or Ryu Kumon. While suffering from this condition, he even managed to contend with Cologne in straight one-on-one fighting. However, he is mentally a cat, driven by instinct and of limited intellect, strategic planning or attention span, making catnip (which will make him 'drunk') or distraction (throwing something and saying 'fetch!' has proved enough to get rid of him) major weaknesses of this form. He has been shown to be brought out of the Nekoken by triggering his curse/being doused in water, or by falling asleep in the lap of someone he trusts. Also worth noting is that Ranma and Akane shared their first 'kiss', while he was in this state, as he impulsively rubbed against her face. It is not a practically usable technique and was only referred to and used two times very early in the manga, both in conjunction with Cologne's introduction story, but his general fear of cats remains throughout the series.
- Kachū Tenshin Amaguriken (火中天津甘栗拳 — In the Fire Imperial Sweet Chestnut Fist, also called Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire): a flurry of attacks of blinding speed. It is known as "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire" due to the method of learning the technique, which eventually trains the user's hand speed such that one can snatch chestnuts from a fire without burning themselves. In combat, this is typically used to deliver a devastating rapid barrage of punches. Because Ranma was affected by the Full-body Cat Tongue pressure point at the time, he could not handle heat. Thus, he did not master the technique in the conventional manner, but instead does so by pulling fish from a fish tank using his bare hands. In the manga this is not a special attack, but a speed exercise. In the anime it is his most used special attack, and it is mentioned that because of this exercise, Ranma can throw around 300 punches per second.
- Shish Kebab (manga only): An attack Ranma uses to counter Mousse's Takazume Ken (Hawk's Talon attack). He uses a rapidly ascending kick to avoid Mousse's attack and slam into his face like a kebab rod going through meat and vegetables.
- Puppet Grip: Ranma clings to his opponent's back, then manipulates his/her arms like a puppet. Used it to try and make Kuno apologize to Kodachi and also to eat some Ramen in the Martial Arts Takeout Race. His efforts failed when Kuno exploited the one flaw: the technique doesn't control the victim's head, which means the victim can thwart it by keeping his mouth closed. Of course, Ranma gets around this by simply insulting Kuno, causing the kendoist to open his mouth to respond, allowing Ranma to feed him.
- Parlay du Foie Gras: The "Parlay" involves quickly stuffing your food in your opponent's mouth. Because of this, the user does not have to develop the characteristic distended mouth or elongated tongue that many champion "martial arts diners" have. It can be deflected by putting a plate in your mouth in such a way that the dish acts as a shield. Ranma used this technique to defeat Picolet Chardin III.
- Hiryū Shōten Ha (飛龍昇天破 — Flying Dragon Ascension Strike, also called Heavenly Dragon Blast): Cologne taught Ranma this ki-based attack. The fighter performs this by developing a "Soul of Ice", devoiding himself of emotion. They then use an opponent's hot ki, typically from battle aura, although extreme perversion has also been proven to work. The user then leads their opponent in the "rasen stepu" or spiral step. Once this is completed, the user pours the ki in an upward fist strike that creates a tornado of ki that carries off the opposing fighter(s). It is perhaps the most powerful and versatile technique of all, this Amazon technique gives Ranma the edge he needs to defeat his toughest opponents: Happosai, Herb, Saffron, Kirin, and others. The opponent need not radiate hot ki; Ranma can gather excess hot ki in an area (such as from Saffron's heat attacks) to create the whirlwind. A great deal of cold ki can lessen, or even nullify, the effects of the whirlwind. In the manga, it is his most used special attack and works on all heat; it has even been successful against Happosai's lust. Ranma has developed and used several variations of the Hiryū Shōten Ha in both the manga and anime, including:
- Gedan Rasen (下段螺旋 — Horizontal Spiral): The unique situation offered by Natsume and Kurumi's Hiryū Carimbō attack made this possible. The spiral created from Kurumi's ribbon radiated hot ki; Ranma gathered the hot ki from the ribbon to create the whirlwind. Since none of the combatants were radiating hot ki, Ranma used the whirlwind to push Akane into her opponents, the flying kick of doom. The side effect was the nullification of Natsume's own ki bolt, being cold ki itself, it would weaken the whirlwind, but, since the hot ki in the spiral is overwhelming, the effects were negligible. (This is the best rationalization that can be made from this alternate and anime-only attack.)
- Hiryū Kōrin Dan (飛龍降臨弾 — Flying Dragon Descent Blast): Ranma discovered that the Hiryū Shōten Ha is ineffective against Herb, who knows of the attack (and thus managed to change his ki aura in time to lessen the effects of the whirlwind). But, Ranma noticed that excess hot ki gathered up in the sky. He created another whirlwind, allowing Herb to throw him into it. While in the air, Ranma gathered the hot ki and, with his own cold ki, fired himself downward, straight into Herb, for the final attack, which took him by surprise since he believed Ranma already defeated, and knocked out the othervise consistently overwhelmingly skilled opponent. It appears quite like a downward Mōko Takabisha, but larger and more powerful, backed by gravity and ki together.
- Hiryū Hyō Toppa (飛龍氷突破 — Flying Dragon Ice Breakthrough): This is Ranma's final attack against Saffron in volume 38 of the manga, completed with the aid of the Gekkaja a very powerful artefact/weapon of the Phoenix people, which produced an icy cold touch based effect. Ranma planned on throwing a whirlwind though a channel of cold air surrounded on both sides by the hot air of Saffron's blasts. The swirl in the middle the whirlwind would become highly concentrated, squeezing the cold spiral into a razor's edge. He was unable to find an opportunity to use the move until Akane threw her frozen doll form at Saffron, tunneling through Saffron's heat and giving a Ranma a small channel of cold air to fire the Hiryū Hyou Tōppa. The refined Hiryū Shoten Ha drilled straight through Saffron's chest, defeating him.
- Hiryū Gyōten Ha (飛龍仰天破 — Flying Dragon Look to the Heavens Strike): Also used in volume 38 of the manga. Akane was dying and only the water from the Dragon Faucet could save her. Ranma, falling from the sky, had no time to get Akane to the water. Instead, he channeled all his energies into the whirlwind. The whirlwind was forced downward, then curved as it reached the Dragon Faucet. It broke the Faucet, causing the Dragon Head to spew water into the sky. In this way Ranma saved Akane's life, but also destroyed an opportunity to remove his curse.
- Pansuto Ryūsei Kyaku (パンスト流星脚 — Pantyhose Shooting Star Kick): An extremely powerful kick Ranma used to nearly defeat the already severely battered 'minotaur' form of Pantyhose Taro, though he still had to beat up his even more battered human form straight afterwards. When Ranma's feet accidentally got caught in a rope of pantyhose, Taro used the opportunity to throw him towards a cliff, but Ranma managed to use their elasticity as a catapult to use the monster's own strength against him and cause much more damage than any of his single previous attacks had managed.
- Mōko Takabisha (猛虎高飛車 — Pride of the Fierce Tiger): A ki attack based on the emotion of confidence, created by and for Ranma. It was developed as a direct counter to Ryoga's Shishi Hōkōdan (獅子咆哮弾 — Lion's Roar Blast) since Ranma could not maintain the level of depression required for it. Its weakness is that it's inefficient if he's unnerved by the prowess shown by a sufficiently powerful opponent. In the manga, Ranma is able to create a "Double Mōko Takabisha" that fires two equally strong ki blasts.
- Saotome "Fan the Smoke Back" technique: Much more of a joke move, Ranma counters an opponent's smokescreen-like attack by fanning the smoke back toward its source.
- Umisenken (海千拳 — Sea of 1000 Fists): Created by and learned from his father Genma. These techniques are part of a set of two styles that were developed by Genma to aid in thievery. However, he decided they were too dangerous and considered them forbidden. He only taught Ranma this system when Ryu Kumon arrived and challenged them for said scroll, using its companion set, Yamasenken (山千拳 — Mountain of 1000 Fists), which was responsible for the downfall of the Kumon dojo, and emulates the movements of a violent thief. The Umisenken in its turn emulates the movement of a quiet thief. By becoming 'emotionless' and moving silently Ranma can hide the 'presence' which warns other martial artists of danger, and sneak up on and attack them, but can be brought out of this state if someone successfully provokes him. It also contains several moves specifically constructed to counter its counterpart. Ranma made Ryu Kumon swear off using Yamasenken after defeating him, and 'sealed' his own knowledge of the Umisenken as well.
Trivia
- It is commonly accepted that Ranma is based on Ryuunosuke Fujinami from Takahashi's earlier work, Urusei Yatsura. Ryuunosuke is a female martial artist who was raised as a boy by her overbearing father. This was further developed into Ranma's curse of being a boy who turns into a girl with cold water.
- Ranma can mean "chaotic or reckless horse". Saotome means "rice-planting girl."
- Ranma shares a first name with the male lead of the series Cinderella Boy, by Monkey Punch, who also happens to transform into a girl under certain circumstances.
- In the manga, Ranma-chan's hair wasn't originally red, instead, whenever there was a colored page (usually covers), it would be a different color each time. In the pages of the manga itself (which are black and white) her hair was colored in the same way as her male side. But by the end of the manga, Takahashi generally gave Ranma red hair in her color drawings to provide a contrast between male and female, with red eventually becoming the accepted color thanks to the anime. The anime which ran in between and near the end of the manga may have had something to do with it, but Takahashi has never gave a reason.
- Thanks to his curse, Ranma holds the world record for most Spanish voice actors (at least technically; Soun Tendo, Nabiki Tendo, Shampoo, Ryoga Hibiki are tied for the official record): Carlos Hugo Hidalgo (male, TV series), Irma Carmona (female, TV series), Luís Daniel Ramirez (male, movies), and Pilar Escandon (female, movies), who is also the voice of Azusa Shiratori.
- His Brazilian voice actor, in his male form, is Márcio Araújo (who dubbed James in Pokémon and Ohzora Tsubasa in Captain Tsubasa) and, when he turns female, he is dubbed by Fátima Noya (famous for dubbing Son Gohan -- up to the end of the Cell Games saga -- and the infant Son Goten in Dragon Ball Z)