Ranma ½ Fan-Fiction

Introduction and Foreword

For those of you who have not yet been exposed to Japanese Manga, a brief(if that’s possible) introduction is in order. Manga, is the Jappanese term for commercially produced comics. What you are reading is an example of Fan Fiction, the text only equivalent to Dojinshi, or in English; Fan produced material. In Japan it is common for fans of a Japanese Manga or animated series to produce hand drawn, black and white, comic books based on their favorite series or character. These comics are known as Dojinshi. They usually are sold at fan meets and are of a limited number as an individual can not afford to have very many printed. This practice is not actively discouraged in Japan, because the Dojinshi artist of today may become the Manga artist of tomorrow. Most Manga are divided into two groups. Each group is aimed at either the male or female audience. Manga are often adapted to become an animated video, movie or series.

The Manga that these stories are based on, as the title states, is RANMA NIBUN NO ICHI aka RANMA1/2. RANMA1/2 is a very popular Manga series that has been turned into a very popular animated TV series. It was created, written, and the original Manga drawn, by Rumiko Takahashi. She is the Manga artist who also created Urusei Yatsura(Those Obnoxious Aliens), Maison Ikkoku, Inu Yasha and others. The episodes from this Manga have been turned into videos and translated into English with English-speaking voice actors replacing the original Japanese-speaking voice actors. Some tapes have been released with the original Japanese dialogue and English subtitles. DVDs and DVD box sets are now available that include both English and Japanese voices.

My first viewing of a RANMA1/2 episode, was from a rental tape in early 1996. As you can guess, I love this series. I can now claim that I have every RANMA1/2 video/DVD that was released for sale to the public. Those of you who are unfamiliar with this series, may wish to view several tapes/DVDs before you read these stories. For those who don’t want to wait, but want to know what RANMA1/2 is all about, I am including a recap.

This series involves two families, the Tendos and the Saotomes. Soun Tendo and Genma Saotome were Martial Arts students who trained under the same master. Before they parted ways, they agreed that if they had children, those children would someday marry.

This is common in Japan for parents of children to arrange engagements with or without their child’s consent or even knowledge. These arrangments may take place before the child is even born. This might be an example of; Parent Knows Best, Oriental style.

 And so, one summer, Soun Tendo receives a post card from his friend, Genma Saotome, saying that he would be coming by to see which of Soun’s three daughters would become engaged to his son, Ranma. Soun is hopeful that one of his daughters will become engaged to Ranma and help carry on the Tendo School of Anything-Goes Martial Arts. While the two older daughters, Kasumi and Nabiki, are at least willing to see Ranma before putting up a fuss, the youngest, Akane, completely rejects the idea of having her fiancé chosen for her. Their apprehension grows, when the daughters ask for a description and Soun tells them that he doesn’t know how old Ranma is or, what he looks like, as he has never met him. When the front door of the house is opened, Nabiki and Soun rush to greet what they hope to be Ranma and his father. Instead, they both retreat back into the house as a young girl is carried in, kicking and screaming, by a large panda. The panda sets the girl down in front of the amazed family. The young girl introduces herself as Ranma Saotome. While Soun, Kasumi, and Nabiki are confused and disappointed, Akane is relieved. She is a Martial Artist and makes friends with Ranma. She invites Ranma to join her to practice in their training hall. In the hall, Akane sets herself and spars with Ranma. Ranma easily avoids Akane’s attack and Akane gets angry, launching herself at Ranma. Ranma leaps over and behind her as Akane puts her fist through the wall. Akane concedes Ranma’s skill and expresses her relief that Ranma is a girl. It is only later that the truth gets out when Akane walks in on Ranma as “he” gets out of the bath. After the excitement dies down and a demonstration is given, Soun explains to his daughters, what his friend has just explained to him. Before bringing his son to meet his future fiancée, Genma and Ranma went on a training mission to China and found a place called “Training Ground of Cursed Springs” or, “Jusenkyo”. Ranma and his father soon find out why the training ground got that name when they each fall into a different spring and Genma comes out in the body of a panda that, according to their guide, drowned in that spring two thousand years ago. Ranma, on the other hand, has fallen into the “Spring of Drowned Girl” and has a very tragic story of a young girl who drowned in the spring fifteen hundred years ago. So Ranma, who is normally a black haired pig-tailed sixteen year old boy, becomes a red haired pig-tailed sixteen year old girl, a well-BUILT sixteen year old girl. Soun then tells his daughters that when splashed with cold water, Genma and Ranma turn into a panda and a girl, respectively. Hot water, restores them to normal, but only until the next time. It is for this reason that this series is called RANMA 1/2.

While Ranma is understandably upset with his father for dragging him all the way to China, Soun claims that his problem is not so terrible. Confused, Ranma, in his girl form, stands there as Soun points Ranma in the direction of his daughters.

“Look. My oldest daughter, Kasumi, she’s nineteen, my middle daughter, Nabik, she’s seventeen, and my youngest daughter, Akane, she’s sixteen. Pick anyone you want. She’ll be your new fiancée.”

Both Kasumi and Nabiki agree that Akane is the wisest choice for Ranma’s fiancée, despite her protests, on the grounds that Akane hates boys and because of his curse, Ranma is half girl. Both Akane and Ranma want nothing to do with this engagement, but Soun and Genma take on the full time job of keeping this new “couple” together.

Obstacles soon rise up to try and tear this engagement apart. The first, takes the form of an upperclassman at the High School, named “Tatewaki Kuno”. The wooden sword carrying, Kendo Club champion who, regardless of Akane’s very physical protests, continues to avow his desire to date with her. When he comes across Ranma in his girl form however, his passion splits into two directions as he proclaims his love for both Akane and the “Pig-Tailed Girl”.

The next obstacle to appear, is a boy that Ranma was supposed to fight when they were both still in Junior High. Ranma waited three days at the place where they were to fight, the vacant lot behind Ryoga’s own house, but Ryoga, having no sense of direction, took four days to find it. Ryoga finally finds the High School and Ranma. He is determined to make Ranma pay for all of the suffering he has endured. During one of their late night matches, Ranma learns why Ryoga hates him so much. When Ranma and his father left for China on their fateful training mission, Ryoga followed them and was knocked into a spring by a red haired pig-tailed girl. The spring transformed him into a little black piglet who was almost cooked and eaten by a panda. Ryoga soon figures it out that it was Ranma and his father, who were the ones that turned his life into a “Living hell!”.

Akane finds a little black pig in her room after the match and decides to adopt it. She calls it “P-Chan, P as in Pig, Chan as in cute.” not knowing in reality that it is Ryoga. Having someone like her, treat him so kindly, even in his pig form, Ryoga can not help, but fall in love with Akane. Ranma, for his part, is tempted to blow Ryoga’s cover many times, but Akane can not or will not believe that Ryoga and P-Chan are one and the same. But this also applies to Tatewaki Kuno and, before long, his sister Kodachi “The Black Rose” in dealing with Ranma and the pig-tailed girl. While the brother would like nothing better than to defeat Ranma and take from him, not only Akane, but, the pig-tailed girl as well, his sister becomes obsessed with defeating both Akane and the pig-tailed girl and taking her “Darling” Ranma away from them.

Other characters appear to keep the series interesting, such as an Amazon-style Chinese girl, named Shampoo, who goes from wanting to kill Ranma’s girl-type, to demanding that she must, by Amazon Tribal Law, marry boy-type Ranma. She is aided in this endeavor by her Great-grandmother, Cologne, a three hundred year old woman who gives Ranma a run for his money and then some. Mousse, the near-sighted hidden weapons master and childhood boyfriend of Shampoo, comes to reclaim her despite her wishes. Happosai, the panty-stealing, girl-groping, former master of Soun and Genma, returns to make his pupils and the other residents of the Tendo Dojo, regret that they ever met him. Ukyo, a childhood friend of Ranma’s tries to get revenge for his father taking her father’s Okonomyaki cart and then leaving Ukyo behind, only to have it revealed that, just like Akane, she is Ranma’s fiancée. I know I have left a lot out, but how do you condense 7 seasons, 12 OAV’s and two movies into two and a half pages?