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Ranma ½ #32
Ranma 1/2, Vol. 32
Follows the adventures of half-boy, half-girl martial artist Ranma, whose transforming gender problems began at the Accursed Springs in China when he became cursed to turn into a girl when splashed with cold water, and back into a boy with hot water.
192 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1995
4 people are currently reading
244 people want to read
About the author
Rumiko Takahashi
1,584 books2,142 followersRumiko Takahashi (高橋留美子) was born in Niigata, Japan. She is not only one of the richest women in Japan but also one of the top paid manga artists. She is also the most successful female comic artist in history. She has been writing manga non-stop for 31 years.
Rumiko Takahashi is one of the wealthiest women in Japan. The manga she creates (and its anime adaptations) are very popular in the United States and Europe where they have been released as both manga and anime in English translation. Her works are relatively famous worldwide, and many of her series were some of the forerunners of early English language manga to be released in the nineties. Takahashi is also the best selling female comics artist in history; well over 100 million copies of her various works have been sold.
Though she was said to occasionally doodle in the margins of her papers while attending Niigata Chūō High School, Takahashi's interest in manga did not come until later. During her college years, she enrolled in Gekiga Sonjuku, a manga school founded by Kazuo Koike, mangaka of Crying Freeman and Lone Wolf and Cub. Under his guidance Rumiko Takahashi began to publish her first doujinshi creations in 1975, such as Bye-Bye Road and Star of Futile Dust. Kozue Koike often urged his students to create well-thought out, interesting characters, and this influence would greatly impact Rumiko Takahashi's works throughout her career.
Career and major works:
Takahashi's professional career began in 1978. Her first published story was Those Selfish Aliens, a comedic science fiction story. During the same year, she published Time Warp Trouble, Shake Your Buddha, and the Golden Gods of Poverty in Shōnen Sunday, which would remain the home to most of her major works for the next twenty years. Later that year, Rumiko attempted her first full-length series, Urusei Yatsura. Though it had a rocky start due to publishing difficulties, Urusei Yatsura would become one of the most beloved anime and manga comedies in Japan.
In 1980, Rumiko Takahashi found her niche and began to publish with regularity. At this time she started her second major series, Maison Ikkoku, in Big Comic Spirits. Written for an older audience, Maison Ikkoku is often considered to be one of the all-time best romance manga. Takahashi managed to work on Maison Ikkoku on and off simultaneously with Urusei Yatsura. She concluded both series in 1987, with Urusei Yatsura ending at 34 volumes, and Maison Ikkoku being 15.
During the 1980s, Takahashi became a prolific writer of short story manga, which is surprising considering the massive lengths of most of her works. Her stories The Laughing Target, Maris the Chojo, and Fire Tripper all were adapted into original video animations (OVAs). In 1984, after the end of Urusei Yatsura and Maison Ikkoku, Takahashi took a different approach to storytelling and began the dark, macabre Mermaid Saga. This series of short segments was published sporadically until 1994, with the final story being Mermaid's Mask. Many fans contend that this work remains unfinished by Takahashi, since the final story does not end on a conclusive note.
Another short work left untouched is One-Pound Gospel, which, like Mermaid Saga, was published erratically. The last story to be drawn was published in 2001, however just recently she wrote one final chapter concluding the series
Later in 1987, Takahashi began her third major series, Ranma ½. Following the late 80s and early 90s trend of shōnen martial arts manga, Ranma ½ features a gender-bending twist. The series continued for nearly a decade until 1996, when it ended at 38 volumes. Ranma ½ is one of Rumiko Takahashi's most popular series with the Western world.
During the later half of the 1990s, Rumiko Takahashi continued with short stories and her installments of Mermaid Saga and One-Pound Gospel until beginning her fourth major work, InuYasha. While Ran
Rumiko Takahashi is one of the wealthiest women in Japan. The manga she creates (and its anime adaptations) are very popular in the United States and Europe where they have been released as both manga and anime in English translation. Her works are relatively famous worldwide, and many of her series were some of the forerunners of early English language manga to be released in the nineties. Takahashi is also the best selling female comics artist in history; well over 100 million copies of her various works have been sold.
Though she was said to occasionally doodle in the margins of her papers while attending Niigata Chūō High School, Takahashi's interest in manga did not come until later. During her college years, she enrolled in Gekiga Sonjuku, a manga school founded by Kazuo Koike, mangaka of Crying Freeman and Lone Wolf and Cub. Under his guidance Rumiko Takahashi began to publish her first doujinshi creations in 1975, such as Bye-Bye Road and Star of Futile Dust. Kozue Koike often urged his students to create well-thought out, interesting characters, and this influence would greatly impact Rumiko Takahashi's works throughout her career.
Career and major works:
Takahashi's professional career began in 1978. Her first published story was Those Selfish Aliens, a comedic science fiction story. During the same year, she published Time Warp Trouble, Shake Your Buddha, and the Golden Gods of Poverty in Shōnen Sunday, which would remain the home to most of her major works for the next twenty years. Later that year, Rumiko attempted her first full-length series, Urusei Yatsura. Though it had a rocky start due to publishing difficulties, Urusei Yatsura would become one of the most beloved anime and manga comedies in Japan.
In 1980, Rumiko Takahashi found her niche and began to publish with regularity. At this time she started her second major series, Maison Ikkoku, in Big Comic Spirits. Written for an older audience, Maison Ikkoku is often considered to be one of the all-time best romance manga. Takahashi managed to work on Maison Ikkoku on and off simultaneously with Urusei Yatsura. She concluded both series in 1987, with Urusei Yatsura ending at 34 volumes, and Maison Ikkoku being 15.
During the 1980s, Takahashi became a prolific writer of short story manga, which is surprising considering the massive lengths of most of her works. Her stories The Laughing Target, Maris the Chojo, and Fire Tripper all were adapted into original video animations (OVAs). In 1984, after the end of Urusei Yatsura and Maison Ikkoku, Takahashi took a different approach to storytelling and began the dark, macabre Mermaid Saga. This series of short segments was published sporadically until 1994, with the final story being Mermaid's Mask. Many fans contend that this work remains unfinished by Takahashi, since the final story does not end on a conclusive note.
Another short work left untouched is One-Pound Gospel, which, like Mermaid Saga, was published erratically. The last story to be drawn was published in 2001, however just recently she wrote one final chapter concluding the series
Later in 1987, Takahashi began her third major series, Ranma ½. Following the late 80s and early 90s trend of shōnen martial arts manga, Ranma ½ features a gender-bending twist. The series continued for nearly a decade until 1996, when it ended at 38 volumes. Ranma ½ is one of Rumiko Takahashi's most popular series with the Western world.
During the later half of the 1990s, Rumiko Takahashi continued with short stories and her installments of Mermaid Saga and One-Pound Gospel until beginning her fourth major work, InuYasha. While Ran
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
May 22, 2018
El conjunto de las historias muy buenas. Tengo muchas favoritas aquí:
"Un pequeño corazón": Una historia muy pequeña por el día de San Valentín entre Ranma y Akane, me divirtió el embarazo de ambos a lo largo del capítulo.
"¡Apaleemos al director!": Ranma y la profesora Hinako, como muchas veces se unen esta vez contra el director y les hará ver las cosas muy negras, muy buen capítulo.
"Guerra de bustos": Luego de que Ranma se burle del físico de Akane la mamá de él viene de visita repentina y Akane se cobrará venganza durante algún rato pero también ambos se unirán un poco más.
"La pesadilla del incienso primaveral": Justamente esta parte es en la que se basa el último ova que se produjo sobre Ranma 1/2 que se decidió llevar a la pantalla.
"La sonriente muerte trienal": Mousse acude a Ranma y Akane para que lo ayuden ya que Shampoo tiene de pronto una actitud muy sospechosa. Siempre que está Shampoo significa problemas para Ranma por los celos de Akane.
Varias historias de lo más divertidas.
"Un pequeño corazón": Una historia muy pequeña por el día de San Valentín entre Ranma y Akane, me divirtió el embarazo de ambos a lo largo del capítulo.
"¡Apaleemos al director!": Ranma y la profesora Hinako, como muchas veces se unen esta vez contra el director y les hará ver las cosas muy negras, muy buen capítulo.
"Guerra de bustos": Luego de que Ranma se burle del físico de Akane la mamá de él viene de visita repentina y Akane se cobrará venganza durante algún rato pero también ambos se unirán un poco más.
"La pesadilla del incienso primaveral": Justamente esta parte es en la que se basa el último ova que se produjo sobre Ranma 1/2 que se decidió llevar a la pantalla.
"La sonriente muerte trienal": Mousse acude a Ranma y Akane para que lo ayuden ya que Shampoo tiene de pronto una actitud muy sospechosa. Siempre que está Shampoo significa problemas para Ranma por los celos de Akane.
Varias historias de lo más divertidas.
January 12, 2024
At this point in the series I'm just sitting here asking myself: what creature has NOT drowned in one of the Chinese springs? It's getting wild, an Indian god? What?
This volume also brought a moment of Ranma being sincerely nice to Akane... it's just a shame that he's got a history of being mean, but also trying to trick Akana so she doesn't believe him. But that being said it was kind of nice to see.
This volume also brought a moment of Ranma being sincerely nice to Akane... it's just a shame that he's got a history of being mean, but also trying to trick Akana so she doesn't believe him. But that being said it was kind of nice to see.
February 6, 2021
Normally this would be a 3 1/2 - 4 star volume for me, since the principle storyline deal with Ranma and his mother, but unfortunately there's a lot of filler stuff that I'm not so keen on.
The first story, for example, is about a demon-fighting plant that is placed with the Tendos. They come to realize that this plant doesn't just attack demons, it attacks anyone who's angry or violent - which is a bit of a problem in a house with Ranma, Genma, and Akane. Not to mention Nabiki, who makes other people angry. In fact, when they figure out that it's okay so long as they don't angry, she makes a point to show Akane the shirt she borrowed without permission and stained. Ranma and Genma realize that they can fight while smiling - but Akane and Ranma have a big fight that causes the plant to shoot tons of beans at them. Finally Kasumi just throws it in the rubbish bin. Problem solved? Sure.
The next is a cute filler story - but I have to preface it by noting that in Japan, it's customary for girls to give boys they like chocolate on Valentine's Day, and it's even better if it's homemade. Akane's friends ask her if she's going to make some for Ranma, and he tells her that store-bought is better. She asks why he thinks he's getting any at all. However, an old lady and her granddaughter approach Akane and ask her to deliver chocolate to a boy in school, and tell her his shoe locker number. It turns out to be Ranma. So Akane spends all of Valentine's Day trying to give him the package and ensure that he knows it's not from her - but it gets harder and harder. Ranma gets chocolates from his other suitors, and when Akane calls him up to the roof (where there are couples left and right) there's a lot of heart thumping, because he's surprised she's doing it, and she still can't figure out how. Outside on the school grounds, he tells her "L-look, if you don't wanna give me one just say so! It's not like I want anything from you, anyway, ok?!" (his classmates, spying, aren't convinced) Akane thwacks him with a hammer, and the old lady and little girl ask if she's delivered it yet. She finally just drops it on the ground beside him and runs away. He recognizes her handwriting, but opens the package to find out it's from the little girl (who appears to celebrate that he accepted it). Walking home, though, he's telling himself he shouldn't be disappointed, but then Akane throws a small piece of chocolate at him, telling him she bought it just for him. When she asks if he wants something bigger, he tells her that it's perfect. (<3 <3 <3)
After that is a really dumb - but blessedly short - story about Ranma and Miss Hinako getting stuck in Principal Kuno's new "repentance room", where they can't leave until they grovel in front of his statue. Hinako does her ki sucking and gets the energy from all the students who've been forced to grovel in the past, and this makes her both an adult and a delinquent for some time despite the number of ki blasts she throws around. She and Ranma team up to defeat the principal.
Then we get the story that's most important in this volume, where Ranma uses up a lot of that good Valentine's Day karma, and gets to meet his mother in his natural state. But it's not as simple as that. It starts in the bathhouse, where Akane is delighting in her increase in bust size, but Happosai steals her new bra and tries to put it on female!Ranma - but it's too tight, because she's grown, too. That leads to Ranma taunting Akane quite a bit, and Akane gets her revenge when Nodoka comes over and suggests shopping: she tells Nodoka that Ranma needs a new bra, too.
So they all go shopping, and of course, the hot water is spilling left and right. "Ranko" is trying on bras when she gets changed into a guy, and therefore jumps out of the dressing room and... into Akane's. They both yell, which then makes Nodoka curious about hearing a boy's voice in the dressing room. Akane tells him to leave, and he tells her to put on her tiny bra and leave - he doesn't want to see her boobs anyway. They go to another shop where Akane wins a door prize for a body care gift card, and she offers it to "Ranko", but is told that she should keep it, since they have a "bosom care course" that could make Akane's boobs bigger. Akane leaves in anger, and Nodoka suggests a shower massage. Ranma realizes the danger at the last moment, and dons his (really cute) outfit from Nodoka and takes off through a window. Nodoka sees a guy running away in Ranko's clothes.
Back at the Tendos' home, Nodoka sees (female again) Ranma and asks about it, and Nabiki makes up a story about some pervert stealing Ranko's clothes. She also tells Ranma that whatever he said to Akane must've been terrible, because she's pretty upset. He transforms, then goes upstairs to apologize and Akane appears to be close to accepting it when he asks "what did I do wrong anyway?" (omg Ranma, no.) Nodoka is still in the house, and hears the same voice from the dressing room - so Akane pushes him behind the door, screams that there's a pervert in the house, and tosses the contents of her underwear drawer around the room.
Later, Ranma is hanging out with Soun and Nabiki, trying to piece together what he said that angered Akane so much, and he realizes it's that he said he didn't want to see her breasts. (Now, all of this hinges on some Japanese puns, where one form of "papa" is identical to a slang term for breasts - so his memory is triggered by something on TV, and this leads to a pun where he tells Akane in the bath that he wants to see her breasts, but it's actually Genma in there. The books uses ta-ta/papa for the translation and the pun is lost.) But still - now Ranma thinks Akane WANTS him to see her topless, when really Akane is wondering if she's actually so ugly that he doesn't want to ever see her topless. But Akane finds a picture Nabiki took of her and there's Nodoka's sword in the background; she finds Ranma in a room and the sword is sticking out of the closet, so Akane turns off the light and whispers to Ranma that they need to get out of there. Ranma decides that clearly Akane wants him to want her, and lets her know that he's willing to give her what she wants. But as he moves in on her, Akane shrieks "NO!!" and Nodoka comes out of the closet. The jig is up.
But Ranma has a Saotome school of martial arts move up his sleeve, looking like he's about to grovel, but instead flips the tatami so it (and she) are on his back, and manages to slip away. The thing is, this is the same move Genma used on creditors, and Nodoka knows it. She also knows that the next move was to crush her, which Ranma didn't do. And she's so happy, because Ranma isn't a pervert - these things (accosting Akane in the dressing room, going through her underclothes, forcing himself on her in a dark room) are manly things a fellow will do with his fiance. (ummm.) So Ranma and the family (but not Genma) decide it's time for Ranma to meet his mom. Soun offers him special clothes, but the clothing is missing and has been replaced with a bunny outfit, by Happosai. Happosai puts Ranma in his second-favorite outfit, which is a sailor fuku, and that's when Nodoka walks in and sees her son. She hugs him from behind, and says that she's wanted to meet him for so long. And somehow as she's hugging him, dons the white ceremonial kimono for seppuku.
The next chapter begins with Ranma reveling in his mother's hug, thinking they'll never be parted again. And she says "Mother will follow soon after", and he realizes that it's time for ritual suicide. He runs away again, and she faints. To make him seem many, the others come up with a scheme where he'll spy on Akane in the bathtub. Ranma is astonished that she's willing to do this, and after some barriers, he gets there and tells her "it's not like I even want to see your naked body!" To which she replies "Well, I'm sorry my body is so repulsive but... if you don't want to die, you'd better look at me." And she turns him around and he sees that she's actually wearing a swimsuit. (Kasumi and Nabiki are watching, along with Nodoka, and note that he seems disappointed, lol.) Nodoka then turns the cold water on to douse the flames of Happosai's bombs (because Ranma tried to keep him away from Akane) and Ranma transforms and runs away. When Nodoka sees "Ranko" again, she has an imprint from the panda's sign ("Run, Ranma!") on her forehead, so she begins to put two and two together.
This is followed by two stories - one has Happosai put Akane to sleep though all of spring because of magical incense, and she has crazy dreams and sleep-fights everyone in her class who comes near her. Nabiki sells Ranma a counter-incense to wake her up, and it works, and turns out it's just a mosquito candle. Nabiki didn't even know if it would do anything (it worked because Akane dreamt that there were mosquitos, so summer was clearly upon her). The next story has Mousse create a rocket and when he shows it to Shampoo it blows up in her face. He apologizes and she smiles at him, saying she isn't mad. This leads to everyone freaking out that Shampoo is using the three-year-smile-of-death technique, where she buries her anger deep and does a bunch of passive aggressive harmful things while smiling throughout. And this seems to be the case, because Shampoo keeps hurting Mousse obliviously. The only cure is to hit a pressure point to release the anger, which happens to be on her ass. Mousse says he'll do it, but Cologne says only Ranma can, because Mousse is unskilled and could lose his life. This makes Akane angry, so Ranma attempts to hit her pressure point, saying she has a lot of anger. But when it comes to Shampoo, Ranma can't do it. He tries and tries, but can't bring himself to touch her. Mousse insists that only he can do it, but Shampoo beats him up, angry that he hasn't been working all day. The others are shocked, and ask about the three year smile of death; Shampoo says she doesn't know that is. Turns out she was feeling guilty about having washed all of his glasses and weapons while doing laundry, so she was kind about the stupid rocket.
So, while the filler stories aren't exactly bad, they're not exactly good, either. And I feel like the running-from-Nodoka gag has gone on a little too long. I would've preferred the reveal of the curse with this arc, instead of drawing it out. But I do love that Ranma's parents are freaking crazy, and that it's no wonder he has problems with his feelings and communicating them.
The first story, for example, is about a demon-fighting plant that is placed with the Tendos. They come to realize that this plant doesn't just attack demons, it attacks anyone who's angry or violent - which is a bit of a problem in a house with Ranma, Genma, and Akane. Not to mention Nabiki, who makes other people angry. In fact, when they figure out that it's okay so long as they don't angry, she makes a point to show Akane the shirt she borrowed without permission and stained. Ranma and Genma realize that they can fight while smiling - but Akane and Ranma have a big fight that causes the plant to shoot tons of beans at them. Finally Kasumi just throws it in the rubbish bin. Problem solved? Sure.
The next is a cute filler story - but I have to preface it by noting that in Japan, it's customary for girls to give boys they like chocolate on Valentine's Day, and it's even better if it's homemade. Akane's friends ask her if she's going to make some for Ranma, and he tells her that store-bought is better. She asks why he thinks he's getting any at all. However, an old lady and her granddaughter approach Akane and ask her to deliver chocolate to a boy in school, and tell her his shoe locker number. It turns out to be Ranma. So Akane spends all of Valentine's Day trying to give him the package and ensure that he knows it's not from her - but it gets harder and harder. Ranma gets chocolates from his other suitors, and when Akane calls him up to the roof (where there are couples left and right) there's a lot of heart thumping, because he's surprised she's doing it, and she still can't figure out how. Outside on the school grounds, he tells her "L-look, if you don't wanna give me one just say so! It's not like I want anything from you, anyway, ok?!" (his classmates, spying, aren't convinced) Akane thwacks him with a hammer, and the old lady and little girl ask if she's delivered it yet. She finally just drops it on the ground beside him and runs away. He recognizes her handwriting, but opens the package to find out it's from the little girl (who appears to celebrate that he accepted it). Walking home, though, he's telling himself he shouldn't be disappointed, but then Akane throws a small piece of chocolate at him, telling him she bought it just for him. When she asks if he wants something bigger, he tells her that it's perfect. (<3 <3 <3)
After that is a really dumb - but blessedly short - story about Ranma and Miss Hinako getting stuck in Principal Kuno's new "repentance room", where they can't leave until they grovel in front of his statue. Hinako does her ki sucking and gets the energy from all the students who've been forced to grovel in the past, and this makes her both an adult and a delinquent for some time despite the number of ki blasts she throws around. She and Ranma team up to defeat the principal.
Then we get the story that's most important in this volume, where Ranma uses up a lot of that good Valentine's Day karma, and gets to meet his mother in his natural state. But it's not as simple as that. It starts in the bathhouse, where Akane is delighting in her increase in bust size, but Happosai steals her new bra and tries to put it on female!Ranma - but it's too tight, because she's grown, too. That leads to Ranma taunting Akane quite a bit, and Akane gets her revenge when Nodoka comes over and suggests shopping: she tells Nodoka that Ranma needs a new bra, too.
So they all go shopping, and of course, the hot water is spilling left and right. "Ranko" is trying on bras when she gets changed into a guy, and therefore jumps out of the dressing room and... into Akane's. They both yell, which then makes Nodoka curious about hearing a boy's voice in the dressing room. Akane tells him to leave, and he tells her to put on her tiny bra and leave - he doesn't want to see her boobs anyway. They go to another shop where Akane wins a door prize for a body care gift card, and she offers it to "Ranko", but is told that she should keep it, since they have a "bosom care course" that could make Akane's boobs bigger. Akane leaves in anger, and Nodoka suggests a shower massage. Ranma realizes the danger at the last moment, and dons his (really cute) outfit from Nodoka and takes off through a window. Nodoka sees a guy running away in Ranko's clothes.
Back at the Tendos' home, Nodoka sees (female again) Ranma and asks about it, and Nabiki makes up a story about some pervert stealing Ranko's clothes. She also tells Ranma that whatever he said to Akane must've been terrible, because she's pretty upset. He transforms, then goes upstairs to apologize and Akane appears to be close to accepting it when he asks "what did I do wrong anyway?" (omg Ranma, no.) Nodoka is still in the house, and hears the same voice from the dressing room - so Akane pushes him behind the door, screams that there's a pervert in the house, and tosses the contents of her underwear drawer around the room.
Later, Ranma is hanging out with Soun and Nabiki, trying to piece together what he said that angered Akane so much, and he realizes it's that he said he didn't want to see her breasts. (Now, all of this hinges on some Japanese puns, where one form of "papa" is identical to a slang term for breasts - so his memory is triggered by something on TV, and this leads to a pun where he tells Akane in the bath that he wants to see her breasts, but it's actually Genma in there. The books uses ta-ta/papa for the translation and the pun is lost.) But still - now Ranma thinks Akane WANTS him to see her topless, when really Akane is wondering if she's actually so ugly that he doesn't want to ever see her topless. But Akane finds a picture Nabiki took of her and there's Nodoka's sword in the background; she finds Ranma in a room and the sword is sticking out of the closet, so Akane turns off the light and whispers to Ranma that they need to get out of there. Ranma decides that clearly Akane wants him to want her, and lets her know that he's willing to give her what she wants. But as he moves in on her, Akane shrieks "NO!!" and Nodoka comes out of the closet. The jig is up.
But Ranma has a Saotome school of martial arts move up his sleeve, looking like he's about to grovel, but instead flips the tatami so it (and she) are on his back, and manages to slip away. The thing is, this is the same move Genma used on creditors, and Nodoka knows it. She also knows that the next move was to crush her, which Ranma didn't do. And she's so happy, because Ranma isn't a pervert - these things (accosting Akane in the dressing room, going through her underclothes, forcing himself on her in a dark room) are manly things a fellow will do with his fiance. (ummm.) So Ranma and the family (but not Genma) decide it's time for Ranma to meet his mom. Soun offers him special clothes, but the clothing is missing and has been replaced with a bunny outfit, by Happosai. Happosai puts Ranma in his second-favorite outfit, which is a sailor fuku, and that's when Nodoka walks in and sees her son. She hugs him from behind, and says that she's wanted to meet him for so long. And somehow as she's hugging him, dons the white ceremonial kimono for seppuku.
The next chapter begins with Ranma reveling in his mother's hug, thinking they'll never be parted again. And she says "Mother will follow soon after", and he realizes that it's time for ritual suicide. He runs away again, and she faints. To make him seem many, the others come up with a scheme where he'll spy on Akane in the bathtub. Ranma is astonished that she's willing to do this, and after some barriers, he gets there and tells her "it's not like I even want to see your naked body!" To which she replies "Well, I'm sorry my body is so repulsive but... if you don't want to die, you'd better look at me." And she turns him around and he sees that she's actually wearing a swimsuit. (Kasumi and Nabiki are watching, along with Nodoka, and note that he seems disappointed, lol.) Nodoka then turns the cold water on to douse the flames of Happosai's bombs (because Ranma tried to keep him away from Akane) and Ranma transforms and runs away. When Nodoka sees "Ranko" again, she has an imprint from the panda's sign ("Run, Ranma!") on her forehead, so she begins to put two and two together.
This is followed by two stories - one has Happosai put Akane to sleep though all of spring because of magical incense, and she has crazy dreams and sleep-fights everyone in her class who comes near her. Nabiki sells Ranma a counter-incense to wake her up, and it works, and turns out it's just a mosquito candle. Nabiki didn't even know if it would do anything (it worked because Akane dreamt that there were mosquitos, so summer was clearly upon her). The next story has Mousse create a rocket and when he shows it to Shampoo it blows up in her face. He apologizes and she smiles at him, saying she isn't mad. This leads to everyone freaking out that Shampoo is using the three-year-smile-of-death technique, where she buries her anger deep and does a bunch of passive aggressive harmful things while smiling throughout. And this seems to be the case, because Shampoo keeps hurting Mousse obliviously. The only cure is to hit a pressure point to release the anger, which happens to be on her ass. Mousse says he'll do it, but Cologne says only Ranma can, because Mousse is unskilled and could lose his life. This makes Akane angry, so Ranma attempts to hit her pressure point, saying she has a lot of anger. But when it comes to Shampoo, Ranma can't do it. He tries and tries, but can't bring himself to touch her. Mousse insists that only he can do it, but Shampoo beats him up, angry that he hasn't been working all day. The others are shocked, and ask about the three year smile of death; Shampoo says she doesn't know that is. Turns out she was feeling guilty about having washed all of his glasses and weapons while doing laundry, so she was kind about the stupid rocket.
So, while the filler stories aren't exactly bad, they're not exactly good, either. And I feel like the running-from-Nodoka gag has gone on a little too long. I would've preferred the reveal of the curse with this arc, instead of drawing it out. But I do love that Ranma's parents are freaking crazy, and that it's no wonder he has problems with his feelings and communicating them.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 25, 2022
One chapter about a magical plant. One chapter about Valentine's day. Two about the principal and the crazy teacher battling it out. Five chapter arc where Ranma's mom comes back and they are all trying to keep her from meeting Ranma. One about Akane fighting people in her sleep. One about Shampoo and Mousse.
There has been a trend over this volume and perhaps the last where Ramna and Akane show real feelings for each other and try to deal with that along with whatever else is happening. Also an uptick in the nudity.
There has been a trend over this volume and perhaps the last where Ramna and Akane show real feelings for each other and try to deal with that along with whatever else is happening. Also an uptick in the nudity.
December 7, 2019
4,5 stars
February 17, 2024
*screaming internally for Akane and Ranma*
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January 20, 2025
I want more Akane and Ranma stories!!
January 20, 2016
Part 1: Shotgun Beans!!: The Tendo's are given a shotgun bean plant which shoots beans at demons or any angry face. The plant can also fly and shoot beans at anyone fighting. Kasumi is able to catch it and get rid of it, though.
Part 2: The Little Heart: The story revolves around the Japanese tradition of chocolate day where girls give the guy they like chocolate.
Part 3: Whack the Principal!: Ranma and another guy get dropped into the principal's repentence room. Hinako gets dropped into the room also and absorbs power from a bust of the principal and gets mad. She goes after the principal and finds him with some helpers.
Part 4: Bow Down!: The helpers are Kuno, Happosai and Nabiki. Hinako has herself turned into a delinquent.
Part 5: Busted!: The section starts out at the bath house. Happosai changes Ranma into Ranma-chan and puts Akane's bra on her (but the bra is too small). Akane later tells Ranma her breasts had gotten bigger. Nodoka takes Ranma-chan to get her a new bra but also tells Akane that her breasts really have gotten bigger.
Part 6: The Punishment of Perv-Boy!: In all the madness from a clothes-shopping trip Nodoka ends up thinking a boy (Ranma) is really a pervert dressing in women's clothes and vows to punish him.
Part 7: Mama, Papa, and Tata: Nodoka's in the household still searching for the perv-boy.
Part 8: Looking His Best; Nodoka catches Ranma dressed in girl's clothes.
Part 9: See Me For What I Am: A very funny section which ends with Nodoka thinking something may be going on between Ranma and Ranko.
Part 10: Incense of Spring Sleep: Happosai makes a concoction that puts Akane to sleep. Akane has some strange dreams and can fight even while she sleeps. Nabiki has something that can cure her.
Part 11:The Three-year Smile of Death: Mousse makes a rocket of love and uses it on Shampoo, but it sort of backfires. Shampoo gets angry at Mousse and loses the effects of the smile, although, frankly, this portion of the story seems confusing, rushed, and ultimately unsatisfying.
Part 2: The Little Heart: The story revolves around the Japanese tradition of chocolate day where girls give the guy they like chocolate.
Part 3: Whack the Principal!: Ranma and another guy get dropped into the principal's repentence room. Hinako gets dropped into the room also and absorbs power from a bust of the principal and gets mad. She goes after the principal and finds him with some helpers.
Part 4: Bow Down!: The helpers are Kuno, Happosai and Nabiki. Hinako has herself turned into a delinquent.
Part 5: Busted!: The section starts out at the bath house. Happosai changes Ranma into Ranma-chan and puts Akane's bra on her (but the bra is too small). Akane later tells Ranma her breasts had gotten bigger. Nodoka takes Ranma-chan to get her a new bra but also tells Akane that her breasts really have gotten bigger.
Part 6: The Punishment of Perv-Boy!: In all the madness from a clothes-shopping trip Nodoka ends up thinking a boy (Ranma) is really a pervert dressing in women's clothes and vows to punish him.
Part 7: Mama, Papa, and Tata: Nodoka's in the household still searching for the perv-boy.
Part 8: Looking His Best; Nodoka catches Ranma dressed in girl's clothes.
Part 9: See Me For What I Am: A very funny section which ends with Nodoka thinking something may be going on between Ranma and Ranko.
Part 10: Incense of Spring Sleep: Happosai makes a concoction that puts Akane to sleep. Akane has some strange dreams and can fight even while she sleeps. Nabiki has something that can cure her.
Part 11:The Three-year Smile of Death: Mousse makes a rocket of love and uses it on Shampoo, but it sort of backfires. Shampoo gets angry at Mousse and loses the effects of the smile, although, frankly, this portion of the story seems confusing, rushed, and ultimately unsatisfying.
May 8, 2015
Spoilers!
Ch 1: Bean Plant, if plant were real you couldn't help but try to have a more positive/happier look on life lol.
Ch 2: it's the small things that make me go awww I love this manga. Examples: Ranma noticing Akane's hand writing, and him wanting chocolate from her but not saying it out loud, then her giving him that baby chocolate.
Ch 3&4: Not a big fan of Miss Hinako, but I am always amused by Principle Kuno.
Ch 5-9: These chapters were just way too freaking funny, but poor Ranma and his mom. I hope she figures it out by the end of the series.
Ch 10: That dream was the best Akane & Ranma for the win!
Ch 11: Ranma " I haven't done anything yet!"
I liked it when he tried it on Akane.
Ch 1: Bean Plant, if plant were real you couldn't help but try to have a more positive/happier look on life lol.
Ch 2: it's the small things that make me go awww I love this manga. Examples: Ranma noticing Akane's hand writing, and him wanting chocolate from her but not saying it out loud, then her giving him that baby chocolate.
Ch 3&4: Not a big fan of Miss Hinako, but I am always amused by Principle Kuno.
Ch 5-9: These chapters were just way too freaking funny, but poor Ranma and his mom. I hope she figures it out by the end of the series.
Ch 10: That dream was the best Akane & Ranma for the win!
Ch 11: Ranma " I haven't done anything yet!"
I liked it when he tried it on Akane.
February 7, 2013
Yay!! Mrs. Saotome!! The reason I'm giving this volume 4 stars is from Part 5 on til the end. The first two storylines were meh. But I was happy to see the series came back to two of its main storylines... that being Ranma and Akane's relationship (which I still don't approve of) and Ranma's mother finding her son. I felt really bad and stupid dumb Happosai had to ruin everything. I've never liked him but now I dislike him even more.
4 more volumes to go!!
4 more volumes to go!!
September 26, 2023
The first story is very funny. With a powerful demon-busting plant that no one at Tendo's house seems to be able to subdue it.
Then we get a story where Akane needs to give a chocolate heart to Ranma but is quite ashamed.
But what sold it for me is the two long stories, one very funny one with Miss Hinako turning into a hooligan for a good while. And Ranma finally confronts his mother, even if he must face the possibility of death.
Then we get a story where Akane needs to give a chocolate heart to Ranma but is quite ashamed.
But what sold it for me is the two long stories, one very funny one with Miss Hinako turning into a hooligan for a good while. And Ranma finally confronts his mother, even if he must face the possibility of death.
April 22, 2011
They say you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover. But I did - And I was right ;) This series is amazing! You get genderbender, fantasy, action, romance and slapstick-humor along with intense serious moments, what more can you want?
March 16, 2012
In which it's Valentine's Day, Mrs. Saotome starts putting two and two together, and Mousse is plagued with the Three Year Smile of Death.
May 11, 2014
Ranma <3
December 19, 2015
Every now and again I've got to re-read Ranma 1/2. Rumiko Takahashi is a great story teller. This is one of the funniest manga I have ever read.
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