Pumpkin Reads Ranma 1/2

[Pumpkin]

So Ranma 1/2 is one of my favourite manga series of all time. I only ever got to vol. 15 though when I read them when I was younger. But I am now re-collecting them and I am very excited about that!

I won't obviously be posting actual pages and whatnot from the manga here because GO READ IT SERIOUSLY IT'S GOOD, but I will be covering the different volumes when I read them. This can serve as an intro to people who haven't read the series and don't know if they're interested, or if you're already a fan, you can come reminisce as I talk about them, or you can make comparisons if you're a fan of the anime.

Also feel free to generally discuss Ranma 1/2 here because it's Ranma 1/2 and we should discuss it!

Volume One

So our titular character, Ranma Saotome <-- this dude, is a 16-year-old martial artist who recently went on a voyage of training with his father Genma . They have now returned to Japan as Genma has made a special promise to his friend Soun Tendo a rather intense and dramatic moustachio'd man.

Genma promised that his son would marry one of Soun's three daughters:
19 year old Kasumi, the sweet homemaker motherly type,
17 year old Nabiki, the opportunistic sister,
or 16 year old Akane, the martial artist who says she hates men.
That way Ranma can inherit the Tendo dojo.

There is one little issue though. You see, on their recent training trip to China, they visited the ground of Accursed Springs, where many things have drowned. Now anyone who falls in these springs will take the form of whomever drowned there. Wouldn't you believe it, both Ranma and Genma fell in.

Ranma fell in the spring of drowned girl and now turns in to a girl when splashed with cold water and Genma now takes the form of a panda when splashed with cold water . Both revert with hot water.

Because of this little quirk, Kasumi and Nabiki are quick to pass off the engagement to their younger sister, Akane, using the excuses that she hates boys anyway and this one is half girl.

Akane and Ranma get off on the wrong foot after some sparring matches, finding out about his secret, and some accidental bathtime hijinks, so neither is particularly excited about this engagement. But now it's school time!

Ranma's first day is eventful as he learns that Akane has an army of suitors looking to best her in battle for a chance at a date. Chief among these is Upperclassman Kuno a rather absurd young man who is both full of himself and of love for Akane. He's not super pleased to learn about the engagement, as you can imagine. This leads to Ranma and Kuno fighting, and at some point Ranma turns in to a girl. Kuno promptly falls in love with this girl. Nabiki uses this opportunity to sell Kuno pictures of both of them. There is more fighting. Ranma wins.

Ranma and Akane find the pictures Kuno was in possession of and Ranma makes a comment about how Akane will never find a husband. She beats him up. Time for a trip to the doctor! Dr. Tofu to be precise , a man that Akane has had a crush on since her childhood. Usually a competent doctor, he is in love with Akane's older sister Kasumi, and when in contact with her he turns in to a bumbling fool. Also Mr. Saotome, Ranma's father, gets a job as Dr. Tofu's assistant. Panda form only .

More hijinks involving these plot points ensue, Ranma is injured many times over, and then a new threat emerges. It goes by the name of Ryoga . Ryoga is a super strong boy from Ranma's old school who is out for revenge. He also has a terrible sense of direction and gets lost several times before arriving to challenge Ranma. Ranma can't remember why he wants revenge, except maybe for all of those times he got the last lunch bread over Ryoga.

The fight day finally comes, at which point TRAGEDY STRIKES and one of Ryoga's weapons cuts Akane's hair clean off. She has a humiliating haircut and asks for Kasumi to fix it for her. And short-haired Akane is born! We find out she originally grew it out because her sister mentioned when she was younger that Dr. Tofu might like her more if she wasn't such a tomboy, and Akane decided to grow her hair out like her sister. Dr. Tofu tells her she always looked better with short hair.

So that's the fist volume! I don't like this one as much as most. It's still the intro and it's got a lot going on, but it doesn't quite find it's rhythm yet.