Genma SaotomeGenma Saotome
Despite this, he and Ranma continued their journey through China, in the name of martial arts. This was not any different than that time when Ranma was a baby. Even then, Ranma and Genma travelled abroad so Genma could improve his skills in martial arts, and to raise his son as a man. The promise Genma made to his wife, Nodoka, was that if Ranma did not return as a man, she would have to kill them both with her sword. At the moment, they can not return because Ranma is half girl....
Genma is currently the leader of the Saotome School Of Anything Goes Martial Arts, this being one of only three schools of that genre. Naturally, his son, Ranma is the official heir to it. He and Soun decided to have their children marry so that one of them will inherit the Tendo Dojo and the School Of Anything Goes Martial Arts. And, that led to Ranma's engagement to Akane.
His skills as a martial artist are very poor. He is defeated easily, when he and Soun get serious, something happens to them, he even cross dresses for food and for his son, and when he meets some serious opposition, he turns into a panda and plays with a beach ball. He hardly does anything big. What he mainly does is sit around at the Tendo residence and either play "Go" or "Chess" with Soun all day long.
Even though he is a poor martial artist, he adds to the plot of Ranma 1/2, and it almost always involves his son in one way or another. An example if that, is when the truth about Ranma's sale for fish resurfaced, Ranma's previous engagement to Ukyo Kuonji, and the reason they can't go home. Throughout the anime, Genma plays a signifiacant role in both the lives Of Ranma, and the Tendos.
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