Anime/Manga Synopses of Ranma 1/2

TV series||OAV series||Anything Goes Martial Arts series||To Anime Synopses, pt. 2||

Ranma 1/2 TV series, Vol. 1: At long last, an old friend of Soun Tendo's is to show up at the Tendo dojo, but he's greatly surprised when a panda carrying a protesting girl walks in instead. Is this girl, Ranma Saotome, supposed to be the one to marry one of Soun's daughters (Kasumi, Nabiki, Akane) and carry on the martial arts school? Hopefully not! Of course, there's more to this buxom red-haired girl than you might think....
Second Part: Now that Ranma and Genma's Jusenkyo curses are explained, everything can turn back to normal, right? Don't bet on it. As Ranma and Akane, unwillingly but newly engaged, arrive at Ranma's new high school, Furinkan high, a group of boys comes out to attack Akane, and especially one in particular, Tatewaki Kuno, is prominent among them. When Kuno challenges Ranma to a fight, Ranma's sure to win...at least until it rains. Of course, when everyone in school finds out about Ranma and Akane's practically overnight engagement, that's when Kuno gets really angry...

Ranma 1/2 TV series, Vol. 2: The fight between Kuno and Ranma continues, but Ranma somehow ends up becoming a girl. Things are made worse when Kuno, unaware that Ranma and "the pig-tailed girl" are one and the same, meets and falls in love with the red-haired version of Ranma! Now, on top of this unwilling engagement to Akane, Ranma's got another guy chasing after his girl-form! What's a martial artist to do?
Second Part: Kuno continues to chase around both Akane and his "pig-tailed goddess", a.k.a. Ranma. Of course, Nabiki is looking to make a profit out of Ranma's new "love interest", so she decides to sell pictures of a certain red-haired girl (at inflated prices) to the obsessive Kuno. Even changing from girl to boy in plain sight doesn't seem to convince Kuno that they're the same person. In fact, it only makes him think Ranma is some kind of "enslaver of women"! Ranma has to fend off a furious Kuno before he really gets hurt...

Ranma 1/2 TV series, Vol. 3: Ranma's encounters with Kuno and his knack for getting beat up by Akane has made Ranma somewhat of a regular at Dr. Tofu's chiropractic clinic. Ranma finds out that Akane has feelings for Dr. Tofu, but as Akane well knows, there's a girl whom Dr. Tofu is already totally in love with...
Second Part: Ranma finds out the hard way that when Kasumi's around, Dr. Tofu can't seem to function normally. Ranma not only has to fix his neck, but console a depressed Akane, even if it means getting up the courage to tell her he thinks she's cute...

Ranma 1/2 TV series, Vol. 4: Ranma's got a new problem to deal with - the "Eternal Lost Boy" Ryoga Hibiki, who's furious at Ranma for not being at their appointed fighting place (even though it took Ryoga four days to get there). Ranma has to defend himself against this old rival of his, and also try to find out what's really gotten his old junior high classmate so angry...
Second Part: Ryoga finally finds his way back to Furinkan High school, after getting lost in the middle of his first fight with Ranma. This time, there's no escaping for Ranma, and he has to stand his ground, even if Ryoga finds out about his Jusenkyo curse. It seems as if the fight is never going to end...but then a flying stray weapon from Ryoga just happens to make Akane lose something very important to her...

Ranma 1/2 TV series, Vol. 5: Akane's still incredibly peeved at Ranma for causing her to lose most of her long hair, but it gets Akane to come to terms with the fact that Dr. Tofu loves someone else. Besides, Akane's got someone else to think about. Meanwhile, Ryoga finds and challenges Ranma again, this time in the middle of the night! Ranma finds, though, that Ryoga just happens to have a Jusenkyo curse of his own...
Second Part: It turns out that Ranma's indirectly the reason that Ryoga's cursed, which infuriates Ryoga even more - at least until he meets Akane. Believing that Akane accepts him even in his cursed form (even though Akane is unaware that her new pet "P-chan" and Ryoga are one and the same), Ryoga falls in love with Akane. Now Ranma's _really_ got to think of a way of showing Akane that P-chan is really Ryoga, even if it means sneaking into Akane's room at night with a kettle of hot water...

Ranma 1/2 TV series, Vol. 6: Akane volunteers to fight for Furinkan High's Martial Rhythmic Gymnastics team after the team is all mysteriously "injured" by someone. The attacker comes to cripple Akane, too, and her identity is revealed. Her opponent (and ambusher) is Kodachi, the "Black Rose" of rival school St. Hebereke/Bacchus, and a master at Martial Rhythmic Gymnastics. Akane has her problems with Kodachi, but they're going to be nothing compared to the ones Ranma is going to have when Kodachi lays eyes on him....
Second Part: Akane's been practicing for the upcoming match with Kodachi, and even though Kodachi decides to wager the right to have Ranma, Akane is still determined to win. However, a last minute injury to herself forces Akane to choose a substitute...and what better one than female Ranma, who's perfect for the job! Despite having to wear a leotard and being "trained" by Ryouga, female Ranma has to win the match against Kodachi.....unbeknowest to Ranma, though, Ryouga's got his own plans for interfering in the match...

Ranma 1/2 TV series, Vol. 7: The match between Kodachi and female Ranma continues as each brings in clubs, ribbons, tables, and even Kodachi's brother Kuno to bear upon each other. However, Kodachi's snagged a kettle of hot water, and both Ranma and Ryouga will never live it down if they change back in front of the crowd of high school students. Ranma has to find a way to avoid the water and defeat Kodachi before he gives new meaning to the word "humiliation"....
Second Part: Dr. Tofu gets an unexpected visitor - his own mother, who has come to visit Tofu to see if he's found a girl to marry yet. Mother Tofu, however, seems to discard such things as looks for the important thing - childbearing ability - and what better way to measure that than by looking at...the hips? Tofu's got to convince his mom there's only one woman he loves, but it's going to be hard when Nabiki, Akane, and even Ranma get into the act....

Ranma 1/2 TV series, Vol. 8: Ranma has yet another problem to deal with as the Chinese Amazon Shampoo has finally caught up with the sex-changing martial artist. According to Amazon tribal law, if a female outsider defeats an Amazon (as Ranma did, in female form, back in China), the Amazon must give the dreaded "Kiss of Death" - a promise to follow the outsider and kill them! Ranma's been running from Shampoo for quite some time, and now that Shampoo's caught up with her, she intends to carry out her promise! Things couldn't get more complicated....until Ranma finds out first hand what the law says about male outsiders defeating Amazons...
Second Part: Now that Ranma's got Shampoo as a _second_ "fiancee", he has to deal with her persistence and affection. Things are really bad for Ranma since Shampoo is unaware of his curse - so Shampoo's either trying to kill him - or kiss him! And when Shampoo unknowingly almost cooks a little black pig, it's the last straw for a jealous Akane. Akane challenges Shampoo to a fight, but loses something a lot more important instead....

Ranma 1/2 TV series, Vol. 9: Akane's forgotten all about Ranma, and only Ranma! Ranma finds out that the technique used to wipe Akane's memory of Ranma involves a special herbal shampoo, and that the antidote is another blend of that shampoo. Unfortunately, Shampoo's got it, and Ranma has to make an agreement with the Amazon to get it.....even if it means getting someone to beat his girl side up! Time is running out for Ranma, and it's getting more and more evident that the only way to get out of Shampoo's plans is to reveal his secret to her....
Second Part: Ranma and Genma end up fighting over whether or not Ranma should stay or leave to find a cure. Ranma is adamant about going back to seek a cure, and Genma must remind him about all he's been through so far to convince him to stay. This is basically a summary of all the TV episodes, wrapped up into one package.

Akane and Her Sisters: Two orphans, Kurumi and Natsume, wander onto the Tendos' doorstep. They claim to be searching for their long lost father...and when Soun supposedly turns out to be that illegitimate father, Kurumi and Natsume are in conflict with Akane and Ranma on who should carry on the Tendo dojo. Ranma-chan and Akane had better find out a way to counter the sisters deadly "Dragon Spiral" attack, before they lose the Tendo dojo for good! Two-part episode.

An Akane to Remember: A television program about the mysterious region of Ryugenzawa brings a long buried memory of Akane's to the surface. A long time ago in the forests of Ryugenzawa, Akane was saved by a strange boy who fended off one of the large monsters native to the region. Now Akane has gone off alone in search of the boy Shinnosuke, and when she finds him, she has an opportunity to return the favor. Unbeknowest to the forgetful Shinnosuke, he has been dying from his wounds from long ago, and only the mysterious Water of Life given to him by his grandfather has been keeping him alive. Akane must stay to find a cure of him before the spring dries up completely. Things get even more complicated when Shinnosuke declares his love for Akane, and even moreso when Ranma shows up to take her home. Now a confused Akane is torn between risking telling Ranma the truth and alarming Shinnosuke to his peril, or keeping silent and losing Ranma forever....
Second Part: A short skirmish between Ranma and the injury-prone Shinnosuke leaves the forgetful boy wounded and dying. With the spring dries up, Akane must seek out the eight headed Orochi and its healing moss to help Shinnosuke. She can't do it alone, however, and Ranma, Shinnosuke's grandfather, Shinnosuke, and Ryouga (who just happened to be lost in Ryugenzawa) have to help her, even if it means dressing up as girls to get the Orochi's attention. Ranma has to make a decision on whether to use his curse to help Akane, before Akane is devoured by the massive beast....

Desperately Seeking Shampoo: Out of the collection of treasures that Shampoo's great-grandmother Cologne tells Shampoo to pick from, Shampoo happens to choose a jewel that influences the wearer's emotions depending on how it's worn. Now Ranma has to figure out why Shampoo has become suddenly so cold to him. Unbeknowest to Ranma, however, Cologne has plans of her own in store for her "future son-in-law" concerning the "Reversal Jewel".
Second part: It's the Ranma 1/2 Christmas special! Kasumi is told in a dream by a certain jolly old man in a red suit to have a Christmas Party. Just about anything can happen at _this_ party, however, especially when the whole cast of the series, plus a lot more, show up at the Tendos doorstep.

Faster, Kasumi! Kill! Kill!: A Japanese priest enlists the aid of Ranma, Genma, and Soun to help re-seal an emerging oni, or demon, before it comes out and possesses people. Unfortunately, because of a certain old pervert's accidental intervention, the oni is loose and is mischeviously turning whoever it possesses to evil impulses. It's bad enough that the oni possesses Genma, then Kunou, and then Ryouga, but when the demon possesses the innocent Kasumi Tendo, things really start to get difficult...
Second Part: The Tendos and the Saotomes, along with Ukyou and Shampoo, take a relaxing vacation up in a faraway inn. However, it gets far from a vacation for Akane when the inn's doll, reputed to be cursed and vengeful, switches bodies with Akane. Now Akane-doll must warn Ranma about the "evil" Akane before she gets her revenge on him. It's going to be tough on Akane, though, if she can't even talk...

Like Water for Ranma: Who should happen to show up but Ranma's own mother, Nodoka, a woman with a sweet and nice personality that hides the samurai warrior beneath. And right on time too, as Kasumi is suddenly struck ill, and to Soun, Genma, and Ranma's horror, only Akane is left to do the cooking. A frantic "Ran-ko" (Ranma's disguise as a girl when his mother shows up) must try to stop Akane from accidentally hurting his mother with her cooking.
Second Part: Hinako Ninomiya is introduced as Furinkan's newest teacher, and though she may look like a child at first, she hides a deadly power in her body. And when Hinako decides to "discipline" Ranma for stealing a five yen piece from her, Ranma must find a way to end her energy-draining days for good before he receives a lesson he won't ever forget!

One Grew Over the Kuno's Nest: (NOTE:First part is actually Ranma 1/2 movie III, a special 30-minute feature released in the theatres..)Kuno buys a phoenix egg from a merchant that supposedly grants invincibility to the bearer. Unfortunately when the egg hatches, that's not all it brings....the bird's "imprinting" ability causes it to attack whoever it sees first, and Ranma's the target! "Team Ranma" had better make the bird fly the coop (and off of Kunou's head) before it destroys the entire city...
Second Part: Ukyo and Shampoo team up to try and break Ranma and Akane up by taking them and everyone else to a haunted tunnel reputed to break up the couples that walk into it. All they have to do is to make sure that Ranma and Akane walk out of it together. Ukyou gets the additional help of Ryouga, just in case, but as they're going to find out, even the best-laid plans don't go as they're supposed to...

The Breaking Point: Ryouga returns from a training trip in the mountains, only to be beaten by an considerably improved Ranma. It seems that Ranma's battles with Cologne, the great-grandmother of Shampoo, have greatly increased Ranma's skill and speed. In an effort to finally beat Ranma, Ryouga agrees to being trained by Cologne. The two follow Ranma, Genma, and Akane to a distant mountain, where Ranma is training himself. After challenging Ranma to a duel, Ryouga is shown a technique called the "Bakusai Tenketsu", or "Breaking Point", by Cologne - technique which can shatter rocks with one touch of a finger. With this technique, Ryouga believes he can beat Ranma, and begins the heavy training...
Second Part: Ryouga continues to train to learn the "Bakusai Tenketsu" move, and even though he is repeatedly slammed by the large rocks Cologne throws at him rather than shattering them, Ryouga doggedly continues to train. Meanwhile, Ranma has learned of the technique Ryouga is attempting to master and begins his own counter-training to try to become fast enough to avoid the dreaded "Breaking Point". But when the day of the duel comes, with a captured Akane as the prize for the winner, Ranma has to find a way to beat a Ryouga who's learned much more than shattering rocks while mastering the "Breaking Point" technique...

Cat-Fu Fighting: Kuno still hasn't been able to defeat Ranma Saotome, so now he calls on his personal servant, the ninja Sasuke, to try and find out Ranma's "Achilles heel". After, every person has a weak spot, right? But when Ranma's weak spot is actually found, Kuno and Sasuke may find that they tried to get more than they bargained for!
Second Part: During the time that Ranma's fear of cats is being discovered, a mysterious gift arrives from China. When the gift turns out to be a cat, Ranma is obviously terrified. But unbeknowest to Ranma, there's more to this Chinese cat than meets the eye...

Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire: Shampoo's great grandmother Cologne shows up to see her "son-in-law" Ranma, and now Ranma has to deal with the 300-year old Amazons tricks and attempts to undermine his engagement to Akane. And when Cologne takes away Ranma's ability to turn back into a boy by making him sensitive to heat, female Ranma has to go all-out to get the "Phoenix Pill" - the cure for his condition. The bad news is that Cologne has the pill and even if Ranma has to waitress at the Cat Cafe and master the secret "Chestnuts Roasting over an Open Fire" or "Amaguriken" technique, he's determined to get the pill!
Second Part:Ranma still can't turn back into a boy, but one poke from Dr. Tofu and Ranma seems to be cured! With the appearance of Mousse, Shampoo's supposed husband-to-be and master of the hidden weapon, it's yet another man-to-man fight, but when the one-time cure from Tofu wears off and Ranma gets stuck as a girl, he has to think quick before the "man-to-man" fight with Mousse begins!

Darling Charlotte: One day when Akane and her friends happen to be at a skating rink, P-chan is kidnapped from the ice! It doesn't take long to find the culprit - Azusa Shiratori, one half of the self-proclaimed "Golden Pair" and "collector" of cute things. And when Azusa challenges Akane to a "martial" skating match against her and her kiss-obsessed partner, Mikado Sanzenin, Akane has to find a partner to skate with. Little does she know that Ranma has a score to settle with Mikado, who humiliated him in the worst way possible...
Second Part: The day of the match has come, and Mikado makes a solemn promise to "steal Akane's lips" before the match is over. Ranma has to stop this from happening, and after a series of attempts by Mikado, Ranma makes his own promise - to kill Mikado if he tries to kiss his fiancee again....!

Fowl Play: Mousse, Shampoo's supposed bride-to-be, has returned, and lures Ranma into a confrontation with him at a Chinese circus. It appears that Mousse made his own little training trip to Jusenkyo - and though he came back cursed, he also brought a little surprise for Ranma...and when Mousse kidnaps Akane to use his "surprise" on, Ranma has to act fast, Akane's going to find out first hand what it's like to be cursed...
Second Part: Ranma manages to save Akane from the clutches of a devious Mousse, who is looking to take Shampoo's heart away from him. Dejected by the loss, Mousse wallows in self-loathing and love for the beautiful Amazon. However, Akane's got a plan to get Mousse to win SHampoo once and for all. Setting up a duel between Ranma and Mousse, she says that the winner takes Shampoo. Now all she has to do is convince Ranma to lose on purpose....

Goodbye-Girl Type: Ranma and Ryouga discover that when they find three different color urns and place them in a special spot, a Japanese Nannichuan, or Spring of Drowned Man will arise in Japan (just the cure for Genma, Ranma, Mousse, and Ryouga). Ranma and Ryouga have found the first urn, but the second urn is reputed to be in the estate of the Kunous, of all places! Ranma, Ryouga, Shampoo, Mousse, and Akane must survive the "Kunou House of Gadgets", not to mention Kunou, Kodachi, and Sasuke, to get the second urn.
Second Part: Ranma and co. have managed to take the second urn from the Kunou estate, but now Happosai has it! Ranma and Co. must get it back from him, find the third urn, and find the spot where the Japanese Nannichuan will rise. Unfortunately, Happosai may not be too happy about those who steal "his" property...

It's Fast or it's Free: The Martial arts skating match continues, and Akane and Ranma have to foil the "Golden Pair"'s finishing move - a deadly spin move called the "Goodbye Whirl"! Ranma injures himself badly trying to foil the technique, but still is able to get up to continue the fight. Little does anyone know that "Charlotte" is planning to interfere in the matchup, and when Ryouga screws up his plan and is paired with, of all people, female Ranma, the two must stop trying to kill each other long enough to defeat the fabled "Golden Pair"...
Second Part: Long ago, when he was starving and lost, Genma "traded" his infant son to a man on the road for rice and two pickles! Of course, Genma got his son back, but now the man has caught up with Genma and Ranma, claiming Ranma for his own son to marry his daughter, Kaori! Now Akane has to challenge Kaori to a local race which offers free ramen for a year to the winner! It's the winner takes all in this race (ramen and Ranma), but can Akane defeat a master of "Delivery Martial Arts"?

Ranma and Juliet: Ever since she was little, Akane's wanted the part of "Juliet" in Romeo and Juliet (she played Romeo before) and now that she has it, it's like a dream come true. The dream, however, quickly turns into a nightmare as Ranma, Kunou, and Happosai decide to have a battle on stage to see who gets to be "Romeo". And if Ranma's wants to win and get a chance to see China (first prize for winning the drama contest for best play), he's going to have to do something he would normally never do...
Second Part: The bath in the Tendo dojo is in need of repairs, so Ranma has to accompany Happosai to the public baths in order to take a bath (and keep an eye on the old lecher). Akane, Nabiki, and her friends just happen to show up on the girls' side of the public bath, and when Happosai tries to sneak a peek at them, Ranma has to stop him. The result is an all out battle between Happosai and Ranma, which Ranma seems to be winning. All he/she has to do is watch out for the hot water on the girls' side...

Tough Cookies: Akane's worked hard to make the best batch of cookies she can for Ranma, but before Ranma can refuse to try any of Akane's cooking, Kodachi shows up and steals the cookies. In the process, Kodachi just happens to get an incriminating photo of her and Ranma in a very sugestive position. Now Ranma has to get to the Kuno household and destroy the negative before Kodachi can spread around the copies of the photo all over town, where certain people that he doesn't want to see the picture might see it. To make matters even more difficult, Akane has followed Ranma to the Kuno's in search of her cookies and Ranma...
Second Part: On a certain day, Ranma and Genma just happen to make Happosai mad by taking away his fabled panty collection. The old perverted master is bad enough when he's not mad, but when he gets wrathful, he gets downright evil. With high bills for food, false ransom notes, and other little pranks played by Happosai, the Tendo household is going crazy - and when Ranma is kicked out of the dojo until he can humble himself before Happosai and apologize, Ranma has to find a way to put away the old freak's wrath and force him to submit..

(NOTE: More to be added...all videos and their titles are copyrights of Viz Video, Kitty/Shogakukan Films, and Rumiko Takahashi.)

To Ranma 1/2 Anime Synopses, Part Two

Shampoo says:

"Ai-yaa! I hope you getting what you need from the Ranma 1/2 Library, yes? Shampoo know that Frank work very hard to make this page for you - you like? Anyway, Shampoo say to click left arrow for Ranma's World and click right arrow for The Voice Actors of Ranma 1/2. Maybe you like to go Ranma 1/2 Library Main Page, yes? Bye now, I see Ranma on that page over there! Ranma, wo ai ni..."