COLOGNE

Cologne is a powerful, wise old woman in the Village of the Amazons. She had lived a long time and all she had to look forward to was taking care of the duties of the village and making sure her great grand-daughter grew up to be a strong and honorable warrior.

That was of course before Ranma and Genma invaded their sanctuary and turned everything upside down. When Shampoo left to eliminate the redhead who had managed to defeat her, Cologne stayed behind, confident that the purple-haired Amazon would have no problem finishing her duty.

Unfortunately, things didn't turn out as planned. When Shampoo came back, she not only reported that the redhead was really a male with a Jusenkyo curse but that the male (Ranma) had defeated her in his uncursed form! Cologne was horrified to learn that Shampoo hadn't remained to either kill or marry Ranma so she took upon herself the distasteful task of retraining Shampoo over the Springs of Jusenkyo. Old as she was, she had vastly more experience than Shampoo at fighting and the young girl finally ended up in the Spring of Drowned Cat.

Then she followed Shampoo to Japan to help guide her in her task of getting Ranma to come back to the village as Shampoo's husband. Cologne made a rather impressive entrance into the anime and demonstrated that she was not someone to be messed with despite her appearance.

To get Ranma to leave with them, Cologne took advantage of her knowledge of pressure points and Ranma's curse to lock the young boy as a girl by making him extraordinarily sensitive to hot water. But then Cologne, indirectly, actually helped him get the cure by teaching him the Chestnut First. (Also known as Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken.)

Her next plan was teaching Ryouga the Breaking Point in order to fight Ranma and defeat him. The terms of the challenge were if Ranma lost, he'd have to go back to China with Cologne and Shampoo. To her surprise, Ranma managed to win. Cologne wasn't too upset though and actually seemed pleased that her 'son-in-law' was stronger than even she had anticipated.

After a while, Cologne took more of an observer status when it came to the daily happenings of Nerima. She no longer actively took part in trying to subdue Ranma on a regular basis, but she only took part when an interesting and plausible plan came up. Even then, she would only give her suggestions on the matter and let Shampoo handle it. She still participates by handing out advice or teaching new techniques to various members of the Nerima cast when she feels like it or circumstances warrant it, but she seems content to work at the Nekohanten and perhaps get a vacation from village duties.

Unlike the teenagers, Cologne is old enough to know that running around frantically and not thinking things through rarely solves anything and so isn't in much of a hurry about anything. Her actual age is indeterminate though she claim to be about 300 years old and she has little reason to lie. (There are people in Asia who could probably reach that from what I hear.) She is a better fighter than Ranma and has far more experience and skill than many of the fighters in the series, but she rarely shows it.

She is determined to bring such a strong male into the tribe and uphold Shampoo's honor, but it's quite possible that like most people, she would also have other things on her mind.

This old woman is something of an enigma. She is Shampoo's great grandmother and a very important person in the Joketsuzoku Amazon tribe. Whether she is the sole matriarch or else is just a senior member of a council of elders is unclear though it's interesting to think about how much power she wields in her village.

She is extremely powerful, but she is honorable and I don't think she's concerned with honor up to the point of obsession as many fanfictions have painted her to be. She seems more amused by the situations she sees around her than anything else. While she wants Shampoo to succeed, she seems to take a philosophical view of life.

If she really wanted to bring Ranma into line, she could do worse. She's old enough to not be stupid and some of the things Shampoo does Cologne wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole. After a few incidents when she first arrived she seems happy to mostly observe.

Her motives are quite unclear. Some say she is teaching Ranma secret Amazon techniques to groom him, but making him stronger simply makes him harder to subdue and bring back to the village. Besides, it should be obvious that only Amazon females would know these kinds of attacks and so there really is no reason to teach them to Ranma since by their standards he would simply be a lowly male. Yes, the tribe needs strong men but that should stem from genetic material and so teaching Ranma new fighting techniques shouldn't affect that. Cologne might have more of a sufficient reason to be training Ranma like that.

She has taught several secret techniques and there has to be more of a reason than to simply gain Shampoo a husband. She's making Ranma stronger and that's not exactly a smart thing unless she has another motive in mind. She doesn't seem malicious or show any urgency for going home and besides, she can visit whenever she feels like it. Of course, she may not have some other motive for Ranma but she might simply like to teach and enjoys what she does. There are several indications for this notion.

Cologne is actually very calm and collected and it takes a lot to rattle her. She's rather like Nabiki in this respect. The only people who can really annoy her are, I think, Happosai and Mousse. Happosai, I can understand given her past history with him, but she seems fond of Mousse, though she treats him with annoyed tolerance. She's probably just exasperated with someone who's been chasing her great granddaughter for so long and calls her 'old mummy'. I always smile since it's rather similar to Ranma's 'old ghoul' insult.

Cologne is often used for the role of a villain. I guess she could fit, with her troll-like appearance, 'mystical' powers, manipulative ways, and her supposed 'obsession' with upholding the glory of the Amazons. It makes for good fanfiction and it is possible she could turn out that way, but it's more likely she wouldn't.

There are no real villains in Ranma 1/2 and one doesn't reach such an old age by being stupid. Besides, Shampoo seems more obsessed with getting Ranma than Cologne herself and does far more impulsive, destructive things. Cologne is actually pretty honorable and will give one the benefit of the doubt if they manage to best her. She will admit defeat gracefully most of the time.

Cologne may be regarded as a nuisance, but nobody really hates her and she is respected and she appears to be welcome at the Tendo dojo since she shows up so much. She appears to only be in Nerima for Shampoo's happiness and maybe a vacation from Amazon duties. While she's intrigued by Ranma she usually leaves him alone.

It may be safe to say if that Cologne hadn't come to Nerima, she would have died of boredom a long time ago. This is most likely the most fun that she has had in decades and that may be part of the reason she isn't in much of a hurry to get back to the tribe. Sure, she'd like to go home, but there's nothing wrong with studying new cultures and it's quite possible that she may have this opinion. There is speculation that she isn't as rigid and devoted to those Amazon laws that she's always sprouting about. Pride about one's heritage is one thing but a real leader, fighter, whatever, knows that there are times that rules have to be broken. She may be more flexible in regards to certain issues than people might think.