NAME: Ranma Saotome
OVERVIEW: Ranma Saotome is the main character of Ranma 1/2. Ranma is mostly a jerk; he's pretty sexist against girls, doesn't think of others, and is always argueing with Akane. Ranma is easily the strongest teenager on the show due to the fact that he has beaten Mousse, Kuno, Ryoga, Kodachi, and Shampoo (he beats Mousse, Ryoga, and Kuno in almost every episode). The only person he has yet to completely defeat is Happosai.
HISTORY: Ranma first appeared at the Tendo Dojo in girl-form. Akane instantly befriended Ranma, but when they accidently met nude in the bathroom Akane's hate for Ranma was sparked. The show then goes on with every episode centered around Ranma and his wacky adventures.
FIGHTING STYLE: Ranma fights with the "Saotome Anything Goes Martial Arts" which is a very flexible form of fighting where a fighter can revise attacks or change fighting styles in an instant to adapt to any particular battle. Ranma can have advantages or disadvantages in battle, depending on what form he is in. In Ranma's boy form he is very strong and his attacks are much more powerful. In his girl-form, however, he is weaker and has less reach. However, Ranma is much more faster in his girl-form and he can use his female nudity to stun some opponents (this is seen a lot in fights with Ryoga and Happosai). Ranma's weaknesses are that he can underestimate his opponents. He once underestimated Happosai's age and payed dearly. Another weakness is that he is a jerk and does not like to have help in a fight, even if he needs it.
WEAPONS: Ranma does not regularly use weapons in fights, but he is very skilled in almost any kind of weapon. He can even use regular objects as weapons such as baseballs, trash can lids, and brooms.
ATTACKS:
KACHU TENSHIN AMGURIKEN: This is also
called "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire Attack" and
is Ranma's most used attack in hand-to-hand fights.
This attack was taught to him by Cologne. She taught
him this because she gave him the "Cat Tongue Touch"
which made Ranma's body super-sensitive to heat. When
Ranma tried to pour hot water on himself to become
male-form, he could not because even the most tepid water
seemed to boil. The only way for Ranma to cure himself
of the Cat Tongue was to steal a pill (called the Phoenix
Pill) from Cologne, who is very fast. The attack consists
of Ranma punching so fast that it just looks like a
blur of fists. He mastered this technique at a fair at a
con-game where you had to catch fish with dry nets.
Ranma was challenged to catch pirranhas without being
bitten.
HIRYU SHOTEN HA: This is also called the
"Heavenly Blast Ascension Wave", or the "Dragon Storm",
depending on what translation you use. This attack was
also taught to him by Colonge. One day Ranma had made
Happosai so angry that he used a "moxibustion" on Ranma
which sapped all of his strength. To cure himself of
the moxibustion, Ranma had to defeat Happosai.
However, in his weakened state he needed to learn an attack
that was not based on physical strength. This attack
consists of Ranma being as "cool as ice" and his opponent
must be "heated" with anger. When Ranma's cool battle
aura conflicts with his opponent's heat of anger, the
result will be a tornado/hurricane power-blast that will
send the opponent flying. The more heated battle auras,
the better.
NEKO KEN: This is the legendary "Cat Fist" that
was painfully taught to Ranma by his father. The
training consisted of Ranma being tied in the air over
a pit of hungry cats while he had cat nip and sardines
attached to him. This caused an intense fear of cats
for Ranma. Now, when Ranma's fear of cats climaxes, he
becomes cat-like and paws and claws at his opponent. His
speed and strength is increased dramastically during this
attack. Ranma remembers nothing that happened after
the use of the Neko Ken and can only be brought back
to his normal self by Akane. This attack was employed
against the second strongest figher in the Ranma 1/2
series, Cologne, using Shampoo's cat-form as help.
This is the only time Ranma has ever beaten Cologne.
(Ranma's fighting level increases to almost 10 during
this attack.)
Girl-Away Powder: This is only one of the many
secret Amazon herbs that can help out in a fight. "Girl-
Away Powder" is just what it sounds like: put a packet
of this powder on someone and it will send off a repulsive
aroma that will make any female so noxious that they will
attack whoever has the powder on them. The "Girl-Away
Powder" was used by a Chinese empress on any male who
made her mad. Shampoo gave this to Ranma as a gift and
said it was to "protect him". Ranma used this powder
on Happosai to try to stop him from stealing panties.
OTHER ATTACKS: Ranma has many other ridiculous
attacks that he and Genma give cool sounding names to.
One famous attack like this is the "Crouch of the Tiger"
where that attacker gets on his hands and knees and begs
for forgiveness. Another similar attack is "Saotome
Super Secret Technique" where the attacker runs away
from a stronger opponent to try to outsmart them without
fighting. Ranma can also project energy, but this is
rarely used and when it is used it is a last resort.
