Locations in Ranma ½
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This is a list of locations in Ranma ½ that commonly appear in the series.
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[edit] Furinkan
Furinkan is a community in Nerima, Tokyo, Japan. The name means "wind forest hall."
All of the main characters live in Furinkan, and most attend the eponymous local high school which is under the dark fist of Principal Kuno. The town has several mysterious curio and antique shops, as well as restaurants such as Ucchan's okonomiyaki shop, and Cologne's Neko Hanten (Cat Cafe), serving Chinese food. Many dojos are based in Furinkan, most notably the Tendo Dojo, home of the Tendo School of Anything Goes Martial Arts (also translated as Tendo School of Indiscriminate Grappling).
Although Furinkan is a fictional community, some scenes in the manga have been shown to have been modeled on actual places in Nerima Ward's suburb of Shakujii-koen.
[edit] Joketsuzoku
Chinese Amazons is the popular English-language name for the Joketsuzoku ("tribe of women heroes"), a subculture that features prominently in the story and mythology of Rumiko Takahashi's manga and anime series Ranma ½. While it is always referred to by its Japanese name, the name of the tribe in Mandarin would be Nǚjiézú.
They are a matriarchal society centered around martial arts prowess that has little contact with the outside world. Little is know about them but the Chinese Amazons are stated to be several thousand years old by Cologne. Despite the name of the tribe, it appears both sexes are trained to fight, as Mousse is trained in hidden weapons techniques.
The laws within the village are rather strange. The selection of marriage partners revolves around combat -- a woman who is defeated by an outsider who is male must marry him. It is never made clear if this applies equally to males from the village, if a female has a choice assuming she is undefeated, or what happens if the woman is defeated multiple times. If a female outsider defeats a member of the tribe, the defeated party gives them the "kiss of death" and pledges to hunt them to the ends of the Earth, until the target is destroyed. Failure in this mission is a deep disgrace that requires the offender to complete their martial arts training all over again.
Shampoo, Mousse, Cologne and several minor characters belong to the Joketsuku. Cologne is assumed to be the elder of the tribe, although what type of ruling body the tribe has is never stated. The proximity between the Joketsuku village and the infamous Jusenkyo training grounds has given the tribe innumerable problems.
Due to the very nature of their tribe, the Chinese Amazons have developed a vast variety of special martials arts techniques, displayed throughout the anime and manga series. The techniques are as follows:
- Hissatsu Shiatsuken (必殺指圧拳 Xi Fa Xiang Gao): combines the manipulation of head pressure points coupled with the application of special herbal extracts to selectively erase and/or modify memories. To an observer, it looks like the attacker is giving their victim a shampoo.
- Hohoemisannengoroshi (微笑み三年殺し Three Year Smile of Death): (Manga Only) a technique that takes three years to complete and keeps the target in a state of constant pain and fear. The technique is normally used by married Chinese Amazons as a way of retaliating against their partner; the attacker constantly and subtly causes painful "accidents", which eventually drives the victim into a nervous wreck.
- Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken (火中天津甘栗拳 Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire): enables the user to deliver rapid-fire attacks, named after the method by which it is taught.
- Bakusai Tenketsu (爆砕点穴 Breaking Point): enables the user to destroy inanimate material with a touch, as well as increasing their resistance to impact damage.
- Splitting Cat Hairs: (Anime Only) the user forms a spiral of multiple images spinning around the target.
- Hiryū Shoten Ha (飛竜昇天破 Heavenly Dragon Blast): a ki-projection based attack that requires meeting an opponent's "hot" ki with the user's own "cold" ki. Coupled with a spiralling motion, this enables the user to create whirlwinds.
- Dance of the Fire Dragon: (Anime Only) the user deploys a model dragon, which contains a built-in flamethrower and a cassette player that produces hypnotic music that forces those who hear it to dance. A similar technique is the Great Dance of the Super-Phoenix. Both techniques are deployed by the minor anime-only characters Ling-Ling and Lung-Lung. Both are considered legitimate martial arts techniques by the village... just not very effective ones.
[edit] Jusenkyo
Jusenkyo (呪泉郷 Jusenkyō?) is the fictional "cursed" springs. Jusenkyo is located in a secret area in the Bayankala mountain range (Bayan Har Shan), south of Mount Kensei, in Qinghai Province, China and is maintained by the Jusenkyo Guide. While it is always referred to by its Japanese name, the name of the "cursed springs village" in Mandarin would be Zhòuquánxiāng.
Many sad stories have happened in Jusenkyo, mainly that people and animals have drowned (in Japanese immersion was closer to the actual wording, but it was translated as strictly 'drowned') in the various pools hundreds or thousands of years ago. Legend has it that when something is immersed in one of these pools, the pool becomes cursed, and anyone falling into that pool will become whatever first fell in or drowned there, although, unless specified, they retain their mind, personality and skills. The cure (albeit temporary) is to be splashed with hot water. Then the victim would remain in his or her natural form until again encountering cold water. While the curses themselves happen instantaniously, with no "in-between" shots of cursed characters partially transformed, they do take a while to activate, with the cursed character usually standing dumbstruck for a second or so after being splashed. In the world of Ranma ½, Jusenkyo seems to sometimes serve as a "training ground" for martial artists through vaulting and duelling from the bamboo poles.
In Ranma ½, people have, among other things, accidentally fallen into the springs of the drowned girl, panda, duck, piglet, and cat, and at least one character chose to voluntarily bathe in one of the springs. However, most characters featured who have the curse find it to be obstructive and would rather be rid of it. The information about possible cures seems conflicted. While it has been shown that instant nannichuan/'spring of drowned man' temporarily cured Genma and Ranma, and the true spring has been stated as a working cure by the author which was also heavily implied in the end chapter, it has been found that bathing in two springs can also mix the curses rather than switch them. This was demonstrated in the manga when Pantyhose Taro bathed in the Spring of Drowned Octopus, and found that his cursed form (a minotaur with wings and an eel for a tail) had sprouted tentacles and gained the ability to squirt ink from its fingers. Another permanent cure was to use water from the Dragon Statue, a source of water for Jusenkyo that was located atop Mount Phoenix. The statue was destroyed toward the end of the manga. In the process, the waters of the cursed springs were jumbled up, temporarily combining the curses into an unpredictable and possibly dangerous mixture.
[edit] List of Cursed Springs
- Spring of Drowned Panda (熊貓溺泉 Shonmaoniichuan; Mandarin Xióngmāonìquán) - Cursed Genma Saotome
- Spring of Drowned Girl (娘溺泉 Nyanniichuan; Mandarin Niángnìquáan) - Cursed Ranma Saotome, Herb and a monkey (manga only)
- Spring of Drowned Duck (鴨溺泉 Yazuniichuan; Mandarin Yānìquán) - Cursed Mousse and a tiger
- Spring of Drowned Piglet (黑豚溺泉) - Cursed Ryoga Hibiki
- Spring of Drowned Cat (貓溺泉 Maoniichuan; Mandarin Māonìquán) - Cursed Shampoo, and Arisa Nanjo (games only)
- Spring of Drowned Yeti-riding-Bull-carrying-Crane-and-Eel (牛鶴鰻毛人溺泉 Niuhoomanmaorenniichuan; Mandarin Níuhèmánmáorénnìquán)- Cursed Pantyhose Taro
- Spring of Drowned Octopus (章魚溺泉 Mandarin Zhāngyúnìquán) - Cursed Pantyhose Taro (manga only)
- Spring of Drowned Buddhist Priest - Cursed Kin'nee (anime only)
- Spring of Drowned Twins - No one cursed (created two crows and two bumps on Happosai's head)
- Spring of Drowned Statue of Warrior Goddess (Asura) - Cursed Rouge (manga only)
- Spring of Drowned Frog - Cursed Frog Hermit (anime only), a couple crows (manga only)
- Spring of Drowned Child - Cursed Lukkosai (manga only)
- Spring of Drowned Akane - Cursed Kiima (manga only). Akane was only immersed in the pool.
- Spring of Drowned Man - No one cursed (Shampoo used an instant version on a dog)
- Spring of Drowned Virtous Man - No one cursed (Pantyhouse Taro tried to use what he thought was this on Happosai to change his name)
[edit] Nature of the Jusenkyo curses
A few conclusions can be reached about how the magic seems to work.
- The springs are imprinted with whatever living creature that was first immersed in them. (All)
- New curses can still be created. ('Spring of 'drowned' Akane)
- Unless specified the curses don’t seem to affect your age (Taro's monster form grew alongside himself. Lukkosai's and Ryoga's curses have been shown as age specific, as the former turned to a boy, and the latter looked the same in cursed form despite being under the influence of an age-reducing mushroom. It's possible that 'girl' also implies youth rather than simply gender, but given that Ranma's boy and girl forms were symmetrically affected by said mushroom, this seems unlikely. Perhaps this is another misunderstanding due to Japanese->English language conversion difficulties?)
- The general springs imprint you with a version of your own form. (Ranma and Herb bathed in the same spring, but came out as variations of themselves)
- If several beings are immersed in a spring on conception the curse becomes imprinted with a merged template. (Taro’s original form was a combination of a yeti, a bull, a crane and an eel)
- Several cursed springs can combine their effects, even when applied years apart. (Taro’s curse mixed with the 'spring of drowned octopus'. Though if this was because he already possessed a unique, mixed curse is unknown)
- A spring containing a person’s original template category will cure him/her. (Instant Nannichuan effects on Ranma & Genma. Comment from Miss Takahashi. Treated as a true cure by the Jusenkyo guide in the end chapter)
- People with to them negative curses didn’t immediately use this cure option after becoming afflicted, but have been enthusiastic to use it several months after the incident. (Ranma, Genma, Ryoga, Mousse) In combination with the above information, this indicates that even a curing spring must be applied quite some time after the fact to work and not create merged results.
- If a vast amount of curse waters are combined the effects are dangerous or unpredictable. (Jusenkyo flooding)
- If an extremely tiny amount is sprayed on only one area of the body only this part will be affected. ('Spring of drowned twins' applied on Happosai’s bump)
- A person can be split to several beings. (Same) It is unclear how/if this would/could be reversed. Would warm water on one of them work? What if they were separated by distance?
- If stated, a spring can affect the personality of a subject. ('Spring of drowned virtuous man')
- If there exist previous springs which cover the general template form (In this case 'spring of drowned girl') and possibly the mentality ('Spring of drowned shy, awkward tomboy'?), a spring can bestow the exact likeness of whoever was immersed. ('Spring of ‘drowned’ Akane')
- If a representative statue of a well-known mythological figure is immersed in the pool it, within limit, confers abilities, appearance, and likely mentality judging by Rouge's change in demeanor, similar to what is publicly associated to it. ('Spring of 'drowned' 'Asura' ') It is unknown if the immersed object has to possess religious significance (Stood in a temple for example), or if any symbol would do.
- Jusendo Mountain is (was?) the source place for the unimprinted magic water empowering the springs.
- The curses can be locked/permanent through the use of a magic ladle and unlocked by its companion kettle. Both artefacts of the Musk dynasty, but the former seems to either have been incinerated by one of Herb’s blasts, or buried with the second under mount Horaisan when the it crumbled from his constant bombardments.
[edit] Mt. Phoenix
This large mountain is located outside of Jusenkyo and it is the home of the phoenix people and the location of Jusendo which contains the giant dragon and phoenix statues that are the source of all the magic water in Jusenkyo. Saffron is the ruler of the mountain and he uses Jusendo to go through his re-birthing process.
[edit] Ryugenzawa
Ryugenzawa is the mysterious forest that contains unusually large animals, due to the magical "Water of Life" spring. Shinnosuke and his grandfather keep the animals restricted to this area. When Akane was a little girl she got lost in the woods of Ryugenzawa. She was found by a little boy named Shinnosuke, who saves her from the giant animals that live there. Akane returns to Ryugenzawa in search of the boy that saved her so many years ago.
Ryugenzawa is an ancient forest in which the legendary eight-headed serpent Orochi was sealed in the center of the forest's lake centuries ago, Orochi possesses a magical healing moss on its back that caused the forest's lake to gain mistycal properties, such as making animals grow twice their seize and healing all injuries, of course the effects only last as long as one drinks it.
Shinnosuke and his Grandfather both live in the forest of Ryugenzawa. Here they protect the local villagers from the giant animals that they once kept as pets. Many years ago, Shinnosuke's Grandfather was in charge of a small petting zoo in Ryugenzawa, and when the animals escaped they grew to monsterous sizes due to the Water of Life found in the forest, now Shinnosuke and his grandfather have taken on the task of keeping the huge animals away from civilization, while at the same time caring for them.
Shinnosuke now depends on the Water of Life to cure the deep gashes that plague his life. Without frequent exposure to the Water of Life Shinnosuke will die.
[edit] Sexy Kunoichi Tea Shop
This sexy entertainment tea shop was ran by Konatsu's mean and ugly step family; Happosai took Genma and Ranma here for "training" but after seeing the hideous faces of the owners he quickly destroyed it with his Happo Fire Burst and ran away, afterwards they ordered Konatsu to get revenge on Ranma, Genma and Happosai.
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Ranma ½ Characters
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| Saotome Family | |
|---|---|
| Ranma Saotome | Genma Saotome | Nodoka Saotome | |
| Tendo Family | |
| Soun Tendo | Kasumi Tendo | Nabiki Tendo | Akane Tendo | Mrs. Tendo | |
| Chinese | |
| Shampoo | Mousse | Cologne | Jusenkyo Guide | Pantyhose Taro | |
| Kuno Family | |
| Tatewaki Kuno | Kodachi Kuno | Principal Kuno | Sasuke Sarugakure | |
| Notable Furinkan Residents | |
| Ukyo Kuonji | Hikaru Gosunkugi | Dr. Tofu Ono | Hinako Ninomiya | Konatsu | |
| Major Adversaries | |
| Ryoga Hibiki | Happosai | Mariko Konjo | Herb | Ryu Kumon | Saffron | |
| Recurring / Other Characters | |
| Akari Unryu | Tsubasa Kurenai | Shinnosuke | Ranma ½ minor characters | |
| Media | |
| Manga | TV Series | Movies | OVAs | |
| Other Articles | |
| Anything Goes Martial Arts | DoCo | Items | Locations | |
