Saffron (Ranma ½)

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Saffron
Saffron
Alias:	Lord Saffron Phoenix Emperor
Gender:	Male
Age:	Before: appeared 8 years old Now: 2 days
Species:	Human/Phoenix hybrid
Family:	Kiima (Babysitter) Jeeves (Personal servant)
Rivals:	Ranma Saotome Ryoga Hibiki Mousse Akane Tendo Shampoo
Occupation:	Former: Ruler of the Phoenix people Now: Newborn baby
Attacks:	Blazing Emperor's Wing Fireball Kinjakan
1st Appearance (Manga):	Volume 35

Saffron is a fictional villain in Rumiko Takahashi's manga series Ranma ½.

Contents 1 Personality 2 Plot 3 Powers and Abilities 4 Trivia

[edit] Personality

In the manga, Saffron is portrayed as a selfish and obnoxious brat who only cares about his own goals and desires. He is rather cruel and even mistreats those who treat him with kindness and loyalty (such as his servants and followers) even to the point of harming innocent people just so he can take a bath, although he does seem to take his duties as a ruler rather seriously when he originally wanted to use his new form to give light and energy to his people just as the previous lords had done before him, but in the end his own obsession and anger towards Ranma where the cause of his loss and temporary death.

[edit] Plot

Saffron's desire was to bathe in the magical spring of rebirth created from the magical water of Jusenkyo so he could gain his adult form and become an Immortal Phoenix so he could give light and energy to his people. When he activated the bath, he was engulfed in a strange frozen material that put him in an egglike state until he finished his rebirth. But this caused the Jusenkyo cursed springs to evaporate, which also meant that Ranma and the others had lost their cure.

After they found out about Saffron's spring, they quickly went looking for it. When they found the hidden spring of rebirth, the Jusenkyo Guide informed Akane that the only way to restore the cursed springs was to release the water from the Dragon Statue connected to Jusenkyo and to close the valve of the Phoenix Statue, which provided the rebirthing water to Saffron's bath. After Ranma interrupted Saffron's rebirthing process. This caused Saffron's transformation to be incomplete, making him unable to control how much of his power he used. Because of this, Saffron would run the risk of burning himself out if he did not complete the transformation. Afterwards Akane had tried to shut off the valve, which was actually the Kinjakan, the heat of the valve evaporated all of the water in Akane's body causing her to become a small doll.

As Akane shriveled into a doll, the Jusenkyo Guide informed them that the only way to restore Akane to normal was to give her the water from the Dragon Statue. Ranma, Ryoga, and Mousse went back to Mt. Phoenix to challenge Saffron and cure Akane. In the resulting battle, the the Akane doll threw herself through the hot air created by Saffron's attacks. Though it cost Akane her life, her move created a small channel of cold air and allowed Ranma to fire a whirlwind through it, squeezing the cold spiral into a razor's edge. The resulting attack drilled straight through Saffron's chest, killing him.

Ranma then used another modification of the Hiryu Shoten Ha to break the dragon tap, destroying a chance to remove his curse while soaking Akane's body and changing her back to normal. Much to Ranma's distress, she remained lifeless, causing him to burst into tears and confess his love for her. As his tears fell on her face, she miraculosly came back to life and she said she had heard him call her. Ranma suddenly seems to forget what he said while he thought Akane died, and denies admitting his feelings.

However, Saffron wasn't dead. Being an immortal phoenix, he revived as an egg, and hatched into a small child. Before Ranma and the others left, Ranma warned Saffron's caretaker Kiima to make sure he didn't grow up into a spoiled brat this time. Miraculously, The fight between Saffron and Ranma seemed to have opened up new waterways in Phoenix Mountain, saving their people. Ranma parts ways with the Phoenix people on surprisingly good terms.

[edit] Powers and Abilities

Aside from his immense fire power, Saffron also possesses great skill with the Kinjakan. While flying, he has superb maneuverability, although his defenses are very low due his to being pampered since birth.

• Fire Ball and Fire Column: When Saffron was released from his rebirthing process, he gained an endless source of flaming energy which allows him to release large orbs of pure fire and the ability to create columns of fire as well. But since his rebirthing process was incomplete, he did not have full control of it.
• Blazing Emperor's Wing: Saffron can rip off his wings and set them ablaze so he can throw them at his enemies like a buzz saw or a boomerang.
• Regeneration: Apparently Saffron is capable of regrowing lost limbs, such as when Ranma cut off his wing and it instantly grew back. He continued to rip them off to use his Blazing Emperor's Wing attack. After Ranma killed him, he came back to life as a newborn baby.
• Kinjakan: The Kinjakan is Saffron's primary weapon and mode of transportation. It acts as a sword and/or a boomerang when the tip is removed. It can cut through almost anything and also acts as the Jusendo spring's primary key.
• Instant-Annihilation-of-all-Mortals-Blast: Saffron's strongest attack. He first creates a huge sphere of fire, light, and heat (easily 10 times bigger than himself), then shoots it forward in a huge beam attack. The move is capable of destroying an entire mountain with ease. It seems he is only able to perform this move while wielding the Kinjakan.

[edit] Trivia

• It is a common misconception that Saffron is a god (or a demi-god.) This is completely false. He is a phoenix, and is thus immortal, but he never makes any claims of being a god, nor does anyone else ever call him a god.

Ranma ½ Characters v • d • e
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 | Minor Characters
Media
Manga | TV Series | Movies | OVAs
Other Articles
Anything Goes Martial Arts | DoCo | Items | Locations