Ranma Saotome

Main character in the series (it's called "RANMA 1/2"... right?) Engaged to THREE girls (mostly his father's fault). Kempo is his life. Never turns down a challenge, no matter how ridiculous it may be. If it has the words "martial arts" in it, he'll win... eventually. Stubborn. Has alot of pride (he draws strength from it). Has black hair, a pigtail, often wears Chinese clothes. Fell into the Nyanniichuan (spring of drowned girl, where a girl drowned 1500 years ago) at the Jhusenkyou training ground. When doused with cold water, he turns into a red-haired (actually, all Japanese have black hair... anime uses other colors to help viewers distinguish characters) girl and shrinks a few inches. Hot water turns him back. Called Ran-chan by Ukyou Kunoji. Called "Ranma no baka" by Akane. Has a phobia of cats.

Special techniques:

Genma Saotome

Ranma's father. Arranged with his closest friend, Soun Tendo, the marriage of their children. Took Ranma to Jhusenkyou training ground. Ranma kicked him into the Shonmaoniichuan (spring of drowned panda, where a panda drowned there 2000 years ago). He, in turn, kicked Ranma into the Nyanniichuan while the Jhusenkyou guide explained the curses. Doesn't have much trouble with his curse and becomes quite accustomed to living as a panda. Uses signs to communicate while in panda form. In human form, he's bald, has glasses, and always seems to be wearing a gi. Sold his son on several occasions for food.

Special techniques:

Nodoka Saotome

Ranma's mother. When Ranma was an infant, Genma left with him because his mother's influence was detrimental to training Ranma in Saotome-style martial arts. When he left, he promised to make him a manly man inside and out, or they would commit seppuku like men. As a martial artist's wife, she accepted this decision. Nodoka received letters from Genma until their trip to Jhusenkyou, until they suddenly stopped. She comes to the Tendou dojo wanting nothing more than to see her son Ranma grown to be a man, and carries a katana which she intended to use if Genma hadn't held his promise. However, she only meets Akane's "cousin" Ranko and her pet panda... Appears frequently in the later manga volumes.

Has long black/brown hair. Usually seen wearing a kimono.

Akane Tendou

Ranma's fiancee. The youngest daughter of Soun Tendo, age 16, like Ranma. A hot-tempered boy-hating kempoist, yet admired by many boys at school. She refuses to be betrothed against her will, especially to a hentai weirdo like Ranma (who doesn't like being engaged to a violent tomboy any better). Despite their constant bickering and denials, Akane and Ranma grow to like each other (and feel jealous when the other appears more interested in another suitor), but neither can admit it. Akane is comically inept at traditional feminine pursuits like cooking, sewing, and tea ceremony. She also swims like a hammer, being utterly incapable of staying afloat. Is a bit shorter than boy-Ranma, but a bit taller than girl-Ranma. Has short, dark blue (see note above) hair, and is usually seen wearing the standard school uniform.

Nabiki Tendou

Akane's conniving older sister, age 17. A mischievous mercenary, con artist, and bookie, she finds ways to turn a profit from the odd situations she becomes a part of. She also maintains a steady income selling embarrassing pictures of Ranma-chan to Tatewaki Kunou. Has short, brown hair, and is seen most of the time wearing casual clothes (except during school).

Kasumi Tendou

The eldest daughter, age 19. A traditional, proper Japanese girl, taking over the household duties of her dead mother, keeping house and cooking for the dojo's many guests. She takes the bizarre events around the dojo in stride with cheerful obliviousness or sympathetically remarks on the obvious. Has long black/brown hair, and is almost always wearing an apron.

Soun Tendou

The emotional father and widower. Soun and Genma trained together as Happousai's students before starting their own martial arts schools. Now the fathers try to force Akane and Ranma to bond against their will so that the doujou would be carried on. However, trying to force Akane and Ranma to bond rarely does any good. Soun is furious whenever Ranma turns out to have yet another fiancee, or when Ranma seems to prefer one of them to Akane. Has black hair (long), and almost always wears a gi.

Ono Tofu

The local chiropractor, skilled in martial arts medicine, when he's himself. Whenever he sees Kasumi, his glasses fog up and he becomes a babbling fool (and dangerous to his patients), as everyone but Kasumi knows. (To Akane's heartbreak at the beginning of the series, since she had a crush on him since she was a child.) Genma gets a job doing chores at his clinic. Appears often in the first season episodes, but only in about 2 or 3 episodes in the whole Ranma Nettouen series.

Has brown hair, has glasses, and usually wears a gi.

Takewaki Kunou

Kunou Tatewaki, 17 years old, boastful captain of the kendo club. Apparently of wealthy samurai lineage. As class president, he ruled that anyone who would date Akane must first defeat her. At the start of the series, Akane defeats their attempts every morning. In the meantime, he falls in love with the pony-tailed girl who mysteriously takes Ranma's place during a fight and defeats him. After Ranma soundly defeats him, though he will never accept defeat, the other students accept Ranma and Akane's betrothal. Hating Ranma for being too close to both Akane and the pony-tailed girl, he agonizes over which girl he loves more (which his classmate Nabiki capitalizes on). Has black hair, usually wears samurai robes and carries a bokken (a wooden sword) which he wields as effectively as a blade. Calls himself the "Blue Thunder" of Furinkan High. Usually called Kunou-chan when Nabiki tries to make money off of him.

Kodachi Kunou

Takewaki's even stranger younger sister, age 16. She's a formidable martial arts rhythmic gymnastics expert from the rival Saint Hebereke's girls' academy, who wins her matches by default by taking out her opponents "fair and square" before the competition. After a thwarted attack on Akane in her bedroom before their upcoming match, Ranma, chasing P-chan, accidentally knocks her off the dojo roof, then unknowingly rescues her. When she comes to and sees who "saved" her, she falls for Ranma. However, not only is Akane in the way, but also a strong pony-tailed girl who has the audacity to use her Ranma's name!

Black roses are her trademark. Sometimes they appear on her clothing, or she holds one between her teeth. Spins her lash-like ribbon in the air, sometimes casting black rose petals all around, sometimes using it to toss nearby objects at her opponents. Also uses a number of gymnastic tools as weapons (ex: pins, medicine balls, etc). Villanous laugh. Gives bouquets of black roses loaded with exploding powder causing sleep or paralysis. Has long black hair and usually wears a leotard. Calls herself "Black Rose Kodachi."

Kodachi's deceptively-named pet, which gives Ranma a big surprise when he finds out that Midorigame is an alligator.

Shampoo (Xianpu)

Another of Ranma's fiancees. A cute, acrobatic Chinese girl, champion of the Joketsuzoku, defeated in her village's annual contest by Ranma as a girl. She gives her the kiss of death, and chases her out of China trying to kill her. After showing up in Japan seeking the girl Ranma, she meets and is defeated by the boy Ranma, but this time she declares her love for him and calls him "husband". By the customs of her clan, recorded in the Joketsuzoku scriptures, when defeated by an outsider, if it is a woman you give her the kiss of death and kill her, but if it is a man you marry him.

Ruthless with her rivals, she tries to make Akane forget everything about Ranma by washing her hair with her special formula 110 shampoo. Crushed when Ranma reveals his secret to her, she returns to her village and renews her training at Jhusenkyou with her grandmother, who knocks her into Maoniichuan, where a cat drowned 1800 years ago. Assured that Ranma is really a man, she returns to Japan and tries to get Ranma to fall in love with her, working at her great-grandmother's Chinese restaurant and making deliveries on her bicycle.

Has long purple hair, wears Chinese clothing and round hair ornaments that stay on her fur as a cat. Bumbles Japanese. Wields bonbori (a pair of maces with big spheres on the end). Also wielded a big curved sword when out to kill "girl-type" Ranma.

Special techniques:

Ryouga Hibiki

Ranma's rival since junior high, when he challenged Ranma to a fight in the vacant lot behind his house. But, eternally lost boy that he is, it took him a four-day journey all over Japan to find his way there, to find that Ranma has gone off with his father on a training expedition. To avenge the grudge, he went to China after Ranma, eventually blundering his way to a desolate mountain range, where a pony-tailed girl chasing a panda knocked him off a cliff and into Heitouenniichuan, where a black pig drowned 1200 years ago. A panda rescued the little black pig... only to deliver him to the Chinese guide for dinner. Fortunately, the guide dropped him into a wok of boiling water.

Ryouga blames Ranma for his condition, and his anger multiplies when he finds out that Ranma is really directly responsible for it. When this comes out, Ranma remorsefully swears not to reveal Ryouga's secret. As a pig, Ryouga becomes Akane's pet "P-chan", and falls deeply in love with her, but believes no one could love him as a human with his curse. Akane is unaware that the pet pig she sleeps with is Ryouga, despite several close calls, and is angry whenever Ranma abuses her piggy.

In addition to a complete inability to follow directions, Ryouga is fooled even by Ranma's most ridiculous disguises. Extremely strong, he often shatters rocks and walls in his anxiety. Wears SHARP headbands which he throws at people when in combat, wields a heavy, sharp-rimmed unbrella, and can use his belt like a blade.

Has black hair, always found wearing yellow bandanas with black blotches (look almost like army style... er... never mind...), a pant/shirt combo (looks rough), and wears hiking gear when wandering around. When he's P-chan, he wears a yellow bandanas around his neck.

Special techniques:

"Shirokuro"

Moose (Mousse)

A boy blindly following his love, Shampoo, who detests him. Even with his thick bottle-lens glasses, he mistakes statues, telephone poles, and bystanders for other people. He shows up in Japan looking for Shampoo, even though he always fails to defeat her in a fight, but Cologne tells him Shampoo is going to marry Ranma. So he challenges this new rival for Shampoo's affections to a man-to-man fight (a troublesome point for Ranma).

When Ranma defeats him, he returns to China and seeks training at Jhusenkyou, where he walks into Yaazuniichuan, a spring where a wild duckling drowned 1300 years ago (if there's anywhere in the world a duck could drown, it's there). He returns to Japan with a supply of Yaazuniichuan water to turn Ranma into a duck, too, but (of course) fails.

Moose hates Ranma, and would dearly like to do away with Shampoo's "husband". Has black hair (long), usually wears a white robe, and thick glasses. Is a hidden weapons expert. He usually throws various heavy or entangling objects on the ends of long chains. He sometimes sprouts long blades from his sleeves, or wears shoes with spikes and talons on the ends. As a duck, his eyesight is sharp enough to accurately throw knives which sprout from his wings. Called Muu-muu as a duck.

Special techniques:

Ukyou Kuonji

Ranma's kawaii iinazuke (cute fiancee). Ten years ago, on a training journey with his father, Ranma stole okonomiyaki from Ukyou's father's yatai (food cart), defeating Ukyou every day. However, it was a friendly rivalry- Ukyou drew pictures with okonomiyaki sauce on them for Ranma. Ukyou's father told Genma that Ukyou said she wants to be Ranma's wife. Genma said Ranma already has a fiancee. Ukyou's father said too bad, he was thinking of giving them the yatai for a dowry. Genma said we'll take her. In this quandary, he made Ranma decide; he asked Ranma which he liked better, okonomiyaki or Ukyou. Unaware of Ukyou's wish or even that Ukyou is a girl, Ranma chose okonomiyaki, so Genma and Ranma ran off with the yatai and left Ukyou behind. Shamed and ridiculed by her peers, Ukyou decided she wouldn't like boys forever, dressed and lived as one, and devoted herself to okonomiyaki style martial arts. Years later, when Ranma discovers her actual gender and Ukyou discovers that Ranma does not get along with his other fiancee, they reconcile and she becomes enamored of him. Ranma generally treats Ukyou only like an old friend. She runs the Utchan okonomiyaki shop in town.

Has long dark brown hair and usually wears tomboyish clothes. Also wears a bandolier of small sharp spatulas and a huge spatula on her back. Called Utchan by Ranma.

Happousai

A powerful, small (about a few inches tall!), old man, possessed of an evil spirit. The feared and loathed sensei of Genma and Soun. Several decades ago, he harshly trained them by making them take part in his plundering and endure the punishments when he left them behind. Finally, they got him drunk, chained him in a barrel, threw the barrel in a cave, and sealed the cave with dynamite and a boulder hung with Buddhist scriptures.

Years later, he escapes. He moves into the Tendou dojo to train his successor, where Genma gives him Ranma to train. A 110% pervert, he constantly goes around lifting skirts, stealing women's underwear for his extensive collection, and committing frottage. His perversions are the source of his strength; without touching young female bodies or underwear, he loses his power. Ranma and Akane are his favorite targets.

Uses a small pipe, with which he flips opponents long distances. Called Happy by Cologne.

Special techniques:

Cologne

Shampoo's ancient (300 year old?), powerful great-grandmother, who tries to make Ranma marry Shampoo, subtly grooming him by training him in new martial arts techniques. She and her granddaughter, Shampoo, run the Nekohanten. About as tall as Happousai. Has long white hair which almost reaches the ground (when she's on her staff). Hops around on a gnarled wooden staff somewhat like a pogo stick, which she also uses as a weapon. Called Cologne only by Happousai (everyone else calls her Shampoo's great grandmother (o-baba?)).