You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
lisafer 's review for:
Ranma 1/2, Vol. 25 (Ranma ½
by Rumiko Takahashi
In this volume, life is more or less back to normal for Ranma and Akane...
At school, Miss Hinako announces that she's going to do home visits for her homeroom pupils. That afternoon she comes home with Akane, but by the time she's at the Tendo residence she's in kid-form and just wants to eat snacks and watch anime. However, when Soun returns he thinks she's one of Akane's little friends - but she's interested in him. She drains some ki to take her adult form and gets flirting. She stays the night and asks Akane "wouldn't you like a mother?"
The next day at school Akane is thoughtful about it and Ranma says it's ridiculous. Miss Hinako overhears them, and says she'll get Soun to propose within a week. Ranma takes her up on the challenge, and agrees to the terms that he won't get in the way. Akane acknowledges to herself that *she* never agreed not to, though. After a week of lying around the Tendos' watching anime, she hasn't been successful. She sneaks into Ranma's room to drain his ki, and Ranma wakes up and tries to stop her - which means everyone comes in the room to see Ranma pinning the lingerie-clad Hinako. Soun flips out and yells at Ranma and apologizes to Miss Hinako, and when he offers anything to make amends, she jumps on it. Akane turns Ranma into a girl to pretend that this is their new mother, but eventually Nabiki is wooed with 10,000 yen. Hinako and Soun go out to the beach together. She asks him to marry her, but Ranma and Akane interrupt. When Akane asks Soun if he's really going to get married, he suddenly remembers that it's his anniversary, and he goes back to the shrine in their house to pay respects to his wife's memory.
In the next story, Mousse wants to invite Shampoo on a date to a wax museum, but she wants to go on a date with Ranma. Digging through Cologne's stuff, he finds a masquerade-style mask, and learns that wearing it makes people cry and grovel. He uses it on Cologne and Ranma, and later Akane and Ranma learn that it's something weak people and children use in Amazon villages. Ranma laughs and says it makes sense, since Mousse is so weak. Mousse therefore challenges Ranma to a fight in front of the entire school, and makes Ranma weep and grovel. Shampoo is disgusted with him, so Akane asks him if that's how he really wants to defeat Ranma. Ranma, meanwhile, wants a rematch and he's going through Cologne's treasures to find a counter.
The day of the match comes, and Mousse has decided not to use the mask. Ranma, however, is throwing every pathetic trick item he can to meet Mousse at the lower level. Akane goes to fetch Shampoo, to show her that Mousse is fighting honorably, but when they get there Mousse decides to put on the mask. Except he flips it around, and instead he grovels and cries at Ranma's feet. Shampoo decides to go on a date with him for doing the right thing, but then criticizes his taste when he takes her to the wax museum.
The next is a really dumb story where the Tendos and Saotomes go to a beach where there's apparently some dog ghost attacking people. Ranma goes into the water to locate it, and finds the source. When he comes out, though, he's wearing a stupid looking bathing suit with a chinese temple-stylized dog. And he can't take it off. The dog-spirit in the bathing suit tells them that a beautiful girl wore this, and her boyfriend said she looked stupid, so he's haunting the beach until he gets a compliment, and if he doesn't get it by sundown Ranma will be doomed to spend eternity at the bottom of the sea. They find the original boyfriend, but he's old now and the dog-ghost doesn't recognize him. But then Kuno shows up, with seaweed dangling from his head like long hair, and apparently looks like the bathing suit. Ranma agrees to spend the day with hoping he'll compliment the bathing suit. He finally does, just as the sun is setting, and Ranma is saved from eternity with the ghost dog.
The second-to-last story is a really fun one, and a simpler version of one of the animated OAVs (where they took the theme and included all the characters). In this, Ukyo wants to go on vacation with Ranma, and while she's looking at different magazines, she finds the ideal place - to take Ranma and Akane - in a pamphlet of best haunted spots. It's The Cursed Cave of Broken Loves, where couples who go through are torn apart by ghosts and break up by the time they leave. Ukyo says she feels like a third wheel, so she'll stay outside and wait for them. But then Ryoga bursts through a wall and Ukyo drags him in with her, leaving Ranma and Akane to go in together. Ukyo lets Ryoga in on the secret and he agrees to help her break up Ranma and Akane. Meanwhile, as Akane and Ranma walk through, creepy stuff begins happening, like ghosts grabbing at Akane's ankles and such, and she clings to Ranma. He hasn't seen anything, so he tells her that he gets it - she's playing him. "Ooh, it's so dark in here! Oh Ranma, please protect li'l ol' me! Never thought *you'd* pull that." She rightfully punches him and says she's going back. Ryoga thinks quickly, and uses a Bakusai Tenketsu to create a cave in and block the path.
Ukyo and Ryoga attempt to take off, but Akane pleads with Ryoga to let her come with him, complete with puppy dog eyes. Ranma is annoyed that she's acting all cute with Ryoga. Ryoga feels like his dreams are coming true, and before Ukyo can remind him of the plan, Ranma snatches her up and begins walking with her instead.
Ukyo tries to come up with reasons to separate from Ranma, such as faking an injury, and she gets a moment to remind Ryoga of their plan, but Ryoga is so lost in a fantasy of living forever in the caves with Akane that he steps into a stream. Akane is looking in the water for him, but ghosts come up and scare her to the point she passes out - but she screams first, so Ranma comes running and goes into the water, too. Then we see Akane and Ranma walking, holding hands, and Akane is crying and saying that she hates this place. Ranma is carrying P-chan in a bag, pretending he doesn't know where Ryoga is. Lucikly (because it's Ranma 1/2) there's a "Break-up Bathhouse" in the caves. The girls go in and it's nice and luxurious, but the guys' side is awful - the blood baths of hell. Ranma and Ryoga are still savoring the hot (and bloody?) water. When they get out, there's a lot of men angrily waiting around for their girlfriends. Ranma and Akane notices that Ukyo and Ryoga are being strange, so they eavesdrop and the conversation sounds like they're an item. ("I'll never stray again." "How can I trust you?", etc.) At that point Ranma and Akane team up to help Ukyo and Ryoga in their new relationship; Ranma joyfully punches Ryoga and asks why he didn't say anything, and Akane apologizes to Ukyo. The two leave the cave together holding hands, talking about how their fight was affecting Ryoga and Ukyo. The ghosts focus on Ukyo and Ryoga, pulling them apart, because Ranma and Akane are happily bickering ("This is because you were all over Ryoga."/"Oh, like you weren't all over Ucchan?"), and the story ends with Ryoga and Ukyo fighting about how it all happened, and Ranma and Akane eating ice cream and wondering what's up with the other two.
And the final story is possibly the stupidest one yet in all of Ranma: Miss Hinako has lost the graded exams, and has nothing to return to the students. It's revealed that Principal Kuno has them in a balloon, and he's going to publicly announce the scores unless someone can steal the square package he's carrying around. All the students are fighting, with Ranma in the lead (noting that a martial artist doesn't care about grades, but does care about fighting an unjust principal). He eventually gets the square package, and it's revealed to be a photo of the principal puckering up for a kiss, and says "kiss me here". Ranma refuses, and eventually the balloon is nabbed by a news channel, and they announce the scores on television. As I said... really dumb.
The volume isn't terrible; I actually like the Miss Hinako/Soun story, and seeing Ranma and Akane holding hands so much is adorable after the Ryugenzawa arc. They... feel more like a couple in the later volumes. And I'm a sucker for Shampoo being nice to Mousse. It's not that I particularly like Mousse, I just... think Shampoo is adorable when she isn't threatening my OTP. LOL.
At school, Miss Hinako announces that she's going to do home visits for her homeroom pupils. That afternoon she comes home with Akane, but by the time she's at the Tendo residence she's in kid-form and just wants to eat snacks and watch anime. However, when Soun returns he thinks she's one of Akane's little friends - but she's interested in him. She drains some ki to take her adult form and gets flirting. She stays the night and asks Akane "wouldn't you like a mother?"
The next day at school Akane is thoughtful about it and Ranma says it's ridiculous. Miss Hinako overhears them, and says she'll get Soun to propose within a week. Ranma takes her up on the challenge, and agrees to the terms that he won't get in the way. Akane acknowledges to herself that *she* never agreed not to, though. After a week of lying around the Tendos' watching anime, she hasn't been successful. She sneaks into Ranma's room to drain his ki, and Ranma wakes up and tries to stop her - which means everyone comes in the room to see Ranma pinning the lingerie-clad Hinako. Soun flips out and yells at Ranma and apologizes to Miss Hinako, and when he offers anything to make amends, she jumps on it. Akane turns Ranma into a girl to pretend that this is their new mother, but eventually Nabiki is wooed with 10,000 yen. Hinako and Soun go out to the beach together. She asks him to marry her, but Ranma and Akane interrupt. When Akane asks Soun if he's really going to get married, he suddenly remembers that it's his anniversary, and he goes back to the shrine in their house to pay respects to his wife's memory.
In the next story, Mousse wants to invite Shampoo on a date to a wax museum, but she wants to go on a date with Ranma. Digging through Cologne's stuff, he finds a masquerade-style mask, and learns that wearing it makes people cry and grovel. He uses it on Cologne and Ranma, and later Akane and Ranma learn that it's something weak people and children use in Amazon villages. Ranma laughs and says it makes sense, since Mousse is so weak. Mousse therefore challenges Ranma to a fight in front of the entire school, and makes Ranma weep and grovel. Shampoo is disgusted with him, so Akane asks him if that's how he really wants to defeat Ranma. Ranma, meanwhile, wants a rematch and he's going through Cologne's treasures to find a counter.
The day of the match comes, and Mousse has decided not to use the mask. Ranma, however, is throwing every pathetic trick item he can to meet Mousse at the lower level. Akane goes to fetch Shampoo, to show her that Mousse is fighting honorably, but when they get there Mousse decides to put on the mask. Except he flips it around, and instead he grovels and cries at Ranma's feet. Shampoo decides to go on a date with him for doing the right thing, but then criticizes his taste when he takes her to the wax museum.
The next is a really dumb story where the Tendos and Saotomes go to a beach where there's apparently some dog ghost attacking people. Ranma goes into the water to locate it, and finds the source. When he comes out, though, he's wearing a stupid looking bathing suit with a chinese temple-stylized dog. And he can't take it off. The dog-spirit in the bathing suit tells them that a beautiful girl wore this, and her boyfriend said she looked stupid, so he's haunting the beach until he gets a compliment, and if he doesn't get it by sundown Ranma will be doomed to spend eternity at the bottom of the sea. They find the original boyfriend, but he's old now and the dog-ghost doesn't recognize him. But then Kuno shows up, with seaweed dangling from his head like long hair, and apparently looks like the bathing suit. Ranma agrees to spend the day with hoping he'll compliment the bathing suit. He finally does, just as the sun is setting, and Ranma is saved from eternity with the ghost dog.
The second-to-last story is a really fun one, and a simpler version of one of the animated OAVs (where they took the theme and included all the characters). In this, Ukyo wants to go on vacation with Ranma, and while she's looking at different magazines, she finds the ideal place - to take Ranma and Akane - in a pamphlet of best haunted spots. It's The Cursed Cave of Broken Loves, where couples who go through are torn apart by ghosts and break up by the time they leave. Ukyo says she feels like a third wheel, so she'll stay outside and wait for them. But then Ryoga bursts through a wall and Ukyo drags him in with her, leaving Ranma and Akane to go in together. Ukyo lets Ryoga in on the secret and he agrees to help her break up Ranma and Akane. Meanwhile, as Akane and Ranma walk through, creepy stuff begins happening, like ghosts grabbing at Akane's ankles and such, and she clings to Ranma. He hasn't seen anything, so he tells her that he gets it - she's playing him. "Ooh, it's so dark in here! Oh Ranma, please protect li'l ol' me! Never thought *you'd* pull that." She rightfully punches him and says she's going back. Ryoga thinks quickly, and uses a Bakusai Tenketsu to create a cave in and block the path.
Ukyo and Ryoga attempt to take off, but Akane pleads with Ryoga to let her come with him, complete with puppy dog eyes. Ranma is annoyed that she's acting all cute with Ryoga. Ryoga feels like his dreams are coming true, and before Ukyo can remind him of the plan, Ranma snatches her up and begins walking with her instead.
Ukyo tries to come up with reasons to separate from Ranma, such as faking an injury, and she gets a moment to remind Ryoga of their plan, but Ryoga is so lost in a fantasy of living forever in the caves with Akane that he steps into a stream. Akane is looking in the water for him, but ghosts come up and scare her to the point she passes out - but she screams first, so Ranma comes running and goes into the water, too. Then we see Akane and Ranma walking, holding hands, and Akane is crying and saying that she hates this place. Ranma is carrying P-chan in a bag, pretending he doesn't know where Ryoga is. Lucikly (because it's Ranma 1/2) there's a "Break-up Bathhouse" in the caves. The girls go in and it's nice and luxurious, but the guys' side is awful - the blood baths of hell. Ranma and Ryoga are still savoring the hot (and bloody?) water. When they get out, there's a lot of men angrily waiting around for their girlfriends. Ranma and Akane notices that Ukyo and Ryoga are being strange, so they eavesdrop and the conversation sounds like they're an item. ("I'll never stray again." "How can I trust you?", etc.) At that point Ranma and Akane team up to help Ukyo and Ryoga in their new relationship; Ranma joyfully punches Ryoga and asks why he didn't say anything, and Akane apologizes to Ukyo. The two leave the cave together holding hands, talking about how their fight was affecting Ryoga and Ukyo. The ghosts focus on Ukyo and Ryoga, pulling them apart, because Ranma and Akane are happily bickering ("This is because you were all over Ryoga."/"Oh, like you weren't all over Ucchan?"), and the story ends with Ryoga and Ukyo fighting about how it all happened, and Ranma and Akane eating ice cream and wondering what's up with the other two.
And the final story is possibly the stupidest one yet in all of Ranma: Miss Hinako has lost the graded exams, and has nothing to return to the students. It's revealed that Principal Kuno has them in a balloon, and he's going to publicly announce the scores unless someone can steal the square package he's carrying around. All the students are fighting, with Ranma in the lead (noting that a martial artist doesn't care about grades, but does care about fighting an unjust principal). He eventually gets the square package, and it's revealed to be a photo of the principal puckering up for a kiss, and says "kiss me here". Ranma refuses, and eventually the balloon is nabbed by a news channel, and they announce the scores on television. As I said... really dumb.
The volume isn't terrible; I actually like the Miss Hinako/Soun story, and seeing Ranma and Akane holding hands so much is adorable after the Ryugenzawa arc. They... feel more like a couple in the later volumes. And I'm a sucker for Shampoo being nice to Mousse. It's not that I particularly like Mousse, I just... think Shampoo is adorable when she isn't threatening my OTP. LOL.