Believe it or not, Tim, Rumy, and I actually do all agree on a few key issues.
Hey, I don't believe it either. But it's still true, regardless.
We agree that the sky is blue, that Hitler was a pretty bad person, and that Rumiko Takahashi kicks serious ass. (Except, of course, that Rumy doesn't say "ass.")
Herein lie the ten best Ranma manga stories. Do yourself a favor and buy the manga instead of the anime, which gets all its good ideas from the manga and is far too focused on the "Ranma fights some new guy with a never-before-revealed technique" storyline.
Frankly, the problem with a list like this is limiting it to ONLY ten. Many would include the extremely gratifying story in which Ranma finally revealed his condition to his long-lost mother, or the debut of the extremely popular (and well-done) characters of Shampoo, Mousse, or Ukyo. This is, as ever, a "personal" best.
Volumes that the story is contained in follow in parentheses. When the story has been officially translated by Viz, the Viz volume is followed by "E," if still not (cough, ahem) OFFICIALLY translated, the Japanese collection volume is followed by "J."
10. RYOGA'S DEBUT. (1 E) The first RANMA story did a model job of setting up Akane and the core premise of the series. Ranma's character took a bit longer to evolve, but a few stories later, he was the charming macho guy in denial that would anchor the rest of the series. But Kuno quickly grew impossible to take seriously as the "villain" of RANMA. As a war rival, he peaked early; as a love rival, he never had a chance. Clearly, somebody else would have to take the field.
I've already described the spectacular early fight scene between Ranma and Ryoga, which is done virtually identically in the anime and the manga. As I said, it cements the love-hate relationship between Ranma and Akane; no matter how much EITHER of them protest, from here on out we're on to them. More importantly, the battle plants a couple of clues that will establish why Ryoga has a better reason than anyone else to hate Ranma-- and that really is SAYING something.
9. THE SHISHIHOKODAN. (18 J, translated but not yet collected) Granted, this is one of those "new martial arts" stories, but it's tailor-made for Ryoga at his best. Ryoga discovers a technique that allows him to focus the energy of depression into a power blast. Of course, nothing is more depressing to him than losing to Ranma, so he uses the power blast... but then he STOPS being depressed... and then Ranma has to try to become depressed enough to match him... things go south in a hurry from there, for the characters at least, but not for the readers.
8. SHAMPOO HATES RANMA. (22 J) Interestingly, Shampoo was most successful at winning Ranma's heart by becoming enchanted to utterly DESPISE him. The pursued becomes the pursuer, as Shampoo's grandma puts it, and Ranma will stop at nothing to win Shampoo's affections back. Kind of an ego thing. Naturally, Akane doesn't take this with an "Okay, but be back in time for supper."
7. RANMA LOVES RYOGA. (23 J) Oh yeah. Along with #2, this is a candidate for the funniest RANMA story of all. Ryoga gets put through the wringer, and Takahashi isn't afraid to show his darker side as a bewitched Ranma drives him up the wall. And Akane, usually the focus of Ranma-Ryoga stories, now is regarded by Ranma as "the other woman."
6. THE SUPER-SUIT. (32 J) Maybe the most upsetting of all Ranma stories, the one that almost convinced me that Ranma and Akane were a DOOMED couple. See, Ranma doesn't just fight his opponents because he's a hero and that's what heroes do. Given his problems with "manliness," Ranma works overtime to prove that he's manly on the battlefield. He deeply NEEDS to be the best martial artist there is. Usually, this need is a plus. But when a super-suit turns Akane into the best martial artist there is, Ranma's need turns into a Shakespearean tragic flaw, drawing him into direct conflict with the woman he loves. The usual misunderstandings and insults make the problem even worse... but this time, they (deliberately) AREN'T FUNNY. The only thing keeping this story out of the top five is its resolution, which is a little quick... but given how guilty Ranma is at the end of the story, we can assume he'll work until he's gained Akane's forgiveness.
5. THE WORLD'S WEAKEST MAN. (11-12 E) Ranma's deepest need is denied him. Happosai performs a ritual that magically robs Ranma of his strength. Storyline contains some of the funniest and most daring moments in all RANMA... I never dreamed anyone could make an accusation of rape seem funny... and some of Ryoga's best-ever scenes, as his nobility of character wars with his hatred for Ranma. And, oh yeah, this remains the only decisive defeat that Ranma EVER dealt Happosai.
4. AN AKANE TO REMEMBER (25-26 J) Most people cite this as their favorite anime, which is hardly surprising since it's one of the ones translated most directly from the manga. (Grumble.) Most of it comes down to one single moment. Ranma has caught up to Akane, who's taking care of the dying warrior Shinnosuke. She hasn't been able to tell him why she's caring for Shinnosuke, since she won't say in front of Shinnosuke that he IS dying. Jealous past the point of reason, Ranma picks a fight with Shinnosuke... who has a seizure as Ranma aims a punch...
And Akane hits Ranma. And somehow it's different than all the fights they've had before. Ranma's recovered from blows that sent him flying across city blocks, but this light contact hits him like a ton of bricks would hit you or me. He can only stare.
Akane looks at Ranma as if he's fading from sight, as if he's disappearing from her life. "I'm sorry," she says, desperately. "Hit me back..."
But Ranma is already leaving.
Beautiful.
3. THE FINAL BATTLE. (37-38 J) Takahashi mixes elements from some of her more successful stories here into one huge final arc. Shampoo proves that she can be an interesting character even while brainwashed, Mousse finally-- FINALLY!-- does something that suggests he might be worthy of Shampoo's love, Ryoga and Shampoo begin to give up their quests for Akane and Ranma, the best fighters in RANMA square off against the most powerful and clever foes they've ever faced, and, oh yeah, Ranma makes THE confession. And did we mention the wedding scene? (It's both more and less than you're expecting.)
2. THE THREE-LEGGED RACE. (14 E) This one is just OCEANS of fun. Basic rules: you must have a partner, and one of their legs must be secured to yours as you run. The winner gets a free trip to any hot spring in the world... and of course, only one spring holds any interest for the RANMA characters. Special treats include the memorable first meeting between Shampoo and Ukyo ("Where were we?"..."You at brink death."), the question of whether Mousse could take Ryoga (answer: not on the best day of his life), Ryoga's reaction to a nude Shampoo, the utterly maniacal ravings of the race committee chairman, and not least, a couple of halting steps forward in Ranma's and Akane's relationship.
1. NABIKI'S FIANCEE. (15 E) Boy, were we waiting a LONG time for this one. After a great set of cameos in the first few stories, Nabiki virtually vanished from the series, only turning up briefly here and there but always living up to our expectations. With this story, she finally got her biggest star turn. I refuse to give away the various twists in this story, but by the time it's done, we've learned something new about Akane, seen Ranma get a mammoth case of the guilts (for the first time ever), and learned whether or not Nabiki really is capable of loving another human being. You WILL be surprised.
Dishonorable Mention: PRINCIPAL KUNO. (10 E) What? What? Who is this jerk? Shut up, you jerk! This Hawaiian-stereotype impersonator, RANMA's most persistently obnoxious character, starred in a (mercifully) brief cluster of stories focused on his efforts to annoy the students. Now, credit where credit is due: he did get significantly less irritating as time went on, chiefly because Takahashi knew not to spotlight him TOO much. But the first story, in which this blathering fool is revealed to be the head of the supposedly wealthy and powerful Kuno family, is a bitter pill to swallow. More credit where credit's due: Takahashi never referred to this family relationship after this initial arc.
No need to dwell on the dark parts of the past, after all.
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