Ranma Links Around the World

Introduction

Ranma 1/2 is Japanese animation about a few teenagers. The basic plot centers around a boy named Ranma who has been promised in marriage to a girl named Akane. Unfortunately, Ranma's past keeps haunting him and several people come to try and kill, pummel, marry, etc. Ranma. To complicate matters, Ranma has a curse. When he is hit with cold water, he becomes a buxom female. Hot water restores his manhood. In the series are other characters with similar curses who change into other creatures: pandas, cats, ducks, pigs, etc.



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	.---' /  /-. `-. `-' | `' (_.-. |
	`----'`-'  `---'`---'        .'.'
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"Very tragic story..."

The impending demise...

of this page

is upon us.

I have personally put a great deal of effort into this page. Unfortunately, nothing can last forever, or can it? I do not want to see this page die. I will, however, be graduating at the end of this semester. Thus this account will expire. I in turn will have no place new to put it, at least not at first. Thus, I would request that those who have enjoyed this page copy it. Make it part of their own files. Note that I have a number of files so please Email me for the exact information. Also, be advised that I intend to continue to update these pages to the very end. So the later you make the copy of this particular page, the better.

The Plot

Ranma is a member of the "Anything-Goes" school of martial arts (Sometimes translated as school of indescriminant grapplingor school of unrestricted fighting styles) and is very skilled is his fighting. He is particularly skilled in aerial combat. This is the practice of fighting by leaping high into the air and pummelling (or trying to pummel) your opponent as you pass in the air. The episodes may best be described as a romantic comedy. While watching the cartoon, certain quotes have been taken to heart...

The Quotes

"I would date with you.": Said by Kuno to Ranma in girl form. Kuno dislikes Ranma in boy form and is a comedic rival, since he is no match for Ranma although has enough posturing to imply he is. This form of speech is characteristic of the way he speaks.
"Pig-tailed girl I love you!": Said by Kuno to Ranma in girl form. Remember that Kuno dislikes Ranma in boy form.
"And besides, I'm better built...": Said by Ranma in girl form to Akane during a squabble which ensued after Akane saw Ranma in boy form. They both happened to be naked at the time. Akane repays Ranma for these words by lifting a large table and placing it (with some velocity, I might add) atop his head. Ranma for his part responds by being flattened into the ground by said table.
"I wore a pink leotard to a fight once!": Said by Ranma in boy form to his father, Genma. This was said during a particularly physical argument about fighting and discipline.
"You are so uncute.": Said by Ranma at various times to Akane.

The Creator

Long live Rumiko Takahashi, creator of Ranma 1/2!

Rumiko Takahashi has also created a number of other characters and series, including Lum. For more information about Lum, try accessing the Urusei Yatsura home page.

She also created another series about people living in an aprtment complex. This series is called Maison Ikkoku, after the name of the apartment complex, and is a romantic comedy about its residents.

Ranma originally aired in Japan in 1989. For those who have been watching the cartoons, there is a song whose lyrics may have worked it's way into your heart. I also have a version of the song with Shampoo doing the singing. For those of you with PCs and sound cards who are having problems with these sound files, try wplany (Windows Play Any File) .

Other Links

Ranma 1/2 Expanded Home Page: This is one of the most popular Ranma tributes that is on the WWW. All who love Ranma should bow to Thomas E. Cardwell II, owner of this page. The links contained herein include access to many, many images, sounds, and texts. These include information about the characters, the people who do the voices (Japanese and American-dubbed), Takahashi Rumiko, and Viz Video (North American Continental Release). Click and drool...
Ranma's Home Page: This is an excellent summary of the characters and plots involved in th Ranma 1/2 saga. It features a first person account of the story from Ranma's viewpoint. It has numerous cross-references internal to the document. This allows jumping from character to character as they are encountered in the descriptions.
Ranma 1/2 Home Page: This is another impressive link. Although note yet complete, the information and layout is of great quality. It has a large amount of stuff already available, the construction promises to bring more high quality stuff to the Internet.
Ranma 1/2 World: This is another astounding page. It has an extensive array of links which contian more Ranma information. It starts with a brief introduction and then, similar to mine, it has a list of links to other Ranma information with describtions of what is there.
Ranma 1/2@anime: This is a "big" link filled with a bunch of pictures. The only reason to go here is for the pictures. However, this person (Tekaneda) is a true artist. Some of the images were not originally in color and those that were have been retouched.
Dar-Lon Chang: This is the home page of Dar Lon Chang. He calls himself a "certifiable Ranma nut" and has a good selection of images and links on his home page.
Church of Ryouga Homepage!: This is another excellent home page. It should be noted that Ranma characters are all lovable, however, many people have their own little favorites. This link shows particular interest for Ryouga, a tragic hero in the story and general rival with Ranma. Note that this is a "big" link containing many images, some of which are large.
The Ranma 1/2 Crossover Page: This is a slight misnomer. A crossover is a story written by fans which place Ranma in a different universe or other characters in the Ranma universe. For example, imagine what would happen if Ryoga was placed in a situation similar to Dr. Sam Becket of Quantum Leap. Then Ryoga would be leaping around time and putting right what once was wrong. This page does, however have other information and links on it. One notable feature is the presence of a picture of Rumiko Takahashi, creator of Ranma.
Ranma 1/2: This page contains Marc Hairston's synopsis of the series. The explanation of exactly what Ranma 1/2 is and who the characters are extends a little beyond what I have chosen to include in my description.
Stone Age Productions!: Welcome to "The Crypt" The Crypt is a collection of fan-fiction. Fan-fiction consists of stories not written by the original author. Fan-fiction often depicts the characters in situations they would not normally be in. For example, Ranma meets Quantum Leap or Ranma goes porno. Some stories are actual viable within the story line and seem like they may have been part of the series. There are a number of different genres here. There is one with imagine the characters in a different universe, another with sex stories, another with normal stories, and even song parodies.
A Guide to Ranma 1/2 FanFiction: This is a general index of a huge amount of fan-fiction written with the Ranma saga in mind. It is very sizable.
Ranma1/2!: This page is a wealth of images as well as information about the series. The page is well done and the information and images make the page stunning.
Ranma 1/2: This page contains a lengthy bit of text on Ranma 1/2. This text summarizes the books that have been released (on which the cartoons are vaguely based) for Ranma 1/2.
RANMA's Home Page: This page has a small explanation about Ranma, resembling mine. It also, however has a link to information about the Ranma 1/2: Hard Battle, a video game released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.
The Charlotte Cup Debate Page: This home page is about a particular series of episodes. In the story line, Ranma (and others) get involved in a martial ice skating competition. This page explores the possibilities of making this into a live show. Think Sesame Street on Ice only with fighting... Well, maybe not...
Mark' Anime Pictures: An extensive archive of images, the main link is to the full archive, however, here (for convenience) is the link specific to Ranma 1/2. By the way, occaisionally these links move. I'd like to thank all those who sent me mail when my order was rearranged. I would also like to thank those who send me Email if it ever changes again. (It has changed four times since I started it) For those who liked the ECCHI link, it is gone, and I cannot relocate it.
Ranma 1/2: Here is another page which speaks about Ranma. This speaks briefly about the series as well as a particular character, Akane. Akane is Brandle's favorite character. (Brandle is the author of the page)
Ranma 1/2: What's What and Where's Where: A very large description of plots, characters, places, etc. with impressive cross-references.
Lyrics: An extensive archive of lyrics meant to be downloaded (compressed text files, not sound files). These songs are all from some Ranma or another.
DnR HomePage: This contains information about the Daigakusei no Ranma series, a fairly popular fan-fiction series which explores life after Ranma marries Akane.
Ranma 1/2 Anime Page: This page holds a few images along with information pertaining to some of the episodes. It may take some time to load all the images on this page.
The Ranma Project: Roadkill on the Highway: They once sold Ranma animations cels (the things that the animations are on for filming), but those are all sold. I don't know what they do now.
FTP List: A soon to be extensive list for downloading images, sounds, scripts, etc.
Anime Collectibles: This is a "virtual toy store" which offers a few little items from Ranma. The descriptions of products isn't that great, but they have some stuff.
RanmaMUCK: This is a more interesting development which allows you to role play characters specifically from the Ranma 1/2 world. Unfortunately (as above) I have not successfully created a link to directly play it. To manually access this, type the following at a prompt (This works on most systems):
telnet 204.171.33.1 1212
AnimeMUCK: This is an interesting development which allows you to role play characters in the world of Japanese animation. As above, I have not successfully created a link to directly play it. The link included is to access the home page associated with the MUCK. To manually access this game, type the following at a prompt (This works on most systems):
telnet anime.tcp.com 2035
AnimeDOOM: What can I say? There's nothing quite like having P-chan on your plasma cannon! For those of you not familiar with DOOM, it is a game which takes you, as a virtual space marine, through the depths of hell. It is fairly realistic, especially with sound.
Young Tang's Home Page: This is yet another Ranma fan. This page contains Ranma images and a few links to general Ranma stuff as well as other anime.
Screen Savers: This is a list of screen savers. There are currently three available from Software Sculptors. Also included here are samples of the clips to be played in quicktime format.
Illustrations: This is the home page of a person who sketches as a hobby. Included on this page are sketches of Ranma.
The mir.med.utoronto.ca Index: This contains the popular links to Akane's Kitchen of Pain and Ukyou's Okonomiyaki Recipe Home Page. Akane is known for poor cooking ability while Ukyou is known for excelent skills. Other Ranma characters, such as Kasumi and Shampoo, are also skilled at the culinary arts.
John D. Evans' Home Page: He is a fan of various Japanese cartoons, but has a particular fondness for Ranma.
Home of Jen!: What there are more anime fans who like Ranma?
Brooke's Anime & Stuff home Page: This contains a few images and a link to Joshua Bell's home page and the Expanded Ranma Home Page.
Hitoshi Doi: This is a home page of a great anime fan. He enjoys Ranma and has a number on links to various items. One particular link is to Kasumi, Akane's sister. I like Kasumi.
Welcome to Spatula City!: If you dig through this page for a while (not long mind you) you'll find some kind of Ranma reference.
Home Page of Chris Kohler: Chris Kohler is a general Anime fan and has a picture of Ranma on his home page. As well as the link to the Expanded Home Page.
Audrey King's Home Page: This is another Ranma fan who has a few Ranma images on the page.
Rei's Home Page: More Ranma 1/2 fans! This one seems to have a fondness for one of the other characters, Ryoga. This page isn't structured for easy "direct" Ranma perusal, so here's the main page to sift through.
Sage's WWW Page: This page contains a few images, this page has fulfilled its promise and now includes a brief description of the Ranma saga and sound files, such as "Curse those evil octopi!" (said by Genma in the second movie, "Nihao My Concubine").
Home Page: This creatively named page offers a small selection of pictures and links. Of greatest note are pictures of Ranma, Madoka (Kimagure Orange Road), and the characters of Bubblegum Crisis.
Herman K. Lau's Home Page: This is a person who has very little information on Ranma itself, but does have a unique image. Included are links to many other anime related sites, including a few Ranma sites.
Anything-Goes Martial Arts! The Web Page!: This page contains a description of a few series, including Ranma 1/2, Tenchi Muyo, and Bubblegum Crisis. It also advertises an Anime BBS at the number (701)224-0403. The Ranma 1/2 information is of great interest to me...
Jun's Anime Page: This page contains information about a few different cartoons, although Ranma 1/2 is included. The page seems to have a particular bias toward products of Viz Video.
Anime and Manga: This page holds a sizable collection of images, sounds, texts, etc. for various Japanese cartoons. Some of the included titles are Ranma 1/2, Yohko Mano: Devil Hunter, Project Ako, and Dirty Pair.
Japanese Animation: This document contains general information about anime as well as other sources of information for anime, including usenet. Of particular note is its links to anime clubs found across the Internet.
Anime and Manga Resources List: This is an expansive list of general anime stuff. Included at this site are links to home pages (including mine and the great Thomas E. Cardwell II) related to anime. Also included are image galleries, scripts, clubs, and much more.
Anime manga etc: This is a list of information about anime and manga, although significantly shorter than many others. It does have Ranma information available. The catch is that it is in Spanish...
Animación Japonesa: This is another very extensive list of information about anime in general. It is formatted very well and is easy to use. It is of course written in Spanish and housed at the University of Lima. Foreign pages make me happy...
Anime Exploration Team: This is a club (not an altogether unique thing) which is cenetered around the theme of anime. This used to be a link to Ranma stuff, but has since expanded into a full club.
Anime: This is another expansive list of general anime stuff. Similar to the above site, this has some unique information all it's own, like Japanese sites. That is, some of the links in this document will be written in Japanese (assuming your WWW browser can handle Japanese).
Anime Web Turnpike: This is one of the most expansive lists of Anime resources ever assembled. It includes links to home pages about series, companies, images, fan produced materials, mailing lists, newsgroups, conventions, etc.
David Gaxiola's Anime Resources and Info: This is a very large page filled with large amounts of information about everything, including words commonly used when speaking about anime. This is huge.
Anime & Stuff: This is yet another big bad heap of information on general anime stuff. It, like most others, has an extensive list of home pages on specific series.
Anime Picture Archive: This link is a image archive. It has numerous images, mostly in table format (sorry to those non-Netscape people). It includes Ranma images but this may be time consuming to download as there are many images per page.

The Experience

Now you have all this access to images, sonds, texts, critiques, plot explanations, etc. What about actually watching Ranma 1/2? There are a number of options available. The following list is the methods for viewing Ranma in order of preference for the first time viewer:

View with an aquaintance who is a Ranma fan.
Find your local anime club and see when they will show Ranma.
Go to your local video store and find a copy to rent.
Go to your local video store or comic book shop and buy a copy.
Send away for your own copy from Viz Video.

Viewing with someone you know is a great way to watch Ranma, it is a bonding experience. Besides, a Ranma fan will be able to answer any questions you may have, especially if you watch an OAV or movie at some point and can't identify all the characters and how they fit in.

Utilizing the collective knowledge of the local anime club is an alternative to having someone you know explain things. Note, however, that if you are patient everything will be explained. The story is very well written.

Renting a video from a video store may or may not be possible. Some video stores do carry the Ranma movies, but fewer carry the series or the OAVs. As an introduction to Ranma, it is usually best to start where the story begins. Nonetheless, this is a rather cheap way to be introduced to Ranma.

Purchasing a copy is a little more daring, since it is an investment in something you may or may not like. You'll probably like it, though. Usually the Ranma series could be found somewhere, but it is not prevalent in the mainstream market... yet...

Since Viz Video is the source for the North American Continental distributor, they will have a copy available for you. They will of course sell it to you and charge you shipping and handling, but they can get you a copy of whatever Ranma you may want.

Epilogue

If you have a home page dedicated to Ranma (or a significant portion thereof) why not Email me! I can add a link to it here then! If you have any comments, please feel free to Email me. In other words Email me.

wanker@grove.circa.ufl.edu

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This page was originally authored by Henry C. Schoepp, Jr. With the world-wide support of Ranma 1/2 fans across the Internet and the Wold Wide Web, this page has become a source of great entertainment and information for other Ranma 1/2 fans. Furthermore, this page has fostered enthusiasm for the story and brought about added support for Ranma 1/2 and other works of anime.