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<b>Ranma Saotome</b>, the only son of <b>Genma</b> and <b>Nodoka Saotome</b> has led a fairly difficult life. At a young age, he was taken by <b>Genma</b> on various training journeys. On one of the most recent ones, <b>Genma</b> decided to take <b>Ranma</b> to China to train in Jusenkyo, an area of cursed springs (which <b>Genma</b> did not know). <b>Ranma</b> was knocked in to the "Spring of Drowned Girl," and now transforms into a female version of himself when splashed with cold water.

<b>Ranma</b> is 16 years old, and lives with the Tendo family and his father at the Tendo Dojo. <b>Genma</b> and <b>Soun Tendo</b> arranged for their children to be wed, and so <b>Ranma</b> and <b>Akane</b> were engaged (<b>Nabiki</b> and <b>Kasumi</b> said that they didn't want to marry <b>Ranma</b>, so <b>Akane</b> was chosen by default). <b>Ranma</b> and <b>Akane</b> rarely get along, which seems to stem from the fact that <b>Ranma</b> is quite the ladies man. In fact, he is also engaged to <b>Shampoo</b> and <b>Ukyo Kuonji</b>. While not engaged, <b>Kodachi Kuno</b> also hopes to marry <b>Ranma</b> one day.

<b>Ranma</b> is also an excellent martial artist. He is able to learn techniques very quickly and has mastered many different styles. He is very competitve and rarely loses a fight (on the rare occasion that he is bested he always gets revenge later on). <b>Ranma</b> also has a (somewhat) sensitive side, and he actually does have strong feelings for <b>Akane</b> even though he would never admit it. <b>Ranma</b>'s only weakness is an intense fear of cats, due to the harsh training he recieved in Cat-fu as a child.

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<b>Ryoga Hibiki</b>'s first encounter with <b>Ranma</b> was what began their long-standing rivalry. When <b>Ranma</b> was able to constantly snatch the last piece of bread at their old junior high school, <b>Ryoga</b> would never forgive him for making him go hungry.

After <b>Ryoga</b> was late to his final showdown with <b>Ranma</b>, due to his horrible sense of direction, he followed <b>Ranma</b> to Jusenkyo, and was accidently knocked into the "Spring of Drowned Black Piglet" (by <b>Ranma</b> as <b>Ryoga</b> later discovered). Once <b>Akane</b> found him in this form, she adopted him and gave him the name <b>P-chan</b> (meaning Pig Cute). <b>Akane</b>'s affection for <b>P-chan</b> is what began <b>Ryoga</b>'s undying love for <b>Akane</b>. <b>Ryoga</b> tries many times to tell <b>Akane</b> of his feeligns for her, but he never seems to muster the courage. Ultimately he meets <b>Akari Unryu</b> who actually knows of his secret curse and loves him all the more for it. One of <b>Ryoga</b>'s most difficult decisions in life is who he loves more <b>Akane</b> or <b>Akari</b>.

<b>Ryoga</b> is <b>Ranma</b>'s biggest rival, and no matter how many times he has lost to <b>Ranma</b>, they have all been very close battles. <b>Ryoga</b> is almost <b>Ranma</b>'s equal and is constantly improving his abilities to stay at the same level as <b>Ranma</b> and hopefully gain enough courage to tell <b>Akane</b> how he really feels about her.

Even though they fight often, <b>Ryoga</b> and <b>Ranma</b> have a mutual respect for one another's abilities.

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<b>Akane Tendo</b>, 16, is the youngest daughter of <b>Soun Tendo</b>. She is one of <b>Ranma Saotome</b>'s numerous fiancees, and the only one that would rather not be. <b>Akane</b> is the only of <b>Soun</b>'s daughters that practices martial arts, and is very capable in her own right.

Before <b>Ranma</b> came into her life, her principal suitor was <b>Tatewaki Kuno</b> (and almost every other boy at Furinkan High School). Though she is quite popular and attractive, she has a reputation of being a tomboy and has always said that she has no interest in dating. Since <b>Ranma</b> became her fiance, many of the boys at her school seem to have accepted the fact that they cannot compete with him, and have lost interest. All with the exception of <b>Tatewaki Kuno</b>. Before <b>Ranma</b>, <b>Akane</b> had a crush on <b>Dr. Tofu</b>.

<b>Akane</b> has a very violent temper and often has injured <b>Ranma</b>, but on the otherhand, <b>Ranma</b> seems to bring it on himself quite often. <b>Akane</b> is very nice to others unless provoked. She loves her pet pig, <b>P-chan</b> (which she has no idea is really <b>Ryoga</b>) that she found in her room one night, and often allows him to sleep in her bed, which irrates <b>Ranma</b>.

One of <b>Akane</b>'s major weaknesses is that she cannot swim, which has caused her quite a few problems. <b>Akane</b> is also a terrible cook.

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<b>Shampoo</b> is a 16 year old, Chinese Amazon from the village of Joketsuzoku near Jusenkyo. <b>Shampoo</b> first met <b>Ranma</b> when he (at the time a girl) and Genma ate a large feast which was intended for <b>Shampoo</b>. <b>Ranma</b> then quickly beat <b>Shampoo</b> in order to win the first prize meal. At this point <b>Shampoo</b> was very angry about her loss and gave <b>Ranma</b> the "Kiss of Death," a promise to track him to the ends of the Earth until she could kill him.

When she finally found <b>Ranma</b> he was living in the Tendo Dojo. Not realizing that male and female <b>Ranma</b> were actually the same person, she fell in love with <b>Ranma</b>'s male side. After he was able to defeat her, she gave him the "Kiss of Death," which when given to a member of the opposite sex, means that they are now engaged. Althought <b>Shampoo</b> only has eyes for <b>Ranma</b>, she is constantly pursued by her childhood friend, <b>Mousse</b>, who refuses to give up on her. No matter how many times she rejects him <b>Mousse</b> is always following her like a lost dog.

Another unique aspect of <b>Shampoo</b> is the way she speaks. Because she lived in China most of her life, her Japanese is very poor. In fact, during <b>Shampoo</b>'s first few appearances she spoke only in Chinese. By her next visit, she had also fallen into Jusenkyo and was now cursed by changing into a cat when splashed with cold water.

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<b>Mousse</b> is the vision-impaired suitor of <b>Shampoo</b>. Even though <b>Shampoo</b> has shown no interest in him almost their entire lives, <b>Mousse</b> continues to fight for the attention of the woman he loves. He blames <b>Ranma</b> for <b>Shampoo</b>'s dislike of him, and is constantly at odds with <b>Ranma</b>.

<b>Mousse</b> is able to combine aspects of slight-of-hand magic techniques with his martial arts, allowing him to pull many weapons out of his oversized sleeves.

After <b>Mousse</b>'s first loss to <b>Ranma</b>, he took a training voyage to Jusenkyo, where he accidently walked into the "Spring of Drowned Duck". <b>Mousse</b> also blames <b>Ranma</b> for his curse, since he believes that if he hadn't lost he wouldn't have needed the extra training to beat <b>Ranma</b>. <b>Mousse</b> forumulates plan after plan to try and break <b>Ranma</b>'s hold over the woman he loves, but nothing seems to work.

Tatewaki Kuno, age 17, is the self proclaimed "rising star of the high school fencing world," and has given himself the nickname "Blue Thunder". Upperclassman Kuno, as he prefers to be called, is a well-spoken ladies man. He often quotes Shakespeare or Japanese poems and haiku.

Before Ranma arrived, he was devoted to Akane Tendo, even going so far as to announce to the entire student body that if any of them could beat Akane in combat that they would be allowed to date her. Kuno often said that if Akane could beat him, he'd allow her to go out with him.

Kuno hated Ranma from the moment they met, and couldn't believe he could be engaged to Akane. Later he met Ranma in his female form and instantly fell in love. "The Pigtailed Girl", as he calls female Ranma, and Akane became his reason for living and he has dedicated himself to making the difficult decision of somehow choosing between the two.

Kuno and his sister are some of the few that actually don't understand that male and female Ranma are the same person. Kuno's hatred for Ranma also stems from the fact that he believes he has somehow romanced the innocent Pigtailed Girl away from him.

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<b>Principal Kuno</b> is the long-lost father of <b>Tatewaki</b> and <b>Kodachi Kuno</b>. After disappearing three years ago, he resurfaced at Furinkan to resume his duties as principal.

While he was away he spent his years in Hawaii where he picked up a tan and an odd "Island accent". He often mixes in English words with his Japanese. He loves all things tropical.

<b>Principal Kuno</b> also has an odd love of cutting hair. He insists that everyone at Furinkan High should have the same kind of haircuts and has a serious problem with <b>Ranma</b> having a pigtail.

There is little love lost between <b>Principal Kuno</b> and his children. <b>Tatewaki</b> finds him irritating and has horrible memories of having his head shaved as a child that have left a long lasting emotional scar.

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<b>Dr. Tofu Ono</b> is the local chiropractor and often helps <b>Akane</b> and <b>Ranma</b> when they have bumps, bruises or dislocated joints from their many fights. He is very knowledgeable about martial arts techniques although he is never seen practicing. He helps <b>Ranma</b> discover a cure for <b>Happosai</b>'s "moxibustion", and <b>Cologne</b>'s "full body cat's tongue" techniques.

<b>Dr. Tofu</b> is also deeply in love with <b>Kasumi Tendo</b>. In fact, whenever he is in her presence, his glasses fog over and he becomes nervous. He has injured quite a few of his patients when this happens.

<b>Dr. Tofu</b> is well liked in the community and has many older clients. For a time he employed both <b>Genma Saotome</b> and <b>Shampoo</b> as assistants. He is often seen in the company of his skeleton, <i>Betty</i>, which he carries and moves as if it were a real person.

At one time <b>Akane</b> had a crush on <b>Dr. Tofu</b> and he would often give her advice and support.

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The very definition of a dirty old man, <b>Happosai</b> is the grandmaster and founder of the Anything Goes Martial Arts school. <b>Genma</b> and <b>Soun</b> were his original disciples, but they got fed up having to steal lingerie for the old letch and decided to try and finish him off. They were quite surprised when he showed up many years later to make them miserable and find a successor in the Art. Unfortunately for <b>Ranma</b>, he was the incorrigible old freak's choice. He is a strong martial artist with but one weakness: bras and panties. <b>Happosai</b> is so obscenely addicted to his perversion that he suffers from withdrawal if he goes without them for an extended period. It seems as though he always shows up at the most inconvenient moments.

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<b>Nabiki</b> is the middle of the three Tendo sisters, and a senior at Furinkan High School. She has done several things to obtain money, such as selling clandestinely-taken photos of <b>Ranma</b> and <b>Akane</b>, making book on <b>Ranma</b>'s fights, and blackmail.

She also was willing to let someone fall to his death rather than lose a bet—quite literally, although the man did survive a very long drop from a helicopter. She also has a small group of flunkies who will assist her when the need arises.

Despite the fact that she comes from a martial arts school, <b>Nabiki</b> is not a combatant. Although she always keeps her wits about her, she is unable to fight. The only fighting skill she has shown is the ability to use a variation of her father's Yokai head technique when she is very upset with him; examples of this are: when <b>Soun</b> lost the Dojo in a bet and when she discovered her father had sold her into a marriage to the Chardin family.

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<b>Kasumi Tendo</b>, 19, is the eldest daughter of the Tendo family. She is kind and almost constantly cheery. After the premature death of her mother, <b>Kasumi</b> assumed her place and took care of the cooking, cleaning and everyday household chores.

<b>Kasumi</b> never complains about the amount of work that she has to do, or the fact that other than cooking and cleaning, she has time for very little else. When she does have free time, she likes to go borrow a book from her dear friend, <b>Dr. Tofu</b>. Unknown to her, <b>Dr. Tofu</b> has a serious crush on her.

<b>Kasumi</b> is always very calm and often takes care of the bumps and bruises <b>Akane</b> and <b>Ranma</b> suffer. She is very kind and nurturing, but as <b>Soun</b> has said, she is often taken for granted by the family that she so lovingly cares for. She seems to be a source of inspiration for <b>Akane</b>, who envies <b>Kasumi</b>'s feminine nature and cooking skills.

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<b>Soun</b> is the father of <b>Kasumi</b>, <b>Nabiki</b>, and <b>Akane</b>. He has raised them alone since the death of his wife many years ago.

<b<Soun</b> is somewhat over-emotional and cries often. He cares about the future of his children, and wishes the best for them, which consequently leads to him getting involved when his daughters wish he wouldn't. A good example of this would be he and <b>Genma</b> deciding to engage <b>Ranma</b> and <b>Akane</b> whether they liked it or not.

<b>Soun</b> is a very talented martial artist, but shows many of the same characteristics as <b>Genma</b>- laziness and especially cowardice. He was trained by <b>Happosai</b> alongside <b>Genma</b>, and the two have been close friends ever since. <b>Soun</b> has a deep respect for his future son-in-law, and knows he will make an excellent husband for his daughter. <b>Soun</b>'s primary goal seems to be getting his daughters married off so he can finally retire and have them take care of him.