Ranma 1/2 (1990)

[らんま1/2]

Volume 11

Author/Artist: Rumiko Takahashi
Publisher: Shounen Sunday Comics

Synopsis:
Ryouga invites Akane to his home (if he can find it). Ranma, Genma and Soun try to prevent Happousai from rediscovering his secret technique. Shampoo's attempt to drug Ranma to obey her commands go awry. Akane gains super strength with a special bowl of soba.

Story/Characters:
We've got four stories here. The first one involves Ryouga. The poor guy tries to entertain, but between his cluelessness and Ranma's interference, he's got no play. I will say that Ranma's Yoiko disguise is adorable. Makes me wish Yoiko Hibiki was a real character. Pity, that.

The Happou Daikarin story is, well, it's a Happousai story. It's okay, I guess. I just hate Happousai so much. You may at least appreciate all the fanservice the mountain onsen provides. For me, however, no amount of naked nubile young ladies is going to offset the presence of the vile old geezer.

The Kairaishi story has some comedic value with Ranma hugging anyone who sneezes, but it's rather disturbing that the Tendou girls treat Ranma as an actual threat leaving him alone with Akane. I suppose it's supposed to be played for laughs, but it rubs me the wrong way.

The gouriki soba story gives us an amusing look at Akane with a power upgrade. Ranma proves to be amazingly petty about it.

Art:
We've got the usual high quality you'd expect, but I want to note some particularly good comedic expressions from the Kairaishi story and some very gorgeous kimono designs from the gouriki soba story.

Other:
The cover for Chapter 5 of the volume offers congratulations for the completion of the Urusei Yatsura anime and features Lum and Ataru in addition to some of the Ranma cast.

Conclusion:
We've got a variety of stories here and the comedy's pretty good with only a few bothersome points. All told, it's still worth a read.

Rating:
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