Ranma 1/2 (1994)

[らんま1/2]

Volume 27

Author/Artist: Rumiko Takahashi
Publisher: Shounen Sunday Comics

Synopsis:
Hinako-sensei falls for Soun. Mousse takes an artifact that makes Ranma cry and grovel at his feet. Ranma is possessed by a cursed swimsuit. Ukyou invites Ranma and Akane to a cursed cave in a bid to break them up. Principal Kunou holds the students' tests hostage and threatens to announce their scores publicly unless they play his latest game.

Story/Characters:
Now that Hinako-sensei has been established, we get this great story of her trying to put the moves on Soun and the Tendou girls having none of it. It's a cute little story. The Mutekikyou story is less impressive, but it is amusing how Ranma meets Mousse's underhanded tactics by even more underhanded tactics. The cursed swimsuit story is a so-so beach episode, but having Ranma's life depend on Kunou is pretty funny. After these two less than impressive stories, we get the amazing Harendou story. Apparently it was written to sink the Ryouga-Ukyou ship, but it only served to add fuel to the fire. I've said before that I prefer Ranma-Ukyou and Ryouga-Akane, but Ryouga and Ukyou have a good dynamic and it's cute watching Ranma and Akane team up to play matchmaker at the end when they think the two are going out. The Principal Kunou one-shot is a Principal Kunou story. There's really nothing more to say about it. The ending is kinda funny.

Art:
This volume has Hinako-sensei in a black teddy. I believe that's all you need to know. ^o^ Also, Ryouga-Ukyou shippers will have plenty of inspiration for their fanart from the Harendou story, particularly the penultimate page where they think their plan's about to succeed.

Conclusion:
The Harendou story is just two chapters, but I like it so much that it alone makes this a must-have. It doesn't hurt that the Hinkao-sensei story is pretty good too. The other three stories are more lackluster, but the strength of these two stories more than makes up for it.

Rating:
Own It