Ranma 1/2 (1994)

[らんま1/2]

Volume 30

Author/Artist: Rumiko Takahashi
Publisher: Shounen Sunday Comics

Synopsis:
Ryouga meets a girl who confesses her love for him. Genma uses a potion that regrows his hair when he becomes angry. Hinako-sensei discovers a way to remain in her adult form to tutor Ranma. Kunou is possessed by a sakura tree. Ranma catches a cold that gives him such a high fever that he does not change into a girl and his mother is back in town. Ranma has to master a cursed spatula in order to be released from it.

Story/Characters:
So Ryouga could have someone other than Akane (or Ukyou for that matter) by the end of the story, we get Akari Unryuu (who bears more than a passing resemblance to Kagome from Inuyasha). I'm fairly ambivalent about Akari. She's not as bad a character as Konatsu (who we'll get to later), but she feels rather shoehorned in. The hair potion story is nothing special (except for one panel), nor is the possessed Kunou story. The Hinako-sensei story is okay but not great. Now, the story about Ranma's cold really ticks me off. I've already said that I don't like how Ranma is strung around to keep from coming clean with Nodoka and here we have both Happousai and Genmai being total jackwads. (I already hate Happousai plenty, but Genma is particularly egregious here because he's screwing with Ranma out of jealousy, even knowing the whole seppuku thing. He may not top Gendou Ikari as Japan's worst father, but he's a strong candidate for runner-up.) Lastly, the cursed spatula is another nothing one-shot.

Art:
The biggest treat of this volume is seeing Genma in panda form under the effects of the Nufatian. Fanservice-minded readers may also appreciate a towel-clad adult Hinako-sensei.

Conclusion:
The stories in this volume are mediocre at best. Unless you click with Akari's character, I don't think there's much for you. I certainly feel underwhelmed, but you might manage to get more entertainment value out of it than I did. Take it or leave it.

Rating:
50/50