Ranma 1/2 (1995)

[らんま1/2]

Volume 33

Author/Artist: Rumiko Takahashi
Publisher: Shounen Sunday Comics

Synopsis:
Ranma has to use his feminine charms to get a sickly young man to take his medicine. The Tendou household fears they may have finally made the gentle Kasumi angry. Ryouga eats a cursed mushroom that turns him into a child. Mousse becomes obsessed with a Jizou statue he thinks is Shampoo. Ranma, Akane, Ukyou, and Hinako-sensei have to appease the angry spirit of a shrine. Ranma and Genma encounter Nodoka at a mountain onsen resort. Ukyou is challenged by a rival.

Story/Characters:
The first one-shot is another make Ranma date some weirdo story. It's mildly funny. The angry Kasumi story is far better. The sheer terror that fills everyone at the thought of Kasumi actually being mad for a change is great. Ranma gets totally thrown under the bus. The Toshinokazudake story is amazing. You can joke that the maturity level of Ranma and Ryouga doesn't change much. It's also cute how Ranma's many suitresses gush over his child form. The Jizou Shampoo story is okay and the horse-god story is pretty funny. I was hoping for some progress on the Nodoka front in the onsen chapter, but it's not to be. The Ukyou vs. Hayato story nothing amazing, but I'm always up for more Ukyou.

Art:
Okay. We get onna-Ranma dressed up as a nurse and a miko this volume. (Better yet, Ukyou as a miko.) The cover for the Kasumi chapter is rather lovely. Ranma and Ryouga as little kids is both adorable and loaded with comedy.

Conclusion:
The Toshinokazudake story alone makes this volume a must-have, but we also get some other good stories and the rest really don't have anything wrong with them. A solid entry in the series overall.

Rating:
Own It