Ranma 1/2 (1994)

[らんま1/2]

Volume 29

Author/Artist: Rumiko Takahashi
Publisher: Shounen Sunday Comics

Synopsis:
Kunou acquires a new technique. Shampoo and Ranma must face a pair of vengeful twins from China. Ranma has to seal away an oni that possesses one person after the next. Nabiki goes out with a guy who is every bit her match at dodging bills and pinching pennies.

Story/Characters:
The Hou'ou-ken story is another one that made it to the OAVs. It's a decent Kunou story that follows the familiar pattern of Kunou learning a new technique that grants him a temporary edge, only to be thwarted in short order by Ranma (often after a fair bit of pain). In the anime there were twins from China called Ling-ling and Lung-lung who may have provided the inspiration for the antagonists of the main story of this volume, Pink and Link. They're not great characters, but there's some amusement to be had. We see that Shampoo is every bit as talented as Ranma at making enemies who hold a grudge. The oni story is yet another one that made it to the OAVs. 'Evil' Kasumi is great. The Nabiki-Kinnosuke story is interesting because we have a match for Nabiki and it's fun watching their game play out.

Art:
The plant monsters from the Pink and Link story are impressive and Nabiki brings out some gorgeous wardrobe items for her match with Kinnosuke. We also see the return of the giant swollen lips gag I haven't seen since Urusei Yatsura. And let's not forget adorable kid Shampoo.

Conclusion:
Of the stories here, the latter two are my favorites. The Pink and Link story is okay, but there are better Shampoo stories out there. It's well enough worth a read, all told.

Rating:
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