Anything Goes Martial Arts

For the second anime season, see Anything-Goes Martial Arts.

Anything Goes Martial Arts (無差別格闘流, Musabetsu Kakutō Ryū^?) is the school of martial arts founded by Happosai. It is the style used by Ranma Saotome, his fiancée Akane Tendo, and their fathers Genma Saotome and Soun Tendo, respectively.

History

It is most commonly believed that Anything Goes Martial Arts was founded by martial arts master and lecher extraordinaire Happosai during his travels around China and Japan long before the start of the series. How long ago is disputed as his exact age has never been disclosed. In the manga, Happosai is at least 118 and at most 230 years old (and in the anime a little over 300), with his training journey happening when he was still a young man. If this is true, then it is safe to assume that the school itself, or at least its beginnings, are quite old. What is known is that, sometime before the start of the series, Happosai took two young apprentices, Soun Tendo and Genma Saotome, as his students, an act which would lead to both the creation of the two main branches of Anything Goes Martial Arts as well as his lengthy hibernation.

After Soun and Genma were able to imprison Happosai in a cave with sake, explosives and Shinto seals draped over a boulder that sealed the cave's entrance, they founded their respective branches of Anything Goes Martial Arts, both named after their families. Soun would eventually settle down at the Tendo Dojo to teach his Tendo School to his daughter Akane, while Genma would later take his son Ranma on a 13-14 year long training journey, wherein both inadvertently gained their Jusenkyo curses, before presenting him to Soun for the eventual reunification of the two schools.

Philosophy

True to its name, Anything Goes Martial Arts, is based on learning and adapting many different styles of martial arts, taking what works and discarding what doesn't. As such, it is not confined to a single way of thinking or philosophy when it comes to martial arts combat. This gives a practitioner of Anything Goes Martial Arts the advantage of adaptability and unpredictability in a fight since he would ideally know moves and techniques from many different schools that complement each other, minimising perceptible weaknesses. In this respect, the ideal practitioner is its heir apparent, Ranma Saotome. Throughout the course of the series, Ranma not only learns multiple styles and techniques from both friends and enemies, but also displays the talent to adapt or modify these techniques in mid-battle to catch his opponent off-guard.

It is interesting to note that the philosophy of Anything Goes Martial Arts is similar to that of many martial arts used by many real-life mixed martial artists, most of whom cross-train in many different disciplines to create a balanced, well-rounded fighting style.

Practitioners

• Happosai: Founder and Grandmaster
• Genma Saotome: Master, Saotome School
• Soun Tendo: Master, Tendo School
• Ranma Saotome: Heir to the Saotome School, Happosai's chosen heir
• Akane Tendo: Heir to the Tendo School

Practitioners by loose extension only

• Ryu Kumon: Not affiliated with, or directly trained by the school. Heir to the Kumon Dojo and practitioner of the Yama-Sen Ken, which Genma invented. Later forced to seal the scroll that described the style's techniques, and possibly his knowledge of them, after being defeated by Ranma.
• Kurumi (OVA only): Almost exclusively independent training.
• Natsume (OVA only): Almost exclusively independent training.
• Hinako Ninomiya: Not a trained martial artist, strictly had her body modified as a child for her special abilities.

Branches

After Soun and Genma sealed Happosai away in a cave, Anything Goes Martial Arts was divided into two styles, the Tendo and Saotome schools. Happosai also has his own variation, Ganso Anything Goes Martial Arts, which emphasizes trickery and seems to have been developed to compensate for his advanced age.

Soun and Genma seem intent on having the school's legacy advanced and promoted through Ranma, regardless if he marries Akane or one of her untrained sisters, possibly due to Akane's comparatively limited prowess or the relative dearth of unique techniques that the Tendo Dojo would be able to provide due to its sedentary history.

Given that the Saotome branch seems superior in adaptation, aerial and unarmed combat, speed, and even power, the only possible contributions of the Tendo school would be armed, and likely melee combat, as it apparently focuses on ground-based fighting, versatile traditional weapons use and possibly fighting against many opponents, which would be seen on a samurai battlefield. This last area would be a potent addition to the Saotome School's arsenal, as it is repeatedly shown throughout the series that Ranma tends to fare particularly poorly when battling multiple opponents at once,

It should be noted that Akane's prowess versus that of Ranma's (and, by consequence, the effectiveness of their respective schools) is a matter of some controversy, partially due to the "Battle Dogi" story, which hints alternatively that the dogi brought Akane's untapped potential out to its fullest extent (most notably Akane wondering if the power she now wields is her own full potential) and that the dogi is actually the entire source of Akane's power (as it is shown to be semi-sentient to the point of being capable of moving and defeating Ranma on its own).

The debate over the dogi is made more intense by those pointing out that Akane has on rare occasions been willing to claim skill or prowess that came from some external source as her own, namely the Super Soba-granted strength and, more tellingly, the swimming prowess bestowed by an explicitly enchanted bathing suit.

Some have suggested that Soun Tendo may not have trained his daughter properly, due to either his overprotective paternal nature, the apparent emotional breakdown he suffered after his wife's death, or a combination thereof. Others suggest that Akane is simply less skilled in Ranma because she has not been immersed totally in martial arts the way her fiance was.

Even Akane's personality and how it may affect her martial arts skills is a matter of debate, between those who note that Akane has a very solid "normal" life and seems quite happy being a popular, if somewhat tomboyish, girl who is admired for her friendliness and athletic prowess and who secretly strives to be more like her traditional eldest sister, and between those who point out Akane's fierce drive to excel and strong confidence in her own prowess.

When one examines the cultural and fiscal realities of life in Tokyo, another explanation for the intended Tendo/Saotome merger presents itself. Firstly, Akane Tendo, regardless of her skill, would not be able to attract much attention as a martial arts sensei, as there is a lingering prejudice against female martial artists: in short, students would be unlikely to accept training under an "inferior" female sensei.

Secondly, land pricing in Tokyo is exorbitant, and the legal requirements for establishing a martial arts dojo are byzantine. Wedding Ranma to Akane and creating a restored/unified Anything Goes School is then a practical arrangement; the Tendo family receives a highly trained and socially acceptable heir/future sensei in the form of Ranma, whilst the Saotomes receive, effectively for free, the existing and quite substantial land on which the Tendo Dojo is built, which is far easier than trying to build their own dojo.

Saotome School

In general, the Saotome School is the more aerial of the two branches, with both Ranma and Genma Saotome commonly performing feats of acrobatics during their sparring bouts, which typically occur over the Tendo Dojo's koi pond. Notably when they arrived at Jusenkyo, the first thing they each did was jump onto the bamboo poles above the cursed pools. During a competition with Kodachi Kuno, Ranma stated outright that mid-air combat was the speciality of this style. In this respect, it is probably the closer of the two systems to the original school of Happosai, since the latter also prefers to go to the air when fighting. The Saotome school is also host to a number of offbeat, diversionary techniques named after animals, such as the "Crouch of the Wild Tiger", which are one of the school's hallmarks.

The school also has two sealed martial arts developed by Genma Saotome, the Yama-Sen Ken and Umi-Sen Ken. Both were designed to commit robbery and burglary, respectively, but Genma later had a change of heart and intended to seal them both. It was in attempting to learn the Yama-Sen Ken that the father of Ryu Kumon ended up killing himself and destroying their dojo, leading to the beginning of the younger Kumon's quest for the Umi-Sen Ken scroll in order to rebuild the dojo.

Training for the Saotome School involves turning everything, even mundane events, into training exercises, as well as experimenting with many new techniques. This willingness to experiment, however, can lead to some unexpected results.

While the Saotome School does involve weapons use, this has not been shown to match the diversity of the Tendo School. It makes use of bō at the very least and may have an element of hinged weapons such as nunchaku, as Ranma seems to prefer using makeshift staves and polearms and has once been seen using nunchaku (to beat himself up), but they excel at taking just about adapting anything into a weapon. Their swordplay seems to have more in common with Chinese styles than kendo, going by Ranma's beach duel with Cologne.

Ranma tends to use unarmed techniques and unorthodox/makeshift weapons most frequently, especially the former, and this is often taken as a preference for fighting unarmed. He only requires relatively slight practice to master more esoteric weaponry (tea sets, gymnastics or cheerleading equipment) to the point where he can at least match the specialists he has fought in their use (Sentaro Daimonji, Kodachi, Mariko Konjo), provided these have considerably lesser general skill than himself. The main exception to this talent seems to be ice skating, where even with extended practice, he was just about able to stand and move forward.

The school may emphasise one-on-one confrontations over fighting multiple opponents, as Ranma has on multiple occasions and even while in possession of his full strength suffered heavy damage when battling against two or more opponents simultaneously. Even Tatewaki Kuno, aided by Hikaru Gosunkugi (manga)/Sasuke Sarugakure (anime) and Ryoga Hibiki (in pig form), was able to injure Ranma to the point he was forced to limp home using a stick to support himself, in the direct aftermath of the Nekoken story.

Tendo School

The Tendo School seems like the more traditionally Japanese and karate-like ground-based school of Anything Goes Martial Arts as opposed to the more "Chinese" and Kung Fu-like Saotome School, implied by the fact that Akane and Soun seldom use aerial techniques. However, both Akane and her father have been known to jump significant heights and use aerial attacks when necessary, and Akane has shown remarkable manoeuvrability in battles against the Eight Headed Orochi, Dojo Destroyer, and Kiima.

The Tendo School may emphasize power over speed, evidenced by Akane's practice of breaking cement blocks, the Dojo's walls on a regular basis and on at least one occasion, even stone palisades. The Tendo School also seems to teach traditional weapons use, both standard and improvised. Akane hes demonstrated expertise with kendo, wielding shinai as a preferred weapon for beating on Ranma and bokken during her match against Tatewaki Kuno, a master kendōka.

During this match she was able to hold off Kuno's attacks, but was unable to counterattack. She is also a kyudoka, as she used a Japanese bow or yumi against Ranma when he was conditioned by Shampoo's Kairaishi Mushrooms to uncontrollably hug whoever sneezed, even wearing the attire and muneate or chest protector. Soun has taken to donning the family's samurai armour when he is serious, and has also used the yumi and naginata, suggesting that he is skilled at naginatajutsu. The family notably does not have a katana in its possession.

It is possible that the Tendo School has been taught to more than those who are shown practising the style in the series. This is due to the fact that Soun owns the Tendo Dojo and undoubtedly used it to make a living out of teaching prior to the series, though no students are shown at all throughout the run of either continuity and the separate anime continuity has an episode focusing on the drive to acquire new students. It is also open for regular community requests to get rid of monsters, catch thieves, public nuisances, attackers and the like.

The school may be more effective against large groups of opponents than it is in one-on-one, as evidenced by Akane's swift wins against throngs of her admirers at Furinkan High School who used to attack her every morning in an attempt to defeat her and win a date with her, but this may also be due to the attackers' comparatively low skill level.

Founding school

The Creative Indiscriminate Martial Arts, sometimes translated as the Founding School of Anything Goes Martial Arts or the Ganso Anything Goes Martial Arts is Happosai's variant. It mostly involves chi manipulation as well as stealth and trickery. Whether or not this is the original school of Anything Goes Martial Arts, or whether Happosai developed it as a response to his advancing age, is unknown. It seems different enough from the Tendo and Saotome schools that it can be considered a later development. However, both the Tendo and Saotome schools have themselves evolved further with the appropriation of new techniques.

Special Techniques

Happosai, Genma, and Ranma perform the majority of the Anything Goes Martial Arts techniques shown in the series. In Ranma's case, two of his techniques are actually moves he learned from Cologne, elder of the Chinese Amazons. There is a subset of moves that only Hinako is able to use because of the training Happosai gave her when she was young that allows her to absorb and utilise raw chi from her opponents.

Soun

As a former student of Happosai, Soun is in excellent shape, frequently fights wearing full traditional samurai armour, and is skilled at both hand to hand combat and handling a wide variety of traditional weaponry, including a bow and arrow and a naginata. He has been able to reach a draw against Ranma in serious bō fighting. He manages to come across as quite formidable during a few confrontations with Happosai, but has not been explicitly shown to use any special techniques beyond his battle aura.

• Battle Aura

Main article: Battle Aura

Usually seen when Soun is angry at Ranma and needs to convince him to do something.

Akane

As one of the heirs of the Anything Goes Martial Arts School, Akane is a very good fighter and has excellent physical strength and agility. She has been shown as extremely talented but doesn't know enough to use her style as efficiently as Ranma.

• Battle Aura

Main article: Battle Aura

Akane's battle auras are usually generated out anger and are instigated by Ranma.

• Dual Jet-Stream Raging Waters Attack (Anime only): In this combination attack, Ranma and Akane cross their arms together and spin each other around and around, using their respective weights like a centrifuge. Once enough speed/momentum is gained, they deliver a combined sharp kick. This attack was only used once in their battle against the Dojo Destroyer.
• Sixth Sense: Like an undisclosed amount of other martial artists in the main cast, Akane has a certain extrasensory awareness, which in her case is consistently shown to warn her from incoming danger, ambushes, and active battle auras, for example those from Mousse or Kodachi. It also occasionally seems to grant her a vague premonition, as when she heard Ryoga Hibiki call her name from afar when the latter was almost strangled to death by Lime, and possibly overhearing Ranma's thoughts from the heart after the conflict with Saffron.
• Sleep fighting: When Akane is in a deep sleep she tosses and turns in such a way that it appears that she is fighting whoever might be next to her. It was effective enough to prevent Happosai from groping her while she was asleep, although Ryoga observed that this was actually a lot calmer than normal.

Video game only
The following abilities appear in the RPG Ranma ½: Akanekodan Teki Hihou:

• Teate: A medicinal technique that allows Akane to treat her allies' injuries and help them recover more quickly. The Mina Teate is a variant that allows her to cure multiple allies at once, but is only as powerful as the original Teate, while the Mina Chiryo is a more powerful variant of the Mina Teate and the Zenkai Teate is an extremely powerful curative technique that can even restore consciousness to a fighter who has been knocked out.
• Jigoku Gurama: A powerful grappling technique that flings an opponent into the air, causing them to fall to the ground.
• Yama Arashi: A rapidly performed series of Jigoku Guramas, allowing Akane to hurl multiple foes skyward in a single explosive burst of motion.

Ranma

Ranma's training in the Anything Goes Martial Arts began under his father when he was approximately 2 years old, going by the flashback to the time he was separated from his mother. He is fully aware of Genma's dishonourable nature, and holds a grudge for the way Genma would steal food from him when he was younger. Despite this, he may have incorporated some of Genma's underhanded methods to maximise his effectiveness.

While he doesn't mind extensively cheating in order to triumph against superior enemies, Ranma generally tries to fight fairly and expects the same from his opponents. His first thirteen to fourteen years of practice were classical in nature, training almost exclusively with Genma. After he encountered the Chinese Amazons, Ranma has been taught two of their techniques, which he has incorporated into his fighting style. Ranma also recurrently uses improvisational underhanded trickery, among other instances when vainly attempting to beat Ryoga when the latter had the battle mark on his stomach.

• Chestnuts Roasting Over an Open Fire Fist

Main article: Chestnuts Roasting Over an Open Fire Fist

• Hiryū Shōten Ha

Main article: Hiryū Shōten Ha

• Pride of the Fierce Tiger (猛虎高飛車, Mōko Takabisha, literally Fierce Tiger Domineering [note when trying to translate it your self you will get high handed because it is read as high handed first because in the translations it is done alphetibeticly depending on the translator] ): A chi attack based on the emotion of confidence, which Ranma created for himself. It was developed as a direct counter to Ryoga's Shishi Hōkōdan. Although he discovered how the Shishi Hōkōdan worked, Ranma could not maintain the level of depression required for it to be an effective tool. Its weakness is that it is inefficient if he is unnerved by the prowess shown by a sufficiently powerful opponent. In the manga, Ranma is able to create a "Double Mōko Takabisha" that fires two equally strong chi blasts. In the live action special he can already use the Mōko Takabisha by the time he arrives at the Tendo Dojo, but struggles to master it in his female form.

• Sixth Sense: Like several other characters, Ranma has displayed a certain extrasensorial awareness, warning him of incoming danger, or battle auras.
• Umi-Sen Ken

Main article: Umi-Sen Ken

Other Techniques

• Nekoken

Main article: Nekoken

• Shish Kebab (manga only): An attack Ranma uses to counter Mousse's Takazume Ken (Hawk's Talon attack). He uses a rapidly ascending kick to avoid Mousse's attack and slam into his face like a kebab rod going through meat and vegetables.
• Pansuto Ryūsei Kyaku (パンスト流星脚 — Pantyhose Shooting Star Kick): An extremely powerful kick Ranma used to nearly defeat the already severely pounded cursed form of Pantyhose Taro, though he still had to beat up the latter's even more battered human form straight afterwards. When Ranma's feet accidentally got caught in a rope of pantyhose, Taro used the opportunity to throw him towards a cliff, but Ranma managed to use their elasticity as a catapult to use the monster's own strength against him. The impact's force causing much more damage than any previous attack had managed.
• Expoding Round-House Kick (anime only): This technique was only used in one episode of the anime entitled: "Meet You in the Milkey Way". Ranma used it to defeat Kengyu after becoming enraged when he found out that he had been beaten by kicked on the back of the head by Kengyu's steer, Li'l Moo.

Video game only
The following abilities appear in the RPG Ranma ½: Akanekodan Teki Hihou:

• Meteor Kick (流星脚, Ryūseikyaku^?): An extremely powerful flying kick, infused with battle aura so that it appears that the user's leg is on fire.
• Flying Force Kick (飛衝脚, Hishokyaku^?): An even more powerful variant of the Ryusekyaku.
• Tekizen Daigyakuso: Similar to the Fast Break in that it is used to escape from most foes without giving them a chance to attack or pursue Ranma and his allies.

Other techniques

• Crouch of the Wild Tiger: Learned from Genma in the moxibustion arc.
• Parlay du Foie Gras: Used to defeat Picolet Chardin II.

Main article: Parlay du Foie Gras

• Puppet Grip: Ranma clings to his opponent's back, then manipulates their arms like a puppet. Used first to make Kuno eat some ramen in the Martial Arts Takeout Race. His efforts failed when Tatewaki exploited the one flaw: the technique doesn't control the victim's head, which means the victim can thwart it by keeping his mouth closed. Ranma gets around this by simply insulting Kuno, causing the latter to open his mouth to respond, allowing Ranma to feed him. He later used it again after knocking Kuno out to make it appear that he was apologising to Kodachi to stop her from releasing a second wave of scandalous photos.

• Saotome "Fan the Smoke Back" Technique: Just a joke move to parody Konatsu's tendency to shout out a name for anything he does. Ranma countered the latter's smokescreen-like attack by fanning the smoke back toward him.
• Saotome Secret Technique: Fast Break: The "secret attack" of the Saotome School, which Genma says is based in the concepts of "motion, contemplation, and opposition." In other words, the user runs away from his opponent, buying time to think of a better way to attack. Ranma used this only once, after Ryoga Hibiki learned the durability-enhancing Breaking Point technique.
• Tatami Flip: Learned from Genma and used to escape Nodoka, although Ranma did not execute the part of the technique that involved stomping on her through the tatami.
• Happo 50-Yen Seal Attack: A counter to Hinako's Happo 50-Yen Attack by flicking a pencil into the coin's opening to block it. As a bonus Hinako got distracted by playing with the coin and pencil as a top, resulting in her class dismissing itself.
• Snake Attack: An attack based on Snake Kung Fu emulating a bird's mortal enemy, the snake. Used against the Legendary Phoenix, but was ineffective.
• Phoenix-Gro Attack: Flicking a single phoenix growth pill at the Legendary Phoenix to feed it. The multi-shot version is called Machine gun shot in Team Ranma vs. the Legendary Phoenix, but just called rapid fire in the manga, although the pills are fired like a burst. A more concentrated stream is not named.
• Fan throw: A variation of Happosai's kiseru throw, but done with a folding fan. Used against Happosai when he was wearing the woman repellent.

Genma

Alongside Soun Tendo, Genma trained directly under Happosai as a young man. Although most of their "lessons" consisted of panty raids and working to pay off the master's debts, it is clear that he did learn a lot of his moves from the old pervert. Genma personally trained Ranma from birth using a series of questionable methods and is also responsible for his son's Jusenkyo curse. Shortly after concluding his training with Happosai, he invented two martial arts of his own. He designed them to aid in the thievery he conducted, apparently to fund his training with Ranma, but sealed away his knowledge of both of them after a fellow martial artist was killed by practising one of them, bringing down his dojo on top of himself. While Genma is usually too lazy or cowardly to show it, his full arsenal of special techniques would easily make him one of the most powerful fighters in the series if he ever used them in combination.

• Battle Aura

Main article: Battle Aura

• Yama-Sen Ken

Main article: Yama-Sen Ken

• Umi-Sen Ken

Main article: Umi-Sen Ken

(海千拳 – Sea of 1000 Fists/"Way of the Silent Thief"): The other of a pair of secret and forbidden styles created by Genma. Like the Yama-Sen Ken, this too is based upon burglary, however, this one is specifically designed upon the movements and techniques of a quiet thief who sneaks in through the back door. When Ryu arrived to find the scroll for this partner martial art, he took on Ranma's identity. Genma had no choice but to teach the Umi-Sen Ken to Ranma to restore his son's identity. See Ranma's Techniques for illustrations.

• Mōko Takabisha: Not in Genma's arsenal of techniques, although it was his suggestion to Ranma that enabled the latter to develop it. However he can use it in two non-canon instances:
  • In Ranma ½: Akanekodan Teki Hihou, Genma has a move with this same name, but his variant does nothing offensive. Instead it draws the attention of all enemies on the field and causes them to focus their attacks on him. However, the translation could actually be a play on words, as the name was spelled slightly different. This attack could be a tribute to Genma's "Crouch of the Wild Tiger".
  • In the live action special Genma, like Ranma, can use the Mōko Takabisha by the time they arrive at the Tendo Dojo.

Video game only
The following abilities appear in Ranma ½: Akanekodan Teki Hihou:

• Shonmao Kikodan: A potent energy blast akin to Ranma's Moko Takabisha.
• Moko Rakuchizei: Akin to Ranma's Tekizen Daigyakuso.
• Moko Ichigekitai: Genma teleports multiple foes away from the battlefield of battle.
• Roga Shuhaitai: A more potent version of the Moko Ichigekitai that only affects one foe.

Unreliable/Non-Techniques

• Saotome School Stance of Submission: Carp on a Cutting Board (早乙女流従順のポーズ 俎上の鯉, Saotome Ryū Jūjun no Pōzu - Sojō no Koi^?): The user lies on their side facing their opponent and extends their arms above their head, touching their palms together while their legs are extended and crossed at the knees, making the shape of a fish. It signifies unconditional surrender, as the user is at a great disadvantage relative to their opponent when in this position. Ranma was about to finish Genma off when he saw the latter striking this stance.
• Cradle from Hell (地獄の揺篭, Jigoku no Yurikago^?): Genma's only remaining move that is still consistently able to beat Ranma in regular sparring, without using special moves. It is a grappling attack reminiscent of a parent embracing their infant child, effective mostly because it seriously disturbs Ranma. Its effectiveness is increased if the user grows thick abrasive whiskers, to rub them on his opponent's cheek. Genma practised this move by playing with a tire in panda form. This move is present in Ranma ½: Akanekodan Teki Hihou, where it can only be used by Genma in panda form and paralyzes a foe rather than hurting them.
• Crouch of the Wild Tiger (猛虎落地勢, Mōko Rakuchi Sei^?): A grovelling technique done by first crouching, placing both palms on the ground, and then bowing and scraping for forgiveness. Genma says it is "named for the legendary wild tiger that fell from a cliff and..." The basis can be assumed as a tiger scrambling madly to not fall off a ledge. In Ranma ½: Hard Battle, this technique is depicted as using the grovelling to trick the opponent into lowering their guard, whereupon the user then launches a swift and savage assault. In Ranma ½: Battle Renaissance Genma uses a variation in which he pounces on his opponent after they are lulled into a false sense of security.
• Embarrassing Photo-Fu: A move which can only be used by a parent against a child. The user rapidly produces incredibly embarrassing photographs and displays them to nearby members of the opposite sex. Though powerful, its use leaves Genma's conscience burdened. Used to teach Ranma the Soul of Ice.
• Howl of the Demon Dog (魔犬慟哭跛, Maken Dōkoku Ha^?): By retreating and taunting, a combatant attempts to provoke the enemy enough to make a fatal mistake.
• Tatami Flip: A technique developed to escape debt collectors. As the user bows down in apology, they press hard on an edge of a tatami to flip it up in front of the opponent, moving forward to position themselves below with the opponent on top. They then stand up to reverse the position and stomp on the opponent. Used by Genma frequently when Ranma was younger before they left on their training trip, which is how Nodoka is familiar with it.
• Saotome School Father-Fu: Similar to the Tatami Flip but flipping a table instead over an opponent and using it to stomp on them. Used against Nodoka and Ranma to nab the Saotome family treasure.

Happosai

As the founder of Anything Goes Martial Arts, Happosai knows the martial arts inside and out, and is by all appearances very likely the most formidable fighter in the series, given that he is simultaneously shown as one of the two most skilled martial artists and among the three characters with by far highest amounts of raw power. Many of his moves are highly advanced and difficult to oppose for an opponent who lacks the necessary experience, and it appears that some were designed to protect himself from the victims of his thefts or the women he molested.

Happosai also has access to some unconventional items and techniques. He has some knowledge of magic, having the skill to create some magical concoctions on his own, and has stolen or knows how to obtain others. While the biggest drawback he faces in creating his items is not reading all of the instructions or leaving things out, he has made corrections. He has displayed a rejuvenation potion, power-increasing "super-soba", a pill which magnetically attracts two targets, incense which causes someone to sleep throughout the spring, incense that causes a person's repressed personality side to come to independent life, and the Ultimate Weakness Moxibustion, which reduces the victim's strength to less than that of a baby. His hoard of personal belongings includes numerous stolen secret scrolls and books, as well as a few enchanted items, although he does not keep good track of his loot. In both canons, he has access to the Joketsuzoku artifact known as the Love-Pill Bracelet, which he stole from Cologne, though he evidently had either forgotten or was never aware of the "jewels" being love pills. In the anime, he had also stolen the Nanban Mirror from Cologne, though this time he was aware of its power to transport the user to anywhere and anywhere they desired.

• Finger block: Happosai can use this move to stop huge objects or powerful punches aimed at him with only his index finger. It has proved sufficient to effortlessly stop Taro's cursed form in its tracks. It is unknown if he uses his own strength, channels his chi to stop the attack, disables the object's momentum, or any combination thereof. Either way, it is one of Happosai's best defensive moves and hints at what he could do with a full arm if he ever turned serious.
• Extra-Dimensional Warp: Happosai becomes invisible, allegedly by turning his body composition similar to air/a gaseous state. The downside is he cannot attack without becoming visible. It is used primarily to spy on girls. In the Japanese version this move is called "Cicada Shell Concealment".
• Fist of the Hermit Crab: Happosai throws several empty buckets into the air towards his target, then uses his extra-dimensional warp to hide in one. Afterwards he attacks from his bucket as he bypasses his target. In the anime, this technique is part of an entire sub-discipline of the Anything Goes School known as Bathhouse-Fu. He probably devised it to protect himself from the girls he peeped on in public baths.
• Kiseru throw: A technique that Happosai uses on attacking opponents. He hooks their arm or leg with his kiseru then uses their own momentum to throw them a great distance by flicking his wrist. The throw is so powerful that in the cases of Ranma and Genma, both were thrown through the roof and into the sky.. He can also do this without the kiseru.

• Bean-jam Blow-out (Anime): Using his chi, Happosai creates a large blast of wind to blow his enemies away. This move is named as he created to steal Bean-jam from Soun and Genma.

• Disguise: Various disguises, usually in the form of small animal costumes and used for a number of purposes. This included monkey and reindeer costumes to infiltrate a women's onsen to retrieve the scroll containing the Happo Daikarin, a P-chan costume to snuggle next to Akane, and a flying squirrel costume. They were actually effective enough to fool their targets and were only spoiled by Happosai getting caught up in the moment and blowing his cover by talking.

• Happo-Fire Burst (八宝大華輪 Happo Daikarin), also called Happo Ring of Fire: Happosai's ultimate technique and his favourite. Genma and Soun were petrified of it until they saw what it really was. Happosai sealed it away because it damaged a bra many years ago before he was sealed in a cave and forgot how to use it. However after Ranma pushed him too far he recalled this long lost technique and set out to retrieve the scroll for it. Though he was unable to read his own handwriting and then tore up the scroll in irritation, he remembered how to perform the move after being hit in the head, when he saw stars. It is essentially throwing small bombs at people, but these are presumably infused with chi and can cause massive damage. Happosai can also immediately create these bombs in different sizes to increase their power, even as large as a small house. Even single regular sized versions have repeatedly beaten Taro's cursed form. The drawback is that the bombs use a lighted fuse, which can be doused. When he relearned the technique, Happosai struck matches to light this fuse, but later is not shown doing so. There are several variations of this technique:
  • Happo-Rapid-Fire Bursts: Many of the bombs thrown in rapid succession.
  • Happo-Fire Cannon: Using a cannon to fire a bomb like a bazooka.
  • Happo Big Ring of Explosive Fire: Several bombs encased in plastic bags to prevent them from being put out by water while trapped inside the magic compact.
• Happo-Mold Burst (Anime): A modification of the Happo-Fire Burst used only due to heavy rain preventing the use of the regular attack. Happosai's bombs create clouds of paralytic mold instead of explosions. This disgusts and immobilises opponents. As with the Happo-Fire Burst, he has a rapid fire variant called the Mega Mold Burst.

• Battle Aura

Main article: Battle Aura

Happosai is one of the most proficient and deadly wielders of the Battle Aura and is capable of manifesting it as a giant version of himself.

• Chi direction: Happosai has occasionally generated chi-blasts, either directed from himself or his battle-aura. These are shown capable of instantly defeating Taro's monster form, which took an extended beating from Ranma, Ryoga, Mousse and Shampoo without as much effect.
• Ultimate Weakness Moxibustion: A stolen technique, used on Ranma after the latter stopped one of Happosai's panty raids. By burning a mark in a certain spot on his opponent's body, he reduces their strength to that of a baby, reversible only with a counter-moxibustion on another point.
• Shiatsu: Happosai has a thorough knowledge of pressure points. He used these to create Hinako's battle aura draining capability, make Ranma empty his tear ducts,, knock out Ryoga Hibiki, and instantly put Akane to sleep.
• Silky Storm: A distraction technique that involves Happosai spinning his pipe and creating a blizzard of bras/panties to cover his escape.
• Body replacement technique: To be added
• Fate of the Sailor Suit: An technique which puts the top and skirt of a sailor suit, one of Happosai's favorite outfits, on the target after taking off their clothes first. It is executed so fast that it is unblockable. It was first used against Ranma when he was about to meet Nodoka as a man face to face at the Tendo Dojo, which got him in trouble with her because she saw him it and thought that he was not manly. Happosai used it again when trying to jump ahead of Ranma and peep on Akane in the bath, which was part of a plan to prove Ranma's manhood. However Soun jumped into his place and was hit with the technique, restraining Happosai and allowing Ranma to peep uninterrupted.
• Pepper bombs: Spherical bombs that unleashed a pepper cloud to force Ranma to sneeze.
• Super-Skill, Cold Sucking Wrap: After he hit Ranma with the pepper bombs, Happosai wrapped his mouth around Ranma's face to catch the latter's potent cold when he sneezed. Ranma had also been running such a high fever that cold water was not turning him into a woman. Happosai caught enough of the cold to return things normal, but when he sneezed on Ranma the latter's fever flared up again.

Independent/Related Characters

Hinako Ninomiya

Thanks to Happosai's "training" when she was still a sickly young girl, Hinako is able to both absorb battle aura or chi from her opponents through any object with a circular hole as a focal point as well as shoot it back at them as a charged attack. Plugging or otherwise filling the hole of the focus object can stop all of her techniques. She effectively matures into an adult whenever she absorbs chi, but reverts back to her child form when she fires it or after time. As hitting a set of pressure points caused this condition, the only way to prevent Hinako from performing these techniques is to hit the opposite set every day for at least a month. Given Hinako's lack of actual martial arts training, swifter opponents, such as Shampoo, Ukyo Kuonji, and Kodachi, have been able to effortlessly disarm her. Another limitation is that her ability to sense battle aura is restricted when she is surrounded by competitive spirit, such as at sporting events.

• Happōgoensatsu (八宝五円殺 Happo Five-Yen Satsu): Hinako uses a five yen coin to absorb chi that is already manifest, usually an opponent's battle aura. She cannot absorb chi from someone who is not emitting any battle aura.

• Happo 50-Yen Attack (八宝五十円殺, Happōgojūensatsu^?): Using a larger 50 yen coin, Hinako can absorb chi even if her opponent does not manifest a battle aura. It is effective against multiple targets.
• Happo Coin-Return Attack (八宝釣銭返し, Happōtsurisengaeshi^?): Also called Happo Change Return. Hinako releases all of her stored chi in a large blast by touching her index fingers and thumbs together to create a circle. While quite deadly, this attack can usually only be performed once since it effectively drains all of the chi that Hinako has absorbed, returning her to her normal child form. However, she is able to stay in her adult form if she has enough energy. For instance, the vengeful chi of Furinkan students resentful at Principal Kuno once infused her with so much chi that she was capable of firing off multiple blasts. However her personality was also severely affected, as she had absorbed the students' delinquent attitudes at the time, although this manifested in childish ways. She also had a fish bowl containing two male Siamese fighting fish that constantly gave off enormous amounts of battle aura so that she was able to maintain her adult form for an extended duration. Hinako has used several variations of this attack:
  • Happo Change-Return Adult-Cannon Multi-Blast: Three rapid blasts fired at Ranma for trying to make off with her fighting fish.
  • Happo Change Return Bazooka of Malice: A powerful blast fired at Principal Kuno which knocked out a large section of wall.
  • Happo Exchange Total Malice Return: Another powerful blast which propelled the principal into the sky and finally used up the last of the remaining resentment she had drained from the principal's statue.

Ryu Kumon

Ryu practiced the Yama-Sen Ken, which was created by Genma and given to his father to restore their dojo. He searched for the scroll containing the companion style, the Umi-Sen Ken, for years, finally fighting Ranma, who had mastered it to fight him on equal terms. Ryu was defeated and upheld his end of the bargain to seal the Yama-Sen Ken away.

Natsume and Kurumi

Natsume and Kurumi appear to be two of the most formidable young female characters in the anime and utilise a combination fighting style that makes them deadly opponents. Natsume uses a carpet beater that she normally wears on her back that she can charge with frigid cold. Kurumi uses a long red ribbon she wears in her hair that she can charge with burning heat.

• Ring of Dragon Fire (竜火リング, Ryūka Ringu^?) A combined horizontal attack similar to the Hiryu Shoten Ha. Kurumi creates a hot spiral with her ribbon while Natsume fills this spiral with a blast of cold energy.