The Battle of the Busts Arc is the 102nd story arc covered in the Ranma ½ manga, spanning five chapters. This arc was included in volume 34 of the Weekly Shōnen Sunday tankōbon and volume 32 of the Viz Media tankōbon.
Plot Summary[]
Akane's bust size increases, but Ranma's girl form does as well. Ranma teases her about it and Akane gets her revenge when Nodoka suddenly arrives. Together they go bra shopping where Ranma accidentally enters the changing room while Akane was undressing[1]. They then go clothes shopping for Ranma and dress her up in feminine clothing despite her protest. Akane is hurt when Ranma insults her and leaves home early. They then visit a health salon where Ranma tries to escape but is hit by the hot water. His mother sees him running away in girl's clothing and believes there is a pervert on the loose. Ranma heads to Akane's room to apologize, but he is not able to understand why she's angry, resulting in a yelling that gets his mother's attention[2].
Nodoka goes to Akane's room and grabs Ranma's hair believing him to be the pervert. After being rescued by Akane and seeing Nodoka depart, Ranma spends his time trying to figure out what Akane wants him to do. He finally goes to the bath where he thought Akane was and asks to see her breasts, only to see his father emerge from the baths. Akane soon finds out that Nodoka never left and drags Ranma to a quiet room so he doesn't get spotted. Ranma misunderstands again and believes this to be her way of giving him a chance to make up. When he embraces her, Nodoka emerges wielding her sword[3].
Ranma manages to escape, but Nodoka is just glad that her son returned. He sees this as an opportunity to finally see his mother in his true form and the entire family begins preparing. However, when Nodoka enters the room, Happosai forcefully changed Ranma's clothing to a schoolgirl outfit[4]. Nodoka sees this and begins preparation for seppuku, leaving Ranma no choice but to escape. They later devise a plan to make Ranma appear manly, by catching him peeping on Akane in the bath. The plan succeeds, but Happosai's interference forces Genma to take evasive action and Nodoka misses her son yet again. However, she was beginning to suspect that there is a connection between Ranko and her son[5].
Chapters Covered[]
| Image | Chapter Number | Arc Number | English Chapter Name | Japanese Chapter Name | Anime Counterpart(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
バストバトル！ (Basuto batoru!) |
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|
成敗！変態少年 (Seibai! hentai shonen) |
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|
ちちと母 (Chichi to haha) |
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|
晴れ姿 ご対面 (Hare sugata go-taimen) |
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|
本当の俺を見てください (Honto no ore o mite kudasai) |
Major Events[]
- Ranma meets his mother once more, but is unable to look at her.
- Ranma proves that he is manly to his mother.
- Nodoka begins to suspect there might be a connection between Ranko and Ranma.
Characters Introduced[]
- No characters were introduced in this arc.
References[]