The Martial Arts Figure Skating Arc is the sixth story arc covered in the Ranma ½ manga, spanning eight chapters. It was included across Volume 2 and 3 of the Viz Media publication and in Volume 3 and 4 of the Shonen Sunday publication.
Plot Summary[]
Having lost P-chan at the local skating rink, Akane rushes to find Ranma for help. However, Akane finds P-chan in the possession of Azusa Shiratori, who's now dubbed P-chan "Charlotte", and refuses to hand him back. As a result of this Akane agrees to have a figure skating match against Azusa over the ownership of P-chan; with Ranma joining as well to stop Azusa's skating partner, Mikado Sanzenin's, advances on Akane.[1]
After learning to skate, Ranma and Akane see Azusa and Mikado's skills first hand. Mikado then begins making advances at Ranma (in his female from at the time) before kissing her, which leads Ranma to vow revenge for the personal embarrassment of having his first kiss taken by another guy.[2]
Despite only narrowly managing to defeat Mikado before,[3] Ranma remains confident but the pair continually struggle to get the upper-hand against the "Golden Pair".[4][5] Suddenly Ryoga himself interferes in the hope of winning the match with Akane, however, he accidentally mixes up Ranma and Akane and is ultimately partnered with Ranma's female form.[5]
Thanks to them continually fighting amongst themselves Ranma and Ryoga don't fair much better against the Golden Pair until Ryoga breaks the ice rink, leading Ranma and Ryoga to make a bet where whoever lands the water first must agree to give up on Akane.[6] From here Ryoga continues to struggle with Ranma, Azusa and Mikado whilst also trying not to land in the cold water. Once the Golden Pair are eliminated, however, Ryoga continues to fight Ranma,[7] forcing Akane to crawl across the ice to split up the two of them. But shortly after getting onto the remains of the ice rink, Akane falls into the water and begins to drown due to her inability to swim.[8]
With Akane in danger Ryoga forgets about Ranma and jumps after her, leaving Ranma to rescue both Akane and the near-useless P-chan. Shortly after regaining consciousness Akane learns of how she was saved, moments before a girl with oriental clothing comes crashing through a nearby wall...[9]
Chapters Covered[]
| Image | Chapter Number | Arc Number | English Chapter Name | Japanese Chapter Name | Anime Counterpart(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
愛しのシャルロット (Itoshi no Sharurotto) |
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|
リンクにくちづけ (Rinku ni kuchizuke) |
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|
戸惑うくちびる (Tomadou kuchibiru) |
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|
リップ・バトル (Rippu batoru) |
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|
この手ははなさない (Kono te wa hanasanai) |
P-Chan Explodes! The Icy Fountain of Love! | |||
|
背水の陣 (Haisui no jin) |
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|
良牙爆発 (Ryoga hakuhatsu) |
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|
愛の水柱 (Ai no mizubashira) |
Enter Shampoo, the Gung-Ho Girl! I Put My Life in Your Hands |
Major Events[]
- Ranma receives his first kiss, from Mikado Sanzenin.
- Shampoo arrives in Japan, looking for Ranma.
- Martial Arts Figure Skating is introduced
Changes in anime[]
- It's never said that it Mikado was Ranma's first kiss.
- Ranma's female skating outfit is much less detailed.
- Azusa breaks the ring instead of Ryoga. From this point onward fight goes through a major departure from the manga. Azusa recognizes Ryoga as her "Charlotte" and knocks out Mikado defending him, Then the fight between Ranma and Ryoga moves to the pool outside. Akane still almost drowns, leading boys to jump after her.
- The story doesn't end with the entrance of Shampoo. Instead Azusa sees Genma in his panda form and adopts him into her collection.
Characters Introduced[]
References[]