Nodoka Saotome Intro Arc

The  is the 54th story arc covered in the Ranma ½ manga, spanning six chapters. This arc was included in volume 22 of the  and volume 20 of the Viz Media tankōbon.

Plot Summary
After group visit to the grave of Akane's mom, Ranma ponders how he doesn't know anything about his mom. Genma gets a message woman named Nodoka is coming to visit and begins panicking. When she shows up he splashes himself and Ranma with water and tells the Tendo family to lie that they left.

Turns out Nodoka is Ranma's mother. When Ranma was very little, Genma left her so his son could focus on training without motherly distractions. Nodoka was heartbroken but agreed to this for Ranma's sake. No one seems to understand why Genma so desperately tries to keep Ranma away from her until Nodoka makes one more revelation: Genma promises that he'll make Ranma into the manliest of men and if he fails they'll both commit seppuku. Nodoka loves her son, but she takes honor very seriously. She's carrying a long sword with her in case of their failure.

Ranma spends a day pretending to be "Ranko". Akane's cousin, hiding the truth from his mom and questioning if he should reveal himself or not. When Nodoka finally decided to leave, Akane tells her that Ranma will meet her in a park. Ranma decides to risk it, after all, as long as water won't touch him, everything will be fine. But Genma is too afraid to risk and keeps interfering. Nodoka decides to leave for good but accidentally walks into an explosion of the hot springs that launches her into the air. Ranma saves her and for a brief moment, mother and son are reunited. However Nodoka loses consciousness and once she awakes, the rain turns Ranma into a girl again. Nodoka leaves, not learning the truth about her son.

Major Events

 * Ranma meets his mother, Nodoka Saotome.
 * Ranma learns about a Seppuku vow his father made.

Changes in anime

 * Since this is the last episode of anime, it ends with Ranma and Akane breaking the fourth wall and saying goodbye to the audience.

Characters Introduced

 * Nodoka Saotome