Principal Kuno



Principal Kuno is the father Kodachi Kuno and Tatewaki Kuno. He is also the Principal of Furinkan High School, who is determined to get all the students to have either Buzz cuts (for the male students) or Bowl cuts (for female students), especially Ranma Saotome. The Principal's first name is unknown, but Kuno can be broken down to mean "Nine Abilities", which is a sarcastic remark about his children's overblown sense of self-worth.

Abilities
Principal Kuno is not the most capable of fighters in the series. In fact, he's one of the weakest. He can't take much punishment, nor is he adept at dishing it out, so his focus is on evasion and escape rather than actual combat. He can move with surprising speed for somebody so bulky, and he is fairly stealthy. He is also cunning enough to prepare a wide variety of disguises and escape routes in advance.

When forced to fight, the Principal falls back on two weapons of choice. The first are bombs disguised as pineapples (and, at least once, present boxes), which explode in fairly small, but intense, radiuses. The Principal prefers to throw these at a foe or get them to unwittingly accept, then take off while they are dazed from the explosion. When it comes to the melee, the Principal wields hairclippers, especially handheld shears, that he uses to attack and defend like daggers. His striking speed is just barely equal with that of his son, and he can fend off an enraged assault by Kuno -- barely.

Because of the Principal's hostile relationship with his son, not to mention his obsession with cutting hair, he is specialised in facing off against kendoists. His special technique, the "Aloha Sword Shredder", allows him to shear a bokken or similar object (such as a short staff) into useless scraps if it is thrust at him, and if his opponent comes at him from the front with their sword held near their head, a common kendo assault position, then he can use their own sword as a bridge to shave their head bald.

Relationships
As a rule, the students of Furinkan High hate the Principal, who seems to actively go out of his way to annoy them. It's implied, most prominently when he first returns, that he actively enjoys making them angry; that he is not so fixated on the rules because he enjoys the rules, but simply because he finds it hilarious when the kids get into a riot and the rules of Furinkan are a perfect way into manipulating them.

With the exception of Hinako Ninomiya, who is too fixated on her own little problems to care, the other teachers at Furinkan High regard the Principal with a mixture of embarrassment and disdain. However, they must obey him or else risk their jobs, so they bow to his whims.

Ranma Saotome and Akane Tendo are particularly opposed to the Principal's actions, especially the former due to the Principal's obsession with cutting off his distinctive hair style. They are usually the first to oppose the Principal's latest scheme, and the students tend to rally around them as natural leaders -- perhaps more due to their combat experience than anything. Ukyo Kuonji has a similar attitude, but tends to be more of a background character than her rival or fiance.

Tatewaki Kuno absolutely hates his father, due to a powerful cocktail of abandonment issues, his own ego and a history of abuse at the Principal's hands. Well indeed does he remember meals where the Principal would take his food and haraunge him for his "failings", being brutally overpowered and shaved bald, and being tied up and left hanging from a tree for hours, maybe days at a time. Tatewaki tries to deny any possibility that the Principal may be his father, and even after being forced to reunite with him, remains hostile towards him, most notably in the form of trying to do everything in his power to keep the Principal from returning to the Kuno Estate. In return, the Principal seems to delight in abusing, deceiving and manipulating his son, but may possibly have some twisted sort of parental care for him -- he still calls Tatewaki by the babyish nickname of "Tatchi". He has also been known to approach Tatewaki for assisstance if he needs some extra muscle, and Tatewaki will sometimes accept.

Kodachi Kuno can't remember her father at all, and doesn't even learn he has returned or where he works until Genma Saotome brings it up to her in the episode Dear Daddy... Love, Kodachi! Kodachi is overjoyed to finally meet him, and tries her hardest to be a caring, loving, gentle-natured daughter for him. In return, the Principal seems to appreciate this, and refrains from subjecting her to any of the torments that he dishes out to other kids. Like with her brother, he tends to call her "Kochi".

Non-canon Appearances
The Principal is a major enemy in the roleplaying game "Treasure of the Red Cat Gang", having become a high-ranking member of said Red Cat Gang and bringing his children along as weaker bosses.

In the fighting game "Super Hard Battle", the Principal is responsible for manipulating each of the fighters into pursuing their quest for his own amusement. For example, promising Ranma that he can get exemption from exams by defeating all of the other fighters.

Trivia

 * In the anime, when he reunites with Kodachi in Dear Daddy... Love, Kodachi!, he is shown attempting to escape from a mysterious building while in Hawaii. Perhaps some sort of prison or mental asylum?
 * In the Japanese original, the Principal's speech is littered with English words to try and convey his otaku-like fixation on Hawaii. In the English dubbed version, this is replaced with gratuitous Hawaiian, to convey the exact same point.
 * According to the episode The Secret Don of Furinkan High, the Principal flunked English when he was a student at Furinkan.
 * While the Principal's sabbatical to Hawaii is said to have lasted three years, it's possible that this was only the most recent of such trips. Sasuke Sarugakure notes to Ranma, Akane and Ukyo, when explaining his theory that the Principal is Kuno's long-lost father, that the Kuno siblings had almost no parental guidance or contact since they were children and suggests that this is to blame for their present attitudes.

Quotes

 * "It's time for de big fun, yeah!" - The Principal's catchphrase when things start to get exciting.