Tsubasa Kurenai

Tsubasa Kurenai (紅 つばさ) is a suitor of Ukyo Kuonji who followed her to Furinkan after she left her old school. Despite appearing to be a girl, Tsubasa, like most of Ukyo's suitors, is actually a male to female cross-dresser.

Tsubasa means "wings," while "Kurenai" can be broken down into "nine," "passion," and "love" showing that Tsubasa is a very passionate person.

History
Prior to the events of the series, Tsubasa attended an all-boys school which was also attended by Ukyo at the time (who'd disguised herself as a boy). Tsubasa quickly fell in love with Ukyo and began showering her with gifts, but Ukyo had no attraction to Tsubasa. Even after Ukyo left to find Ranma, Tsubasa still sent mountains of love letters to Ukyo, prompting Ukyo to send Tsubasa a letter explaining about her engagement along with a picture of Ranma's female form, thinking that if Tsubasa believes Ukyo to be male it wouldn't make sense for her to send a picture of the male Ranma.

Tsubasa Kurenai
Now knowing who was Ukyo's love, Tsubasa decides to track down Ranma and sends her a challenge letter, stating that she will soon end Ranma's life. No sooner does Ranma finish reading the letter than Tsubasa finds her and begins to attack whilst disguised as a Mailbox. After charging at Ranma several times, the Mailbox falls apart and Tsubasa emerges, willing to continue her fight with Ranma. However, because of the exhaustion of charging while dressed as a Mailbox, Tsubasa collapses before she gets anywhere near to Ranma.

As Akane and Ranma wonder who this girl is who attacked them, Ukyo appears and instantly recognises Tsubasa and makes Ranma help her stuff Tsubasa into a Garbage Can before Ukyo sends the Can flying with her Giant Spatula.

Later on at Okonomiyaki Ucchan's, after Ukyo has explained her history with Tsubasa, Tsubasa reappears and turns her attention to Ranma. Tsubasa begins insulting Ranma, but Ranma retorts by noting that Ukyo's the one who loves her, so she must be less ugly than her. This upsets Tsubasa greatly, who rushes out the restaurant, only to return disguised as a Vending Machine and attempt to charge into Ranma. However, Tsubasa only achieves to infuriate Ukyo for destroying her restaurant. When Ukyo attempts to hit Tsubasa, Akane takes the opportunity to open Ukyo's shirt and show Tsubasa Ukyo's cleavage as proof that Ukyo's actually a girl. Unfortunately, this doesn't have the desired effect as Tsubasa claims to have already known this and declares that she only likes girls, she then rushes out of the restaurant, but not before getting one last insult in for Ranma.

The next day, Tsubasa heads to Furinkan High School, where she sets up a challenge with Ranma to see who's cuter by seeing who can sell the most during the school Lunch hour. Ranma is initially confident, but soon her confidence soon falls through as all the students at Furinkan High (apart from Tatewaki Kuno) know her secret, so Tsubasa appears to be the outright victor and prematurely leaves.

Through disguising herself, Ranma is able to sell all but one Okonomiyaki before Akane puts a stop to her antics. Tsubasa (now disguised as a tree) reappears and declares herself the winner, but Ukyo arrives and states that she wants to buy the last Okonomiyaki from Ranma. Devastated that his love would betray him like this, Tsubasa leaves in a flood of tears, making Ranma feel sorry for Tsubasa. Feeling sorry for Tsubasa, Ranma goes to find him, but soon suffers the consequences as Tsubasa declares Ranma as his new love.

After putting Ranma through multiple chases in an attempt to receive affection, Tsubasa ends up talking with Akane in a local Café, where Akane attempts to make Tsubasa give up on Ranma. Tsubasa, however, refuses to do so. A letter then arrive via an arrow which states that Ranma wants to go on a date with Tsubasa next Sunday in the Park.

On the appointed day, Tsubasa is disappointed to see that it's the male Ranma who she's dating (Ranma came up with the plan to steer Tsubasa onto the "correct path", as he believes her to be lesbian). After several attempts made Tsubasa to leave, she ends up beating up Ranma and throwing him into the fountain, but Tsubasa is shocked when she sees the female Ranma so hurt and decides to carry her so as to get help. As Tsubasa carries Ranma, Ranma says she wants one last hot bath, a request which Tsubasa is more than happy to grant.

Tsubasa quickly arrives at the Tendo Dojo and throws Ranma into the hot bath. Ranma remerges in his male form and asks Tsubasa if she's getting the idea yet, but Tsubasa declares that Akane is her only true love. This prompts Ranma to grab onto Tsubasa, but Ranma gets punched into the wall by Tsubasa. Because of this, Tsubasa's clothes rip off, revealing he has no breasts infuriating Ranma at the revelation about him trying to look cuter than "another guy."

Downstairs, Ukyo reveals to Akane she attended an all-boys school and had assumed since nobody asked they all knew. Akane thinks Tsubasa is a cross dresser, but Tsubasa states he just "likes to dress up." A little later, Tsubasa tells Ranma not to be mad as they both have the same hobby, to which Ranma replies that his isn't a hobby.

History
Prior to the events of the series, Tsubasa attended an all-boys school which was also attended by Ukyo at the time (who dressed and lived as a boy). Tsubasa quickly fell in love with Ukyo and began showering her with gifts, but Ukyo had no attraction to Tsubasa. Even after Ukyo left to find Ranma, Tsubasa still sent mountains of love letters to Ukyo, prompting Ukyo to send Tsubasa a letter explaining about her engagement along with a picture of Ranma's female form, thinking that if Tsubasa thinks she is male it wouldn't make sense for her to send a picture of the male Ranma.

Hard Battle
After Ranma receives a letter from a person named Tsubasa Kurenai she is attacked by a mailbox. After Ranma kicks the mailbox into a lamppost a girl comes out of of it. She then begins to walk slowly towards Ranma only to fall to the ground. Ranma and Akane then look to see who it is, but neither of them recognise the girl. Ukyo then walks up to them and is shocked to see the girl, she then tells Ranma and Akane her name is Tsubasa Kurenai. Ukyo and Ranma quickly put Tsubasa into a nearby garbage can and Ukyo sends Tsubasa it flying with her giant spatula.

Later that day at Okonomiyaki Ucchan's, after Ukyo explains her history with Tsubasa, she (Tsubasa) appears (still in the garbage can she was thrown in) and says that after she got rejected she decided the only way to get Ukyo's heart was to send Ukyo multiple letters "until the skies were filled with pretty pink envelopes". Ukyo then explains she sent Tsubasa a picture of the female Ranma in order to show that she does have a fiancé. Tsubasa then comes out of her trashcan and insults Ranma by calling her "butt ugly", which causes Ranma to jump into Ukyo's arms and say that she doesn't seem to agree.

This just angers Tsubasa so she leaves, only to re-enter shortly after dressed as a. When Tsubasa enters she charges through the door, breaking it in the process, and run towards Ranma to try and crush her, but she misses. The damage caused by Tsubasa's antics angers Ukyo and she goes to hit Tsubasa with her giant Spatula, but before she can Akane grabs Ukyo's shirt and pulls, revealing Ukyo's breasts to Tsubasa. Akane then tries to explain to Tsubasa that Ukyo is a girl, but Tsubasa tells them she already knew Ukyo was a girl and that's why she's interested in her. Tsubasa continues by telling Ranma she's going to take Ukyo away if it's the last thing she does. Tsubasa then leaves, but not before she calls Ranma butt ugly again.

The next day, Tsubasa has a bake sale and the loser has to give up on Ukyo forever. A large group of male Furinkan High School students then come to buy the Okonomiyaki and Tsubasa gets a landslide victory over Ranma (despite Ranma's best efforts). Tsubasa then leaves Ranma to wallow in her defeat. Later, after Ranma tries to "pump-up" her sex appeal, Tsubasa reappears (this timed disguised as a tree) and asks Ranma that if she can't sell the last Okonomiyaki that she'll give up on Ukyo for good. Ukyo then shows up and says that the last Okonomiyaki is reserved especially for her. Hearing this, Tsubasa now is convinced that Ukyo doesn't want to be with her (despite the fact Ukyo has said this from the start) and leaves crying.

Ranma soon finds Tsubasa and begins to comfort her telling her that, although Ranma hates to admit it, she won their duel. Eventually, Ranma tells Tsubasa that she's cute enough to get herself a boyfriend very quickly, but Ranma soon suffers for her kindness as Tsubasa falls in love with her and begins chasing after Ranma with the same determination as she did with Ukyo. Tsubasa continues to chase after Ranma, until she runs into a lamppost whilst disguised as a.

A little later, Tsubasa is taken out of the rain by Akane and into a café, where Akane tries to make Tsubasa give up on Ranma, but Tsubasa refuses to do so. Akane's worry for Tsubasa's well-being soon backfires on her as Tsubasa starts falling in love with her too, before Kuno appears and diffuses the situation. After dealing with Kuno, Tsubasa receives a message via an arrow which is from Ranma and explains that she wants them to have a date in the Park on Sunday, much to Tsubasa's excitement and joy.

On the appointed day, Tsubasa waits patiently for Ranma to arrive, but is confused when the male Ranma, who she does not recognise, appears instead. As Akane argues with Ranma about just what he thinks he's doing, Tsubasa begins to walk away before Ranma notices and tries to continue their proposed date. This plan soon goes stray when Ranma jumps into Tsubasa's arms in order to avoid the glaring of cats which is running towards him. Infuriated at holding a man in her arms, Tsubasa beats up Ranma mercilessly and throws him into a nearby fountain. However, when Tsubasa sees female Ranma she immediately takes her away to heal her wounds.

As Tsubasa carries Ranma, Ranma tells her that she can't go on and would like a hot bath before she dies. Tsubasa carries out Ranma's wish and takes her to the bathroom of the Tendo Dojo and throws her in the filled bath (completely ignoring Soun who already occupies the bath). Sure enough Ranma reemerges in his male form and, devastated, Tsubasa decides that Akane is her only hope and attempts to run off, but Ranma stops her and ends up ripping Tsubasa's dress. As Tsubasa tells Ranma she has no time for his perversions, Ranma is shocked and infuriated to learn that Tsubasa is actually male.

Downstairs, Akane learns about Tsubasa's gender from Ukyo as she reveals that Ukyo's last school was for all boys. This causes Akane to worryingly wonder if this means Tsubasa's a cross-dresser or gay. At that moment Tsubasa (disguised as a washing machine) explains that he's a normal, straight, guy but likes to wear women's clothes (changed to "dressing up" in the dub). Ranma then reappears and hits Tsubasa again, prompting Tsubasa to tell Ranma not to get angry as they both have the same interests, although Ranma insists that for him it isn't an interest.

Ranma Forever
Some time after Ukyo temporarily moves her business to the beach, Tsubasa ends up meeting up with Ukyo and helps by delivering Okonomiyaki for her (which Ukyo agrees to since she won't have to pay him much). When Ranma and Akane notice Tsubasa they attempt to sneak away, but are unsuccessful, but fortunately, Tsubasa can't hang around to talk for too long and continues his deliveries.

As Tsubasa does his deliveries, he passes by Maomolin (who's working part-time at the Cat Café stall) who instantly falls in love with Tsubasa. When Tsubasa hears about the "Miss Beachside Contest", he instantly demands entry, determined that no other girl's going to beat him.

When Tsubasa appears on the introduction/Swimsuit stage of the contest, Maomolin throws him a ribbon as a good-luck gesture, this causes Kodachi to be taken over by her Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics skills, prompting her to tie up several members of the audience and ultimately results in Kodachi's disqualification. Once the singing portion of the contest starts, Tsubasa immediately puts himself forward, but his horrible singing prompts Genma to cut the performance prematurely.

Angered that he didn't get to finish, Tsubasa tries to continue forcibly, but Genma and Ranma attempt to prevent this from happening. This causes Maomolin to intervene and demand the pair stop being mean to Tsubasa as he can be his bride. Tsubasa quickly flees the stage with Ranma as Maomolin follows in hot pursuit and the Miss Beachside contest continues without them. The chase continues all along the beach and back to the stadium where the contest's being held. After destroying the stadium Tsubasa and Maomolin end up destroying Shampoo's Cat Café stall before doing the same to Ukyo's Okonomiyaki cart.

Eventually Tsubasa tires of the chase and tells Maomolin about his true gender, but Maomolin declares that this doesn't bother him as nobody's perfect. At that moment the others from earlier come after the pair, demanding they fix the stalls they destroyed as otherwise they'll have to eat some Rice-balls Akane made. The chase then continues along the beach, as Nabiki, Kasumi, Mousse and Ryoga look on...

Big Trouble in Nekonron, China
After Ukyo observes Ranma being chased by multiple other characters, Tsubasa appears disguised as the sign to Okonomiyaki Ucchan's. Tsubasa proceeds to rub himself against Ukyo's leg, which obviously disgusts Ukyo, who then decides to swat Tsubasa away with her giant Spatula. Unfortunately, Ukyo realises she can't open the restaurant without the sign so chases after Tsubasa until the pair of them are sent flying by Jasmine's Battle Aura.

OVA
Tsubasa is one of the many guests invited to the Tendo Family Christmas Party, during the party, Tsubasa decides to disguise himself as the tree so that he can surprise Ukyo, much to Ukyo's horror.

Abilities
Initially, Tsubasa doesn't appear to posses any particularly great strength, however, he is able to beat up Ranma with general ease when he, due to his Ailurophobia, accidentally provoked Tsubasa jumping into arms. Tsubasa also makes use of his various disguises to try and gain the upper hand on his opponent, such as the Letterbox disguise he first used against Ranma and the Vending machine disguise with which Tsubasa was easily able to break through the wall of Okonomiyaki Ucchan's.

Relationships
With Ukyo:

Even though Tsubasa was rejected by Ukyo many times, he still helps her with her business.

Maomolin has a crush on him.

Other Appearances
Tsubasa appears in the Toraware no Hanayome, where he is one of the many competitors in the Furinkan High question contest. Ranma uses tries using Tsubasa (disguised as a giant firecracker) to try and answer the third question, but the pair of them are hit by a Coconut missile from Principal Kuno, resulting in nobody getting the question correct. Tsubasa later goes to the beach with Ranma and Akane, and when Ranma is kidnapped, Tsubasa tries to attack Akane, only for Akane to destroy Tsubasa's Watermelon disguise.

Tsubasa appears as an NPC and boss in the gameboy rpg Ranma ½: Kakugeki Mondou!!. He is also a playable character in the game VS mode, his special attack involves going into his letterbox disguise and charging forward.

Tsubasa also has a song on the Fighting Songs Karuta, a cover of Red Poppy.

Trivia

 * In the televised french dub, Tsubasa is a girl who bugs girls about becoming her stepsister. The reveal of Tsubasa's gender is cut in the dub.

Quotes

 * [I sent] Ukyo letter after letter, until the skies were filled with pretty pink envelopes! - Tsubasa talking about how he tried to get Ukyo to love him.


 * You're butt ugly. - Tsubasa insulting Ranma's female form.