Fishing Pole of Love Arc

The  is the 60th story arc of the Ranma ½ manga, spanning three chapters. It was included as part of Volume 23 of the  and volume 21 of the Viz Media tankōbon. The central pun of the arc revolves around the similarity of a Japanese word for love, 恋, and the word for carp, 鯉, which are both pronounced "koi."

Plot Summary
While out on one of his voyages Ryoga discovers the "Fishing Pole of Love" which is said to make anyone you attach the suction cup to fall in love with you. Ryoga buys one and plans to use it on Akane, not thinking it will even work. As she passes by he casts the line but strikes Ranma instead. Ranma starts expressing genuine affection towards Ryoga, and even transforms into a girl to make Ryoga feel better. The suction cup of the pole creates a mark which has three stages of affection, of which the last stage creates full bloom romantic interest. While opening Ranma's shirt to see what stage the mark was in, Akane walks in on them. Both Akane and Ranma misinterpret the moment as Ryoga making a bold attempt to seduce Ranma.

Ryoga attempts many times to get rid of Ranma, but Ranma proves too strong for him. Ryoga knocks her out using sleeping powder so he can take her deep into the woods to bury her. After they leave, Akane finds out about the Fishing Pole. She shows up with the Fishing Pole, and Ranma steals it and attempts to use it on Ryoga to cement their love. While fighting, Ryoga manages to stick the suction cup on Ranma's mark and remove it. Ranma returns to normal.

Major Events

 * Ryoga accidentally uses the Fishing Pole of Love on Ranma, and Ranma falls in love with Ryoga.
 * Ryoga is able to remove the mark and Ranma regains his senses.

Characters Introduces

 * Fishing Rod Salesman