List of Minor Characters

Manga Only Characters
The following Ranma ½ minor characters appear only in the manga and are listed alphabetically.

Note: Japanese names are in the Western order (given name, then family name).

Headmistress of Sainokawahara Dorm
She is the ghostly apparition of the deceased headmistress who used to run the old abandoned Sainokawahara women's dorm in Furinkan. When she was alive, her dorm was the constant victim of panty thieves. All the panties and bras on its clotheslines got stolen every night, except for the headmistress's undergarments. She died feeling ugly, old and rejected. She hoped Happosai would steal her underwear but he refused to swipe such hideous bloomers. After she explained to Ranma and Akane that if he didn't steal her underwear before midnight, Happosai would die and be cursed to forever roam the Earth as a molesting spirit, Ranma became very motivated to make the latter do so. However, he remained unwilling, since they belonged to an ugly old woman. Frustrated with the ancient pervert's stubbornness, Ranma stuffed the bag containing Happosai's raid for the night into a pair of bloomers. When the aged grandmaster snatched the bag back, the headmistress gleefully squealed "PANTY THIEF!", allowing her to finally rest in peace. Happosai, on the other hand, was disgusted.

Jizo


Jizo is a stone statue of the bodhisattva of the same name that is located in a small shrine near some stairs. After Mousse gives the statue a scarf that was originally intended for Shampoo, Jizo seeks to repay him by giving him what he desires the most, namely, dates with Shampoo. It does this by assuming Shampoo’s form and coming to visit Mousse at the Cat Café that same night. Although Jizo hardly looks like the real Shampoo and is a very heavy statue, Mousse is unable to see the difference even with his glasses on, believes that it really is her, and does not notice its weight. He goes on a series of dates with Jizo in the guise of Shampoo over the next several nights which to him appear romantic and elegant, but are really gross exaggerations of the mundane surroundings that the dates take place in.

These dates and his normal work greatly tax Mousse and raise Shampoo’s suspicions over his sudden change in behavior. With Ranma and Akane, she tails Mousse to one of his rendezvous with Jizo. Seeing an opportunity to finally get him off her back, she eagerly gives him to the statue. Ranma tries to get Mousse’s scarf back from Jizo and lift its hold on him, but his attempts are successfully rebuffed.

When Mousse is eventually put in a cage in the Cat Café to restrain him, Jizo comes for him by breaking through a wall and helping him escape. Later Jizo again rebuffs Ranma’s attempts to take back the scarf, but it eats some ramen that Shampoo was tricked into delivering by Akane. Wanting to repay Shampoo, Jizo then takes on Ranma’s likeness. It is only after Shampoo gives Mousse a scarf that she was originally knitting for Ranma that Jizo considers its debt to Mousse paid and ceases to transform, staying in its shrine with the scarf that he gave it. Though he only appears in the Manga, one of the Seven Lucky Gods martial artists from the first movie, Wu, bears a vague resemblance to Jizo.

Kotetsu, Koume, and Koeda


They are Konatsu's hideous, big lipped step family and they were in charge of the Sexy Kunoichi Tea Shop before Happosai destroyed it. Kotetsu is Konatsu's diminutive step mother, she has a Hitler moustache and is always smoking a Cuban cigar. Koeda is Konatsu's skinny, flat chested sister, she always has a flower lotus in her hair and she has a soup bowl hair cut. Koume is Konatsu's bald, overweight, noseless sister, she always wears sunglasses and wears two flowers on her head, like her mother and sister her lips are huge but unlike the other two her mouth is also gigantic with enough room to fit both Ukyo and Akane.

Mantenmaru
Mantenmaru is a large boar and is Shussemaru's fellow mascot at the temple where prayer tablets are sold with Shussemaru's likeness on them. It is implied that he is as hideous as Shussemaru. After Shussemaru had a beautiful painting of himself made and Hinako drained his battle aura, the temple priest decided to sell paintings of the temple's other sacred animal, Mantenmaru. After Ranma commented about the painting's hideousness, Mantenmaru's wrath was evoked.

Sanae


A pet monkey that Satsuki sends in her place to marry Sentaro. Despite being a monkey, Sanae is adept in martial arts tea ceremony and proves to be a difficult opponent for Ranma. Despite being featured on the cover art for the DVD release of the Tea Ceremony saga, she never appeared in the Anime.

Shotgun bean plant


During the Oni festival, Soun purchased a small plant called The Shotgun Bean Plant, which was said to have the ability to drive away Onis. It could fly and shoot out beans from its mouth at incredible speed similar to a machine gun. When Nabiki came home wearing an Oni mask, the shotgun bean plant quickly mistook her for the real thing and began to go berserk, shooting everything and everyone in sight. After much struggle, Kasumi managed to easily grab it and throw it in the garbage can.

Shussemaru


Shussemaru the horse was destroying the lucky charms of the temple he lived in because he hates the accurate portrayal of himself on the charms. Shussemaru thinks of himself as a beautiful stallion, and punishes those who depict him realistically as being ugly. Ukyo tries to appease him by drawing him as he sees himself, but Hinako makes him angry when she childishly draws doodles on the picture. She stops his rampage by performing her ki-draining attack on him. His name means pure success, which is a pun for his rather proud personality and his falsely believed success.

Yohyo Tsuruyasennen


While eating a picnic outside, Yohyo's meal was interrupted by a starving Ranma who happened to be in girl form at the time. Apparently oblivious to the young man's presence, Ranma stepped on Yohyo's head and devoured his meal before running off. The only thing Yohyo saw was a girl with a pigtail, and he quickly fell in love with her. He then swore on his life to find the mysterious Stomperella.

One day while Ranma was at the beach, she got lost in the ocean and drifted to Heron Island. She searched through the island and found a beautiful castle. After letting herself in she quickly searched for food until she arrived at the garden and saw hundreds of red-haired pigtailed girls enjoying a party hosted by Yohyo, the owner of the castle. He was having each of the girls step on his head to see which foot matched the footprint on his head, but none fit and he soon gave up. After all of the girls had had their try, the butler suggested Ranma, the last girl in attendence, try it out. The foot matched perfectly. Yohyo was filled with joy as he had finally found his Stomperella.

Yohyo explained that his family was on the verge of bankruptcy. Heron Island was once home to a thriving hot springs resort run by Yohyo's family. But some time prior to their meeting, a boulder had clogged the intake, drying up the spring, forcing the resort to close. Feeling sorry for Yohyo, Ranma shattered the boulder, which restored the springs' vibrancy and allowed the resort to re-open. Prior to shattering the boulder, he had warned Yohyo not to peek, intending to flee the scene after doing so. Yohyo, however, did look and saw Ranma's true form, and is left stunned and heart-broken as Ranma leaves the island. The two never crossed paths again.

The Yo in Yohyo means society, which is indicates that Yohyo is wealthy. Tsuru means Crane or Heron which is one of the reasons why the island is called Heron Island.

Gambling King


The Gambling (Bakuchioh) King, who bears a striking resemblance to the 'King' Poker card, is a gambler who specializes in conning children, the only opponents he can actually defeat, out of their savings or other valuables they might have. Ten years ago, he met Ukyo Kuonji and Ranma Saotome and managed, by cheating, to win both Ukyo’s okonomiyaki cart and the Tendo Dojo, which Ranma had wagered. Enraged by their losses, the young duo turned on the gambler, wrapped him up like sushi, and threw him into a nearby river.

Years later, the Gambling King tracked Ukyo and Ranma down and took possession of the Tendo Dojo and the Tendo home, which he turned into a casino. The King lived in the Tendo home until Nabiki won back the house and Ranma managed to reclaim the dojo by cheating, since he has a bad poker face. The Gambling King makes later cameo appearances in the beginning of the first movie, and in the OVA "Tendo Family Christmas Scramble" along with many other minor characters. In the latter, he is wrapped up like sushi and kicked out the party after winning a hand with a royal straight flush (most likely by cheating) after suddenly jumping into the game played by Ranma, Shampoo, Ukyo, and Ryoga. He was a playable character in Ranma ½: Hard Battle for the SNES. .

Harumaki


Harumaki is an old man who sends an astral projection of himself inside Ranma's dreams; apparently, this was only because of his strong desire of dating female Ranma, who looks very much like his wife when she was young, and not an intentional thing. He gets his wish and is able to date Ranma just once. Since it appeared that Harumaki would die soon and a date would be the only way to help him rest in peace, the young Saotome unwillingly agreed to fulfill the old man's fantasy. In the end, Harumaki fully recovered from his illness.

Harumaki first appears in the anime in episode 144 Run Away With Me, Ranma!, and was seen along with every other anime character in the Ranma ½ OAV The Tendo Family Christmas Scramble. (Elder), (Younger).

Harumaki's Grandson
Harumaki's Grandson is a young man who's real name is never mentioned. He seeks out the female Ranma in order for her to take his grandfather on a date, hoping that it will improve his poor condition. .

Hiroshi and Daisuke


Hiroshi can have multiple meanings, including "great soldier" and "abundant." Daisuke can be translated to mean "brotherly affection" or "assistance." Their surnames are never mentioned in the series.

Hiroshi and Daisuke are students in Ranma's class at Furinkan High School. The duo became Ranma's friends and supporters, although they remain jealous of Ranma's luck with the ladies. They eventually learn about Ranma's curse and enjoy looking at him when he is in his girl form, noting "Why can't there be more girls like him?" The entire school found out (except for Kuno and the teachers) during Mousse's first appearance in the manga but in the anime it was a secret until very late in the series. It should be noted that their names were never mentioned in the Manga.

(Hiroshi), (Daisuke).

Legendary Phoenix


One day Kuno bought a phoenix egg from an antiques salesman so he could learn the phoenix sword technique. Despite the shopkeeper's admonition not to place the egg on his head, Ranma unknowingly did so, causing the egg to hatch. The phoenix was revealed to be a hideous, pudgy bird with a phoenix-like tail. The first thing it saw was Ranma, imprinting on him as its enemy, which it would attack relentlessly. It could also generate a blinding flash of light as a defensive mechanism to keep attackers at bay. The only way to stop the phoenix was to using some growth pellets sold to him by the shopkeeper which would make the phoenix leave the nest (the top of Kuno's head) faster than the 100 years it would otherwise take.

The phoenix ate the growth pellets, but grew so large that it nearly destroyed half the neighborhood. In the end, it finally left the top of Kuno's head only to leave another phoenix egg behind.

In the third movie, the phoenix was shown to imprint on a new enemy at the beginning of each day, imprinting on Akane when she went to deliver food to Ranma early in the morning, who was forced to camp overnight in an abandoned lot with Kuno and the phoenix in a tent. Although Ranma's initial attempts to feed the phoenix some growth pellets were defeated by Kuno, he was able to shove a bunch into its mouth in his girl form, making the phoenix grow and overshadowing Kuno's head. This made it easier to feed the phoenix because Kuno could not see, but the phoenix grew increasingly violent as it continued to grow, becoming so large that it could fly around at great speed and easily carry Kuno, while causing swathes of destruction with the downforce of the wind it generated while flying. Along with Akane and Ryoga's help, Ranma was able to keep feeding phoenix and Shampoo and Ukyo tried to attack it, but it generated a blinding flash of light that kept physical attacks at bay. At the end of the day, all the growth pellets had been used up, but in a blinding flash of light the phoenix left Kuno's head and flew away, leaving behind another egg. .

Madame Saint Paul


The Chardin Family's head maid and bridal instructor, she oversees Ranma's training as Picolet's future bride, in particular in the art of battle dining. Part of her training involves putting a steel corset on Ranma, which is too small for his male form. Her name in the sub is Madame Sanporu, the romaji for "Saint Paul". .

Niku Men


The Niku men are four bald midgets with heads shaped like niku (Japanese stuffed buns). The group consists of Niku-Man, Pizza-Man, An-Man and Curry-Man, and their heads are shaped like bean, pork, pizza and curry buns. They came from China seeking the Dragon's Whisker that Ranma wore to secure his pigtail. If the Dragon Whisker was mixed in a soup before 1,000 years passed, any bald man who drank it would regain their hair and those who already possessed hair would have it continuously grow until they became bald. This led the Niku Men to attack Ranma, who used the whisker to keep his hair from continuously growing, as he had previously consumed the soup. Also involved were Ranma's father and Happosai, both of whom are also bald. The Niku Men eventually succeeded in obtaining the sacred hair growth tool, but by the time they did, 1,000 years had already passed, rendering its power useless. They later have a cameo appearance in the beginning of the first movie riding on top of Maomolin.

In the Japanese version they are voiced by Isamu Tanonaka (Niku-Man), Shigeru Chiba (Curry-Man), Bin Shimada (An-Man), and Arihiro Hase (Pizza-Man). In the English dub they are voiced by Alec Willows (Niku-Man), Samuel Vincent (Curry-Man), Donald Brown (An-Man), and Nick Misura (Pizza-Man).

Panda Scribble
It is a badly drawn painting of a female panda that was released by Ranma and Genma during one of their arguments. She refused to go back in to the painting unless Ranma went on a date with her for one night. Though she had fun, Ranma suffered humiliation after humiliation. When the date was almost over she asked Ranma to give her a goodbye kiss (Of course he did not realize that she only wanted a kiss on the forehead). After saying goodbye, she went back into the painting, and the artist who drew her added a Ranma scribble to keep her company. In the anime, she is able to briefly assume a human form that in contrast to her panda form is quite beautiful. She was voiced by Mika Kanai (Japanese version) and Jocelyn Loewen (English Dub).

Pantyhose Taro's Mother
Pantyhose Taro's mother was in labor near Jusenkyo when Happosai found her. After helping to deliver her baby, she allowed Happosai to name the baby after he baptized it according to her village law. After baptizing the infant in the spring of Drowned Bull-Crane-Yeti-Eel, he thought for three days and two nights for a perfect name, and finally he gave him the perfect name: "Pantyhose Taro". What ever happened to her after this is unknown. In the anime, she greatly resembles Akane, but with light blue hair color.

Satsuki Miyako-ōji
In the manga, she is the heir to the House of Miyako-ōji and fiancée of Sentarō Daimonji. Satsuki is a user of the martial arts style of tea ceremony and was declared Miss Tea Ceremony in 1993. She was engaged to Sentarō by her grandmother, but due to her extreme shyness was unable to meet him in person, so instead she sent her pet monkey Sanae to pretend to be her. After much conflict between Ranma, Sentarō and Sanae, she revealed herself and Sentarō became smitten with her, so they agreed to marry.

In the anime, she is still the heir to the House of Miyako-ōji which is a rival school to Sentarō Daimonji's school. When the two groups start feuding again, it is decided that Sentarō should challenge Satsuki to a martial arts tea match, but instead they fall in love at seeing each other and agree to marry.

Satsuki, in the anime, is shown to normally speak so softly that most can't hear her, Kasumi being one of the few that can. However, she can speak more audibly if necessary. Her voice actress are Momoko Ishii (Japanese) and Jocelyn Loewen (English).

Miyako-ōji (都大路) means "main thoroughfare of the metropolis", and Satsuki (茶月) means "tea moon".

Sentaro's grandmother
The matriarch of the House of Daimonji, she is a very stern woman when it comes to manner and proper etiquette. She is mocking of Ranma, but in the end says that she likes her due to her spirit in the duel. She almost never leaves her formal sitting position, but despite this can move very quickly, even jumping and clinging to ceilings.

In the anime she makes another appearance when it appeared Ranma was to be a sacrifice for some sort of ritual, but it turned out she was just leaving the tea-serving position for the first time in years and needs someone to massage her legs after doing it. She is voiced in the Japanese version by Hisako Kyōda and in the English dub she is voiced by Pauline Newstone in the T.V series and by Patti Allen in the second OVA.

Shinnosuke's Grandfather
Shinnosuke's grandfather used to be a zookeeper near Ryugenzawa before all his animals escaped into the forest. When they drank the water of life, they became monstrously huge and he along with Shinnosuke kept the animals away from the village and the people away from the forest. But as he grew older, he lost a lot of strength and remains in his bed nearly every day. After Akane arrives and stays with them for a bit, he drops several hints in Akane and Shinnosuke's presence about their mutual feelings for each other, which they all respond to by jointly throwing him in the air. He knows a lot about the Yamata no Orochi and its relationship with the Water of Life, although it appears that he does not actually see it until it awakens shortly after Akane arrives. When the Water of Life springs begin to dry up, he attempts to take on the Orochi by himself while disguised as a woman, but fails. After Ranma and Ryoga appear, he supervises the combined effort against the Orochi.

In the OAV, the animals that escaped into Ryugenzawa used to be his pets. When Shinnosuke loses his memory his grandfather will use his "Megaton Punch" to remind him. His voice was suplied by Takeshi Aono in the original Japanese and by French Tickner in the English dub.

Mr. Turtle
Mr. Turtle (Midorigame in Japanese, Mr. Scaly Green or Mr. Green Turtle in the English dub) is Kodachi Kuno's giant pet crocodile. He wears an electrified pink collar around his neck that reads his name. This collar is made of 'memory metal' that cannot be removed without receiving a painful shock. Splashing it with hot water nullifies the electric field and allows it to be reshaped. It also contains a small hidden compartment. Kodachi once used the collar to stash the negatives for some photographs Hikaru Gosunkugi (in the anime, it was Sasuke Sarugakure) took that displayed her and Ranma having what appeared to be an intimate moment, forcing the latter into a fight with her pet.

Mr. Turtle is frequently used for comic relief. In the manga, when Kuno destroyed one of the large posters of Ranma that adorned the walls of her room, Kodachi paralysed, wrapped him up like sushi and fed him to Mr. Turtle. In the anime, the family's ninja servant Sasuke is usually used as his chew toy. More commonly, Ranma gets blasted into the air courtesy of Akane, subsequently landing in Mr. Turtle's pond, turning him into a girl and inadverdantly giving Kuno a chance to catch his "pigtailed girl," and on one occasion Kodachi had found a distrauted Mousse in his duck form and she adopted him as a playmate for Mr. Turtle who chewed the poor duck boy to shreds. Mr. Turtle did not appear in the OAV, but a large tiger shark acted as his replacement.

Yotaro
A supposedly sickly boy who refuses to play outside unless he plays with a panda from his dreams. Naturally, Genma's panda form acts as a good substitute, who Yotaro calls Kumahachi. However, in the end it turns out he's not so sickly as he's able to chase Ranma and Genma all the way home to the Tendo dojo, which was around 20 kilometres away. Voiced by Naoko Matsui (Japanese) and Christopher Turner (English).

Yuka, Sayuri, Makoto, and Shikako
Yuka (with long light-brown hair), Sayuri (dark-brown hair in a ponytail), Makoto (with a dark-brown mullet), and Shikako (short light-brown with freckles) are Akane's friends. Their surnames are never revealed. They are in her class and are always seen in her company when they show up. They both are very supportive of Akane, trying to cheer her up every time Ranma is being chased by other girls. It should be noted that all four of these characters do not exist in the Manga. However, four nameless girls with similar facial looks who are Akane's friends do exist in this.

The girls are not as interested in gossiping as Hiroshi and Daisuke are, and they mostly just try to get Ranma and Akane together by dropping subtle hints in Ranma's direction. Also, their screentime pales in comparison to Hiroshi and Daisuke.

Yuka, Sayuri, Makoto, and Shikako are among the regular characters of Ranma ½ who have no extraordinary physical abilities; however, they do chase after Happosai along with the rest of the female students in Furinkan any time he tries to steal their underwear. In the anime, Yuka and Sayuri seem to know the theme song of the show.

Yuka was voiced by Masami Toshima in the Japanese version and by Angela Costain (Season 2) and Cathy Weseluck (Seasons 1-7) in English while Sayuri was voiced by Yoshiko Kamei in Japan and by Willow Johnson in English. Makoto is voiced by Kayo Sanpei in Japan and by Cathy Weseluck (Seasons 1-3) and by Elaina Wotten-Costain (Season 6) and Angela Costain (Season 7) in English. Shikako is voiced by Naoko Matsui in Japanese and by Janyse Jaud in English.