Martial Arts Cheerleading Arc

The  is the 53rd story arc covered in the Ranma ½ manga, spanning six chapters. This arc was included in volume 21 and 22 of the  and volume 19 and 20 of the Viz Media tankōbon.

Plot Summary
When Akane is unfairly defeated by Mariko Konjo, cheerleader of Seisyun High School, Ranma decides to take avenge by challenging her to a cheerleading competition. Mariko, meanwhile, falls in love with Kuno after he falls on her head. Akane begins to suspect that Ranma may be doing this because of her and tries to find a way to help her.

Since Kuno's love is needed to win the match, Ranma tries to show fake love for him by going on a date. But when the match begins, she is immediately put at a disadvantage when she is unable to actually love Kuno. The fight continues and Ranma is continuously at a disadvantage until a new challenger joins the match, whom Ranma is able to latch onto. As the fight continues, Mariko's attack temporarily disables Ranma's partner, who turns out to be Akane. They use their combined might to finally defeat Mariko.

Major Events

 * Mariko Konjo introduced as cheerleader for Seisyun High School and falls in love with Kuno.
 * Ranma unintentionally professes his love to Akane.

Changes in anime

 * When Ranma realizes he must love Kuno to win, just imagining how it would look knocks him down.
 * Anime skips the scene where Mariko and Ranma shower Kuno with love letters and sexy pictures, as well as Kuno telling Mariko he loves her.
 * Ranma kept his curse a secret from most of the school for pretty much the whole anime. In this episode, his secret is finally out (it was a known fact in the manga since Full Body Cat's Tongue Arc).

Characters Introduced

 * Mariko Konjo