Looking His Best

Hare sugata go-taimen (晴れ姿 ご対面) is the 363rd chapter of the manga. It is also the fourth chapter of the Battle of the Busts Arc.

Ranma is confronted by his mother. Nodoka attempts to find out who the pervert is.

Continued from Previous Chapter
Ranma has his back turned and is unable to move. Nodoka notes that there are striking similarities with him and the pervert she saw running. As Nodoka raises her sword to prepare the attack Akane nervously tries to reason with her. Ranma then makes a quick move and tosses the mat and covers his mother's vision. She swings the katana and cuts the mat in two, then finds herself on top of the mat with Ranma under it. He sneaks to a nearby wall and punches through it to escape without being properly seen by his mother.

After some deliberation Nodoka recognizes this to be the Anything Goes Tatami Flip technique that Genma often used to avoid debt collectors. Akane tells her that it could have been from a different school, but Nodoka makes it clear that the Saotome technique puts the opponent on top of the mat, just as it was done by Ranma. To finish the move, one must flip the mat and put the opponent on the bottom before crushing them by standing on the top. She sees that it must have been someone kind enough to not crush her and realizes that it must have been Ranma.

The Good Pervert
Nodoka asks Akane if that was indeed Ranma and she worries that Nodoka might think her son is a pervert. But before she can say anything, Nodoka becomes jubilant that Ranma is a pervert, since their engagement makes all the perverted deeds more acceptable. Akane is aghast but unable to say anything. Meanwhile, Ranma is outside, listening in on the conversation. He now believes that if he shows himself, his mother will see him as a manly man. He bursts in through the window but finds the room empty.

Downstairs, Nodoka is with the Tendo sisters telling them Ranma has come back. She begins laying out food on the table awaiting his arrival. Genma is not too pleased to hear this and takes out a mallet to strike her but is struck from behind by another mallet wielded by Soun. The Tendos tie him up to prevent him from interfering while Nodoka prepares. While walking, she accidentally spills a hot water on Genma and turns him back, but she is too busy to notice and ignores him completely. Nabiki turns the sad husband back into a panda.

The Meeting
Ranma comes downstairs looking for his mother when Soun sees him. He calls Ranma to his room and tells him to dress up for this special occasion. He presents him with a box containing clothes that Soun used to wear for his special occasions. Ranma is moved by the gesture and decides to take it. Nodoka and Akane are waiting downstairs with Genma still tied up.

When Ranma opens the box, however, he sees that inside is a playboy bunny outfit. Soun is horrified and denies that he wore such a thing. Then from behind Ranma notices Happosai standing on the door frame holding a bucket of cold water. Ranma realizes that Happosai must have switched the clothes and stomps him. They fling themselves and with a single punch Happosai is knocked out with the bunny outfit next to him.

Just then the rest of the family barges into the room with poppers and signs. Ranma finally sees his mother, but looks down to see that when he was fighting Happosai his clothes were changed into a schoolgirl outfit. Nodoka is shocked and tries to grip her katana but drops it on the floor. She faces the doorway and realizes that it was him in Ranko's clothes all along. She quietly leaves the room to think and the rest of the family think Ranma has been spared of.

She comes back after a moment, but instead of grabbing her sword she hugs Ranma from behind telling him to not leave. Ranma can't bear to turn around dressed the way he is, but is happy to finally reunite with his mother. Nabiki notices that when Nodoka came back, she was clad in a white robe. Kasumi then finds a robe that Ranma was to wear should his execution take place. Akane tries to warn Ranma of the incoming danger.

Cast in Order of Appearance

 * Nodoka Saotome
 * Ranma Saotome (male)
 * Akane Tendo
 * Genma Saotome (panda)
 * Soun Tendo
 * Kasumi Tendo
 * Nabiki Tendo
 * Genma Saotome (human)
 * Happosai