Yotaro

Yotaro (与太郎) is seemingly a sickly child that refuses to get out of bed unless his mother can give him a pet panda. When Genma happens along, he is treated like a king by this rich family in exchange for being Kumahachi's pet, where he decides he would be happy to spend the rest of his days eating and lounging about.

Yotaro means "give great son", which is a pun on the fact that he wants his mother to give him a panda. In Japan, the name "Yotaro" has the connotations of someone being a liar, just like the name "Romeo" may suggest a romantic to English speakers.

Overview
Yotaro is a spoiled, lazy young boy who blatantly abuses his mother's doting concern for him. Self-centered, he has such a comfortable life inside with his books, videogames and other entertainments that he is utterly disinterested in leaving his room, and so he continues to feign that he is sickly and infirm to keep his mother from making him leave.

History
According to his mother, Yotaro has been very weak since birth and detests going outside to play. His mother also claims that she tried everything to make Yotaro go outside more, but he told her that the only thing that would make him go outside would be if he got a panda as a pet. Yotaro's mother fell into despair until she came across the lost Genma (in his panda form at the time), unfortunately, all Genma did was lie around the house and eat with Yotaro, thus not persuading Yotaro to go out any more than he already was.

Yotaro
A week later, Ranma finds Genma relaxing at Yotaro's Mansion and begins hitting Genma for leaving her when they were meant to be training, but Yotaro shouts to Ranma to stop hitting his Kumahachi. Yotaro then calls Kumahachi over to him so that they can eat lunch together. Just then Yotaro's mother arrives and she takes Ranma to another room to explain the situation to her.

Once Ranma learns of Yotaro's position, Yotaro comes running and refuses to let his Kumahachi go. This forces his mother to tell him that Ranma has agreed to play with him (although Ranma never said anything of the sort).

Some time passes and Yotaro retires to his bed where Ranma tells him that he's making his mother cry before asking Yotaro if he wouldn't consider going outside, even if it's just for a minute? Yotaro responds by asking Ranma that if he agrees, would she let him keep Kumahachi. Genma then holds up a sign to Ranma telling her to agree, but Ranma throws some hot water over Genma to show Yotaro what his panda really looks like, however, Yotaro has gone back to sleep whilst Genma changes back into his panda form.

Tiring of the whole situation, Ranma tries to drag Yotaro out of bed, but he holds on with all his might. Ranma soon gives up and comments that instead of being weak, Yotaro is just lazy. This upsets Yotaro greatly who begins trying to beat up Ranma, unfortunately Ranma soon becomes infuriated at Yotaro and threatens him, terrifying Yotaro in the process. After realising what she's doing, Ranma backs off to calm down before asking Yotaro is he would like to take him out on a date, but Yotaro is pretending to have fallen asleep again in order to ignore Ranma's request.

Having finally had enough, Ranma drags Genma back with her to the Tendo Dojo. Desperate not to lose Kumahachi, Yotaro chases after the pair, much to the delight of his mother who sees Yotaro running along the beach after them. When they return to the Dojo, Ranma explains what happened to the others whilst Yotaro lies next to his Kumahachi on the walkway.

History
According to his mother, Yotaro has been very weak since birth and detests going outside to play. His mother also claims that she tried everything to make Yotaro go outside more, but he told her about a dream he had of playing with a panda and if he got her one for Christmas he'd go outside. Yotaro's mother fell into despair she came across Genma (in his panda form at the time) eating out of her garbage, unfortunately, all Genma did was lie around the house and eat with Yotaro, thus not persuading Yotaro to go out any more than he already was.

Outta Control
Three days later, Ranma and Akane find Genma relaxing at Yotaro's Mansion and begins hitting Genma for leaving her when they were meant to be searching for a Christmas tree, but Yotaro shouts to Ranma to stop hitting his Kumahachi. Yotaro then calls Kumahachi over to him so that they can eat lunch together. Just then Yotaro's mother arrives and she takes Ranma and Akane to another room to explain the situation to them.

Once Ranma learns of Yotaro's position, Yotaro comes running and refuses to let his Kumahachi go. This forces his mother to tell him that Ranma has agreed to play with him (although Ranma never said anything of the sort). Initially Ranma is against the idea, but after Akane agrees with the suggestion, Ranma gives in and agrees as well.

Some time passes and Yotaro retires to his bed where Ranma tells him that he's making his mother cry before asking Yotaro if he wouldn't consider going outside, even if it's just for a minute? Yotaro responds by telling Ranma that he has lots of fun playing inside on his video games. Ranma then watches as Yotaro plays a game called "Cyber Arms" and has a go herself when Yotaro offers, unfortunately Ranma struggles with the game, causing Kumahachi to intervene and take over playing, much to Yotaro's enjoyment.

When Akane walks in with some hot milk for Yotaro she tries to tempt him out by offering to teach him some fun games. However, Yotaro is not swayed by the games Akane suggests, which are more like her training exercises than actual games. Yotaro suggests that if he agrees to go outside, would Ranma let him keep Kumahachi. Genma then holds up a sign to Ranma telling her to agree, but Ranma throws some hot water over Genma to show Yotaro what his panda really looks like, however, Yotaro has gone back to sleep whilst Genma changes back into his panda form.

Tiring of the whole situation, Ranma tries to drag Yotaro out of bed, but he holds on with all his might. Ranma soon gives up and comments that instead of being weakly, Yotaro is just lazy. This upsets Yotaro greatly who begins trying to beat up Ranma, unfortunately Ranma soon becomes infuriated at Yotaro and threatens him, terrifying Yotaro in the process. After realising what she's doing, Ranma backs off to calm down as Yotaro retreats back to his bed. Ranma then asks Yotaro is he would like to take him out on a date, but Yotaro is pretending to have fallen asleep again in order to ignore Ranma's request.

After Genma holds up a sign commenting on how foolish Ranma if making herself look, Ranma grabs Genma by the scruff and tells him to play with Yotaro in order to trick him into going outside. Once Yotaro wakes up, he's put on Genma's back and begins to ride him. Genma then begins running towards the entrance of the Mansion, but just before he gets out the smell of cooked food crosses Genma's nose and he immediately runs towards it's source, taking him away from the door in the process. Ranma and Akane then follow Genma and find him gorging on some hot snacks which Yotaro's mother just finished making.

When Ranma finds Genma sleeping with Yotaro again, she has finally had enough and drags Genma back with her to the Tendo Dojo. Desperate not to lose Kumahachi, Yotaro chases after the pair, much to the delight of his mother who sees Yotaro running along the beach after them. When they return to the Dojo, Akane explains what happened to the others whilst Yotaro lies next to his Kumahachi and dreams about being on a sleigh with his mother sat next to him, pulled by multiple pandas.

Abilities
As a normal young boy without any special training, Yotaro has no special abilities to speak of. However, in contrast to his claims of being frail and sick, he is actually shown to be quite strong and to have a lot of stamina; he manages to cling onto his bed so tightly that Ranma's attempts to drag him out of it simply lift the bed off the floor, while at the story's end he manages to chase Ranma and "Kumahachi" all the way from his home to the Tendo Dojo.

Yotaro presumably is a skilled reader and videogames player as well, seeing as how these would be his primary sources of entertainment.

Relationships
Mother: Yotaro's mother loves and adores her only son, pampering him incessantly. He does love her back, but is not willing to break from his comfortable regime even to appease her worries, and may in fact deliberately provoke them with his constant claims of being too weak and sickly to do things like play outside or go to school.

Genma: While Yotaro only knows Genma as "Kumahachi", he adores Genma's panda side and is desperate to be a good friend to him, eagerly showering him with everything he wants. He particularly appreciates the fact that Kumahachi seems to understand and support his own ambitions of lounging around doing nothing. Genma, in return, has a fondness for Yotaro based predominantly on the royal treatment he receives as Kumahachi.

Akane: Perhaps because young children bring out her sweeter side, Akane tries to be nice to Yotaro and sincerely makes an effort to make friends with him - though it's likely that, towards the end, she was getting quite frustrated with him, she still is quick to keep him safe from Ranma. Yotaro, in return, dislikes Akane, mainly because she tries to convince him to do what his mother wants.

Ranma: Yotaro and Ranma share a mutual distaste for each other; Ranma recognizes Yotaro's charade and rather openly disdains him for his laziness and spoiled brat antics, while Yotaro, picking up on the fact Ranma dislikes him, is thusly more fervent about disliking Ranma than he is about disliking Akane. This is only made worse by the fact that Ranma is willing to simply take "Kumahachi" away, as s/he doesn't care about any tantrums Yotaro may throw.

Non-canon Appearances
Yotaro is mentioned in the alternate version of Lambada Ranma, he also has his own song in the Fighting Songs Karuta album, Boku no Kumahachi.

Trivia

 * Yotaro's name for Genma, "Kumahachi", is a combination of the two most popular characters in theatre, "Kuma" and "Hachi".
 * The game's console which Yotaro shows Ranma in the anime appears to be a Super Nintendo Entertainment System.

Quotes

 * Kumahachi! - Yotaro screaming as Ranma takes Genma away.