Akane Tendo (live-action)

Akane Tendo is the secondary protagonist throughout the live-action special. She is portrayed by Yui Aragaki.

Akane is one of the three daughters of Soun and Mrs. Tendo, with both her sisters Nabiki and Kasumi being older than her. She along with her sisters were to be chosen by Ranma Saotome to become fiancés as part of the agreement made by Soun and Genma Saotome prior to their birth. Ultimately, Akane was chosen by her sisters to becomes Ranma's fiancé due to them having the same age as well as Akane being the only of the three daughters who regularly practices Martial Arts as well as.

History
While Akane was still very young, her mother passed away. Since then Akane has focussed on her training to protect the Dojo and try to forget the loneliness she felt after her mother passed away. This has caused Akane to start treating the Dojo like her second mother and is willing to protect it with everything she's got. During the time that her mother was in hospital, however, Akane was given a necklace which holds a pendant, which Akane has kept with her since. While Kasumi was still at High School, Akane developed a crush on Dr. Tofu who patches her up after one of her many fights. However, Akane notices that Dr. Tofu appears to be more interested in Kasumi than her, so begins to grow her hair so as she can appear to be "more feminine" and hopefully get affection from Dr. Tofu.

Live-Action Special
After frightening off the School's last pupil, Akane goes to Kasumi who reassures her that everything will work out. Kasumi continues by noting that breakfast will be ready in about 5 hours, hearing this Akane attempts to help her sister, but just breaks an egg in her hand, causing Kasumi to tell Akane not to touch anything. Soun then comes in excitedly declaring that someone will be arriving soon, but before Soun can reveal who it is, Kasumi puts her hot pan on Soun's hand. Soun eventually notices and Akane takes him to the in order to treat the burn, but accidentally uses the hot tap, burning Soun's hand further.

Once Soun has had his hand tended to by Akane, he explains about Ranma, who's the son of his old friend Genma. Nabiki asks her father why they don't just tear down the Dojo and build some apartments instead (especially as they have no students anymore), but Akane insists that she wouldn't let that happen. Soun then explains that only men will be allowed to inherit the Dojo, so Akane must marry Ranma for it to continue. Akane is outrightly against this idea, so leaves for School in a rather foul mood.

One her way to School, Akane is photographed by Gosunkugi. Akane easily spots him as he's stood right in front of her, she then takes his camera and deletes all his pictures before reminding him that she's told him to not do this and adds that she doesn't even know who he is. When she arrives at the school gate, Akane notices a person who she doesn't recognise standing there, dressed in oriental clothing. After remembering what Soun said about Ranma just returning from China she engages in a conversation with them, but this person is female. The woman then asks for directions to the Tendo Dojo, however, before the matter can be settled a group of school thugs appear who challenge Akane and should they win she has to date them.

Akane begins fighting the thugs, but is stopped when Tatewaki Kuno arrives and tells the thugs that if they want to fight Akane they'll have to defeat him first. Kuno then easily dispatches the thugs and the woman walks over to Akane and asks her if she isn't happy that Kuno saved her, but Akane explains that it was Kuno who started the problem in the first place. Akane then watches on as the woman easily defeats Kuno after he told her and Akane he would permit both of them to date him. The woman then reveals herself to be Ranma Saotome, much to Akane's surprise.

A little later, Akane discusses with Ranma about their father's plan to have them marry, but of course this can't happen if they're both girls. Ranma tries to explain herself to Akane, but Akane offers Ranma a handshake saying that she's glad to meet her before Ranma can finish. Just then Vice Principal Okamada appears and tells Akane that he heard she beat up some male students again, the Vice Principal then notices Ranma, which causes Akane to explain to her that outsiders aren't welcome in the School. This prompts Ranma to ask Akane to take her to the legendary hot springs which Genma claimed she had and was the reason she came to Japan, but Akane says that they haven't any hot springs at her place. Just then Dr. Tofu (who's the school nurse) appears and says hello to Akane so she runs over to him, with Ranma following in pursuit.

Inside the Nurse's office, Akane explains about the situation regarding her and Ranma. Dr. Tofu notes that Soun believing that Ranma was male sounds like something he would do, he then tells Akane that she should marry somebody she likes and then asks if there is anyone. Akane sudden goes rather shy and quietly says that there isn't anyone she likes. At that moment Kasumi arrives and Dr. Tofu begins acting rather oddly (during this time he knocks the cup of hot water which Ranma had asked for out of her hand). Kasumi gives Akane the lunch which she'd forgotten to bring earlier. Akane watches as Kasumi gives Dr. Tofu something she hopes he'll like until Kasumi tells Akane that a panda came to the Dojo earlier. Hearing this, Ranma begins to panic and tells Akane to come with her back to the Dojo. As the pair run back to the Dojo, the Vice Principal looks on from an upper walkway.

The pair return to find Soun attempting to call animal control, but is having trouble as Nabiki refuses to allow him to do so. Ranma then asks where the panda is, to which Soun explains he's gone into the bath. Ranma quickly rushes towards the bathroom, while Akane chases after her shortly afterwards. However, when Akane gets to the bathroom she's met with the sight of two naked men fighting each other in the bathtub. After quietly and calmly shutting the door again, Akane screams in horror.

Some time later, Genma and Ranma explain about how they travelled to Jusenkyo and fell into the springs of Shonmaonīchuan and Nyannīchuan (panda and girl respectively) and are now cursed to turn into their new form whenever splashed with cold water. Akane and the other Tendo sisters initially don't believe the story, but as Ranma and Genma begin fighting each other, Genma throws Ranma into the pond outside and sure enough Ranma turns into a girl. Ranma then asks Soun to tell her where the Nannīchuan spring is. Akane tells Ranma that there is no such spring here, but Soun reveals that there is such a spring and he had intended only to tell the heir to the Dojo about it.

After hearing about the history of the Japanese Nannīchuan spring, Ranma agrees with Soun to marry Akane in order to get it. During their conversation, Ranma calls Soun "father" which causes Akane to angrily remind her that Soun isn't her father. Ranma takes this a sign that Akane is jealous of her, as even being a man she's still got a better body than Akane. This angers Akane further that she ends up punching Ranma in the face and knocking her unconscious.

The next day, Akane heads off for school as usual, but Ranma decides to go with her. As they walk, Akane reminds Ranma that outsiders around allowed on school grounds. Ranma just ignores her and states he's won't cause any trouble, he then goes on to mock Akane about being jealous of his body being more appealing than hers, so Akane hits Ranma with her Satchel to shut him up. Ranma then begins to note how violent Akane as and asks her if she wouldn't mind having a dip in the Nannīchuan herself, but before Ranma gets an answer an Old Washer Woman accidentally splashes Ranma with some water, turning Ranma into his cursed form. This prompts Akane to ask Ranma if his life wouldn't just be easier if he just stayed a girl for his whole life, but Ranma notes that he's learned how to deal with it by having hot water nearby at all times and then pours some hot water from a flask over herself. However, no sooner has Ranma done this she's sprayed with more cold water from a Fire Hydrant that some workers are attending to. Akane walks up to Ranma and says that she's a complete girl and continues her walk to school, with Ranma chasing after her.

When Akane arrives at the school gates she sees some of her friends hiding behind the wall, watching something. Akane soon sees what they're looking at, as Kuno has just defeat the school thugs early today. Akane then walks up to Kuno to ask what he's doing, but Kuno throws a to Akane and begins engaging in a fight with her, explaining that should he win then Akane will date him. Despite showing a strong start in the fight, Kuno's master swordsmanship soon overwhelms Akane and she appears to be on the verge of defeat. Just then Ranma (back in his male form yet again) offers to help Akane and does so despite Akane expressing that she doesn't need his help. After a conversation between Ranma and Kuno regarding who Ranma is and his relationship to Akane, the pair begin a short-lived fight which ends in Ranma's victory.

Thanks to Gosunkugi's pictures, Akane is able to see that Ranma's final kick was actually multiple kicks performed in quick succession. Ranma then begins showboating to the other female students, until Akane pokes the spot that Kuno made contact with which causes Ranma great pain.

Akane takes Ranma to see Dr. Tofu and explains about Ranma's curse and how he's looking for a Nannīchuan spring. Ranma asks Akane if it's wise to be telling all this to Dr. Tofu, but Akane simply says that Dr. Tofu is special. This causes Akane to wonder why she had to get a girl-guy fiancé like Ranma, but Dr. Tofu stops the ensuing argument by telling Akane not to judge somebody by their looks. He continues by asking Akane if she's thanked Ranma for what he's done for her. After a few moments of silence, Akane reluctantly thanks Ranma and then tells him to go home while she attends her classes.

Once she arrives in class, Akane is met by her friend who ask if the girl-Ranma from yesterday is the same person as the male-Ranma today, but Akane says that it's just coincidence. The other girls then tell Akane about how the girls' Locker Room was broken in to last night, which Akane finds disgusting. Vice Principal Okamada then walks in tells the girls that due to the break in, for their safety they'll have to get changed in the classroom, obviously all the girls are against this idea as then anyone could peep on them. Akane tells the Vice Principal that they'll protect themselves, this causes the Vice Principal to give in and allow the girls to use the Locker Room.

In the Locker Room, Akane tells her friends about how she'll beat up any perverts who try to enter herself. Just then a person (wearing a medical mask and dark glasses) walks in and gets trapped under a trap laid for the pervert, the girls rush over and Akane reminds the girl that they agreed to say the password before they would enter. The girl then begins acting strangely and Akane quickly removes the disguise, revealing the "girl" to actually be Ranma in his male form. Ranma tries to make his escape, but the angered female students along with Akane stand his way. This causes Ranma use his "Crouch of the Wild Tiger" technique to throw the girls off-gaurd so he can make a run for it. Outside the Locker Room, after Ranma's made his escape, Akane notes how she can't believe that Ranma was the pervert, while other girls note how they can't believe that they found him attractive.

That evening, Akane talks to Kasumi about the incident at the Locker Room, but Kasumi can't believe that Ranma would be the pervert even if he dressed in drag and snuck into the Locker Room as he could've just turned into a girl and not have been noticed. Akane then heads to her bedroom, where she looks at a picture she has of Dr. Tofu before going to sleep. As she sleeps, Ranma sneaks in and attempts to take the pendant around Akane's neck so he can use the Nannīchuan. Unfortunately, when Ranma accidentally exclaims about getting hold of the pendant he wakes Akane, causing her to punch him for sneaking into her room.

The next morning, the other Dojo residents discuss the incident over breakfast, but Akane soon wishes they'd just stop and so heads off for school. Later that day, Akane describes Ranma turning into his male form as him becoming a beast. Ranma (who'd followed Akane to school) comments on how he knows that Akane's long hair is just an attempt to copy Kasumi, who Dr. Tofu is infatuated with. Continuing, Ranma attempts explains to Akane about her pendant being the key to the spring and tries to take if off her, but is stopped when Kuno appears and cuts the chain around the pendant and it lands in his hand. Kuno uses the pendant as a form of leverage to force Akane and the pigtailed girl to come to his estate and have lunch with in him before he will return it.

Ranma (in his female form) goes with Akane to Kuno's estate and Ranma is initially shocked by the size of the entrance alone. Akane explains that Kuno is the son of a millionaire, who happens to also be the School's Principal, but is currently away on vacation. Akane continues by asking Ranma if he's sure that her pendant is the key to spring, to which Ranma simply says that she wouldn't be doing all this if it wasn't. Kuno then appears with a multitude of staff in tow and invites them into his home.

Kuno takes the pair into a very large room, where Akane and Ranma are put aback by it's extravagance, but begin to become a bit wary when they notice their pictures hanging on a wall. Ranma then reveals that Kuno's set up a fine dinner along with a bed that has three cushions on, which creeps Akane out further. Kuno explains that he can't decide between the two of them, hence the three cushions. Akane attempts to grab the pendant from Kuno, but is unable to, causing Ranma to try instead. Ranma's struggles end up resulting in him getting hot water poured over him, to add to his embarrassment, Kuno has ended up lying on top of him as well and the pair have shared a kiss.

Akane seizes this opportunity to take the pendant and run, but is met by a group of thugs working for Madam Kamanbell, who also want the spring and, by extension, Akane's pendant. Ranma ends up fighting off the thugs, but one of the weapons that Ranma kicked away comes back and cuts off Akane's hair, leaving her devastated.

Once she returns to the Dojo, Akane goes to Kasumi and asks her if she can even up her hair a bit for her. She then heads off to her room and looks at her new appearance, before thinking about her early infatuation with Dr. Tofu. Ranma then knocks at the door to Akane's room, in an attempt to apologise to her, but Akane prevents Ranma from doing this by changing the subject to Ranma kissing Kuno. Akane does thank Ranma for saving her yet again and closes the door.

When Akane goes to school the next day, the usual group of thugs are waiting for her, but instead become fascinated with her new hairstyle, allowing her to walk casually past them. Akane then goes to see her friends, who are equally surprised about the sudden change with her hair, but agree that it does look good on Akane. Later on, Akane heads for her sport's class with the other girls, but ends up twisting her ankle on some stairs when some other students push past her. Whilst Dr. Tofu tends to her ankle in his office, Akane explains about what happened yesterday, regarding her being attacked and Ranma saving her. Akane then asks Dr. Tofu what he thinks about her new hairstyle, which Dr. Tofy says he likes as it reminds him of Akane's tomboyish side, which is the Akane her remembers. Although not the answer she wanted, Akane doesn't say anything about it and is then asked by Dr. Tofu to tell Kasumi that the sweets she gave him were very tasty.

As Akane limps home, she meets up with Ranma and reveals to him that she's gotten over her crush on Dr. Tofu. Ranma offers Akane a, but she refuses. This causes Ranma to tell Akane that she does too much by herself, he then uses a nearby hose to turn into his female form so that Akane will accept her offer.

While taking Akane over a bridge, Akane notes that she thought Ranma hated turning into a girl, to which Ranma explains he's always been trained to be a strong man and when he becomes a girl he becomes weaker. Akane then asks Ranma if she thinks all women are weak, but Ranma tells Akane not to get mad. Akane continues by saying that the her of yesterday would've said that a person's gender doesn't matter so long as they are strong, but she admits that women are weaker, hence why she can't inherit the Dojo alone. This strikes a cord with Ranma, who stops and tells Akane that if Soun didn't want her to inherit the Dojo, then he wouldn't have given her the key to the spring.

After putting Akane down, Ranma continues by saying that Soun only wants him to be her fiancé so that she doesn't have to do everything alone. Once Ranma has finished giving Akane some words of encouragement, she mentions that she likes Akane's new style as well. Ranma then quickly tells Akane to hop back on and continues to carry her back to the Dojo. As Akane sits in her room, she looks at her picture of Dr. Tofu and nearly rips it up, but decides not to. She then goes to see Kasumi and passes on the message from Dr. Tofu before heading to see Genma. Genma tells Akane that Ranma seems happier since he arrived, but Akane gets onto the subject of Ranma's mother. Genma explains that she passed away, but before then Ranma would always tell her he would become the strongest man. He then goes on to tell Akane the even if this wasn't possible, having a family and becoming a proper man would make his mother proud. Genma starts becoming a bit emotional, so leaves, as he does, Akane takes out her pendant and holds onto it tightly.

Akane manges to limp her way to the garden, where she observes Ranma struggling to try and use the Shishihokodan whilst in her female form. After waiting until Ranma finishes, she decides to give her the pendant to the spring after all as Ranma tries too hard to do everything on her own. However, after Akane gives the pendant to Ranma they notice Kasumi has been taken hostage by a group of thugs. They are taken into the Dojo, where they learn of the Vice Principal's true identity as "Madam Kamanbell".

Madam Kamanbell reveals to the pair that he intends to use the spring to turn all the women of the world into men, thus creating his dream world. In order to protect Kasumi as well as her precious pendant, Akane offers to go as a hostage in her sister's place. After stating that they can't open the spring without her, Madam Kamanbell agrees and Kasumi is tied up along with Ranma while Akane is taken away. When they arrive at the spring, Akane is instructed to open it, but she begins to think about all the things Ranma has said and ends up sitting on the floor doing nothing. Eventually word of Ranma arriving causes Madam Kamanbell to dispatch several disciples to deal with him. Akane, however, decides to protect the spring from Kamanbell as well and declares that only Ranma can use the spring.

Whilst she waits for Ranma to arrive, Akane fends off several of Kamanbell's disciples, but ultimately loses out when Kamanbell himself enters the fray. The spring is then opened by one of Kamanbell's disciples. Ranma arrives and is immediately turned into his female form so he'll become weaker. With Ranma restrained, Kamanbell attempts to test the spring by using it on Akane, unfortunately, Ranma manages to spur Akane on so that she is able to overpower some of Kamanbell's disciples and prevent them for dousing her with the spring water.

After watching Ranma fight off a large number of Kamanbell's disciples and lose to Kamanbell himself, Akane decides to sacrifice herself as Ranma's fiancé. Kamanbell then begins to insult Ranma, which Akane notices seems to be giving Ranma a second wind. Once Akane has tricked Kamanbell into insulting Ranma so much that she's ready to fight again. Akane then watches as Ranma is finally able to defeat Kamanbell thanks to a Shishihokodan. Ranma frees Akane from her restraints and she thanks Ranma what she did.

At that moment the pair hear a rumbling from beneath they spring, a geyser of water then shouts out from the spring and sprays both Akane and Ranma. Akane notices that Ranma has turned back into his male form and assumes she'll become male soon as well. Although Akane says that it won't be too bad as everyone always said she was a tom-boy she would like one last wish as a woman... which Ranma takes as her wanting to be kissed. Ranma slowly moves in, but before they kiss they both notice Genma (in his panda form) stood next to them. Genma then points to a sign which suddenly scrolls down and reveals that the spring has been shut down and now is only plain hot water. While Akane is overjoyed at remaining female, Ranma is distraught at still having his curse.

The next day, Akane goes to school as usual, only Ranma is still going with her. When questioned, Ranma explains that if he digs around enough he might find the legendary spring somewhere. Akane tells him not to sneak into the Girls' Locker Room again, to which Ranma states he has no intention in seeing her naked. He then notes that maybe she should've stayed male. Akane retorts by pouring cold water over Ranma and saying that maybe he should've stay female. Ranma tells Akane to shut up, she then takes Akane's satchel and Akane chases after Ranma across the bridge to school...