Ranma Saotome

Ranma Saotome is the martial-artist protagonist of Rumiko Takahashi's manga series, a teenage boy who fell into a cursed spring at Jusenkyo training ground in China, causing him to transform into a girl whenever splashed with cold water.

Ranma Saotome burst onto the English-language comics scene in 1992, arriving in the pages of a Viz publication during the Copper/Modern Age and quickly becoming the heart of one of the era's most beloved manga adaptations. Across a run stretching into the early 2000s, Ranma's adventures unfold through multiple chapters of the Ranma 1/2 series, sharing the page with a memorable cast including Akane Tendo, the rival Ryoga Hibiki, and the Tendo and Saotome families. With appearances spanning Ranma 1/2, Ranma 1/2 Part Six, and even fan-created dojinshi, this character clearly captured imaginations well beyond the official page count. Twenty-six catalog appearances and a decade-long publishing run speak to a character who left a genuine mark on the world of translated manga comics.