QUESTION: Before they came to the Tendo house, how did Ranma have any money to go to school? You never see Genma working. In the early days, when he went to school with Ryoga, he must have at least had money to buy bread...
QUESTION: Ryoga's mind seems to wander heavily from time to time, but I think in Ranma 1/2 he's the most normal character. But what's really abnormal about him is his really bad sense of direction. Why is he like this?
QUESTION: Those sticks with balls on the ends of them that Shampoo uses when she fights...what are they?
QUESTION: Just how many pieces of underwear or items of clothing does Happosai carry in his bag when he's stealing?
QUESTION: Tell me the secret of the Saotome family. If Genma Saotome had a lot of hair in the past, why did he go bald?
QUESTION: Why did Nodoka (Ranma's mother) marry Genma? They just don't seem to be a very good match.
In Japan there were 407 weekly (1987-1996) installments of Ranma 1/2, including a double-sized last episode...at 16 pages per installment, that's 2448 pages of Ranma. Over time, keen-eyed fans have spotted some patterns (no, not hidden stereograms if you blur your eyes together, not Satanic messages spelled out backwards...). In thousands of pages, Ranma's done a lot, enough to count out just what he's done and get the exact figures.
Number of Times Panda Uses Signs: 264
RANMA'S BATTLE RECORDS
Qualifications: When the opponent is defeated and doesn't come back, or admits defeat, it is considered a win even when the other opponent can't continue to fight. If Ranma himself says "I lost," ends up passed out, or ends up in a condition where he
can't continue to fight, it's considered a loss. A fight where either character runs away, or an outside character comes in and wrecks the fight, is considered a draw. Note: This counts MAJOR fights only!
Ranma's Number of Wins: 44
HAND SYMBOLS
Male Ranma: 250 times
Ranma 1/2 ©1996 Rumiko Takahashi/Shogakukan Inc./Kitty/Fuji TV
TAKAHASHI: Actually, you get to see a panel where Genma's working at a job (see Vol. 1). But their lifestyle is basically to find something to eat and something to wear, so they live like hunters. (laughs) When they need money, they get something and
trade it in for money.
TAKAHASHI: In the comics, I mentioned Ryoga and his family once, but the Hibiki family all have a really horrible sense of direction. It's been passed on from generation to generation. But in Ryoga's case, since he's wandering all over the place around
Japan, he has various encounters with vicious beasts and lives alone in desolate areas. The result of it is, it's his training and allows him to have the strength that he does.
TAKAHASHI: When you see Shampoo carrying it, it looks like some sort of accessory, but actually it's a real Chinese weapon. Don't you think it'll hurt if she spins it around and hits you upside the head with the metal sphere part?
TAKAHASHI: There are approximately 100 pieces of undergarments usually packed away in his bag each time. You get to see him carrying off roughly 12 bundles of underwear, one bundle of panty stocking, two bundles of swimwear, and one bundle
of girls' gym shorts, so over the course of Ranma 1/2 he's stolen approximately 1600 pieces of underwear.
TAKAHASHI: Probably all the stress. Or, possibly it's one of those hereditary things.
TAKAHASHI: He was probably cool in the past, with all his hair and all (laughs).
Ranma's Number of Draws: 22
Ranma's Number of Losses: 24
In Ranma, you've probably seen the three-fingers-up hand symbol that Ranma and other characters make when they get...bonked. But who's got the busiest hands in the series? (No, not Happosai.) A diehard fan found out how often the gesture is made in all 38 volumes.
Female Ranma: 105
Tatewaki Kuno: 48
Ryoga Hibiki: 47
Akane: 40
Genma: 30
Soun Tendo: 16
Happosai: 14
Shampoo: 11
Furinkan High School Principal: 9