Ranma 1/2: Strongest Characters, Ranked

With a modern reboot incoming, the beloved Ranma 1/2 manga and anime series created by the author Rumiko Takahashi is famous for its unique blend of martial arts, comedy, and supernatural tropes. The story is set in a world where characters can switch their genders and form with just a splash of water. In addition, the series features a rather unique cast of characters, each with distinct abilities and quirks.

From the hot-headed Ranma Saotome to the formidable Akane Tendo, the characters showcase funny antics and impressive martial arts skills. Therefore, this piece will rank the strongest characters in the Ranma ½ series, considering their combat prowess, special techniques, and overall impact on the series. Therefore, in this regard, below are the strongest characters from the famous 90s series.

10 Ukyo Kuonji

Ranma’s Main Fiance No. 2

• Age: 16
• Jusenkyo Curse: N/A
• Anime Debut: Episode 41

One of Ranma’s three fiances, Ukyo Kuonji, is a childhood friend of Ranma and one of his many rivals. Raised to become an okonomiyaki chef by her father, Ukyo is determined to become the best and greatest okonomiyaki chef in the world. While aiming for the top spot in her culinary ambitions, Ukyo is also quite a talented martial artist, with her style based on her okonomiyaki cooking.

Using food-based techniques against opponents, Ukyo’s strength rankings are somewhat debatable, even though she is undoubtedly among the strongest female characters within the series. Rarely ever seen fighting without her spatula, Ukyo had once bested Genma, the father of Ranma, when she was first introduced within the series, which counts her as her best feat.

9 Akane Tendo

Ranma’s Main Fiance No. 1

• Age: 16
• Jusenkyo Curse: N/A
• Anime Debut: Episode 01

One of the successors to the Tendo branch of Anything Goes Martial Arts, and the reluctant fiance of Ranma, Akane is one of the series’ potentially more gifted martial artists. Occasionally short-tempered but also compassionate, Akane is a rather vulnerable teenage girl when she’s not being stubborn. As a practitioner of the Anything Goes Martial Arts, Akane is one of the stronger fighters within the series, even though she is sometimes considered weak due to the much more incredible feats the other characters on this list have performed.

However, her fighting does not fall in comparison to anyone. Only that, unlike the other stronger characters, Akane trains rather sparingly as she has repeatedly shown that her martial arts is not the most important thing in her life. This directly implies a gap between Akane’s physical capabilities, which are obviously beyond those of a regular human, and other characters like Ranma, Ryoga, and Happosai.

8 Tatewaki Kuno

Captain of the Kendo Club

• Age: 17
• Jusenkyo Curse: N/A
• Anime Debut: Episode 02

One of Ranma’s many rivals, Tatewaki Kuno, is the son of Principal Kuno and also one of Akane Tendo’s suitors. Extremely confident in himself, Tatewaki is captain of the Kendo Club at Furinkan High School and was once acknowledged to be the school’s most powerful warrior—that is, until Ranma.

Initially considered a legitimate threat to Ranma, Tatewaki fizzles out in the strength category because he remains physically weak compared to others. However, he still does enough to earn his placement, having mastered Kendo. Noted for his impressive speed, Tatewaki is still incapable of unarmed combat techniques, which has massively hindered his growth as a martial artist.

7 Pantyhose Taro

Pantyhose Freak

• Age: 18
• Jusenkyo Curse: Human To Yeti-Bull-Crane-Eel-Octopus
• Anime Debut: Episode 103

A central villain in the series, Taro is sadistic and ruthless. Essentially, an embodiment of the most vile and evil tendencies, Taro is very intolerant of Ranma because the latter always makes fun of him. Taro prefers to rely on his powerful cursed form, which is unarguably the most powerful Jusenkyo curse in the series.

While its raw power is impressive compared to the other candidates on this list, Taro is hardly unbeatable, as Happosai can defeat him in no more than a punch. In addition, Taro’s preference for his cursed form comes from a need to mask his subpar combat abilities in human form, which mostly justifies his low placement.

6 Mousse

The Four-Eyed Amazon

• Age: 17
• Jusenkyo Curse: Human To Duck
• Anime Debut: Episode 23

Another of Ranma’s continuously growing list of rivals, Mousse, is from the Chinese Amazons and is in love with his childhood friend, Shampoo. Mousse embodies his love for Shampoo as an obsession, which the latter is very uninterested in. As a martial artist, Mousse is actually a well-rounded martial artist, capable of using multiple martial arts while being proficient with practically any weapon.

Mousse specializes in the Joketsuzoku style used by other Amazons like Shampoo and Cologne and possesses superhuman strength, speed, and stamina. However, despite his promising martial talent, Mousse is severely limited due to his poor eyesight, even while wearing his glasses.

5 Cologne

The Leader of the Chinese Amazons

• Age: 300-400
• Jusenkyo Curse: N/A
• Anime Debut: Episode 21

The leader of the Chinese Amazons and Shampoo’s great-grandmother, Cologne, is one of the series’ oldest characters, directly impacting how she is also one of the strongest. While there is not a lot to note in terms of her personality, the series does a good job of showing that in terms of sheer skill, the only character that could compare to Cologne is Happosai, Ranma’s master.

As a grandmaster of the Chinese Amazons, Cologne knows and is capable of several different martial arts, just like Happosai and Genma. However, Ranma has long surpassed both teachers, and she seems to be in full battle mode; certain characters, including Ranma and Ryoga, are just beyond her. Her old age has also contributed to her waning strength. However, throughout the series, Cologne remains a force to be reckoned with.

4 Shampoo

Ranma’s Main Fiance No. 3

• Age: 16
• Jusenkyo Curse: Human To Cat
• Anime Debut: Episode 15

The great-granddaughter of the leader of the Chinese Amazons, Shampoo, is also one of Ranma’s three fiances. Having been raised in the martial ways of the Joketsuzoku as a child by her master, Cologne, Shampoo is proficient at many martial art forms and is her village’s female champion.

While Ranma outclasses her, it is not a stretch to call her one of the series’ strongest characters, given how she can casually walk through reinforced stone walls. Devious and rather manipulative, Shampoo shows herself not to be above cunning against an opponent. However, in terms of strength, Shampoo tends to downplay her abilities subconsciously but still does better compared to the series’ other characters.

3 Happosai

Founder of the Anything Goes Martial Arts

• Age: 300-400
• Jusenkyo Curse: N/A
• Anime Debut: Episode 33

Happosai, the founder of Anything Goes Martial Arts, is the master of Saotome Genma and Soun Tendo, the fathers of the series’ main characters. Infamous for his wide range of martial arts, as well as his unrelenting perversions, Happosai is among the oldest, if not the oldest, character within the series. While his strength may have waned with his old age, Happosai still remains, to an extreme degree, the most fearsome individual in the series.

While he is quite the lecherous and dirty old man, his placement only goes this far due to being more than a few centuries old. With his martial arts, Happosai is proficient at a wide variety of techniques and, with the exception of Yamata No Orochi and Saffron, has also displayed the greatest amount of raw power in the series. However strong as Happosai is, his main weakness is that he is almost unable to be serious in any encounter and is easily distracted by women.

2 Ryoga Hibiki

Ranma’s Eternal Rival

• Age: 16
• Jusenkyo Curse: Human To Piglet
• Anime Debut: Episode 07

Ranma Saotome’s eternal rival, Ryoga Hibiki, is the only character Ranma outrightly acknowledges as a rival and friend. By implication, Ryoga is one of the series’ most powerful fighters. Surprisingly, Ryoga’s martial arts are seemingly self-taught. Still, he is also a rather exceptional martial artist comparable to Ranma, whom he has defeated and fought to a draw on multiple occasions.

Given the slight gap between the two, his record against the protagonist is more than enough reason to earn his placement. Even though he is considered tougher and stronger than Ranma, Ryoga suffers more from his weaknesses than the protagonist, making him a little below Ranma.

1 Ranma Saotome

The Heir To The Anything Goes Martial Arts

• Age: 16
• Jusenkyo Curse: Spring of Drowned Girl
• Anime Debut: Episode 01

The heir to the Saotome branch of Anything Goes Martial Arts taught by Happosai, Ranma Saotome is the series’ protagonist and the only child of Saotome Genma and Nodoka. With a personality with quite a bit of every trait, Ranma is the type of protagonist who gets along with everyone. As a martial artist, he is extremely confident in his abilities, having started training since he turned two in the ways of the Anything Goes Martial Arts. Extremely versatile in his techniques, as his style suggests, Ranma’s strength comes from an unpredictable ability to do what is required to overpower his opponents.

However, regarding raw power, Ranma’s strengths are inconsistently portrayed but have been stated to only lose out to Ryoga, capable of lifting a few thousand tonnes in peak condition. In addition to landing 518 blows in a few seconds, this implies superhuman strength and speed. He earns the top placement solely for his high level of potential, even when he is still one of the strongest within the series.