User:BrokenSphere/Items in Ranma ½

A wide variety of items with unique or magical properties have appeared in the Ranma ½ universe. These items have played key roles in the plots of several story arcs in the manga and several episodes in the anime, and in several story arcs their acquisition or control has been the focus of the plot. They are listed in alphabetical order.

Manga/Anime Items

Dragon's Whisker

A special ramen made with the mysterious Dragon's Whisker which caused any man who ate it to have their hair grow continuosly until they were bald. Ranma accidentally ate this ramen some time after he was cursed at a restaurant. The owner told him that the only way to stop his hair from growing was to braid it into a pigtail and tie the tip using another whisker, which the owner gave him. The Niku Men, Genma, and Happosai all sought the Dragon's Whisker to cure their baldness. Its effect eventually wore off just before Ranma's hair fell out.

Horn Whistle

A whistle made from the horn of the one-horned mongoose, which has been extinct for several hundreds of years. It has been used to banish serpents since ancient times, and was given to Shinnosuke by his grandfather when he was a young boy as a charm to ward the mammals that inhabit Ryugenzawa Forest and have grown to monster-like proportions from drinking the Water of Life. That same day, Shinnosuke gave Akane the whistle after rescuing her to help her safely leave the forest and she has had it since. Akane recalls the whistle and its purpose after hearing a news broadcast about “monsters” appearing in Ryugenzawa, and brought it with her when she went there on her own. After encountering Shinnosuke again, Akane reminds him that he gave her the whistle, but because of his chronic forgetfulness, Shinnosuke has long forgotten about the whistle and the circumstances surrounding Akane's acquisition of it.

When Akane, Shinnosuke, his grandfather, Ranma, and Ryoga are fighting the Yamata no Orochi, Shinnosuke’s grandfather recalls the use of the Horn Whistle as the last means of defeating it when their attempts prove fruitless. Akane blows the whistle, putting seven of the Orochi's smaller heads to sleep. She is able to blow the whistle a second time while rescuring Ranma from the Orochi's eighth and largest head. Drowsy and losing its will to fight, the eighth head drags itself and the sleeping seven heads to the bottom of the spring that feeds the Water of Life, fast sleep. What happens to the Horn Whistle after this is not elaborated on, although there is no reason for Akane to hold onto it.

In the two episode OVA story “Awakening Memories”, the Horn Whistle is explicitly described by Shinnosuke’s grandfather as being in their family for generations, being used by them to fight the Orochi. After rescuing Ranma from the Orochi’s main head, Akane blows the Horn Whistle. Because all eight of the Orochi’s heads are awake, they are all made drowsy and the Orochi retires to the bottom of the lake and returns to its slumber. What happens to the Horn Whistle afterwards is also not specified.

Instant Nannichuan

A packet containing powder that can turn any pool of water temporarily into Nannichuan, the "Spring of Drown Man". Shampoo uses it as a bribe to get Ranma to agree to a date with her as he thinks it will cure him. However, the effects of the powder are only temporary.

In the anime only, a second packet of this powder is introduced which is said to have permanent effect, but only once. However, it was mixed up with two other packets and the labels got lost. Ranma, Ryoga, and Mousse each get one packet, but ultimately end up fighting over them and the water created from the packet is lost.

Iron Corset

Madame St. Paul uses this corset to train the brides of the Chardin family. Ranma was forced to wear it in order to learn the family's secret techniques. He was incapable of removing it while in his female form. He couldn't change back to his male form while wearing it, as his male body is larger and could not breath while wearing it. In the manga, after going days without eating, Ranma had become so thin that it fell off. In the anime however, the iron corset stays on and Ranma is forced to endure the corset fully until she wins the key to the corset and her freedom in a dining showdown with the Chardin family. Ranma was also mortified by a vision of her being stuck wearing it permanently (along with the pretty white panties, stockings, and garters) before her fight with Picolet if she had lost.

Legendary Phoenix egg

An egg that Kuno buys from an antiques shop. The shopkeeper claims that it is a magic charm for martial artists, enabling its owner to master the “Sword of the Phoenix” attack. In spite of hearing the shopkeeper’s warning not to put the egg on his head, Ranma inadvertently does this to Kuno. The egg hatches, revealing the phoenix. After this phoenix leaves the nest by being fed enough growth pills, it lays another egg. The shopkeeper vows to safeguard this egg, but Kuno is able to buy it from it again. The character that appears on the eggs means “Shining Light.”

Phoenix growth pills

In the manga, the shopkeeper who sold Kuno the phoenix egg has a bag of growth pills that will speed up the phoenix’s growth so that it will leave the nest (the top of Kuno’s head) faster than the 100 years it would normally take. Ranma is able to feed the phoenix the pills himself while dodging its attacks. The phoenix grows to massive proportions, but eventually leaves the nest.

In the third movie, the shopkeeper has a scroll that contains the formula for making the growth pills. Sasuke asks Ukyo and Shampoo to make the pills after Akane's attempts fail. When female Ranma succeeds in stuffing some into the phoenix's mouth, it grows, but is still attached to Kuno, and becomes very violent. Ranma, Akane, and then Ryoga are forced to feed the phoenix more and more pills until it grows to gargantuan proportions. At the end of the day, they are out of pills, but the phoenix finally flies off and leaves the nest.

Phoenix Pill

Soon after Ranma meets Cologne, she afflicts him with the Full Body Cat Tongue, which makes even the most tepid water feel unbearably hot to him and prevents him from returning to his male form. Shampoo later tells Ranma about the cure for the Full Body Cat Tongue, the Phoenix Pill, which Cologne has and wears around her neck in a pill container. Ranma is forced to master the Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire Technique to snatch away the pill container from Cologne at a fair. Cologne however, had replaced the real pill it with a candy drop.

Later on, Shampoo and the Phoenix Pill are the prizes in a martial arts melon splitting contest, which female Ranma enters. When Cologne proves to be a tough opponent, Ranma resorts to using the Cat Fist, defeating Cologne and winning the Phoenix Pill.

In the anime, the Phoenix Pill is one of the prizes at a martial arts carry the snowman race at a ski resort called Snow Mountain. Female Ranma again uses the Cat Fist to defeat Cologne and win the Phoenix Pill.

Vengeful Spirit Doll

While in posession of Akane's body, the doll's spirit makes several attempts to kill Ranma, which all fail. It also attempts to seduce him to make him drop his guard. Akane meanwhile, makes repeated attempts to communicate to Ranma her situation despite being trapped in doll form. Unable to speak, she is able to cry tears, seeing which ironically leaves Ranma open for the possessed Akane's final attempt to kill him by throwing the two of them off a cliff. Ranma positions himself so that he will fall first, atoning for his earlier actions, and the doll's spirit leaves Akane's body and returns to its doll form, returning her to normal.

In the OAV, the doll wears a yukata that has exact same color and sunflower pattern as one that Akane chooses.

Manga Exclusive Items

Armie/Do-Chan

A powerful living battle outfit that a monk from the Monkey-Mountain Temple gave to Soun Tendo, Genma, and Ranma. It is able to unleash the dormant fighting potential of the wearer. The suit rejected all men and even Ranma's girl form because her bust was too large, choosing only Akane. The suit made her stronger and faster, and increased her skill to the point where she was able to defeat Ranma in battle. There are only two ways to separate the armor from its wearer: either the wearer has to lose their heart to another, or the armor's belt buckle has to be hit. Ranma attempts do strike the latter several times, but fails. He then tries to romance Akane, and the attempt very nearly succeeds, but also fails. Following this, Ranma has no alternative but to retarget the suit's belt buckle. Finally, he ends up in a fight with Akane wearing the suit and during this battle the buckle is struck against a statue as Akane falls, destroying it. Kasumi sewed it back together, but Soun called the Monkey-Mountain Temple for a full refund.

• Do-Chan is male and has a perverted personality, even stealing Happosai's panty collection for itself.

Cursed Bathing Suit

A swimsuit with the image of an ugly dog demon on it that was a sea demon which been drowning young girls every time they went swimming. It seems to be female, and its personality is equally feminine. Ranma encountered it while on a trip to the beach and agreed to hunt down the demon. After diving into the water to look for it, he was soon pulled in as well, but managed to escape by breaking a small shrine on the seabed. Once he surfaced however, he was wearing the swimsuit. Many years ago, it had been abandoned by its owner after her boyfriend Natsuhiko told her that the suit was ugly. Ever since then, it had been drowning all women whose boyfriends failed to compliment it. After explaining its story, the bathing suit gave Ranma until sundown to find the boyfriend of the original owner, make him go out with her, and compliment the suit.

Ranma succeeded in finding Natsuhiko, but the suit did not recognize him because he had aged significantly. At that moment, Kuno suddenly arrived at the beach to ask female Ranma out on a date and once the bathing suit saw him, it thought that he was Natsuhiko. Ranma asked Kuno to go out with her and he quickly agreed. Throughout the date, however, Kuno refused to complement the suit, although it was happy that it got to have a date Natsuhiko before it went back in the ocean, taking Ranma along with it. As the suit began to drag Ranma to a watery grave, Kuno came back and proclaimed how much he loved the suit. The bathing suit then disappeared, finally able to rest in peace, leaving Ranma was naked in the surf with Kuno groping on for his life.

Trivia

• When Natsuhiko was describing the sea demon in the story, he depicted it as giant Inu Daiyokai, it also resembled the dog demon form of Sesshomaru, a character from Rumiko Takahashi's other manga InuYasha.

Cursed Spatula

A cursed okonomiyaki spatula which supposedly only a true okonomiyaki chef master can wield. Occhan obtained the spatula and tried to master it, but failed, suffered the curse's wrath. Ukyo and Ranma tried to make okonomiyaki with it, but each time they tried, the spatula sot out blasts of immense heat. They eventually discovered that all the spatula wanted to do was iron laundry.

Fishing Pole of Love

A magical fishing pole that makes whoever is caught with it automatically fall in love with the user, that Ryoga buys in a market town. There is a tiny suction cup in place of the hook, and when it hits someone on the chest it leaves a small, red mark. The mark grows into a small fish-like mark, and with each growth the victim falls more in love with the rod's owner. Ryoga tried to use it on Akane, but accidentally hit Ranma instead. Ranma then began to harbor feelings for Ryoga, in the form of friendship at first, but then these feelings developed into pure love. With each passing moment he became more and more obsessed with Ryoga, developing a powerful jealousy towards Akane. Ranma eventually found out about the rod and its purpose and tried to snag Ryoga with it so that their feelings towards each other became mutual. Ryoga deflected the suction cup so that it hit Ranma on the chest, removing he mark and curing her of her feelings towards him.

Imprinting eggs

The imprinting eggs are the secret treasure of the Phoenix people and are used to make willing servants out of whomever they choose. They are like regular chicken eggs, but when violently burst open, spill forth entangling threads that envelop the target and quickly cocoon them inside a giant, human-sized egg. To insure a greater chance of success, several eggs are usually thrown. When the giant egg is cracked open or hatches, the person inside unhesitatingly follows the commands of whomever they see first when they emerge, similar to the imprinting that chicks undergo when they hatch. It is possible to crack open an imprinting egg normally without any ill effects, as Plum does this to show Ranma that they are inedible.

The “gestation period” of a giant egg is very fast, as a target needs to only be successfully enclosed within one to become a potential servant. When such an egg “hatches” is determined by when a use for the servant arises. For example, after Genma was successfully trapped inside a giant egg by Shampoo, she and Ranma and Shampoo then fight to be the first one he sees on emerging after Ranma shatters the eggshell, with Shampoo emerging victorious. When Shampoo herself was trapped inside a giant egg, Kiima “sat” on the egg by keeping it warm and the egg hatched several hours after Shampoo was trapped. After they infiltrate Saffron’s palace at Mt. Phoenix, Ryoga and Mousse come across a storeroom filled with unhatched giant eggs, suggesting that these eggs are being saved for later use. The same scene also reveals that the imprinting eggs can be kept by refrigerating them.

Only two ways are shown of releasing a person trapped by the imprinting eggs from their masters’ control. When Shampoo is trapped inside one for a second time and emerges, she sees a reflection of herself in a handheld mirror, freeing her from Kiima’s prior control and returning her to normal. She later orders Genma to do as he wants, returning him to normal.

Invincibility Glasses

A pair of magic glasses that were originally used by helpless Amazon women who could not fight for themselves. They caused anyone that looked at the wearer to become helplessly apologetic. When worn reversed, they made the wearer similarly apologetic towards whoever they faced, as a means of making amends between the parties. Mouse found them while organizing some of Cologne's treasures and used them on her by accident. After finding out their power, he used them on Ranma to win an easy victory. Shampoo's disapproval of his dishonorable actions though, caused Mousse to use the glasses on himself in his next match against Ranma which severely handicapped him, although Ranma still used various underhanded techniques to win. The Invincibility Glasses look similar to those worn at costume parties.

Jusenkyo map

The Jusenkyo map reveals the true path to the water source of the Jusenkyo springs that lies within Jusendo. It is initially in the Jusenkyo guide’s possession and is sought after by Kiima, Masara, and Koruma. Plum brings it to Japan and reveals it to the main five cursed characters. Cologne realizes the map’s purpose. The map is split it into five pieces for safekeeping, but that same night Shampoo, who has become Kiima’s willing servant as a result of the imprinting eggs, is able to recover all the pieces. The map is pieced together and brought back to Mt. Phoenix. It is kept in a closet in Saffron’s bedchamber, and is accidentally recovered when Ranma runs into the closet door while trying to escape Shampoo in her cat form. Plum becomes the guardian of the map, but Kiima is able to steal it back while in her Akane form.

At Jusendo, the true nature of the map is revealed when it is immersed in a pot of boiling water, revealing another map in its place. Without this map, safe passage to the heart of Jusendo is impossible because of the series of traps and mazes that runs throughout the mountain. It appears that the Jusenkyo guide memorized the map as he was able to find his way around Jusendo to the dragon and phoenix taps. Plum was only able to memorize half the map.

Kettle of Liberation

The Kettle of Liberation is one of the two treasures of the Musk Dynasty, the other being the Pot of Preservation. The Kettle is the onle thing that can reverse the effects of the Pot, and was originally sealed away on Mount Horai. Herb was searching for it so that he could reverse the effects of the Pot, which had trapped him in his cursed female form.

Kinjakan and Gekkaja

The Kinjakan and the Gekkaja are the two most powerful ancient weapons belonging to the Phoenix people. They normally function as switches that turn the flow of hot and cold water on and off from the phoenix and dragon taps. The Kinjakan is used for the former and the Gekkaja for latter, respectively, each being inserted into a slot on top of the tap heads.

The Kinjakan is Saffron's main weapon. Its circular tip can be separated from the staff and used as a powerful boomerang capable of cutting through anything. The halberd also radiates an immense amount of heat, and is capable of dehydrating a human being. When inverted, the Kinjakan can be used as a sort of high speed unicycle, capable of traveling great distances in a short amount of time. Saffron demonstrated this when he used it to pull a cart containing Ranma and Co. to Mt. Phoenix from a hot spring where they first encountered him, dramatically cutting down their anticipated travel time of two days. When Ryoga went out to get food and took the Kinjakan with him, he used it in this role, passing through Moscow.

The Gekkaja is used by Ranma to survive against Saffron and is the Kinjakan's sister weapon. It is capable of cutting through the intense heat of the Kinjakan. The Gekkaja can also release a freezing blast when its tip is bent, and is capable of instantly freezing anything stabbed.

Mushrooms of Time

Mushrooms that make whoever eats them age physically proportionate to how the mushroom is in centimeters, but still retain their personality, original mental functions, and memories. For example, a 10 cm mushroom will make whoever eats physically become how they looked when they were ten years old. They grow in a forest that Ryoga wanders into and is lost in for three days. He digs one up and inadvertently eats it, which happens to be 5 cm tall, making him appear 5 years old in his human form. Three days later, Ranma comes across P-chan cultivating some mushrooms in Furinkan and almost eats one himself, but is stopped just in time by Ryoga. Ranma tries to help Ryoga out by inviting him to stay with the Tendos and cultivating his mushroom crop for him. This crop however, inadvertently gets destroyed and in his rage, Ryoga manages to feed Ranma a 5 cm mushroom, making him appear as a 5 year old as well.

After Ranma and Ryoga’s attempts to get to the forest where the Mushrooms of Time grow fail, a few spores are found to have taken root on Ryoga’s backpack, with each boy taking one to grow. Ryoga’s happens to come out at exactly 16 cm, but just as he is about to eat it, the mushroom gets roasted by Mousse practicing his fire breathing. Akane starts her own mushroom crop, from which Ranma feeds Ryoga a 3 cm one during a fight. Ranma then manages to get a 17 cm mushroom, but Kuno promptly eats it. Akane meanwhile gives the mushrooms to Nabiki for safekeeping. Just as two 16 cm ones are ready to be fed Ranma and Ryoga, these get destroyed when both boys break out of a chest of drawers which they got stuck in while trying to find the mushrooms in Akane's room. Akane then tells them that these were the last of the mushrooms, but this just is a ruse to keep them from fighting until some more mushrooms have been given the time to grow to the right size and are ready to be fed them.

Pot of Preservation

The Pot of Preservation is a magic item capable of trapping anyone splashed with water from it in their cursed form. The Musk Dynasty used it to lock animals they had just thrown into the Spring of Drowned Woman in human form. They would then take these newly-created women as their wives, so that their offspring would acquire the physical characteristics and powers of their mothers. After Herb threw a monkey into the spring, he was so entranced by her breasts when she emerged that the newly-created woman kicked him in and splashed him with water from the Pot of Preservation. Later, Herb splashed Ranma with water from the pot in the Cat Cafe after their first fight after he noticed that Ranma too had a Jusenkyo curse.

Ranma and Genma’s doteras

A pair of doteras (padded dressing gowns; “coats” in the English translation) that Nodoka sewed for Genma and Ranma years ago before they left on their training trip to keep them warm that have their names embroidered on the backs. Genma pawned them, but was able to get them back from the pawnshop just before they were sold. After triggering an avalanche, Ranma and Genma end up at the Kokowa Hot Springs, where they encounter Nodoka, who comes across Ranko and Mr. Panda wearing her husband’s and son’s doteras. Ranko claims that she was given Ranma’s dotera by him when she was out in the cold, causing Nodoka to rush out and try to look for him. She later catches a glimpse of Ranma wearing his dotera from behind, but thinks that he may be a pervert who was caught in the women’s hot springs (it was himself in his male form). When Genma stops Ranma from returning to confront Nodoka, he cracks the ice they are standing on and they fall into a pool of frigid water. Ranma’s dotera ends up on a monkey that Nodoka sees, leading her to think that her son looks like one. It is not shown being recovered, and Genma’s dotera is suggested to have been lost when he fell into the water.

Anime Exclusive Items

Miyamoto Musashi’s bokken

An old bokken that was carved by the legendary swordsman Miyamoto Musashi from an oar, found when Sasuke was cleaning out the Furinkan kendo dojo ceiling. Years ago a kendo club member bought the bokken from a pawn shop using stolen club dues and equipment. Kuno recognizes it from the writing that is carved on the blade and and becomes possessed by Musashi’s spirit. For a week, he disappeared during the day and only appeared in Furinkan high school at night, being taken for a ghost, as only the red glow the bokken emitted like a lightsaber when it was wielded could be seen.

When Ranma, Akane, Ukyo, Soun, Genma, and several other students try to catch the “ghost”, all of them except for Ranma and Akane are defeated by Kuno, who has become as skilled as Musashi, and Ranma in his girl form is unable to beat him. When Kuno sees Akane, he thinks she is Musashi's paramour Otsu and approaches her, but gets kicked into the air. The bokken is struck by a flash of lightning and vaporized.

Red String of Fate

A magical red string that Shampoo purchases from a traveling merchant. The string is said to make those who are tied to it by the pinky finger fall in love and be linked by fate if they wear it for one day. Shampoo uses the string on Ranma and very nearly succeeds. It is likely based on the East Asian belief in the red string of fate.

Time Travel Mirror

A magic mirror stolen by Happosai years ago from the Chinese Amazon village that is capable of traveling through time. It was with some items he was trying to sell and he had forgotten about it until Shampoo noticed it. When one of Happosai's tears hits the mirror, he along with Ranma and the others end up in the past where they meet young Cologne and young Happosai. After they returned to the present, Nabiki accidentally broke it. It appeared a second time in the series, but in a dream Ranma was having where he tried to go back in time and stop himself from falling into the Jusenkyo spring.

Movie Exclusive Items

Scroll of Luck

In the first movie, the Scroll of Luck contains the Seven Lucky Gods Ultimate Technique. It is initially split in two. Kirin has one half, but the other was stolen by Happosai years ago. He later left his half as payment with Lychee’s grandmother for a meal at their family restaurant with the promise that a prince would come to claim it. Lychee traveled for ten years in the hope that this promise would come true, but to no avail. She tracked Happosai down to Japan, where her rage at him and bad timing placed the scroll in Akane’s hands. The Seven Lucky Gods Martial Artists then arrive to retrieve the second half of the scroll and its bearer, but why they did not come for Lychee when she had it earlier it is not revealed.

By Nekonron’s laws, the bearers of the scroll halves must marry, and joining the halves of the together constitutes the wedding ceremony. The two halves are joined by Kirin after a massive geyser unleashed during his fight with Ranma subsides. It is revealed that the Seven Lucky Gods Ultimate Technique is a recipe for “How to Make Too-Too Delicious Seven Lucky Pickled Vegetable,” which the newlyweds are supposed to prepare together as part of the first step in a good marriage. Happosai likely knew what the scroll's true content was, but lied about it when he related how he acquired it.

Video game items

Treasure of the Crimson Cat Gang

Star Crystal

A magical jewel that can grant a person's fondest wish (similar to the Jewel of Four Souls from InuYasha.) The jewel was created from the imprisoned powers of Kasumaru, the Ghost Cat King. It is sought after by Ranma and Co. to break their Jusenkyo curses, and by the Crimson Cat gang (Akaneko-dan) to restore Kasumaru to full power. It is sealed by three treasures: the Peach Gem, the Sakura Sword, and the Forest Mirror.

Star Willow

Another item in the game, the Star Willow is a gift from the ancient warrior who originally stopped Kasumaru and sealed the Crystal. After beating ghostly copies of their team, Ranma and Co. receive it from his spirit. When used in the presence of the Star Cystal, it temporarally nullifies its power.

References

• Takahashi, Rumiko (August 2005). Ranma ½, Vol. 31 (1st ed. ed.). San Francisco: VIZ Media LLC. ISBN-10 1591168600. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help)

• Takahashi, Rumiko (August 2006). Ranma ½, Vol. 35 (1st ed. ed.). San Francisco: VIZ Media LLC. ISBN-10 1421505061. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help)

• Takahashi, Rumiko (November 2006). Ranma ½, Vol. 36 (1st ed. ed.). San Francisco: VIZ Media LLC. ISBN-10 142150507X. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help)