Ranma 1/2: One Page Per Volume, Part Fourteen

[rainsometimes]

The art runs from left to right.

It really is too bad that the end of the Hiryu Shoten Ha arc is in the same volume as the "Mark of the Battle God" story. The latter is a very nice Ranma-Ryoga-Akane story with great humour, some interesting emotional beats, and attractive page compositions - and the leads all look good in their summer outfits, to boot! But again, I just had to favour Hiryu Shoten Ha. The resolution of this grand arc is as well-told as the rest, and I love this moment where Ranma, thinking it was all in vain and he'll never regain his strength, is set to leave because "without my strength, what am I?"

Akane isn't wise enough to answer that - and perhaps it wouldn't have suited the tone of the series, if she had been - but she does realise what he's doing. She knows he can't stop him, so she's decided to go with him instead. The final panel uses humour in a typical Takahashi way to undercut the dramatics, but also to counter both Ranma's sexism in the preceding panel and his attempt at Being Tragic And Manly that the sexist remark is meant to provide cover for (notably, Akane refuses to rise to the bait this time).

(Also, just personal preference, but I have always thought Akane looks particularly good when she's a bit scuffed up from a fight, because that underlines that despite being among the weakest fighters, comparatively, she's still pretty damn badass - and frequently very courageous. As has been amply shown in this arc. Some fans who didn't like her would sometimes claim she was selfish and did nothing for Ranma. Hey, she jumped into what was effectively a mini-tornado just to help him get his strength back!)