Ranma 1/2 Tiers?

[NK1988]

So I was thinking about having Ranma himself in Dragonball's World Martial Arts Tournaments/TenkaichI Budokais but, if my reading of past Ranma threads on here is correct, Ranma's sort of a mid tier in his universe.

So I was just wondering who are the true strongest beings in the manga?

I think it's Happosai, Cologne and that Phoenix guy....

[Yeoman]

So I was thinking about having Ranma himself in Dragonball's World Martial Arts Tournaments/TenkaichI Budokais but,

Eh, twoards the beginning he's about on par with beginning of Dragonball. By the end he's close to end of Dragonball/Beginning of DBZ.

if my reading of past Ranma threads on here is correct, Ranma's sort of a mid tier in his universe.

I'd say upper mid. There's a class of people he can't really beat yet, but remember all of his improvement was over the course of a year, maybe two. Most of the people that outclass him have a century or more of experience.

[NK1988]

Really? He can compete with citybusters or island busters?

[Estrecca]

So I was thinking about having Ranma himself in Dragonball's World Martial Arts Tournaments/TenkaichI Budokais but, if my reading of past Ranma threads on here is correct, Ranma's sort of a mid tier in his universe.

So I was just wondering who are the true strongest beings in the manga?

I think it's Happosai, Cologne and that Phoenix guy....

Herb is a physical peer, can fly and is ludicrously better in effectively all things ki.

[Captain Jibberish]

Eh, twoards the beginning he's about on par with beginning of Dragonball. By the end he's close to end of Dragonball/Beginning of DBZ.

That sounds way too high to me. I've always thought of everyone in Ranma 1/2 as being sub-Roshi in power.

[penguin-in-leather-jacket]

Any attempt to make a "tier system" for the Ranma universe has to take into account that there are various people/beings who have great powers but little or no actual fighting skill.

In fact, the two arguably strongest characters in the series both qualify for the above: Saffron and Asura-Rouge. Saffron has tremendous power but relies on a ceremony to regulate it for him, and with that ceremony in place he can't use the tremendous flame abilities he has without it. It's like a flamethrower with a safety valve versus one without. Saffron as seen in the manga is the latter.

Asura-Rouge is the Jusenkyou curse form of the girl Rouge. She is not shown to have any fighting ability as a human, but if she gets splashed with cold water, she becomes something like a preview for Saffron: she emits tremendous heat and flames and can fly (levitate, really).

So there's the top two, or at least number one (Saffron) and *possibly* number two (Asura-Rouge), but neither have any real skill and rely on innate powers instead.

Ninomiya Hinako is another very powerful person who has no real fighting skill of her own -- all of her techniques are based on the altered physiology Happosai gave her. She is very dangerous with them though, because of how they work.

The first of the most dangerous/powerful people with actual fighting skill... is Happosai. Immense power, terrifying speed, nearly impossible to hit, incredible strength, weird techniques aplenty. Happosai is incredibly dangerous. He's prone to distraction though.

Another is Prince Herb. Immense power, fluid control of it, overall physical superior to Ranma. Ranma had to invent something new on-the-spot in order to beat him, he was completely outclassed before that.

It's a judgment call whether Herb belongs higher or lower than Happosai. Happosai is introduced earlier, though, and sticks around for more than one story arc.

Some of what applies to Happi also applies to Cologne.

Ranking all these people (and others) is not completely straight-forward.

[Guy Smiley]

And then there's weird cases like Pantyhose Taro and Ryu Kumon.

Taro is probably actually better than Ranma in straight hand-to hand, (though not by much) but shows no special techniques. Instead he turns into a giant winged-yeti-minotaur-with-eel-tail-and-octopus-tentacles, and IIRC he never actually lost to anyone except Rouge. He's even beaten the hell out of Happosai at the beginning of the octopus tentacle story.

Kumon, meanwhile, shows up and beats the snot out of Ranma with the Yamasenken, one of two super arts Genma created and sealed away. Ranma then learns and trains in the Umisenken, the other, more powerful super art, beats Ryu, and declares both arts as forbidden techniques, never to be used again in the series. Where this leaves the two compared to each other is kind of nebulous, since 99% of Ranma's feats are sans Umisenken, since he refuses to use it, and all of Kumon's feats are with the Yamasenken.

[Iron_Twister]

And then there's weird cases like Pantyhose Taro and Ryu Kumon.

Taro is probably actually better than Ranma in straight hand-to hand, (though not by much) but shows no special techniques. Instead he turns into a giant winged-yeti-minotaur-with-eel-tail-and-octopus-tentacles, and IIRC he never actually lost to anyone except Rouge. He's even beaten the hell out of Happosai at the beginning of the octopus tentacle story.

Kumon, meanwhile, shows up and beats the snot out of Ranma with the Yamasenken, one of two super arts Genma created and sealed away. Ranma then learns and trains in the Umisenken, the other, more powerful super art, beats Ryu, and declares both arts as forbidden techniques, never to be used again in the series. Where this leaves the two compared to each other is kind of nebulous, since 99% of Ranma's feats are sans Umisenken, since he refuses to use it, and all of Kumon's feats are with the Yamasenken.

Trying to recall much of Pantyhose Taro and his fights, his fight with Ranma with him outright beating Ranma down seems less of actual skill and more like Ranma is trying to prevent any water to splash on him and use his much stronger form. Though he could defend himself from Ranma's barrage of blows when the fight started.

As for Happosai...I think the fact he distracted the old man with women's underwear before laying the beatdown did contribute to that curbstomp. Actually...Just using women's undies as a bait is often enough to take him out.

Much like the story with the Kunoichi (who did not realize she's a he) who did sex appeal to outright destroy Happosai in a page or two.