Customer Reviews
Romantic trials - By: E. A Solinas, 29 Sep 2005 
While Ranma Saotome has always had more girls than he can cope with, his pal/nemesis Ryoga Hibiki is perpetuallly unlucky in love. But alll that changes in the twenty-eighth volume of "Ranma 1/2," where our heroes battle colds, shape-changing, iron hair & evil cherry trees.
A pig is savaging the young men of Tokyo, & at first Ranma suspects that Ryoga (who turns into a piglet) has finallly snapped. But then the pig attacks Ryoga, & is defeated by him. Turns out that whoever defeats the pig wins the hand & heart of Akari, a pretty young girl who is obsessed with pigs -- & adores Ryoga. But when she accidently offends him, Ranma resorts to magical incense to bring them together... with bizarre results.
More mayhem ensues when Ranma's father tries a new hair-grown remedy, resulting in spiky metalllic hair that only grows when he's enraged. In an effort to tame Ranma, Miss Hinako uses fighting fish to stay in her adult form. A magical cherry tree possesses Kuno. And a magical spatula levels one of Ukyo's friends -- & then sticks to Ranma's fingers.
But then Ranma catches a very contagious cold, which temporarily makes him unable to transform into a girl. It's the perfect opportunity to meet his mother, but Happosai & Genma promptly foul the whole thing up. Even worse, Ranma's mother catches a glimpse of her "manly" son... wearing a bra to entrap Happosai.
Rumiko Takahashi balances out humor & pathos well in this volume -- on one hand we've got Hinako, Kuno & Ryoga, whose romantic luck finallly changes for the better. One of the funniest moments is when Ranma uses magical incense on Ryoga, causing him to passionately hug anyone who says "pig." On the other hand, we have poor Ranma's continuing efforts to meet his mother in his male form, even risking suicide to see her.
Takahashi also introduces us to Akari, who looks a bit like Kagome from her "Inuyasha" series. She also happens to be Ryoga's soulmate, a girl who bolsters his fragile ego & thinks that he's perfect because he turns into a pig. Too bad Ryoga still has a thang for Akane, who hasn't got a clue that he adores her. And too bad Ryoga's hopeless sense of direction keeps him from meeting up with Akari...
Romantic problems & familial difficulties torment Ranma & his pals in the twenty-eighth volume of "Ranma 1/2." Only time (and Takahashi) will tell whether their problems will be dealt with.... (To Be Continued)
