Ramma 1/2, Volume 31: Of Mushrooms and Boys Book

The first two stories are filler bits. The first has Ranma (in girl form) playing nurse to a sick boy, Densuke, who won't take his (life-saving) medicine unless a pretty girl feeds it to him. And when Ranma tries, he insists on having it fed mouth-to-mouth. Ranma suggests they go on a date, and he agrees; the whole time is spent trying to find decoys to feed him the medicine, but it doesn't work. Finally, the boy falls unconscious and the physician gives him the medicine. The boy wakes up, noting that he can still feel the soft lips on his mouth, and badgers Ranma to know if she'd fed him. Ranma refuses to say, and in the tussle gets transformed into a boy. Walking with Akane later, she asks if he really gave the boy mouth-to-mouth, and Ranma replies that it's better to let him think that was the case. In the final panel, it mentions that Densuke had regained his will to live, and his mother is thanking the doctor, who says they'd best keep it a secret so he doesn't lose that will.

The following story has all of the Tendos & Saotomes out and about while Kasumi is at home preparing dinner. They call her and let her know that they decided to eat out. Whenthey get home, dinner is laid out perfectly but Kasumi is nowhere to be seen. There are shard of a broken vase on the floor and a mess in the kitchen. Piecing two-and-two together, they assume she's furious with them; but they've never seen Kasumi angry before. They decide they need to apologize and put her in a good mood; Akane tries to bake a cake (and blows up the microwave), Nabiki prepares tea (and breaks Kasumi's favorite cup) and the men decorate (accidentally unraveling the sweater she's been knitting). With each failure, people decide to go on a trip so they won't have to face Kasumi's wrath. Nabiki notes that if they all run, they all remain targets, so they choose Ranma to be the sacrificial lamb, and throw him back to the house with an "I'm sorry" sign around his neck. Then we see the shadow of Kasumi approach, and suddenly Ranma is back with them, in total shock. Turns out Kasumi had found a stray cat who wandered in; it got wet, and she was trying to dry it and get it out of the house before Ranma got home. When she finds out her sweater is unraveled and the teacup shattered, they all blame Ranma (as planned) and she pokes him in the forehead and says "You shouldn't have done that. Bad." And then she asks if she's overreacting. :P

After that comes a three-chapter arc about Ryoga and Ranma. It begins with Ryoga eating a mushroom that changes his age - whatever height (in cm) the mushroom is matches the age you become. Ranma comes across P-chan with a basket of mushrooms and takes one and almost eats it, but first douses Ryoga with warm water - and reveals that he's a small child. He takes him home to the Tendos' and places the mushrooms in the empties soaking tub, and adds an "out of order" sign. The girls are delighted with kid-Ryoga and put him in some of Akane's old clothes; Soun is overjoyed to be playing with a male child. Akane lets him sit on her lap and even talks about taking a bath with him, but Ranma chases him around the house. When they get to the bathroom, they see that the tub is filled and the mushrooms nearly destroyed. Ryoga grabs a small, floating mushroom and extracts his revenge on Ranma; now they're both little kids. The next chapter is an adventure in bratty fighting and suitors find their tiny selves adorable. Shampoo and Ukyo both love tiny Ranma, and Kuno wants the wee pig-tailed girl to take him to her big sister. Ryoga and Ranma fight non-stop and destroy quite a few mushrooms.In the next chapter, they have two mushrooms growing and they're both trying to claim the taller one; Akane suggests they act like normal kids, and play Rock, Paper, Scissors - and they punch each other in the face rather than choose. During another fight, Ranma feeds Ryoga an even smaller mushroom, and Ryoga is now three, with a lisp. Akane spanks Ranma for picking on even-littler Ryoga, and then gets upset because she's being more strict with him. (Ryoga, in the meantime, eats another mushroom and grows taller than Ranma.) Ranma pretends to run away crying, but actually stole a mushroom. Only it's 17 cm, and it'll make him older. Luckily Kuno (who's seventeen) comes up and eats it. Akane hides the mushrooms in her room, so Ryoga and Ranma ransack it; they're stuck in a dresser drawer when she comes in, so they use their combined ki blasts to get out (destroying everything, of course). Akane tells them that was the last of the mushrooms, and they'll just have to wait it out. She actually does have some that she's growing, but knows this is the only way to get them to behave.

The next story begins with Mousse trying to give Shampoo a scarf he'd made. She rejects it though, and he sadly drapes it on a bodhisattva statue. The statue then comes to life as a twin of Shampoo, to repay the favor. It doesn't look just like her, but to Mousse it may as well. Shampoo complains to Ranma and Akane that Mousse is really out of it, so they all follow him one evening and see him meet up with Statue-Shampoo. The real Shampoo gives him to the statue, but then pauses and recognizes how happy Mousse looks with her. They all go talk to Cologne, who says that Mousse is exhausted, like his life-force is being drained out of him. So they (Akane and Ranma - Shampoo is watching TV and napping) try to prevent him from going to the statue that night. Akane feels like Shampoo is the only one who can snap him out of this, so she orders ramen to be delivered to the location where the statue is, and when they get there Ranma is trying to take the scarf from the statue, and it's not working. But then the statue gets the ramen, and really enjoys the steam, so Ranma realizes she's really cold. The statue accepts Shampoo's ramen-offering, and turns into Ranma to return the favor. Finally after more fighting with Mousse, Shampoo gives him a scarf she was knitting, and it brings him around. Later he realizes that it has "RANMA" embroidered on it, and Cologne tells Ranma and Akane that the statue wasn't draining Mousse's life essence, he was just staying out late after work to date her.

The next story is a hot mess of unnecessary. Ranma and Akane are called to a temple where someone or something keeps destroying the tablets/charms that students use to wish for success on their exams. All of the tablets have a really bad drawing of a sacred horse, and it turns out that this horse is destroying them all. Ranma tries wrangling it, but the horse just wants a better drawing of himself, so Ranma, Akane, Ukyo, and Miss Hinako all try, and the horse isn't really pleased. Hinako drains him, and the priest says they'll keep putting him on the tablets, so nothing is fixed. In the last panel, they're called to a temple with a boar design….

Then Ranma and Genma end up at a hot springs in the middle of winter, and Genma realizes that it's the place he and Nodoka came to on their honeymoon. But Nodoka is there, too, looking at their names carved into wood, and see Ranko and her panda wearing monogramed jackets that she once made for Genma and Ranma. Ranma makes up a story about freezing in the snow and a kind fellow gifting it to her. Nodoka wants to spend time with Ranko in the hot springs, so Ranma is very carefully not getting in the water. But at one point he slips and transforms while running away from her, and people are screaming about a pervert in the springs. Nodoka wonders if it's Ranma nearby. She makes chase, and finally catches up to the person wearing the Ranma-coat - except it's a monkey. Now Nodoka is perplexed and sad that her son looks so much like a monkey.

The last story is a two-chapter arc about a takoyaki chef who's out for revenge. He challenges Ukyo to a rematch, and he's wearing a really weird match. It takes her a moment, but she remembers him as a chef who fought with her when they were ten years old, and it turns out that the loser had to wear a stupid mask for the rest of their life. Ranma finally rips it off (out of curiosity) and the penance is that he has one glued onto his face with takoyaki batter. (It takes the heat of a flame to melt it off.) Ukyo and this fellow (Hayato) battle all over a Tokyo building construction site, where he has the advantage with his smaller weapon of takoyaki, and he actually beats her. But he doesn't care when she refuses to wear the mask, he's just glad to have his off. Except that Ranma glued it on with takoyaki batter, as revenge.

This is all filler stuffs, and most of isn't very memorable... I think maybe the one about Mousse is my favorite? He's really an under-rated character.