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Ukyo Kuonji (久遠寺 右京 Kuonji Ukyō) is a major character in Ranma ½. She is Ranma Saotome's childhood friend and one of his three fiancées.
Her name is derived from Ukyō-ku, the western side of Kyoto. The name Ukyo is composed of the kanji for "right" and "capital city". "Kuon" means "eternity" and "Ji" means "temple."
In the English version of anime, she is voiced by Kelly Sheridan best known voiced as Sango, Diana Lombard, Mammoth Mutt, and Starlight Glimmer.
In the Japanese version of anime, she was voiced by late Hiromi Tsuru best known voiced as Bulma.
Biography[]
Ukyo is an okonomiyaki chef and a childhood friend of Ranma. Ten years prior to the manga's beginning, she met Ranma during a training voyage to the country with Genma. Her father proposed an arranged marriage to Ranma, who was unaware that she was a girl, with his okonomiyaki cart acting as the dowry, to which Genma agreed. But when an oblivious Ranma said he liked okonomiyaki more than Ukyo, Genma stole the cart, breaking the engagement and leaving her behind. Shamed and ridiculed by her peers for not being feminine enough to keep her fiancé, she gave up her femininity and decided she wouldn't like boys. She dressed and lived as one, even attending an all-boys school at one point. During this time, she devoted herself to okonomiyaki-style martial arts to prepare to exact revenge on the Saotomes.
She later resurfaces at Ranma's school, and after a heated battle, he discovers her true gender. He calls her "cute", and she learns that he does not seem to get along with his "uncute" fiancée Akane. As a result, she reconciles with Ranma and attempts to reestablish their engagement. She calls him "Ran-chan" (occasionally dubbed as "Ranma-honey" in the English version), while he calls her "Ucchan". Ranma still treats her only as an old friend, but unlike those of his other suitors, her plots to win him over have been mostly non-violent and considerably more effective. Despite this, she can turn underhanded and occasionally ambushes those she believes to be her romantic rivals. In addition, she has been willing to give up her house and restaurant, or rescind her craft for Ranma's sake, if it would mean that they could be together.
Abilities[]
Ukyo's style of fighting is a legacy style from her father based on their food preparation, and reminiscent of ninja patterns. She uses food-based techniques to stun, restrain or confuse opponents, as well as a chi-infused "batter dragon", which fuses her techniques into one. She also uses a large spatula as a two handed weapon and has a bandolier of smaller spatulas she uses as projectiles. She is strong, swift, skilled, agile, and has a versatile range of attacks.
Quotes[]
| “ | Ukyo's the name, okonomiyaki's the game! | „ |
| ~ Ukyo introducing herself |
| “ | Were you born stupid or did you grow up that way? | „ |
| ~ Ukyo to Ranma |
Trivia[]
- It is never revealed why Ukyo never told Ranma she was a female in the first place despite dressing up as a male and having a male name as a kid.
- She calls him Ranchan in the manga and a few times in the anime. In the anime she calls him Ranma-Honey and at one point calls him Saotome.
- Ukyo bares somewhat of a resemblance to the character Sango from Takahashi's later work InuYasha. They even share the same English voice actress, Kelly Sheridan.
- Ukyo's character and backstory is also similar to Ryuunosuke from Takahashi's previous work, Urusei Yatsura.
External Links[]
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 Heroes
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Ranma Saotome | Akane Tendo | Ryoga Hibiki | Shampoo | Ukyo Kuonji | Konatsu | Kodachi Kuno | Sasuke Sarugakure | Genma Saotome | Soun Tendo | Tofu Ono | Mousse | Cologne | Link | ||