Akane Tendo

  • Gender: Female
  • Age: 16
  • Hair: Black
  • Eyes: Brown
  • Nationality: Japanese
  • From the manga Ranma 1/2, by Rumiko Takahashi
  • First Appearance: Chapter 1

The youngest daughter of Soun Tendo. Akane’s mother died when she was very young, leaving her to be raised mainly by her father (and her eldest sister Kasumi). Akane has a stubborn, independent streak, and is considered very tomboyish, at least by Japanese standards: she’s good at sports, but hopeless at most traditional domestic tasks, enjoys martial arts, and is not above using her considerable martial arts abilities to rid herself of overly-amourous boys and other pests.

Indeed, Akane doesn’t like boys very much at all, mainly due to the “challenge” made by Tatewaki Kunou at her school that only someone who defeated Akane in combat would have the right to ask her out, which led to pretty much literally half the school attacking her every single morning. Akane managed to hold them off every time, however, due to her superhuman martial arts abilities. Though compared to many other characters in Ranma 1/2, and Ranma himself especially, she is only barely superhuman.

Despite her rough exterior, Akane is in fact a very nice and gentle girl, who will go to great lengths to help anybody she feels is in need, including people who have done nothing but aggravate her, and even people who have actively sought to harm her. The one notable exception to her general distaste for the male half of the species (aside from her dad) is Doctor Ono Tofu, whom she has had a crush on for years. Indeed, she even grew her once-short hair out to its current length in the hopes of catching the kindly doctor’s eye in the same way her oldest sister does.

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