Although it wasn't the first of the long, dramatic Ranma arcs that characterised the second half of the manga, the Musk Dynasty story is probably the most well-known other than the turned-into-an-OAV-Shinnosuke story. And not without good reason - the Musk Dynasty concept is really fun and well-realised (aside from the odd omission of any explanation for what happens to female Musk children and mothers), and the story itself is a rollicking adventure that is probably the purest presaging of Inuyasha in all of Ranma 1/2. It's also a major breaking point, since both Ryouga and Mousse start the story as Ranma's enemies and end it as staunch allies saving his life in turn, which prove to be lasting changes in their characters (even if they in no way would be defined as his best buddies).
What's also really good about it, and all the other epic Ranma versus a Powerful Foe arcs, is that it shows how much different Ranma is from virtually any other shounen fighting series. Ranma doesn't typically win his fights by getting ridiculous super powerups, by the sheer POWAH OF HIS SOUL, or just by refusing to stay down until his opponent does first. He wins through lateral thinking, through cleverly exploiting his opponent's weaknesses, or innovating new variations on what he already knows (all three of which he used in the fight with Herb). It's sad that so few other fighting series' use this concept, instead relying on the above and other lazy outs.
That being said, Herb would totally kick Ranma's ass if they had a rematch. Let's be serious here.
Musk Dynasty Pictures
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