Post Manga Ranma: Who's the most dangerous fighter?

[FriendlyEL]

So, once Ranma defeats Saffron, you have to admit that he grew up alot since the time he first had his Peonix training from Cologne or almost got pulverized by Happosai. So, who thinks he's he could top them now?

[pspinler]

So, who thinks he's he could top them now?

Doubt it. Ranma's wins against all of the above were situational one-offs I don't think he could easily replicate, if at all. I think any of the others clearly outclass Ranma in a normal situation.

EDIT: err, I wasn't thinking. Never mind Happosai. Normal for Happosai is distracted by girls, which involuntarily is, half the time. (Failing distraction by bras, or panties, or hose ...)

-- Pat

[rmt]

I voted Saffron (pre-rebabification, of course!).

I agree with pspinler. Ranma's victories against Herb and Saffron were pretty much one-offs. He might be able to pull off something similar if he fought them again, but it's by no means guaranteed.

[claymade]

From the Ranma Fights that we'd like to see thread:

What you're referring to is this: when Ranma finally learns the Amigurikan, and snatches the fake pheonix pill. However, what I see is that he (she, at the time) is so fast that s/he leaves Cologne totally baffled:

http://ranmahentai.ranma.ws/RanmaManga/ ... 05-190.jpg
http://ranmahentai.ranma.ws/RanmaManga/ ... 05-191.jpg

An entirely reasonable interpretation, but I don't buy it personally. My read is that Cologne was playing along, leading up to the revelation of the switch. Notice what she actually says: "Augh! The pill!" But it wasn't the pill at all. The fact that she kept up the deception makes it seem less like an real unplanned outburst and more like her wry sense of humor setting Ranma up for his subsequent fall.

That seems far more plausible to me than Ranma going from totally owned by her in terms of speed to totally owning her in the matter of a few hours.

For specific instances of speed, though, he manages to match Cologne hand to hand here:

http://ranmahentai.ranma.ws/RanmaManga/ ... 06-022.jpg

Now that isn't hard to explain at all. Remember the context--she's throwing the fight at that point, leading up to Ranma supposedly having her "on the ropes."

As soon as he makes the bet she wants, though, he can't land a single blow on her anymore.

Certainly she keeps pulling tricks out of her hat in storylines where she's a major character. Unfortunately, there's just no way to know. Unfortunately, we also know that Happosai keeps pulling tricks out of his hat, too. Who has more or better tricks? Hard to say. All we can say at this point is that Happosai has demonstrated more strength than Cologne has shown. Cologne may have it, too, but we just haven't seen it to know.

Very true.

Although that's actually why I (from a personal perspective) tend to suspect that Cologne might win if it came down to it. We know she's in the same general class of fighter--the ancient withered master that can beat Ranma like a rug. But between the two of them, she's the one who doesn't flaunt, or use flashy-but-draining techniques like Happi's aura projection. She keeps things in reserve, showing nothing beyond what she needs to. That reserve, to me, actually speaks very much of strength. If she hasn't shown as many of her secrets, that suggests to me only that more of them are still secret--and thus more devastating for it.

But that's all hypothetical on my part, of course.


EDIT: And WRT who's the strongest: Saffron's only hope against the likes of Cologne or Happi is to go immediately into his mountain-destroying blast--and even then it's not a sure thing that they can't get out of the way in time, or take him out before he can fire. And since he shows no tendency to go straight to his best shot anyway, I'd say one of the old folks easily. But as pspinler says, it's essentially impossible to say which one for sure.

[mondu_the_fat]

It was a toss up between Saffron and Herb. Voted Saffron for sheer destructive power and regeneration, although I think Herb beats him in martial ability.

I also agree with the previous sentiments regarding Ranma's battles.

[Crescent Pulsar]

My vote goes to Cologne.

Ranma may be quick on his toes and pretty resilient, but Cologne knows him, is wise and calculating, and her limit of power is still unknown. But if she's anything like Happosai in the power department, or even more powerful, then Ranma would be out of luck because she seems to know how to use a minimum amount to greatest effect.

Happosai, when he's serious, can be powerful but is wasteful and someone like Cologne would find it easy to avoid him. The best example would be when Happosai was in a trance and made to believe that Pantyhose had stolen all of the world's nylons (if I remember correctly). After Happosai wears himself out, or gets distracted, going in for the kill would be easy for most characters.

Herb would just be outclassed by skill. He might have a lot of energy to fire around, but Cologne is agile and small, and would wreak havoc on him in close quarters. Her staff, in particular, would be his undoing.

As for Saffron, if we're not talking about him being a baby or child, then does he mature properly this time? Even if he did, I'd think that Cologne would still be better as far as fighting skill is concerned. However, getting in close isn't exactly smart to do without proper precaution, but Cologne would likely realize that and make him use long-ranged attacks. Once he lights up the area with energy (which isn't hard for him to do), she'd likely find a way to get in some version of a hiryu shoten ha, or take advantage of his prime method of attack in some other way. I have faith in my Cologne-chan. :D

[FriendlyEL]

Let's hear it for the old people!

It's actually a good thing for me to hear that some people agree Ranma still has to work up to Cologne's level. The thought of a sixteen year old punk being to much even for an all knowing old master is just... scary.

But yeah, I'm sort of in the boat that in both the fights with Herb and Saffron Ranma had alot of other things going for him (Herb: Ryoga and Mousse join the fight, Saffron: Akane's doll form and the mystical weapon he was using help him).

[nuclear death frog]

It's a common misconception that Saffron was lacking power. He was at full power, he just had no way to regulate it. Saffron is supposed to serve as basically a living heat lamp. I'd call that a lot less dangerous than someone who can charge up a huge blast to nuke a mountain if he's willing to waste a ton of his power.

Personally I think Herb is at least as dangerous as Saffron, though not as powerful outright. Herb actually has options in what sort of power he can use, since he can switch from hot to cold on a whim; and the basic version of the Hiryuu Shouten Ha is just as completely useless against Herb as it is on birdboy. He's also a vicious and very potent fighter in close with rapid punches or ki swords, or from range with bouncing ki balls or beams he can control enough to carve spirals in the ground almost effortlessly. And those bouncing ki shots cumulatively shattered the mountain he and his soldiers were fighting Ranma, Ryouga, and Mousse on. And given that he now knows the Hiryuu Shouten Ha can be modified to suit different battle conditions, I have a feeling he could make some pretty mean variations on it himself; he's quite sharp when it comes to ki use, no pun intended.

[Seed00]

In all honesty, we still haven't either Cologne or Happosai at full strength.

Cologne underestimated Ranma when she fougth him the first time. She didn't expect him to know the neko-ken.

Happosai can be pretty vengeful when crossed plus his 300 year experience is not something to laugh at.

It's been a while since I read the Herb battle, but it was pretty close.

Saffron couldn't regulate his power. If Ranma were to fight him him again, using the same move wouldn't be a guarantee. Unless he revises the move to be used another way. As much as I hate to admit it, Akane had to punch the hole for Ranma to get a clear shot at him.

I'm not saying Ranma would be powerless againdst these people. I'm saying he's need to pull a pretty big rabbit out of his hat.