Cursed Springs and the Tendo Engagement

The opening saga introduces Ranma Saotome and his father Genma, who return from a training trip in China carrying a bizarre curse. Soun Tendo announces that one of his daughters will marry Ranma to unite their schools of martial arts.

The series begins as Genma Saotome brings his teenage son Ranma to the Tendo home to honor a long standing promise between two old friends and rival martial artists. Soun Tendo has three daughters, Kasumi, Nabiki and Akane, and one of them is meant to marry Ranma so that the heir can carry on the Saotome and Tendo schools of Anything Goes Martial Arts. The catch is revealed immediately. While training at the cursed springs of Jusenkyo in China, Ranma fell into the Spring of Drowned Girl and Genma fell into the Spring of Drowned Panda. Now cold water turns Ranma into a girl and Genma into a giant panda, while hot water restores them. Akane, the youngest daughter and a capable but short tempered martial artist who claims to hate boys, is chosen as Ranma's reluctant fiancee. This arc establishes the central premise of the whole series, the constant misunderstandings caused by the curse, the bickering yet slowly warming relationship between Ranma and Akane, and the comedic chaos of two stubborn families forced under one roof. It also sets up Furinkan High School, where Ranma and Akane attend class together and where new rivals quickly appear.