Kodachi Kuno
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| Kodachi Kuno 九能 小太刀 |
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 Kodachi Kuno, the Black Rose |
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| Alias: | The Black Rose Kochi, by her father |
| Gender: | Female |
| Age: | 16 |
| Family: | Tatewaki Kuno, brother Principal Kuno, father Sasuke Sarugakure, servant Mr. Turtle, her pet crocodile |
| Love Interest: | Ranma Saotome |
| Rivals: | Akane Tendo Pigtailed Girl (Ranma) Shampoo Ukyo Kuonji Asuka Saginomiya (Manga only) Hinako Ninomiya Tatewaki Kuno |
| Occupation: | Student |
| Residence: | The Kuno Mansion, Furinkan |
| Fighting Style: | Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics |
| Attacks: | Ribbon A Thousand Clubs (Sentekonbou) Razor Hoop Spiked Club Poisons |
| Seiyū: | Saeko Shimazu |
| Voice Actor: | Teryl Rothery Erin Fitzgerald (season 5) Sylvia Zaradic (Season 6-7) |
| 1st Appearance (Manga): |
Volume 2 |
| 1st Appearance (Anime): |
TV Series, Season 1 |
Kodachi Kuno (九能 小太刀 Kunō Kodachi) is a fictional, important supporting character in Rumiko Takahashi's anime and manga series Ranma ½.
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[edit] History
Tatewaki Kuno's sister, "The Black Rose," attends St. Hebereke School for Girls instead of Furinkan like the majority of the cast. A master of "Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics," she ambushes her opponents before their match and disables them, thus winning by default—though she calls it "fighting in all fairness before the match." She is fond of using paralysis gas and sleeping powders on people, even when she has no apparent motivation to do so.
She is captain of the school's martial arts rhythmic gymnastics team which has seldom - if ever - lost a match. This is likely the result of Kodachi commonly doing all the fighting preemptively—before the match—by ambushing her opponents with swords or a giant mallet, or more devious methods such as poison, sleeping powder, or in one case, attempting to shake her foe's hand with thumbtacks between her fingers.
Kodachi falls for male Ranma after he saves her from a fall from the roof of the Tendo Dojo. Therefore, she is the only one of his suitors without some official or semi-official claim to him. Despite this, she considers herself to be his lover and wants nothing more than for him to make her his own through any means necessary. She and her brother are in constant conflict over Ranma because her brother despises the male Ranma, both for his engagement to Akane and for enslaving the mysterious 'pigtailed girl.' Meanwhile, she hates the 'pigtailed girl,' whom she believes is a rival for her 'Darling Ranma' (much because Ranma replaced Akane to battle her and, despite Kodachi's blatant cheating - seen as natural by her schoolmates - Ranma ended up victorious).
[edit] Character
Unlike the other suitors, Kodachi is not actually betrothed to Ranma. Since there is no formal engagement involved in her relationship with Ranma, he usually brushes her off more often than his other three suitors. She resents this and responds with more poisons and other foul tricks. She is actually aware that Ranma doesn't love her. She just refuses to let that get in her way.
She's a good cook who prepares elaborate meals that seem to be based in French cuisine. In one story, students who consumed her cookies described them as delicious—before they fainted because she had laced them with sleeping powder. She uses her culinary expertise to her advantage by placing poisons, toxins, serums, and other strange substances in her victims' food to attain something she wants from them, especially when Ranma is involved. Kodachi is also quite well-mannered, and is capable of acting like a perfect lady and a first class host if she has to or feels like it.
Like her brother, she is unaware of Ranma's curse and views his same-gendered form (in this case, the girl) as a rival for the affections of his opposite-gendered form (in this case, the boy). Unlike Kuno, this can be attributed to simple ignorance of Jusenkyo curses rather than outright denial; still, Kodachi did see Ranma change forms once.
Kodachi seems to enjoy spending time in the extensive gardens of the Kuno estate, particularly near the large pond, where she keeps her large pet crocodile, whom she has lovingly named Mr. Turtle (Mr. Green Turtle in the anime).
As an interesting note, Kodachi has been bitter rivals with another girl, Asuka Saginomiya—AKA the White Lily—since they both were six years old. Asuka is a snobbish girl who enjoys using explosives to defeat her foes. She and Kodachi always fight over who has the most handsome boyfriend, often stating a day and year when they would meet to compare their dates. In their most recent battle, Akane allowed Ranma to pose as Kodachi's beau. The match ended in a draw as it was revealed that neither one had an actual boyfriend.
Like most Ranma characters, Kodachi, though "twisted" according to her brother, is not completly heartless. She did provide Ranma and Genme with free room, board, and food when they were kicked out of the Tendo house in one episode of the anime. And she has been shown to truely care for her family.
[edit] Mr. Turtle
Mr. Turtle (Midorigame in Japanese) is Kodachi's giant pet crocodile. He wears an electrified pink collar around his neck that reads his name. This collar is made of 'memory metal' that cannot be removed without receiving a painful shock. Splashing it with hot water nullifies the electric field and allows it to be reshaped. It also contains a small hidden compartment. Kodachi once used the collar to stash the negatives for some photographs Hikaru Gosunkugi took that displayed her and Ranma having what appeared to be an intimate moment.
Mr. Turtle is frequently used for comic relief. Every time her brother destroys one of the large posters of her Darling Ranma that she has put up in her room, she wraps him up with her ribbon and feeds him to Mr. Turtle. The family's ninja servant Sasuke is usually used as the crocodile's chew toy. More commonly, Ranma gets blasted into the air courtesy of Akane, subsequently landing in Mr. Turtle's pond, turning the young man into a girl and inadverdantly giving Kuno a chance to glomp his "pigtailed girl." Mr. Turtle didn't appear in the OAV, but a large Tiger Shark acted as his replacement.
[edit] Special Techniques
Kodachi is an expert in Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics, making her skilled in acrobatics and weapon use (i.e. balls, clubs, hoops, ribbons, and ropes). A very cunning individual, Kodachi is not averse to using unorthodox methods in combat such as rigged weapons, explosives and various poisons. In competition, it could even be construed as cheating although all of her techniques are legal under the rules of Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics, which only prohibit barehanded attacks.
Compared to the rest of the regular Ranma cast, Kodachi, while not as strong or fast as Ranma's fiancées, would be a competent, if unexceptional, warrior. She is, however, incredibly agile, possibly second only to Ranma in that category.
- Razor Hoop: Kodachi throws a gymnastics hoop that contains a razor capable of cutting through solid metal at her opponent.
- Spiked Club: Kodachi swings a special club at her opponent. A button on its handle sends out spikes when pressed. Releasing the trigger makes the spikes retract again.
- Sentekonbou (千手こん棒 - A Thousand Clubs): a very fast attack that looks like dozens of clubs attacking at once - which is exactly what it is.
- Attack of the Boiling Water: Kodachi grabs a kettle of boiling water with her ribbon and attacks her opponent with it.
- Thread Ribbon: Throws and wraps her opponent with it, just like a spider that shoots a thread to wrap it's prey.
- Black Rose Scattered Bomb Shots: While in midair, Kodachi tosses several explosive black roses to her opponent. This is Kodachi’s strongest technique; she used it in an attempt to incapacitate Asuka Saginomiya’s date.
- Black Rose Blizzard: Spinning her gymanst ribbon, Kodachi unleashes a storm of black rose petals. Not an actual fighting technique, but she uses this every time she enters or leaves the scene as a way of reminding people of her presence. It also tends to annoy the hell out of those around her and is usually accompanied by her laughter.
[edit] Trivia
- Her Latin American Spanish voice actor is Rocío Prado.
- Despite their frequent fights, Kodachi and her brother do care about each other, evidenced by the anime episode "Dear Daddy...Love, Kodachi."
- Her distinctive maniacal laugh is similar to Naga the White Serpent of Slayers fame, Ayeka of Tenchi Muyo, and Nanami Kiryuu of Revolutionary Girl Utena.
- The name "Kodachi" refers to a type of sword, smaller than a katana but larger than a wakizashi.
- She bears a strong resemblance to the demon bird Princess Abi from Inuyasha. Both have long black hair with a side pony tail, also posses similar facial designs. Both characters also have the same shade of lipstick, and the same voice actors in both the Japanese and English language versions of the anime series.
- When she leaps around through the streets (as opposed to in the Martial Arts Rythmic Gymnastics ring,) her movements are frequently accompanied by a small stream of black rose petals that almost constantly billow out behind her and her maniacal cackle.
- Kodachi usually wears her leotard under her clothing so that she is always prepared for a fight, presumably because it permits her superior range of motion in combat when compared to her school uniform or a kimono.
- She is somewhat similar to Ryoko Mendo from Urusei Yatsura. They are both rich, have annoying older brothers, long black hair, and they both can act like kind and sophisticated while at the same time lighting a bomb at someone's feet.
[edit] References
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Ranma ½ Characters
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| Saotome Family | |
|---|---|
| Ranma Saotome | Genma Saotome | Nodoka Saotome | |
| Tendo Family | |
| Soun Tendo | Kasumi Tendo | Nabiki Tendo | Akane Tendo | Mrs. Tendo | |
| Chinese | |
| Shampoo | Mousse | Cologne | Jusenkyo Guide | Pantyhose Taro | |
| Kuno Family | |
| Tatewaki Kuno | Kodachi Kuno | Principal Kuno | Sasuke Sarugakure | |
| Notable Furinkan Residents | |
| Ukyo Kuonji | Hikaru Gosunkugi | Dr. Tofu Ono | Hinako Ninomiya | Konatsu | |
| Major Adversaries | |
| Ryoga Hibiki | Happosai | Mariko Konjo | Herb | Ryu Kumon | Saffron | |
| Recurring / Other Characters | |
| Akari Unryu | Tsubasa Kurenai | Shinnosuke | Minor Characters | |
| Media | |
| Manga | TV Series | Movies | OVAs | |
| Other Articles | |
| Anything Goes Martial Arts | DoCo | Items | Locations | |
