Soun Tendo
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| Soun Tendo 天道 早雲 |
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|---|---|
 Soun Tendo in the anime |
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| Gender: | Male |
| Age: | Late 30s/Early 40s |
| Family: | Mrs. Tendo, wife (Deceased) Akane Tendo, daughter Nabiki Tendo, daughter Kasumi Tendo, daughter |
| Love Interest: | His late wife |
| Loved By: | Hinako Ninomiya |
| Rivals: | Happosai Potential engagement breakers |
| Occupation: | Dojo Owner |
| Residence: | Tendo Dojo, Furinkan |
| Fighting Style: | Anything Goes Martial Arts |
| Attacks: | Yokai Head |
| Seiyū: | Shoichi Ohbayashi(as Ryunosuke Ohbayashi) |
| Voice Actor: | David Kaye |
| 1st Appearance (Manga): |
Volume 1 |
| 1st Appearance (Anime): |
TV Series, Season 1 |
Soun Tendo (天道 早雲 Tendō Sōun) is a fictional character in Rumiko Takahashi's anime and manga series Ranma ½.
Soun is the father of Kasumi, Nabiki, and Akane. He has raised them alone since the death of his wife many years ago.
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[edit] History
Soun Tendo is the current sensei of the Tendo Dojo of Musabetsu-kakutō-ryū karate ("School of Indiscriminate Grappling", more commonly known in the West as "Anything Goes Martial Arts") and the father of Kasumi, Nabiki, and Akane. With the untimely death of his wife, Soun was left with the responsibility of raising his three daughters and the duty of keeping his dojo afloat all by himself.
In the old tradition of carrying on a dojo, there has to be a man to run it after him. So Soun struck a marriage arrangement with his long time friend, Genma Saotome. Genma's only son, Ranma, would marry one of Soun's daughters, and thus the future of the dojo would be preserved.
It was then decided that Akane would be engaged to Ranma. Neither Ranma nor Akane found this acceptable, however, and they immediately protested the engagement, but both Soun and Genma remain confident that they will grow to love one another as an engaged couple should.
[edit] Character
Soun is prone to displays of emotion, whether it be a tragic, happy, or angry occasion. He cries at times, doing so in a manner that renders him a sterling example of the "Ocular Gusher" trope, and has also been known to get very angry when the engagement of Akane and Ranma is in any way threatened.
Soun still mourns (and loves) his deceased wife, and has a traditional Japanese altar devoted to her memory somewhere in the house, he prays for her every year on the day of their wedding anniversary.
Like Genma, Soun upholds a sense of honor, but is known to be inclined to bend the rules once in a while. His sometime cowardice in confronting situations also mirrors that of Genma. However, like Genma, Soun turns out to be a good person for the most part, and is looking forward to the day Ranma and Akane might marry. While a bit old-fashioned, the man honestly cares for his girls' well-being.
Soun's trait that gets on Ranma's and Akane's nerves the most is his willingness to openly talk about Ranma and Akane's feelings. Although the two deny it up and down, Soun has no problem expressing the couple's feelings for each other.
Despite his numerous flaws, Soun is a respected member of his community, and the neighborhood watch often calls for his help when problem arises in the area. Some examples of this are when Happosai first appeared or the time he was asked for help at the beginning of the dragon’s whisker story.
It is assumed that Soun has a stable job or another source of steady income, even though he is never seen doing any kind of job during the series other that going with Genma and Ranma on the occasional monster (or troublemaker) hunt.
[edit] Special Techniques
As a former student of Happosai should, Soun is in perfect shape and is skilled at both handling a wide variety of weapons and hand to hand fighting. He sometimes fights wearing full samurai armor, though it might be more for show.
- Yokai Head: When angry, Soun apparently changes shape into a huge apparition-like yokai, with dark clouds and long tongue, scaring everyone around him (except for his daughters). This technique is commonly referred to in fan fiction as "Soun's Demon Head," and is usually believed to be a deriative of Happosai's paralysing battle aura attack, used in his first appearance.
- He doesn't use this as an attack, though, but as an incentive for people to listen to him since it looks like he will eat them or attack. This commonly shows when Akane is in danger, upset or her engagement to Ranma is in some way threatened.
- Battle Aura (anime only): Soun is able to focus his battle aura to create a giant version of himself, it is extremely taxing on him though, and unlike Happosai, he can't keep this technique up for too long.
- He used this technique during the episode "Curse of the Scribbled Panda", where he (alongside Genma Saotome and Happosai) had to fight the giant Demon Drawings.
[edit] Trivia
- Soun translates to 'fast cloud'. See also Hōjō Sōun.
- Latin American Spanish Voice Actors: Bardo Miranda, the late Enrique Mederos, Jesse Conde.
- Brazilian voice actor: Tatá Guarnieri (who voiced Himura Kenshin in Rurouni Kenshin and Roberto Gómez Bolaños' characters in his series - most prominently El Chavo del Ocho and El Chapulín Colorado - after the death of the previous voice actor, Marcelo Gastaldi).
[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 | |
