Shampoo (シャンプー Shanpū?) is a Chinese Amazon from Joketsuzoku. She is one of the main three fiancées of Ranma Saotome and a rival of both Akane Tendo and Ukyo Kuonji.
The kanji in her name are shān "coral" and pú "uncut/unpolished gem". The real pun in Shampoo's name though, is that some of the characters from her village are named after beauty products such as Mousse and Cologne.
Appearance[]
Shampoo has waist-length dark hair (blue/purple in the anime) with a fringe and two strands hanging in front that are secured with ties. She dresses in various forms of Chinese clothing, usually a matching blouse and pants, over which she may wear an apron while working. Her combat outfit consists of a light colored long-sleeved blouse and pants with the addition of a dark breastplate and a pair of metal arm-guards, making her one of the few characters to wear any form of armor. For formal occasions she favors sleeveless cheongsam.
Her cat form is light colored with dark ears and paws, a characteristic fringe, and similar strands that frame its face. In the anime, it has light pink fur with darker pink paws and ears.
She has large breasts and is considered one of the bustiest characters in the series.
Personality[]
Shampoo shows elements of the tsundere character, given her initially hostile temperament towards Ranma Saotome before slowly becoming more attracted to him until she finally stops her plans for revenge in favor of ensuring her marriage to Ranma.
She is manipulative. She has repeatedly shown as devious and strategic as well as not being above scheming,[citation needed] play-acting[citation needed] or completely ruthless behavior to advance her position towards the object of her attention. However, Shampoo does seem to enjoy having fun from the trouble she causes,[9] particularly if it means she can get close to Ranma as a result.
Given Shampoo's violent and protective behaviour, she views anyone who attempts to get between her and Ranma as an "obstacle" which must be killed.[13][14] However, she has also resorted to other methods to remove an "obstacle", such as when she used the "Xi Fa Xiang Gao" to wipe Akane's memories of Ranma;[15][16][17] until they return at which time she decides to resort to her usual violent techniques.[18][19]
With her knowledge of pressure points and moxibustion,[15][16] Shampoo is open to the idea of manipulating other's will to her advantage, whether that be to eliminate Akane[20] or increasing the likelihood of Ranma returning her feelings for him.[21]
Of all the fiancées, Shampoo is the most sexually uninhibited and the most sensual, possibly due to her upbringing in a society including extensive warrior training for both males and females. Nudity is also not a problem for her, as she rather enjoys being naked and has attempted to seduce Ranma many times, even in dangerous places like under a giant bell. Early in the series, Kasumi Tendo had a talk with her about modesty. Although she did cease her faint-inducing habit of popping out of the tub naked anytime Ranma tried to take a bath, the conversation has apparently had little effect on her behavior other than that.
Relationships[]
Ranma Saotome[]
Because of her traditions and Ranma defeating her (accidently) in his male form, it is law that she marry him[22][23], and she tries everything possible to accomplish that. Frequently, she glomps Ranma on sight and asks for a date, much to his chagrin. She is not above using trickery and magic to get Ranma to fall in love with her. Because of this, Ranma generally sees her as a nuisance, but tolerates her and seems to have a good degree of friendship with her, going to the Cat Cafe for free bowls of ramen and helping Mousse to rescue her when she's held captive by Maomolin[24][25][26].
Unlike Ukyo, who he at least apparently considers as a regular, non-romantic old friend, Ranma has stated outright that he views Shampoo as a pest, and treated her as an infuriating nuisance on several occasions. Regardless, his attitude towards both of them seems conflicted between consideration for their feelings. He was moved by Shampoo's tears when she believed that he rejected her during the onsen race, and had a similar problem with Ukyo during the 'Secret Sauce' arc. His pride took it as a direct challenge to win back Shampoo's affections during the 'Reversal Jewel' storyline[27], where he also forces a confession out of Ukyo to feel desirable again. His only attempt to directly get rid of Shampoo (beyond encouraging Mousse in his efforts) happened during her first appearance. Like most cute girls in the series, she can usually manipulate him by feigning tears. If that fails, Shampoo can sometimes get Ranma to bend to her will by transforming into her cat form and taking advantage of his fear - she usually performs this stunt when he makes her angry.
Akane Tendo[]
Shampoo first saw Akane as an obstacle for Ranma's affection, and has tried to kill or do away with her on more then one occasion, but after relocating permanently to Furinkan, changes her view on Akane. In a sense, they have a similar relationship to Ranma's and Ryoga's, being fierce rivals and battling on occasion, yet considering each other close friends, and saving each other on a basis, such as when Akane helped Mousse and Ranma free Shampoo from Maomolin, or when Shampoo helped to rescue Akane when she was kidnapped by Kirin of the Seven Lucky Gods[28]. This doesn't stop Akane from being irritated when Shampoo tackle glomps Ranma, nor does it stop Shampoo in the pursuit of her airen.
Mousse[]
Possibly Shampoo's most prominent relationship, she has known Mousse since childhood. Shampoo has claimed to completely hate Mousse and generally acts cold towards him, but does have her moments and acts nice to him. Mousse on the other hand is in love with Shampoo and desperately seeks her attention, despite her being after Ranma. Shampoo has tried to sabotage Mousse's efforts, and encouraged him and initially didn't care when he was to leave for China, but was glad when he returned, and even had a feast prepared for him[29]. (though this is possibly cause her and Cologne needed to go away and have someone watch the restaurant.)
Early in the manga Shampoo indifferently stated outright that she hates Mousse, and in the closing chapter, that he makes her sick, and that that she'd like to personally kill him for his "foolish behavior" and "ruining her happiness". However there have been a few hints that her feelings for her childhood 'friend'/nuisance are not restricted to contempt, loathing and annoyance. She beat him up in the regular manner while wearing the Reversal Jewel, which turns love to hatred, incorrectly (although turning hatred to love, was never explicitly implied). Cologne commented that "It seems as if Shampoo does not hate you as much as before"[30]. Shampoo also agreed to go on a date with him, after he eventually abstained from using magic apology-inducing glasses during his duels with Ranma, while the latter retaliated by using any petty cheats available. However the goodwill Mousse earned by appearing in a better light than his rival, was eradicated when he took Shampoo to a zombie-demon show, which she found disgusting and not romantic in the least. Later, when Mousse was almost drained of life while enchanted into dating a magic Jizo statue he believed was Shampoo, she initially didn't care at all, and stayed home to play video games instead. Eventually, she reluctantly gave him a scarf she was making for Ranma to wake him from the trance[31].
Nevertheless, it always takes extreme circumstances for her to give him any leeway whatsoever since she generally harshly rejects, and treats him in a very cold manner. For example, she cheerfully repeatedly threw bombs at him (which are non lethal by Ranmaverse standards) during a duel with Ranma, since she didn't wish to give him a promised date if he either managed to prevail, or Ranma lost on purpose[32]. While she temporarily felt bad about it and cradled his beaten duck form afterward, she quickly got over it, tying him with a chain to the neck, and taunted him by holding his food out of reach[33]. When she found his duck form beaten (by Taro) on the street she didn't bother to brake and casually ran over him, but seemed somewhat concerned or at least curious afterwords. After Ranma pinned Mousse's duck form to a wall and said 'If you weren't such a moron I wouldn't have Shampoo pestering me all the time,' she did turn into a cat and began to chase Ranma, but not to save Mousse, but because she was maddened by the statement. After Mousse decided to free Shampoo from Kiima's slavery instead of taking advantage, she didn't feel the least inclination of gratitude, or even spared him a moment's thought, but rather immediately took the opportunity to hug Ranma instead.
In the separate anime continuity there are occasional hints that Shampoo actually does hold some love for him, despite vehemently professing the contrary. In the later part of the series Shampoo was the one who convinced him to stay in Japan rather than go back to China, and she cradled him in her arms when he saved her life but was almost killed in the 'Nihao, My Concubine' movie[34]. In the first example, though, she and Cologne explicitly did so because they decided to go to a hot springs and wanted somebody to watch the shop, and knew that Mousse was still available and would do it for free. In the second example, Shampoo is shown relaxing while Mousse is being forced to do heavy labor in the background in the ending credits.
Ukyo Kuonji[]
Shampoo and Ukyo have a complex relationship. While the two are rivals for Ranma's affections, and rivals in the food business, they can occasionally get along. Other times, they usually trade snide remarks. Their rivalry can be displayed not just in their fighting but in their cooking, when Ukyo accidentally ruined Shampoo's ramen by getting okonomiyaki sauce in it, but only sarcastically apologized, which led to Shampoo pouring it onto Ukyo's cooking.
Ryoga Hibiki[]
Shampoo initially did not acknowledge Ryoga as anyone significant, as at the time, she was hellbent on killing Ranma's female side. Ryoga didn't seem to think much of her either initially. He soon came to fear her after she attempted to serve him (in his pig form) as a dish to Ranma and kicked him in the head during her fight with Akane[35]. Of course, Shampoo didn't know of his Jusenkyo curse at the time. After her relocation, she tends to hang out with Ryoga (along with Mousse, Ranma, and the others) and is shown to have a degree of friendship. This didn't stop her from trying to steal back her waterproof soap when it ended up in his hands.