Tofu Ono
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| Dr. Tofu Ono 小乃東風 | |
|---|---|
| Image:Tofumanga.jpg Dr. Tofu Ono | |
| Alias: | Dr. Tofu |
| Gender: | Male |
| Age: | Late 20s/Early-mid 30s |
| Family: | Kin Ono, mother Father, deceased |
| Love Interest: | Kasumi Tendo |
| Loved By: | Formerly: Akane Tendo |
| Rivals: | Yasukichi the Egg-Catcher Man (anime only) |
| Occupation: | Chiropractor |
| Residence: | Moxibustion Acupuncture Clinic, Furinkan |
| Fighting Style: | Unknown |
| Seiyū: | Yuji Mitsuya |
| Voice Actor: | Ian James Corlett Kirby Morrow |
| 1st Appearance (Manga): | Volume 1 |
| 1st Appearance (Anime): | TV Series, Season 1, Episode 2 "School is No Place For Horsing Around" |
Dr. Tofu Ono (小乃東風 Ono Tōfū) is a fictional character in Rumiko Takahashi's anime and manga series Ranma ½.
Contents |
[edit] History
Dr. Tofu Ono is the local chiropractor and often helps Akane Tendo and Ranma Saotome when they have bumps, bruises, or other injuries from their many scuffles. In addition to his medical skills, he is very knowledgeable about martial arts techniques although he is never seen practicing. He helps Ranma discover a cure for Happosai's "Moxibustion", and Cologne's "Full-Body Cat Tongue" techniques. He is also one of the earliest to realize the potential of Ranma and Akane's relationship and skillfully nudges them in the right direction from the very beginning.
For a time, he employed both Genma Saotome and Shampoo as assistants.
[edit] Character
As the local physician, Dr. Tofu is often seen as very knowledgeable and quite serious, especially when it comes to medical attention. However, this serious nature is counterbalanced by two distinct mannerisms. First, Dr. Tofu has a habit of punctuating his medical discussions by playfully referencing his full-size skeleton model, which he refers to as Betty. Second, and much more serious, is what happens whenever Kasumi Tendo crosses his path.
Unfortunately, whenever he sees the eldest daughter of Soun Tendo, his glasses fog over and he doesn't pay any attention to what he's doing - to the point that he can unknowingly be a danger to the people around him. His patients have long learned to stay away from him when Kasumi is around, and the anime shows several humorous examples of what Dr. Tofu does when under the influence of love. On at least two different occasions he took his skeleton and danced around town with it on his back after simply talking to her on the telephone. People who witness these antics often comment that "he's usually such a good doctor."
Even more unfortunately, Kasumi is completely oblivious to the effect she has on him, dismissing any of his odd actions with the same casual air with which she addresses much of the insanity that happens within the Tendo household. In a similar mannner, Dr. Tofu was unaware of the crush Akane had had on him for years. In the anime series it's revealed by his mother, Kinii, that this is a family trait. According to her, Tofu's father - who looked exactly like Tofu would if he had a moustache - used to behave in exactly the same way when they were dating. It is unknown what created Tofu's infatuation with Kasumi, but flashbacks show that he has clearly been like this since Akane was a little girl.
Although Akane says he is a good martial artist and Ranma admits Tofu is skilled enough to hide his presence, he never actually gets into a fight in the manga, only using his knowledge of pressure points to help Ranma and the others. In the anime, we see one small scrap between Dr. Tofu and the frog hermit, where he uses his knowledge of pressure points to completely paralyze his foe and his frogs for a time.
[edit] Trivia
- Latin American Spanish Voice Actor: Jorge Ornelas
- Translated literally, "Tōfū Ono" means "east wind axe," a Japanese idiom for "the wind that brings the spring." In relation to the character's personality, it means nothing, although the sheer bizarreness of his name more than makes up for it. See also Tofu and Ono Tofu
- Despite the fact that its never revealed if Kasumi has any true romantic feelings for him, she does consider her friendship with him very meaningful. Unlike his manga counterpart, it seems that Dr. Tofu is set to be paired up with Kasumi by the end of the anime.
- Tofu plays a larger role in the anime than in the manga; he does not appear in the manga after volume 12. He suffers from what some fans dub as "Takahashi Character Death", where a major character created by Takahashi is never seen or heard from again with no explanation.
[edit] References
| 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 | Ranma ½ minor characters | |
| Other Articles | |
| Locations in Ranma ½ | Anything Goes Martial Arts | Chinese Amazons | |
