[Seven Force]

Well since you asked...

Ranma Saotome is the son of Genma and Nodoka Saotome and, obviously, the main character in the series (hence the name, Ranma ½).

Ranma was taken from his home at an early age by his father, and journeyed with him on a decade-long training trip to perfect his martial arts. Along the way, he encountered many things, and many people, much of which is later revealed as the series moves on.

When Ranma was young, he befriended a girl named Ukyo Kuonji, though he didn't know she was a girl, the daughter of a travelling okonomiyaki chef and martial artist. Genma engaged Ranma to Ukyo in exchange for the vendor's cart of her father, but he abandoned Ukyo by the side of the road and ran off with the cart, never telling Ranma about the engagement or correcting him Ukyo's real gender.

Later on, when Ranma neared the end of his training trip, Genma took him to a training ground in China named Jusenkyo. This place, however, was a training ground that no one used anymore because each of the springs that were there were cursed, and falling into them would turn you into whatever drowned there and cursed the spring before. Not knowing this, Genma led Ranma to the ground and attempted to train with him atop the bamboo poles which jutted up out of the pools. When Ranma knocked Genma into Shonmaoniichuan, or the Spring of Drowned Panda, Ranma was surprised to find that instead of his father, a panda climbed out of the pool and prepared to fight Ranma. As a result Genma, now cursed, was able to hit Ranma into another of the cursed pools. Ranma was knocked into Nyannichuan (NiángnÃ*quán 娘溺泉), or the Spring of Drowned Girl. Thus he turns into a girl with cold water, which is only reversible through hot water.

Before this incident, Genma had made a certain arrangement with his friend Soun Tendo. The arrangement was that Ranma would marry one of Soun's daughters, and carry on the Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts.

Although Ranma was half-man, Soun engaged him to his youngest daughter Akane Tendo. Although unwilling to be engaged to Akane at first, Ranma later develops feelings for her.

Ranma and Genma had then moved into the Tendo dojo. Many events happen to Ranma, and has endured, among other things, Amazons, old rivals, Dojo destroyers, and even evil demons. Ranma has also received male suitors because of his female counterpart, such as Tatewaki Kuno.

Later on, Genma tells Ranma that if his mother finds out that he's half-man, she will kill them both. Therefore, Ranma always changes into a girl and is known as Ranko whenever she is around.

However, he later talks to his mother as a man (not revealing that he can change into a girl) and in order to show that he's manly (not a cross-dresser), he has to do several perverted things (mostly to do with Akane). However, these fail, so his mother tells him that she will return later on to see his 'manliness'.

Ranma has not yet found a cure for this ability to change into a girl.