Hinako Ninomiya

Infobox animanga character
color = Orchid
name = Hinako Ninomiya
series = Ranma ½


caption = Hinako in the manga
first = Volume 23
last =
creator = Rumiko Takahashi
voiced by = Yumi Tōma (Japanese)
Janyse Jaud (English)
alias =
age = Appears to be about 12 in child form, but actually in mid-late 20s
born =
occupation = English Teacher
relatives =
divider = yes
aux1 name = Curse
aux1 =
aux2 name = Fighting style
aux2 = Anything Goes Martial Arts

nihongo|Hinako Ninomiya|二ノ宮 ひな子|Ninomiya Hinako is a fictional character in Rumiko Takahashi's anime and manga series "Ranma ½". The first part of her name, "Hina", means "young bird", while "ko" is a common feminine name ending, usually meaning "child", from the word "kodomo". Ninomiya is broken down into "two princesses" which is a reference to her adult and child forms.

History

A teacher hired by Principal Kuno for the purpose of disciplining Furinkan's many delinquent students, particularly Ranma Saotome, she has a reputation for being quite the successful reformer. This status causes a bit of a surprise when she shows up as a young girl. Her reputation, however, is justified when she uses her ability to absorb a person's battle aura, rendering them incapable of fighting back. After absorbing it, she instantly grows into a voluptuous young woman and is then capable of firing it back at opponents as a large ball of energy. She reverts to her child form upon doing so.

The reason for her strange abilities and situation is that, as a small child, she was very sickly. Happosai was raiding the nurses' panties at the hospital where she stayed at, and he "helped" her by manipulating her pressure points, changing her metabolism so she could absorb the auras of other people to increase her health. However, his only motive for doing this was so she could absorb the battle auras of the enraged nurses whose panties he stole, allowing him to make a clean getaway. This altered metabolism made her default form age very slowly, making her true age that of her adult form.

The battle aura absorbing techniques she employs can be countered by simultaneously hitting five pressure points on her body: two on her back, three on her chest. If this is done every day for one month, her powers will be canceled out permanently. The problem with the counter is that, due to the placement of her pressure points, the only way to hit them simultaneously is to grab the teacher's back with one's left hand while roughly groping her left breast with the right. This, of course, causes the attacker to look like a shameless pervert, as Ranma discovers as he tries to do so. He later abandons his efforts after he learns that he must repeat the procedure every day for a whole month. Later on, Hinako falls in love with Soun Tendo, due to the kindly way he treated her while she was in her young girl form. However, Akane, Nabiki and Ranma were firmly dedicated against her turning into a substitute mother, even Kasumi eventually opted against her, and Soun was knocked out before he could hear her proposal. Though Soun respects her dedication as a teacher, treats her courteously, and even admits that he finds her attractive, he can't seem to shake the memory of his late wife. While Hinako claimed that she gave up in the wake of this, she still secretly pursues Soun in an effort to marry him, and has been seen with a Tanabata bamboo charm, where she wished for fun, manga, toys, and that she and Soun would be together.

Although Hinako is a recurring character in the manga, she has a minor role in the anime, relegated to a single OAV that depicts her as just another opponent for Ranma.

Character

Hinako's personality is as variable as her form, shifting between two very different states. In her child form, she acts mostly like a small child would - she talks in a high-pitched voice, desires ice cream and similar junk foods, watches anime on TV (specially Doraemon) and generally acts very spastic, childish and immature. Despite this, she still has a strong commitment to being a teacher and feels very responsible for her students.

In her adult form Hinako acts like an elegant, confident, and somewhat vain adult woman, and is more effective in her disciplining methods, because of her forceful personality, gorgeous figure and her tendency to blast people who disobey her. While she is mainly well intentioned and righteous, and can be gentle, she also seems to have a more vindictive side as an adult, actually enjoying the punishment that she deals out. Her adult form is also quite sensuous and sexual in appearance. Because of this, Hinako is not afraid to use it to her advantage to take control of the situation when dealing with male delinquents. However, she retains some of her childish traits. In either form she enjoys sweets, attractions and video games, eats like a slob, and doesn't properly take care of her apartment. Hinako is quite forgetful, even overlooking to bring her wallet into a restaurant, or getting side-tracked from her original reason to visit the Tendo household once she became enamoured with Soun. She can sometimes lack good judgement, once deciding to help Akane learn to swim without knowing the basics herself. She is also quite weak for what she perceives as very manly and upright grown men who are kind to her. The longer a period she stays in an adult state, the more her energetic and irrational childish personality makes itself known.

Hinako is obsessed with enforcing discipline and justice at Furinkan, and she will do so at any moment if she feels someone is being a delinquent. Her primary target in this endeavour has been Ranma, whom she wishes to take care of so that everyone else will fall in line. Even so, her dedication to teaching also means she wants him to succeed in her classes, and has made an effort to help him with his studies. They did also team up against Principal Kuno after his abusive methods of discipline made him seem like a delinquent to her.

Fighting Ability

"See also Hinako's Techniques."

Happosai taught Hinako her unusual techniques while she was a sickly young girl in the hospital, claiming they were a specialized form of gymnastics. While the result helped the ancient lech in his panty raids, he is fully aware of the consequences of his actions should she become overcharged. In fact, her draining even managed to defeat Happosai by taking him by surprise, but the latter didn't use his superior speed to his advantage, and generally avoids defending himself against women. Despite his massive perversion, his arms are simply too short to simultaneously hit all of the five pressure points that comprise the counter, which would neutralize her powers for a day, and if done every day for a month, would cancel it out permanently. He is personally wary of these techniques, even telling Ranma that they could lead to the death of the Anything Goes School. While she has no traditional combat skills, her unique ability renders potential opponents incapable of fighting back at all, if she successfully catches them. While she requires a focusing source in order to successfully utilize her skill, Hinako is one of the most dangerous fighters around when one is available to her. Her two weaknesses being her considerable, but comparatively lacking speed, and susceptibility to being disarmed, but she can think on her feet and improvise if necessary..

Other appearances

Hinako is a playable character in the Japanese Super Famicom game, "Ranma ½ Super Battle".

External links

* [http://www.animeinfo.org/featured/ranma/ranmapeople/hinako.html Hinako Ninomiya at AnimeInfo]
* [http://www.furinkan.com/ranma/characters/hinako.html Hinako Ninomiya at Furinkan.com]