Sasuke Sarugakure

Infobox animanga character
name = Sasuke Sarugakure
series = Ranma ½


caption = Sasuke Sarugakure
first =
last =
creator = Rumiko Takahashi
voiced by = Shigeru Chiba (Japanese)
Robert O. Smith (English)
alias = Impudent Fool
Insolent Whelp
15th-Generation Guardian of the House of Kuno
age = Mid-Late 30's
born =
occupation = Servant
relatives = Grandfather, (Deceased)
The Kunos, His masters
divider = yes
aux1 name = Curse
aux1 =
aux2 name = Fighting style
aux2 = Little Ninja Arts
Sarugakure School of Martial Arts

nihongo|Sasuke Sarugakure|猿隠 佐助|Sarugakure Sasuke is a fictional character in Rumiko Takahashi's anime series "Ranma ½". Sasuke's name comes from the legendary ninja Sarutobi Sasuke.

Story

Sasuke was initially introduced in the anime to replace Hikaru Gosunkugi. He is the Kuno family's ninja, charged with carrying out their orders and with the defense of the Kuno household (an apparently hereditary role). He is always following Tatewaki Kuno or his sister Kodachi and is very loyal to them and tries to help as best he can. Sasuke has been an accomplice in many of Tatewaki's attempts to defeat Ranma and steal Akane away from his rival. In the episode "Les Miserables of the Kuno Estate", he was fired by his employers after they fought over cookies. Akane Tendo felt bad for him and let him stay at the Tendo house. Sasuke noticed how much different living in the Tendo house was from living with the Kunos and decided to work for her. Tatewaki, though, couldn't sleep without Sasuke's shadow puppet shows and wanted someone to eat his pickled garlic. In the end, Tatewaki apologized for his actions and Sasuke went back to working for his old master (though Tatewaki still continued to treat Sasuke poorly after he got into another fight with Kodachi later on).

Sasuke lives in horrible conditions under the Kunos, once commenting that he once was forced to rely on a single bowl of brine as his sole source of food for ten days. He is known to sleep on a thin straw mat and blanket under the Kuno house, exposed to the bitter winds of winter, and to be allowed to drink water solely from the house's storm gutters and water features, and is generally treated with utter contempt by his masters. Despite all this, he never complains and serves with utter loyalty- it appears that, as poor as his life with the Kunos is, he still prefers it to the idea of leaving their service and being forced to return home. Sasuke was born and trained in a mysterious and isolated village, Sarugakure Village, hidden in the mountains, which is legendary for its skilled ninja and ninja dogs.

Personality

Sasuke was created to replace Gosunkugi in the series, but he has a personality all his own that can sometimes be even more absurd than that of "Voodoo Spike." He is very loyal to Tatewaki and Kodachi and will gladly do whatever he is told. Even though they may sometimes abuse him (verbally and physically), he has learned to be compliant and polite, and it shows in his actions towards them. He has an unfortunate habit of wetting his beddings during sleep.

Sasuke is the most stable and generally normal of the inhabitants of the Kuno estate in many ways, he could be considered a voice of reason and calmness amidst their usual insanity. He strives to try and keep them happy and out of trouble, while at the same time trying to fulfil his duties to them. Though he had both met Ranma in both normal and cursed forms since the 2nd Season, he did not find out that Ranma and the "pigtailed girl" were the same person until the second-to-last episode of Season 5 entitled: "Case of the Missing Takoyaki", making him the only person on the Kuno estate aware of Ranma's gender-bending nature. In the English dubbed version of "Sasuke's Mission Improbable", dialogue in a key scene is such that Sasuke implictly reasons out that both Ranmas are the same person, which may or may not contradict his shock at seeing Ranma transform directly in front of him in Case of the Missing Takoyaki. Apparently, he never tells either Tatewaki or Kodachi about the curse after finding out Ranma's secret, as they are still unaware in the episodes afterwards (they would probably never believe him anyway).

Techniques

Sasuke has a collection of special techniques that make use of pre-constructed traps and gizmos- because of this, he can only use them within the Kuno Estate. Because of their nature, these techniques begin with "Sarugakure School, House of Gadgets:". In the English translation of the anime, this school is referred to as "Kuno House of Gadgets". The House of Gadgets techniques consist of the following special attacks.

*Year-End Jackpot Drawing of Terror: He lures his enemies into a spinning room that resembles a wheel of fortune that contains giant balls capable of crushing his enemies. In the English translation, this attack is referred to as "Wheel of Death".

*Rapid-Fire Cup and Ball: Sasuke uses a ball-cup toy to hit his opponent rapidly, causing a very harsh sting. In the English translation, this technique is named "Paddleball of Doom".

*Washing Machine of Agitation: Sasuke lures his enemies in to a giant washing machine-like room that floods with water until near the top of the room before a powerful whirlpool is created, in an attempt to drown his enemies. The English dubbed name for this technique is "Washing Machine of Destruction".

*Silky-Wave Fountain: By activating a special device in the Kuno hot spring, Sasuke launches a huge geyser that blows away all enemies in the chamber, sending them right through the roof. The English dubbed name for this technique is "Fountain of Despair".

In addition to his House of Gadgets techniques, Sasuke also has more conventional ninja-based techniques.

*Ninja Web: Sasuke releases a spider like web to capture his enemies although it never works because every time he uses it he ends up capturing himself or Tatewaki.

*Ninja Tools: Sasuke always carries numerous ninja weapons to attack his enemies but never succeeds.

*Disguises and Camaflouge: Sasuke may sometimes disguise himself in order to fool his enemies but they are actually rather stupid and badly made such as the time he disguised himself as Akane using a yellow wig, although when it comes to his camaflouge techniques he is actually rather good even Akane or Ranma may not be able to see him, such as in the Romeo and Juliet play were he painted himself to look exactly like Juliets balcony to capture Akane and nearly succeeded but not before being beaten to a pulp by Ranma.

External links

* [http://www.animeinfo.org/featured/ranma/ranmapeople/sasuke.html Sasuke Sarugature at AnimeInfo]
* [http://www.furinkan.com/ranma/characters/ Sasuke Sarugature at Furinkan.com]