Characters
Ryu Kumon
Ryu Kumon's father was taught part of a very powerful martial arts technique by Genma Saotome. The technique was so powerful that it killed Ryu's father when he misused it. The techniqued, called the Yama-senken or Thousand Mountains was intended to help the poverty striken Kumon family get back on their feet, by breaking into peoples homes and stealing whatever they needed. Unfortunately Mr. Kumon didn't understand this and when he tried out the techniques it wound up knocking his shoddy dojo down ontop of him. Now grown Ryu wanders Japan seeking the other mate to his Yama-senken, the Umi-senken aka the Thousand Seas. With this technique Ryu believes he will be able to revive the Kumon Dojo which he was intending to inherit.
Ryu happens to come across Nodoka Saotome, Genma's wife and tells her that he is in fact her long lost son, Ranma. Believeing this she takes Ryu/Ranma to the her home as he had hoped so that he could find the Umi-senken scroll. Ranma discovers that he is misleading his mother and decides to learn the deadly Umi-senken technique from Genma in order to counter Ryu's Yama-senken.
Ryu Kumon is a strict martial artist through and through and will do almost anything in order to restore his family's dojo, including adopting the identity of Ranma. He does long for a mother's love and seems to find something in his relationship with Nodoka that he never had due to the loss of his parents.
The Meaning Behind the Name - 公紋竜
When read in the Japanese fashion the name "kumonryu" (公紋竜) translates as "dragon of nine markings." This is a type of koi fish which comes from the karasu, or black stock, but often appears to be wearing the black coloration like a garment.
Voices:
Mitsuru Miyamoto