Ranma 1/2, Volume 34

This is the best work yet. I can't wait for the final two vols. of this great comic manga series.

The Ranma 1/2 series starts to wind down to the end in the thirty-fourth volume, as Ranma faces one of his most lethal opponents: his own adoring mother, who might just kill him if she learns of his "unmanly" curse. While the other stories in this volume are hilarious, it's the family tale that really shows Rumiko Takahashi at her best. The Tendos and Saotomes have gone to the beach, where Akane is awarded a bathing suit that allows her to swim, and entered into as swimming contest. Except Ranma suspects that there is a terrible monster awaiting his fiancee. Later on, when Ukyo gets the flu, transvestite ninja Konatsu is determined to run the restaurant for her. Except he's not very good at it -- even with Ranma and Akane's help. Ryoga's relationship woes continue when he turns up in the mountains, where Ranma and Akane's families are vacationing. He's supposed to meet his girlfriend Akari, but because of mixed-up maps and no sense of direction, he's having some trouble. It's up to Ranma to get his rival off to that date! And finally, the story readers have been waiting for. Genma tries to take a "family treasure" from an ancestral Saotome grave, and is narrowly foiled by his wife's arrival. Even though he cannot reveal that he is not "Ranko," Ranma is determined to keep the treasure in Nodoka's hands. The problem is that Nodoka is starting to realize the truth about Ranma's double identity -- and may force her son to commit suicide. To make matters worse, Nodoka also has a family heirloom -- a gold ring -- that she wants Ranma to give Akane. Problem is, Ranma and Akane are furious with each other. And since Ranma has moved out of the Tendo house, Akane starts to think that they no longer have much to do with each other. Is this the end of Ranma and Akane's relationship? This is the next-to-penultimate volume of the Ranma 1/2 series, and before the grand finale, Rumiko Takahashi wraps up some story threads. Ranma's rivals and fiancees are getting involved (reluctantly) with others, and the story of Ranma's peculiar family finally comes to a climax. Like with most Ranma stories, there's a lot of slapstick (Ranma repeatedly gets knocked out and splashed), and misunderstandings (Konatsu sells "rich" food). But the really compelling story is of Ranma and his mother, which climaxes in a cliffside rescue. And Takahashi manages to do a wonderful job of it, without becoming overly sentimental as they hug and cry. Ranma grows a lot in this volume, as he decides that even if he has to commit suicide, he needs to see his mother as he really is, rather than pretending to be a girl. But he still squabbles with Akane, until she almost breaks up with him. And even though he's obviously not interested in anyone else, he has trouble giving the ring to her. As the Ranma 1/2 series begins to end, the author wraps up a major storyline and a few minor ones. Only two volumes left!