Shampoo | Mouse Curse

Shampoo is a Chinese Amazon from Joketsuzoku. She is one of the most relentless suitors of Ranma Saotome along with Kodachi Kuno and Ukyo Kuonji.

Shampoo has red eyes and knee-length blue or purple hair, with a fringe and two strands hanging in front, secured with yellow ties.

Shampoo dresses in Chinese clothing, usually a matching blouse and pants, over which she may wear an apron while working. Her combat outfit consists of a light colored long-sleeved blouse and pants with the addition of a dark breastplate and a pair of metal arm-guards, making her one of the few characters to wear any form of armor. For formal occasions. she favors sleeveless cheongsam.

Shampoo's cat form is light colored with dark ears and paws, a characteristic fringe, and similar strands that frame its face. In the original anime, it has light pink fur with darker pink paws and ears.

Shampoo is extremely manipulative, devious, strategic scheming, play-acting and completely ruthless behavior to advance her position towards the object of her attention. Like her great-grandmother Colgone, Shampoo does seem to enjoy having fun from the trouble she causes, particularly if it means she can get close to Ranma as a result.

Given Shampoo's violent behaviour, she views anyone who attempts to get between her and Ranma as an "obstacle" which must be killed. However, she has also resorted to non-lethal methods to remove an "obstacle", such as when she used the "Xi Fa Xiang Gao" to wipe Akane's memories of Ranma; until they return at which time she decides to resort to her usual violent techniques. With Shampoo's knowledge of pressure points and moxibustion, she is open to the idea of manipulating other's will to her advantage, whether that be to eliminate Akane or increasing the likelihood of Ranma ever returning her feelings for him.

Having been trained in the martial art techniques of the Joketsuzoku since birth, with Cologne as her personal instructor and the young female village champion (probably making her the strongest member in her village after Cologne), Shampoo is an excellent armed or unarmed fighter, is very swift and acrobatic, and strong enough to casually walk right through reinforced stone walls on a regular basis. She uses a pair of chuí as her primary weapons, but is also shown using other weapons. These include a dao, spear, a bow, and a variety of polearms, including a Monk's Spade.

Shampoo's greatest strength may lie in sheer versatility. Beyond her fighting abilities, she has displayed knowledge of shiatsu-induced unconsciousness, mind-control, memory loss, intuitive multi-step strategy, defense against enchanted herbs, Chinese cooking, and incredible tracking skills enabling her to hunt Ranma from rural China to the east of Japan. She even has access to minor magic equipment - the Instant Jusenkyo, the Love Pill Bracelet, the Waterproof Soap, the Kairaishi Mushroom and the Reversal Jewel being major examples.

In both the manga and anime, she demonstrates impressive speed and technique, although she remains clearly below Ranma in overall power. Early encounters often ended in quick defeats for her, though later arcs show her performing better, especially when using her signature weapons.

Shampoo consistently outclasses Akane physically, overwhelming her in their first fight, and matching her after both she and Akane had consumed Super Soba. Although near the end of the manga, Akane starts to perform similar feats. Her rivalry with Ukyo is less definitive, with neither gaining a clear advantage in the manga, although the anime depicts them as roughly even. Against weaker opponents like Pink and Link, Shampoo proves especially ruthless and efficient, frightening them far more than Ranma does.

Notably, Mousse has been shown to put up a much more dangerous challenge for Ranma during their fights, although this has not earned him any recognition from Shampoo.

Shampoo's most impressive moment in the manga came when she was freed from Kiema's enslavement, and was intent to let her captor "suffer a thousand deaths". She managed to hold her own against the Phoenix tribe captain, although in the one full page dedicated to their battle Kiima was shown as mostly interested in freeing the Kinjakan to assist her lord Saffron in his confrontation with Ranma. They are later shown as completely focused on watching the fight, with Kiima caught in Shampoo's headlock. In the anime, a similar fight occurred with Mon Lon in the movie "Big Trouble in Nekonron, China"; shortly afterwards Mon Lon was incapacitated in the arms of Mousse, who believed her to be Shampoo, while Shampoo is shown to be okay.

In the Shonen Sunday Wide-ban edition statistics, Shampoo was placed below Ranma, around Ryoga’s level, and above fighters like Taro and Mousse, with her greatest strengths being technique and heart. However, given that it clearly contradicts what was explicitly shown in the manga, and likely was not made with input from Rumiko Takahashi, it should be taken with a large grain of salt.

Techniques Combat-oritented moves Hissatsu Shiatsuken: An attack using a specially devised herbal shampoo in conjunction with a shiatsu massage technique involving pressure points on the head to erase her opponent's memories. The process takes at most 6 seconds. Remote Control Acupressure: Activated by pressing both fingers against an unprepared target's temples. Afterwards the victim is susceptible to a brief mind-control effect. Used to turn a distracted Akane unconscious during the 'waterproof soap' story, when Shampoo forces Akane into putting herself in harm's way by standing in front of a roller coaster, then makes her affectionately hug Ryoga (which infuriates Ranma) and to urge him to give back the waterproof soap. Sleep fighting: Used against Pink and Link after being bitten by the Poisonous-Snake Plant. Although someone bitten by the plan will fall into a deep sleep which needs an antidote to awaken from, Shampoo's hatred of the twins was so strong that she nearly killed the two even while asleep before eventually succumbing to the plant's poison. Kakato Otoshi: A jumps on someone's head to get a boost, used on Akane. Named in Ranma 1/2: Hard Battle. Dumpling Bombs: Similar to Ukyo's okonomiyaki bombs, but smaller. Only used in the final wedding story. Fork Darts (Anime): Similar to Ukyo's spatula shuriken.

Less combat-orientated moves: Chow Mein Strike: The user turns a bowl-full of ramen noodles into a whip, forcing the intended food recipient to eat his way out during take-out competitions. Given its limited tensile strength it's likely not useful beyond this function. Delivery Box Blow-out (also known as the Box-Blower Blow): A move from the school of 'Martial Arts Takeout,' a style in which Cologne has stated that Shampoo is 'not half bad.' This allows the user to instantly 'overcook' the food contained within a delivery box with a finger or pointed hand strike. It may have had a similar effect when Shampoo accidentally struck a water tower instead, although more likely it simply burst after being slightly cracked. This technique only appears in Shampoo's arsenal in the manga; in the anime it is the property of Kaori Daikoku.

Family: Shampoo and her great-grandmother Cologne have a very close familiar relationship. Cologne has raised and trained Shampoo from a young age, and is openly proud of her martial arts student and great-grandaughter. While Cologne made severe mistakes towards Shampoo like choosing Jusenkyo as a training spot, they usually get along rather well, to the point that Cologne followed Shampoo to Japan in hopes of the younger woman marrying Ranma. Upon their arrival, Cologne not only opened a restaurant to ensure their joint livehood, but also supported the schemes of her great-grandaugher and tested the skills of her "son-in-law". Both Cologne and Shampoo have similar personality traits, most notably their enjoyment for the chaos their presence brings, for better and worse.

In Ranma 1/2, Shampoo speaks in a stereotypical broken or "pidgin" Japanese often used in manga to denote a non-native speaker. Her distinct linguistic quirks vary depending on the version but generally reflect her rapid acquisition of the language.

Key Elements of Shampoo's Speech: The "Aiya" Exclamation: She frequently uses the exclamation "Aiya" to express surprise or frustration. The "Aru" Trope: In the original Japanese manga and older anime, she often ends sentences with the particle “aru”. This is a long-standing mangaka trope used to mimic the sound of a Chinese accent.

Simplified Grammar: She drops pronouns (like "I" or "you"), skips connecting particles, and speaks in fragmented, direct sentences (e.g., "Like rice that stick to wok, Shampoo hate stubborn guy").

Third-Person Referencing: She frequently refers to herself by her own name ("Shampoo") rather than using "I" or "me".

The 1980s dub she speaks in a "broken English" trope or exaggerated speech.