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Name: Herb
Status:
Prince of the Musk dynasty; part of the royal
family and next in line for leadership.
Occupation: See above ^_^
Age:
Unknown: estimated to be between17 and 20,
which would put him at 18 or 21 under the Chinese tradition
of babies being considered a year old at birth.
Origin:
In the Ranma 1/2 Manga (and ONLY the manga),
volume 24#. Appears in volumes 24# & 25# of the original
Japanese publishing. Now also appears in the Viz English
translations starting with part 11, issue six of the
single-issue printings, volumes 22# and 23# of the published
books. Click here for
Herb's first English cover.
Gender:
Born & raised as a male; however, due to
an accident with the Nyanniichuan, Herb now becomes a female
when hit with cold water.
Blood Type: Unknown.
Animal Affiliate:
Dragon; likely the five-fingered dragon which
represents the Imperial household.
Nationality:
Herb is a Chinese citizen, and belongs to the
mountain tribe of the Musk.
Languages:
Known to speak fluent Mandarin &
Japanese; I suspect however, that he's very likely to be
fluent in others, from the Eurocentric to any Jusenkyo
"local" dialects.
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The above images are © Rumiko Takahashi
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Appearence:
As a guy Herb's got Bishounen (beautiful, younge,
pretty-boy) written across his face; with a slender tipped
nose and broad chest. As a girl Herb-chan leans toward the
exotic. Her slender body, combined with her pointed ears and
flowing hair make her appear almost elfin in nature.
Stats (for those of you who
need a li'l more detail then above ^_^)
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Size:
Female form stands roughly the same
height as Ranma-chan (uh, numbers anyone?); Herb's
male form is slightly taller (around the same size
as Mousse).
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Eyes:
Red/crimson according to his few
colored images. Herb's eyes are also slitted
slightly, and have a look of fire & brimstone.
;-)
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Ears/Mouth:
Ears are pointy like an elf's, but
still fairly small. Also sports a small pair of
fangs on the upper portion of his jaw
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Hair:
Herb makes with a very unique hair
style, even in manga. Herb's hair is black and
white in the manga, while in the few colored images
and Snes game his hair appears a consistent mix of
three colors: blue, white and pink. Most of his
hair is primarily white blended with a light shade
of pink, tied in the back into a ponytail. He also
has a front of blue-violet which hides behind his
white bangs and extends to a pair of long locks,
one beside each ear.Given that this is only in the
manga, and that there are very few colored images
to go by (I've counted four, excluding the Snes
game) Herb's eye & hair colors do *not* change
as he reverts from male to female.
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Clothing:
Herb dresses in a very simple shirt
top and pants. His shirt is short sleeved with a
high collar; primarily white but with red extending
from around the collar to a diagonal line running
past his upper chest. Likewise the pants are also
white in color, running full length and remain
fairly loose. Herb's shoes- uh, haven't figured out
any traditional names yet, but they are on the more
eligant side- pointed and slightly decorative.
Like all men of the Musk (or those we know of)
Herb's clothing also contains the emblem of his
animal affiliate-in this case, his dragon scale
armour. Golden in color, this armour is highly
stylised and covers four main areas- arms,
shoulders, knees, and lower torso (front &
back). Armour on the arms & torso are held in
place by red straps- two on each arm, and the
longest tightly around the waste. Finally, Herb
wears a beige/off-white cape which billows
dramatically behind him ^_~
Due to his status, and eligant appearance, it's
probably safe to say that all of Herb's clothing is
likely to be made from high-quality materials
(silk, leather, ect).
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Fighting abilities: Click
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History:
Sadly, very little is known about Herb before
'the accident'. What we do know is that he was born to the
Musk royal family as 'next in line' to the throne. Herb's
family itself is a mystery- we have no knowledge of his
parents, save that, as per tradition, he was taken from his
mother the moment he was able to be weaned. Since then, we
can only assume that Herb, like all other members of the
Musk, grew up on life of dedication to training and studying
in the martial arts. What happened during those years we
shall never know, it's completely up to the fan fiction
writers who choose to elaborate.
The accident: probably one of the most eventful (and
stupid) moments in Herb's lifetime. To prepare for an
interview with a possible 'wife', Herb took a monkey and
threw in in the Nyanniichuan (spring of drown girl), hoping
that by seeing a "woman" for the first time, he might be
able to understand them better. Unfortunately, it didn't
work out quite as planned: the sight of the
transformed monkey-girl's mysterious "breasts" caused Herb
to be a little.....distracted, to say the least. This
distraction allowed the monkey-girl to then kick him into
the pool.....and lock him with the Musk artifact, the
Chiisuiton ladle to boot! Hmmm, no wonder he hates the
little beasts so much.....
Herb encounters Ranma while visiting Cologne on his
search for the Musk's other artifact, the long lost
Kaisufuu, the open hot water pot, which can undo the effects
of the Chiisuiton. They have a few scuffles and
well........you'll have to read the manga to find out the
rest!
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