TV-Series
Description
Principal Kunoh is the headmaster of Furinkan High School, the private school attended by Ranma Saotome and his classmates in the anime and manga series Ranma ½. His full name is never revealed, and he is known only by his title as principal. He is the father of the kendo enthusiast Tatewaki Kuno and the gymnast Kodachi Kuno.
In his background, Kunoh was originally a university teacher. About three years before the events of the story, he left his family under the pretext of inspecting educational practices abroad and went to Hawaii, where he worked as an instructor at a university. After roughly three thousand escape attempts, he finally returned to Japan and resumed his position as principal, but he did not move back into the Kuno family home. Instead, he chose to live in his office at the school. He developed a strong attachment to Hawaiian culture, dressing in aloha shirts and shorts, growing a palm tree on his head, carrying a ukulele, laughing with an English-style "HAHAHA," and speaking with a distinctive mixture of Japanese and English words while always ending his sentences with a polite "de-su." In the anime, he is also portrayed as an alumnus of Furinkan High School whose student records showed perfect marks in physical education but very poor grades in almost every other subject.
In terms of personality, Kunoh genuinely enjoys doing things that upset his students and frequently creates unpleasant school rules simply to harass them. His behavior is often childish and unbecoming of an educator, and his schemes have included taking Akane Tendo hostage in an attempt to force Ranma to have his head shaved. Despite this, he is not entirely heartless, and he shows a degree of genuine care for students in his own peculiar way, such as earnestly training Akane in swimming when she sought his help. His intense fixation on Ranma began immediately after his return to Japan, when Ranma kicked him, prompting Kunoh to decide that Ranma was a delinquent and to pursue him with obsessive persistence. Because he holds complete authority over his private school, he is able to impose his whims on the entire institution and its students.
In the story, Kunoh serves as a recurring authority figure and comic antagonist at the school. His actions frequently create trouble for Ranma and his friends through arbitrary rules, disciplinary stunts, and elaborate personal schemes. As part of his measures against delinquent students, he eventually brings the teacher Hinako Ninomiya into the school to deal with Ranma. In the anime, an episode even presents him as the hidden power behind Furinkan High School. In the original manga, his final appearance occurs when he is blasted away by a technique unleashed by Hinako, and he flies off declaring, in effect, that he shall return, after which he disappears from the narrative altogether.
His key relationships center on his family. His son Tatewaki calls him "Daddy," while he calls Tatewaki "Tatchi," but the two have a long-standing feud because Kunoh played many pranks on him during his childhood, including shaving his head, which left lasting emotional scars. Their quarrels sometimes escalate into conflicts that draw in the entire school. In the anime, Kunoh is also reunited with his daughter Kodachi, who adores him to the point of having a father complex, and he puts on the appearance of a sincere and serious father when he is around her. In the original manga, Kodachi and her father have almost no direct interaction despite being related.
Kunoh is notable for his abilities as well. Although he works as an educator, he is also a martial artist who practices the Kuno school of clipper fighting, a technique using electric hair clippers as a weapon. He possesses considerable physical skill and has been able to hold his own against Ranma using his clipper techniques and various tools. In the later portion of the series, however, he stops fighting Ranma directly and instead relies on sending other characters to confront him. He is also highly knowledgeable about Hawaii, including the diseases that are common there, and he carries a set of vaccines for those illnesses. Within the school, he has built many additional principal's offices and hidden rooms, further reflecting his total control over the campus.
In his background, Kunoh was originally a university teacher. About three years before the events of the story, he left his family under the pretext of inspecting educational practices abroad and went to Hawaii, where he worked as an instructor at a university. After roughly three thousand escape attempts, he finally returned to Japan and resumed his position as principal, but he did not move back into the Kuno family home. Instead, he chose to live in his office at the school. He developed a strong attachment to Hawaiian culture, dressing in aloha shirts and shorts, growing a palm tree on his head, carrying a ukulele, laughing with an English-style "HAHAHA," and speaking with a distinctive mixture of Japanese and English words while always ending his sentences with a polite "de-su." In the anime, he is also portrayed as an alumnus of Furinkan High School whose student records showed perfect marks in physical education but very poor grades in almost every other subject.
In terms of personality, Kunoh genuinely enjoys doing things that upset his students and frequently creates unpleasant school rules simply to harass them. His behavior is often childish and unbecoming of an educator, and his schemes have included taking Akane Tendo hostage in an attempt to force Ranma to have his head shaved. Despite this, he is not entirely heartless, and he shows a degree of genuine care for students in his own peculiar way, such as earnestly training Akane in swimming when she sought his help. His intense fixation on Ranma began immediately after his return to Japan, when Ranma kicked him, prompting Kunoh to decide that Ranma was a delinquent and to pursue him with obsessive persistence. Because he holds complete authority over his private school, he is able to impose his whims on the entire institution and its students.
In the story, Kunoh serves as a recurring authority figure and comic antagonist at the school. His actions frequently create trouble for Ranma and his friends through arbitrary rules, disciplinary stunts, and elaborate personal schemes. As part of his measures against delinquent students, he eventually brings the teacher Hinako Ninomiya into the school to deal with Ranma. In the anime, an episode even presents him as the hidden power behind Furinkan High School. In the original manga, his final appearance occurs when he is blasted away by a technique unleashed by Hinako, and he flies off declaring, in effect, that he shall return, after which he disappears from the narrative altogether.
His key relationships center on his family. His son Tatewaki calls him "Daddy," while he calls Tatewaki "Tatchi," but the two have a long-standing feud because Kunoh played many pranks on him during his childhood, including shaving his head, which left lasting emotional scars. Their quarrels sometimes escalate into conflicts that draw in the entire school. In the anime, Kunoh is also reunited with his daughter Kodachi, who adores him to the point of having a father complex, and he puts on the appearance of a sincere and serious father when he is around her. In the original manga, Kodachi and her father have almost no direct interaction despite being related.
Kunoh is notable for his abilities as well. Although he works as an educator, he is also a martial artist who practices the Kuno school of clipper fighting, a technique using electric hair clippers as a weapon. He possesses considerable physical skill and has been able to hold his own against Ranma using his clipper techniques and various tools. In the later portion of the series, however, he stops fighting Ranma directly and instead relies on sending other characters to confront him. He is also highly knowledgeable about Hawaii, including the diseases that are common there, and he carries a set of vaccines for those illnesses. Within the school, he has built many additional principal's offices and hidden rooms, further reflecting his total control over the campus.