Nodoka Saotome

:For other uses of Nodoka, see Nodoka
Nodoka Saotome is Ranma's long-absent mother and is a late-comer to the series.
==Description==
Back when Ranma was just a little boy, his father took him away from home, assuaging Nodoka's complaints by vowing he and Ranma would commit seppuku if he failed to make Ranma a "man among men". After Ranma's little accident at Jusenkyo, Genma decided it would be best to avoid Nodoka, though she eventually did find out - fortunately for her son and husband, the precise event had Ranma at some of his best behavior and she decided that the curse wasn't grounds to make Ranma kill himself since the curse was an accident. Generally a very sweet and motherly sort, but she is just as fixated on honor as her son and husband are (perhaps more so), and she's still carrying that sword around by the series' end, watching and judging Ranma's behavior and add's in what is and what isn't manly.
==Notable Fan Fiction Stories Featuring Nodoka==
==Fanon Backstory==
Stories featuring Nodoka are split due to her absence in Ranma's early life and that she appears to agree with Genma's actions, even though they are illegal and often times foolish. Many stories depict her as being just as horrible as her husband, using her sweet looking appearance to fool those around her, and often disowning Ranma in most stories for either being cursed to be a woman, thus ruining her chances for grandchildren and Ranma losing his manliness, or because it was Genma's decision since she is often depicted as being complacent with her husband's antic's since Genma is the patriarch. Of course most stories like this often end with Nodoka either redeeming herself when she realizes Genma's crimes during his trip with Ranma, like engaging him to many women illegally and having him pay for his father's debts as well as being responsible for her son's curse. In the end she would either divorce Genma and have him arrested, along with the Tendo's as they took part in her son's misery, and would commit Seppuku for her failure as a mother to Ranma, while uttering an apology to her son before taking her life.
In other stories, she's portrayed as a more loving mother to Ranma with her explaining her reasons for leaving him as a child which involved Genma convincing her to do so, with her taking a bigger role in raising Ranma when she returns. When she finds out what Genma and the Tendo's did to Ranma, Genma forcing him to pay off his father's debts, not training him properly in martial arts, arranging illegal marriages for Ranma and the Tendo's disrespecting him with Nabiki blackmailing Ranma about his curse, she divorces Genma, usually forcing him to sign the divorce papers by using her katana against him if he refused, and demands that he free's Ranma of the arrange marriage contracts he set up, especially from Akane Tendo as Nodoka is disgusted by the Tendo family and wishes to severe ties with them, while telling Akane she will never accept her as her daughter in law for how she treated her child. In most stories, she has Genma either arrested for his crimes or has him commit Seppuku for his failure in making Ranma a man and for how he treated them, and helps her son shut down the Tendo's dojo in retaliation for their crimes against her family, and in turn create their own dojo with Ranma as a teacher with his own wife and children with Nodoka looking on with pride. She is also written as a rich heiress with Saotome being her maiden name with Genma taking his surname when he married her.
The reasons for this are simple. The anime, which was more readily available, ended before Nodoka discovered Ranma's curse and Genma's crimes. It was some years later that the final manga chapters were made available in English, leading to a re-evaluation of her character.
==Fanon Traits==
*Is obsessed with Ranma making her a grandmother.
*Seems to not mind Ranma having a harem at times.
*Is disgusted and furious when she learns what Genma did to Ranma and divorces him and has him either arrested or has him commit seppuku for his abuse and failures to Ranma as well as his crimes during their trip to China.
*Becomes enemies with the Tendo's when she learns how they treated him, especially Akane and Soun since Akane was Ranma's arranged fiance who abused him and her father knew of her husband's crimes but demanded Ranma marry his daughter as honor demanded it, even when Soun and Genma displayed no honor what so ever.
*She is a princess or comes from a very powerful family, with Genma taking her last name when they married.
*Remorseful of making Ranma take the seppuku contract.
==See Also==
*Nodoka Saotome at Ranma Wiki - Retrieved 11-05-2022
*Nodoka Saotome at Furinkan.com - Retrieved 11-05-2022
==References==
Category:Canon