Tofu Ono

Tofu Ono is the tallest among the regular characters and is quite handsome.

He works at the Tofu Clinic and often carries around a human skeleton model he fondly calls “Betty-chan.”

Tofu Ono looks serious and polite, but he is very easygoing and kindhearted.

He is friendly with almost everyone, including tricky people like Ranma Saotome.

However, when he is near Kasumi Tendou, he becomes extremely nervous, acts strangely, and sometimes does really odd things like swinging “Betty-chan” around or tearing up books.

He means well and is caring, but his nervousness around Kasumi can make him act clumsy or even a little dangerous.

Tofu Ono is a doctor who runs the Tofu Clinic, specializing in bones and fixing joints.

He is very skilled and has lots of knowledge of rare acupuncture points and martial arts tricks.

He owns many old books about the human body and sometimes explains unusual martial arts in the story.

The origin of his name “Tofu Ono” comes from a famous Japanese calligrapher.

Tofu has been running his clinic since Akane Tendou was a child, so he is likely at least 25 years old, as you need a high school degree and extra years of schooling to get his medical license.

Tofu Ono is extremely skilled at treating bones, healing joints, and using finger pressure.

He knows many secret acupuncture points and special martial arts moves.

Ranma Saotome even once thought Tofu might be very strong and was careful around him.

Tofu sometimes beats enemies quickly with his fast pressure-point attacks, which can put people to sleep in an instant.

• Akane Tendou: She has her first crush on Tofu, attracted by his kind personality.
• Kasumi Tendou: Tofu has a huge crush on her. He becomes so nervous around Kasumi that he cannot talk normally and often acts bizarrely. Kasumi only notices his funny behavior and does not realize his feelings. However, she often visits his clinic, shares homemade food, and says she likes “unusual” people, which hints she might like him too.
• Soun Tendou: As the head of the Tendou Dojo, he trusts Tofu as the family doctor and respects him a lot.
• Patients and Neighbors: People in the neighborhood like Tofu, but they know to avoid his clinic when Kasumi is visiting, just in case he’s acting odd.

Tofu's Everyday Life

Tofu Ono works at his clinic, where he takes care of many patients using special bone and massage skills.

He has a skeleton model named “Betty-chan” that he treats like a friend.

Akane's First Love and Kasumi's Visits

Akane Tendou had her first crush on Tofu because of his gentle and skillful nature.

However, Tofu only likes Kasumi Tendou, and around her, he gets really nervous.

He sometimes acts so strange that he can accidentally hurt people trying to help.

Because of this, people avoid his clinic when Kasumi is there.

Kasumi visits Tofu often to share food or borrow books.

She only seems to notice his silly side but may have feelings for him too.

Martial Arts Knowledge

Tofu knows a lot about martial arts and acupuncture points.

He helps characters solve problems by sharing his knowledge or using his skills.

Even Ranma Saotome is impressed by his strength and secretly worries about facing Tofu.

The Disappearing Act

Tofu appears often in the early story but slowly shows up less.

In the manga, after volume 13, he fades out and isn’t even in the big group picture in the last volume.

However, in the anime, Tofu returns in original stories and is liked by fans.

He remained popular and ranked 10th in a fan poll after the manga ended.

Tofu’s Age

Tofu runs his own clinic, which means he has a special license that you can only get after high school plus three more years.

At the start of the story, Akane is a first-year high school student, and flashbacks show she was already a grade-schooler when Tofu had his clinic.

So, Tofu must be at least 25 years old.

The Matchmaking Mom Episode

In an anime-only episode, Tofu’s mother “Kin” visits and tries to find him a bride using “pelvis fortune-telling.”

She invites Akane and Nabiki Tendou to compete by sumo wrestling using their hips.

Ryouga Hibiki and Ranma Saotome (as a girl) also get pulled into the contest.

Tofu tries to confess his love for Kasumi but gets so nervous that he shouts he’ll marry Betty-chan, his skeleton model, instead.

His mother recognizes the same nervousness that his father had when confessing to her, guesses Tofu's true feelings, and cancels the marriage plans.

• Tofu Ono’s favorite skeleton model is named Betty-chan.
• He is popular with fans, despite not being in the manga much later on.
• He is known for being tall and good-looking.
• Tofu is trusted by the Tendou family and is their main doctor.