A pair of curses have conspired to leave 17-year-old Ranma trapped in a feminine body she never asked for, and too physically sensitive to take a hit. Both are big problems for a martial arts master who used to be an arrogant boy. With no way back to the life she knew, she flees the home of her abusive father and leaves her fiancée behind in search of a life she can call her own.

But, life on the streets of 1989 Tokyo isn't easy. After months alone and barely surviving, she stumbles hungry and broken into the Phoenix, a dive bar run by a hard-edged but kindly woman and the four hard-luck girls she took in out of the cold.

Make that five.

Ranma's new lease on life - as Ranko - gives her the chance to work through her trauma and experience the first unconditional love she's ever known. Empowered by the support of her new family, the partner she never expected to see again, and a newfound passion for music, Ranko begins to embrace her new identity as a young woman and rises from the ashes of the person she used to be.