Ranma ½ Ranma canon questions
- Thread starter Dumbledork
- Start date
Lord, this is why I hate having my books packed up. Um, let me see... IIRC, Akane came to the realization that she would never compare to Kasumi, whom she was trying to emulate by growing her hair long in order to get the doctor to look her way. Plus, I think Ranma liking her better with short hair factored into it.
I'm not sure it's right to say she really had a crush on Tofu, at least not a romantic one. She wasn't really pursuing anything towards him other than wanting some positive attention/recognition that she was more than just a little girl who got hurt a lot or knocked around others. (which is a running theme with her, such as always having to play male roles in school plays) So she decided to grow out her hair and to try and act more like her perceived perfect big sister Kasumi. When Ryoga accidentally cut her hair it was an excuse to move on and stop being so childish. There are also some cultural implications of short hair being more for married women so it can almost be seen as a subtle acceptance of her engagement.
Nothing wrong with liking Kuno more than Ryoga. Kuno is much more upfront and honest about being a lowlife womanizer while Ryoga is sneaking and deceptive about it. Fanon has kind of turned Kuno into a blithering idiot punching bag but there are a lot of little stories where he's there being mostly reasonable and almost a likable character. Ryoga in general gets more of a pass because of his awful direction sense even though he really shouldn't.
As for Ranma liking short hair, he just commented that she looked cute with it. Never anything else about him preferring short hair.
Nothing wrong with liking Kuno more than Ryoga. Kuno is much more upfront and honest about being a lowlife womanizer while Ryoga is sneaking and deceptive about it. Fanon has kind of turned Kuno into a blithering idiot punching bag but there are a lot of little stories where he's there being mostly reasonable and almost a likable character. Ryoga in general gets more of a pass because of his awful direction sense even though he really shouldn't.
As for Ranma liking short hair, he just commented that she looked cute with it. Never anything else about him preferring short hair.
Thanks for the answers Golden and Lawra. Though for my head, I think I'd see it more as a thing she thought long and hard over off-panel. I can concede that the...thing was a kid crush that was beginning to become more like an actual crush and seeing how Tofu acted around Kasumi, Akane did try to become more girly to catch his eye (would be hilarious if this jump started the boys and Kuno's interest in her).
I mean, she could've just regrown her hair. I get the symbolism (I think) and I can absorb the idea that an attraction was growing between her and Ranma so her losing the tie to Tofu was something that could happen but...I dunno. Maybe its just me.
Just seems like she jumped the gun...which for Akane is par the course.
I mean, she could've just regrown her hair. I get the symbolism (I think) and I can absorb the idea that an attraction was growing between her and Ranma so her losing the tie to Tofu was something that could happen but...I dunno. Maybe its just me.
Just seems like she jumped the gun...which for Akane is par the course.
OK a recent read through of the fukufics.com and A Breeze Blows through Nerima anti-fanon threads left me with some questions (I'm not going to just take anyone's word for things here, how do so much of Ranma fanon get started after all?)
1) They say that Ranma is nice to everyone until they do something mean to him and then he is mean back. Fair enough, but a very strict reading would make 100% of all fights between to two are started by Akane, which I'm pretty sure is wrong. I'm guessing that Akane never really manages to get back into Ranma's good books, right?
2) Akane apparently used the Nekoken against Ranma on multiple occasions. Offered without context. EDIT: I'm asking for context here, or at least a volume/chapter number
3) Akane apologizes less then Ranma. But someone who did an insult count gave Ranma a higher total. So do they apologize at about the same rate?
Now these next ones didn't come from that trawl, but I may as ask them as well, even if they conjecture to answer:
1) Why did Akane invite Ranma(-chan) to spar with her just after meeting? Preferably without making her a fight nutcase.
2) Why didn't Akane see Ranma's clothes in the changing area?
3) In the Roasting Chestnuts and Breaking Point arcs, why didn't Akane train? This one has bugged me for a while.
4) In Embraceable you Akane changes into a shrine maidens outfit, why? I realize that her mind is on the fritz, but changing clothes when you reckon Ranma's in pervert mode doesn't sound good.
5) And in the next chapter Akane shoots a longbow at Ranma. I can get wanting to keep a pervert at a distance, but ranged weapons don't tend to workout well in confined spaces, especially ones that take time to reload.
6) And in that same chapter, Akane reuses to believe Ranma that Shampoo has put him under a spell, but the moment that Shampoo shows and confirms things she does.
1) They say that Ranma is nice to everyone until they do something mean to him and then he is mean back. Fair enough, but a very strict reading would make 100% of all fights between to two are started by Akane, which I'm pretty sure is wrong. I'm guessing that Akane never really manages to get back into Ranma's good books, right?
2) Akane apparently used the Nekoken against Ranma on multiple occasions. Offered without context. EDIT: I'm asking for context here, or at least a volume/chapter number
3) Akane apologizes less then Ranma. But someone who did an insult count gave Ranma a higher total. So do they apologize at about the same rate?
Now these next ones didn't come from that trawl, but I may as ask them as well, even if they conjecture to answer:
1) Why did Akane invite Ranma(-chan) to spar with her just after meeting? Preferably without making her a fight nutcase.
2) Why didn't Akane see Ranma's clothes in the changing area?
3) In the Roasting Chestnuts and Breaking Point arcs, why didn't Akane train? This one has bugged me for a while.
4) In Embraceable you Akane changes into a shrine maidens outfit, why? I realize that her mind is on the fritz, but changing clothes when you reckon Ranma's in pervert mode doesn't sound good.
5) And in the next chapter Akane shoots a longbow at Ranma. I can get wanting to keep a pervert at a distance, but ranged weapons don't tend to workout well in confined spaces, especially ones that take time to reload.
6) And in that same chapter, Akane reuses to believe Ranma that Shampoo has put him under a spell, but the moment that Shampoo shows and confirms things she does.
A "furo", which is the sort of tub Akane was preparing to soak in with what she thought was another girl, isn't a bathtub so much as it is a hot soaking pool, ala an indoor hot spring. People get themselves cleaned up with soap and cold water before getting into the furo to soak.
A furo is meant to be kept very hot, and it is meant to be shared; they are not like the tiny bathtubs found in most of America these days which may not even be big enough for one large person. They are huge, heavy constructions of solid stone, granite or similar. It doesn't need to have been a public bath; from Akane's point of view the moment was, or should have been, completely innocent and non-sexual. Hot springs (onsen) are gone to in groups by friends, and that is very ordinary.
A furo is meant to be kept very hot, and it is meant to be shared; they are not like the tiny bathtubs found in most of America these days which may not even be big enough for one large person. They are huge, heavy constructions of solid stone, granite or similar. It doesn't need to have been a public bath; from Akane's point of view the moment was, or should have been, completely innocent and non-sexual. Hot springs (onsen) are gone to in groups by friends, and that is very ordinary.
As I've said before I think that Akane's reaction at seeing a boy come out of the bath is understandable. Everyone would be freaked out by that. However, the thing that really made me dislike her real fast is how she never apologized to Ranma for breaking the table over his head. Yes, Ranma was being a jerk, but he has never physically attacked Akane with murderous rage.
Yeah. Shampoo really isn't the bisexual floozy some fics portray her as.
But no. The story never really explains why Shampoo fell for Ranma so fast.
In my head canon I always assumed that in her culture (and here its important to remember that they're the village of warrior women, "amazon" is just a translation convention) that a guy appearing and besting you in a fight is sort of like their version of the "white knight" in western culture.
But no. The story never really explains why Shampoo fell for Ranma so fast.
In my head canon I always assumed that in her culture (and here its important to remember that they're the village of warrior women, "amazon" is just a translation convention) that a guy appearing and besting you in a fight is sort of like their version of the "white knight" in western culture.
I find the whole concept of the kisses stupid.
Kiss of death: Ranma defeated Shampoo in the village with one kick. What's the point in trying to get revenge without training first to stand a chance.
Kiss of marriage: just as stupid, as the defeated, weaker woman can't do much if her husband decides to rape and beat her.
Kiss of death: Ranma defeated Shampoo in the village with one kick. What's the point in trying to get revenge without training first to stand a chance.
Kiss of marriage: just as stupid, as the defeated, weaker woman can't do much if her husband decides to rape and beat her.
I don't know about multiple times, but there is one moment during the second Ghost Cat Bride arc that Akane played the "Bitch" card and purposely threw Ranma into a herd of cats. From memory, Ghost Cat once tried to take Shampoo as his wife, but not only did she refuse him, she then made Ranma fight Ghost Cat, so he gave up. However, he returned to, again, try and marry Shampoo by tricking her to come to a temple where he placed a curse on her -- if she could not get Ranma to kiss her by the time 108 chimes of the temple bell rang in the new year, she would turn into a cat forever and become Ghost Cat's bride. Ranma and Akane go to save Shampoo. However, the major hurdle is that the temple is a temple to cats and there are many of them surrounding the place. So Ranma has the idea of Akane putting on a coat laced with catnip and march through the area, drawing away all the cats while he goes in and save Shampoo.
Akane... didn't quite like that, particularly the idea of Ranma sounding like he was looking forward to kissing Shampoo. So she took the coat, put it on Ranma, then kicked him towards the temple to watch dispassionately as all the cats in the area (I'd wager 20+) all came flying out of the woodwork to latch onto him and the coat, then took her time to walk over, remove the coat off the terrified Ranma and throw it away from the temple. Considering just how many ways that could have went catastrophically wrong, and coupled with Akane's indecisive feelings on whether or not she actually wanted Ranma to save Shampoo... yeah, it's hard to justify that moment being anything other than a Bitch Move(tm) on her part.
Akane... didn't quite like that, particularly the idea of Ranma sounding like he was looking forward to kissing Shampoo. So she took the coat, put it on Ranma, then kicked him towards the temple to watch dispassionately as all the cats in the area (I'd wager 20+) all came flying out of the woodwork to latch onto him and the coat, then took her time to walk over, remove the coat off the terrified Ranma and throw it away from the temple. Considering just how many ways that could have went catastrophically wrong, and coupled with Akane's indecisive feelings on whether or not she actually wanted Ranma to save Shampoo... yeah, it's hard to justify that moment being anything other than a Bitch Move(tm) on her part.