Ranma & Akane's Relationship
Rebuttal #1
The following was an e-mail sent to me by Andrew Lemly. He read my Ranma-Akane relationship essay(the old one), and thus, he sends me this.
Now, because of him, I did change my Ranma-Akane relationship page, but I feel his comments deserve a response. Since I said I would post all rebuttals to it, and my responses to my Relationship essay, here it is.
One thing I will note before we begin here, is that Ranma 1/2 is a gag-filled, humerous, SLAP-STICK series. This means that a lot of what happens, is there to make us laugh. If you come away un-entertained and passionately hating certain characters, then you are reading the wrong manga. It wouldn't make for a very interesting read if Ranma and Akane fell in love at first sight and got along perfectly with each other, because there's this thing called 'character development.' Throughout the manga (which you'll notice that Andrew hasn't read, he bases his observations on the anime), the characters of Ranma and Akane are the most developed of any, and that's just because Ranma 1/2 is about them. If you can't see it, try looking deeper.
That being said, let's get started:
(Note: paragraphs in italics are from orginial e-mail. Regular print are my own responses and thoughts.)
That out of the way, let's set the ground rules of a decent relationship. Love is an essential quality, no surprise there, but also functionallity. Many fanatic writers seem to totally ignore this second bit, and not just with Shampoo and Mousse. If a couple has qualities that seriously clash then there is a problem that must be dealt with. It is a good thing for two people to love each other, but it does not, in itself, imply a good relationship. One party, or both, may mistreat the other either intentionally or unintentionally and because of that love the other party may let them get away with it. This is very bad and should be avoided at all costs.
It should be noted that Ranma unintentionally hurts Ukyo, Shampoo, and Kodachi, and because these girls are infatuated with him, they let him get away with it. Akane does not. They ignore his faults, Akane acknowledges them.
It inevidably leads to a disasterous break up or something even worse. A slight variation, one person loving the another, also does in no way imply that it would be good for those two people to be together by the same argument.�
Of course! The basis for a healthy relationship is one where each acknowledges the faults of the other(and we ALL have them), yet still love each other anyway. Getting along perfectly with another person is a pipe dream; it just doesn't happen. Or it will happen for a short time, then all those faults that we have worked so hard to deny, will cause us to explode at each other and break up. By dealing with them as they arise, it ensures the relationship will continue.
The above is a quote from Wade Tritschler's anti-Shampoo-Mousse page.
It expresses a large portion of why I stand against the Ranma-Akane canonical
pairing.
Before going any further, I will say that my opinion of the Ranma-Akane
relationship comes solely from the anime. I have not read any of the manga,
though some of what I've come across through reading fanfiction makes me think
that the youngest Tendo might be characterized differently in the two series.
If your preference for Ranma-Akane is mainly based on the manga, you might not
consider my arguments to have meaning.
Like I noted above, he hasn't read the manga, though I pointed him to the New Ranma 1/2 project, so I assume he's taking a look at it now. To me, the anime is a bit amusing at times, but all my fics will use manga characterization.
That being said... I have seen up to the end of season five, and all
OAVs and the first two movies (are there more?). And there are some pretty
basic flaws in Ranma and Akane's relationship.
Instead of starting small and working my way up to the clincher, I'll
state it here. The most basic problem of all is this: Akane does not trust
Ranma. In almost any given situation (see next paragraph) she will think the
worst thing possible about him, even when the conclusion she draws is absurd (he
shoves her out of the way of Ukyo's spatula, she hits him and calls him a
pervert).
As far as not trusting Ranma, this is Akane's flaw. Anger and jealousy could be included as well, but I don't mention them because the other girls demonstrate they have these as well, and to greater degrees. And actually, the other girls are just as prone to not trusting Ranma. We apply these traits towards Akane more, because she has more screen time.
However, in all fairness, Ranma is caught in some pretty bizarre situations. When you burst into a room and see your fiance's hand on a good-looking teacher's breast, and him leaning over her, what are you going to think? (see the story of Hinako's first arrival) The root of this flaw is Akane's flagging self-confidence, and her fear that Ranma will leave her because he doesn't love her and she's not good enough. We all have this fear of rejection when we fall in love. Before we get around to "I Love You", there is always this deep fear that the person we love so much will not love us, and will leave for someone else.
Once this fear is dealt with (i.e. Ranma finally tells Akane he loves her and shows he means it), her trust of him will increase significantly. As a side note, her trust of him does increase throughout the manga. She doesn't fly off the handle everytime. In fact, after she hears him tell her he loves her at Jusendo, you don't see her get mad at him at all. She's more upset at everything else.
And at least manga-Akane does trust Ranma to a degree. She has faith in his abilities and in the fact that he will rescue her and help her out. Why? Because he has done this numerous times. When Ranma demonstrates that he can be faithful to one girl(from an outside perspective, he does look like he's playing the field), it's reasonable to expect that Akane's trust of him in this area will grow as well.
She knows she can trust Ranma to rescue her from kidnappers et al,
since he has demonstrated this time and again. But he has equally well
demonstrated that he isn't going to go sneak off behind her back for a quick
visit to a love hotel with Shampoo, yet nobody in their right mind who's
familiar with the series would think she wouldn't believe that in a heartbeat.
Of course, we have the advantage of being an observer to these events and seeing it from all sides. And we all know that if we were in these situations, we would all react much better, right? After all, in our own lives, we always calmly evaluate all facts before rushing to judgement.
Noooooot quite! I would place a bet with Nabiki that if we were to put you in the same situation, you would react very similary to Akane; i.e., if your boyfriend/fiance kept showing up in the girl's locker room, you would think he was a pervert at first too. But later when you learned the truth, you would apologize, which is what Akane does. She's quick to jump to conclusions, but she just as quickly forgives.
As far as Akane thinking Ranma would go off with Shampoo, it doesn't take a genius to see why. If a person really wants to understand the characters (and consequently write better fanfiction), they should take the time to understand them, and see the situation from each characters POV. The characters don't have the advantage of seeing things the way readers do.
In Akane's case, her self-confidence has taken a nose dive since Ranma showed up. From her perspective, Shampoo's a better fighter, has longer hair, bigger bust, can cook, etc. You can just see her thoughts, "Why would Ranma want me when he can have someone like her?" And until one sees why Ranma loves Akane (and why Akane loves him), one will never truly understand the characters.
And it isn't just a lack of trust. Outside of the first season, in
which there ARE moments in which the two are somewhat nice to each other, the
only real times Akane is kind to Ranma fall into two categories: 1) he's at
absolute rock-bottom (ex: when it seems he's stuck without his strength for
good, at the end of the Hiryu Shotenha episode) 2) he's doing absolutely
EVERYTHING her way (ex: in the Tough Cookies episode, even after Ranma showed
her the negative proving he didn't really kiss Kodachi [and for cryin' out loud,
what kind of idiot would think he WOULD kiss the Black Rose without being
drugged?!], she didn't forgive him until he choked down HER cookies and said
they were good). Oh, wait, there is one exception� in the girls� locker room,
in the Goodbye Girl-Type episode, when Ranma is trying to unearth the Japanese
Nannichuan, she concludes that his mind is sick too and stops trying to fight
him over the lingerie (which wasn�t what Ranma was there for, showing that she�s
still thinking the worst, she�s just not being nasty about it). So, okay, when
she thinks he�s insane she can be nice then as well� but otherwise, it�s out
with the hammer and bring on the insults.
I just love huge generalizations, don't you? As the manga goes on, Akane knows Ranma wouldn't do anything with Kodachi (showing she learns and her character develops). In fact, she even sets him up on a date with the Black Rose. She wants to help Kodachi and prove Ranma is a cool person. She only goes along because she knows Kodachi will most likely try something with poisons/powders, and to help against the White Lily.
As far as the Japenses Nannichaun, this is still early in the episodes. From Akane's perspective, the fiance she was stuck with(who saw her naked, called her ugly, and rejected her) is sneaking into the girl's locker room. Ranma doesn't take the time to explain it to her, so what is she supposed to think? Being able to see the situation from all the characters' perspective, is vital to understanding them and their reactions.
Akane gets along with Ranma just fine most of the time. They are shown to go to fairs and festivals together and have fun. They do plenty of other things together without any sort of problem. All in all, they act like good friends, which is what they both seem to need and want, and what nobody else gives them(the rivals are too busy trying to date and marry them). It's the exceptions we mostly read about. It's amazing, really, how close they become despite their less-than-stellar start. So why'd they get this way? Because they are both bascially nice people.
And a reminder: the hammer is a COMEDY ROUTINE! It's the American equivilant of the anvil or the cream pie. When you bring them into reality, this stuff just doesn't work. Imagine if the punishment handed down in the Nuremburg Trials(war trial for German Nazi's), was that each defendant was punished by slapping a cream pie in their face. What's happening, is that we're taking a serious moment and throwing in something so non-sensical, that it doesn't fit. Either write Ranma 1/2 as a comedy, or write it in a more serious tone. If you chose the serious tone, recognize that Akane will hit Ranma less then 1% of the time, making her a more normal human being.
So why does Ranma put up with it? Why DOES he stay and take her abuse? Well,really, what else could he do? Anything other than maintaining the status quo would be making a choice, and we all know how decisive Ranma is. Does he have the guts to leave? I seriously doubt it. Ranma has a lot of natural talent, but thanks to Genma it�s been totally shaped toward physical skills. On an interpersonal level, there are eight-year-olds who manage things better than he does.
I just love it when people say use the word 'abuse'. To do so, implies she is a terrible person who mistreats Ranma all the time. Another huge, and faulty, generalization. Bias anyone?
Ranma stays because he loves Akane, and because he has no problems whatsoever with what she does. His biggest complaint would be that she doesn't listen to him at times. Love is a powerful motivator, and anybody who has been in love (not lust, and not infatuation) will tell you that. The more you love someone, the more you'll perservere through all trials and misunderstandings to be with the person you love. And when two people love each other so much, they'll work that much harder to stay together.
And don't make the mistake of trying to compare Ranma and Akane's relationship to a normal one, ie our reality, because that paradigm will only get in the way and distort the facts.
As far as the age comment goes, I will just say that Ranma is handling things like an emotionally confused teenager would, especially when has no idea how to handle complex emotions at all. But he IS learning. Someone who cannot possibly have any idea of what love is at the beginning, is able to admit that he loves someone so much that he cannot live without her by the end of the manga.
That being said� I concede that Ranma does love Akane. But is it enough? What kind of a life are they going to have together? He�s got an incredible tolerance for abuse, thanks to how he was raised by Genma, but everybody has their breaking point. IF Akane started trusting and believing him, rather than hitting first and asking questions never, maybe things would improve.
And they will improve. If you read the things I've listed in my Ranma-Akane relationship page, you'll see they have a healthy relationship, though it is somewhat blown out of porportion for the purposes of humor. Anger isn't held in where it can fester and problems are not ignored(ala Ukyo, Shampoo, Kodachi), but dealt with as they arise.
And again, don't make the mistake of comparing Ranma to a normal person. He isn't like you and me, and trying to treat him as such, will lead to false consclusions every single time. To him, being hit is as natural as breathing. He's in no danger from it, and will suffer no adverse effects.
Is that likely to happen? A huge, resounding NO. For this I take my stand on evidence from the first season. Akane is thinking about how mad she is at Ranma, and accidentally beats up her father in sparring practise. Kasumi
extracts a promise from Akane, a promise as if to their departed mother, not to
strike anyone in anger ever again. Thinking that that would do any good is
probably the single most oblivious act the oldest Tendo daughter has ever
performed. Not twenty-four hours later, Akane has beaten Ranma so thoroughly
that he requires Dr Tofu�s aid. Was it unprovoked? No. Ranma deliberately
teased her. Does that excuse her action? No. And so I say anyone who argues
that if Ranma didn�t tease Akane, she wouldn�t hit him, had better not be basing
their conclusion on the anime.
Of course it's reasonable to expect that nothing is going to change, since humans don't learn and grow. Yeah, right... *sigh* That, and does anybody see anything wrong with taking one's judging based on first meeting?
People who disklike Akane will naturally take their evidence from the early parts, since that's when she's at her worst. As the manga wears on, her character learns and grows and becomes better(as Ranma does), while most everyone else remains somewhat static. Ranma provokes Akane, Akane provokes Ranma. It's the way their relationship is, they like it that way. When one starts getting too nice to the other, the other gets nervous and uncomfortable and tries to return things to the way they were. Slowly though, they begin to heal and help each other. Akane no longer gets mad at everything, and Ranma slowly begins to open up emotionally and to really care about someone, other then martial arts.
Oh, and here's a little experiment you can try: Insult a girl's chest size by saying that her breasts look like they've gotten smaller. And when she hits you, you can proudly say, "You were in the wrong to hit me! My comment held insuffienct cause for your physically violent reaction!" Personally, I'd say you got just what you deserved. :)
One last thing about the last sentence: "If Ranma didn't tease him, she wouldn't hit him, had better not be basing their conclusion on the anime." Yet it was just mentioned in the previous sentence that he provoked her and she hit him! It should also be noted in this example, that Ranma had to tease Akane several times because she was controlling herself and NOT attacking him. It took quite awhile for Ranma to get to her, proving she can control herself when she wants to.
Just why DOES she hit him so often? I�m not going to write a lot on this point, but I think it�s important to say this. A basic truth of human behavior is that we do what we want to do. If someone takes an action, ANY ACTION, over and over again, it�s because they receive some reward from it. On some level Akane enjoys hitting Ranma. To say otherwise is to deny that human psychology applies to the characters of Ranma �. Granted, it�s a cartoon. Granted, impossible things happen. But if Ranma and Akane are supposed to be human, we need to treat them as such.
So, the three stooges are human and we need to treat them as such. Hey! That means they have a faulty relationship that won't last!
Anyways, "if someone takes an action over and over again, it's because they receive some reward for it." And since Ranma lets himself be hit...
People, it's the way they are and it works for them. It's not normal, and that's what makes it so interesting!
And there's a bit of a contradiction here. Are Ranma and Akane humans or cartoons? Well, seeing as how I don't see anyone hitting anyone repeatedly with a mallet in the real word, I'll say they're cartoons. The Road Runner and Wily E. Coyote wouldn't work very well in the real world, would they? And they wouldn't be nearly as fun!
Much of what I�ve written so far is about Akane�s shortcomings. Now let�s look at Ranma�s. He�s brash, he�s insensitive, his ego is so big that he can blast things to bits with his surplus confidence. He does try to help Akane when she�s down, but his efforts are so clumsy as to do more harm than good. When Ranma chokes down her �cooking�, it makes her feel better, sure� but it also is the diametric opposite of what she needs. Same thing when he lets her hit him.
And of course, we aren't ignoring all the times when he tells her that her cooking is toxic now, are we? And the times when he dodges all her attacks...
Akane's good for him because she helps keep his ego in check. She flat out tells him he's being stupid, when he is. Ukyo, Shampoo, and Kodachi live to stroke his ego, and we all know Ranma definitely doesn't need a bigger ego!
It�s easier than dealing with her temper, and Ranma can�t stand to hurt girls. So he just takes it, or at most gets out of her way.
*sigh* It's an anime thing, though if someone haven't seen much anime, they wouldn't know that. The main hero is some big, tough fighter, capable of beating most opponents easily. However, his girlfriend, who doesn't have near the power he does, can hit him easily and often, usually sending him into unconsciousness. These are standard GAGS! For the purposes of humor! If you want to treat them as normal human beings, drop the gags.
As far as dealing with her temper, you may have missed the fact that it works. Akane is usually much, much calmer after letting out her anger and hitting Ranma. Maybe Ranma knows something we don't? Like it's better to let out short bursts of anger then to let it fester over time?
As a side note, this is why I don't feel a Ranma/Ukyo pairing will work out(other than the fact Ranma doesn't love her that way). She HATED Ranma for a longer period of time than Ryoga did, yet all that festering anger is gone in a blink when he calls her cute? If you want to be a realist, then all that anger is still there, hidden just underneath the facade of the "cute fiancee" image she is trying to project. You can bet when she finally blows up, people are going to get hurt badly or killed. For evidence, look at Hinako's first arrival, the ring box episode, and even the end of manga wedding attempt. You wanna talk about anger? Akane's only causes her to fight with Ranma occaisonally. Shampoo and Ukyo tend to unleash their anger on any girl near Ranma.
I read a story once, where Akane�s behavior devolved even further. Her rages
became more frequent until, in a fit of anger, she hit one of her friends (think
it was Yuka, but might have been Sayuri) hard enough that she had to be
hospitalized for a few days. After this, Mr Tendo revealed that that had pretty
much been Akane�s behavior pattern prior to Ranma�s arrival. Ranma is placed in
charge of disciplining Akane, since he�s the only one strong and skilled enough
to do so. With his help, Akane moves beyond those rages.
The story is called "Proper Punishment", and is available on the RAAC. It's a good story, and it shows just perfectly that Ranma loves Akane so much, he would do anything to help her, and in fact he does help her. As the Tendos pointed out, he's the only one who could.
What most people tend to overlook, is that the Tendo sisters lost their mother at a young age. Especially to young kids, this is a traumatic event and the Tendo girls' behavior in the series shows it had a big effect on them. Kasumi threw herself into being the 'mother' of the house to cope, Nabiki threw herself into money, and Akane threw herself into martial arts. Each one went for something that they loved and subconsciously knew would never leave them. However, in Akane's case, Ranma shows up and her good martial arts skills are suddenly useless.
It is essential to break one out of their shell to begin the healing process, and that's what Ranma does here. Nabiki needs someone to break her out of the money she's wrapped herself in, And Kasumi needs someone who can break her out of her housemaking shell. All need to learn to be women again.
My point is this: that�s what she needs. She is a spoiled brat, and really needs to grow up. All throughout the series, Akane is basically given whatever she wants (except Dr Tofu) without having to work for it. The ONE exception I can think of to this is when she defeats a ten-year-old girl who�d challenged her dojo. That she did on her own� but everything else is handed to her on a silver platter. The best example of this is Ranma, the guy just about every girl in the series is after. She never tries to make him feel wanted, but when another girl pursues him she gets pricklier than a cross between a porcupine and a sea urchin. And he crawls on his belly for her.
Spoiled brat? Given whatever she wants? Not grown up? Yet more vague generalizations. If someone's gonna say Akane is a spoiled brat, give some evidence, because I don't see it, and most likely, plenty of other people won't see it either.
Spolied brats are usually self-centered, but Akane's attitude is usually focused on others and how they feel. She even has sympathy for Kuno and Happosai! Spoiled brats are selfish, but Akane has risked and/or sacrificed her life several times to help others, with no thought of personal gain. HOw can someone like this be a spoiled brat?
Also, if you're gonna take this approach to Akane you should realize that, compared to her, everyone else is much, much worse. The Kunos and Shampoo especially fit the mold of selfish spoiled brat. Shampoo is only concerned with getting her trophy husband and dragging him back to China. You can just hear her thought patterns: "Shampoo best at everything, always must be best at everything. Great-grandmother give everything to Shampoo. Ranma beat Shampoo? Shampoo not the best? Must conquer Ranma and bring back to Joketsuzoku and show everyone that Shampoo still best!" It's shown she doesn't care about his feelings, just getting waht she wants. Now THAT'S a spoiled brat!
The Kunos are simliar as well. 'See Ranma, want Ranma, don't care how it's done.' I hesitate to put Ukyo into this group, as she does do some selfless things from time to time. It's just when Ranma comes into the picture, her tunnel vision is enabled.
(Side note: on your page, you argue that Akane really loves Ranma because she�s willing to give him up to Nabiki. Unfortunately you seem to overlook something. Namely, that it could just as easily be Akane doing this out of concern for Nabiki. And since Akane is never that generous with Shampoo, or Ukyo, or Kaori Daikokuji, I really feel that your example doesn�t mean anything. For that matter, Ranma doesn�t exactly sit back and give Ryoga a clear path at Akane, though that could just be because Ranma is firmly convinced it wouldn�t be in her best interests).
Akane thought Ranma wanted Nabiki and vice versa, and she was willing to step aside. If you love someone, does it matter if it's a friend or a sibling that gets the one you love? Akane is shown to be as much a friend to Ukyo as she is a sister to Nabiki, maybe even moreso. She cares enough about Shampoo and Ukyo to help them when they need it, even though Shampoo and Ukyo don't return the favor. In fact, Shampoo is waiting for the chance to kill Akane; she tries several times during the series. She just doesn't want the evidence to point to her, because she knows Ranma would most likely kill her.
And what is worse? Losing someone you love to an outsider? Or to a member of your own family? And since you live with your family, you'll be constantly remined of that fact. Day in and day out, you'll see the one you love with your sister/brother, and your heart will break again and again and again. Akane states as much during that story: "I don't want to back to a home with Ranma and Nabiki living together." It's clear this is tearing her up inside.
Well, first you say she's a spoiled brat who wants everything handed to her, then you say she shows enough concern for her sister to give up the one she loves. Contradictions anyone?
Why would you give up the one you love with all your heart at all? Does it really matter who you give that person up to?
Two more examples: the Swimming with Psychos episode and the Akane and Her Sisters OAV.
When a swimming match is announced, Akane is pleased as punch. She�s really excited at the chance to represent her class. The fact that she can�t swim is just a minor setback. And so she tries to learn (and do you really think PRINCIPAL KUNO is any kind of teacher?! For cryin� out loud, she should have had the good sense to talk to a gym teacher or a life guard, or ANYBODY sane), in one afternoon, how to swim well enough to win a competition. Was there any chance of success? Realistically speaking, no. Only someone with an incredible natural talent for swimming could have hoped to do that, and if Akane had such a talent presumably she would have already learned how to swim. But hey, this is Ranma �- we can�t let Akane lose something she wants. So with Ranma�s aid, she cheats (yes, cheats, to win a swim meet without swimming cannot be considered fair) and wins.
Anime episode, and one of the reason people who have read the manga, don't like the anime; me included. The manga episode had no swimming contest (it was a requirement to advance in grade level, and Akane was worried about passing because she knew she couldn't swim), and Ukyo was not in the manga story at all.
And as far as the Principal Kuno trying to help Akane swim, why would she let him? Simple, it's the same problem she runs into many times: No one else offers to help her. Ranma even makes fun of her! In fact, this episode shows that the Principal really does care about his students(he just has mostly warped ideas of how they need to be helped). So let's just completely ignore the one good thing the Principal tries to do, okay? After all, we wouldn't want to go thinking he's a good person. That would ruin our set-in-stone, preconceived ideas!
You're right, though, a lifeguard would the sane option. However, if you're looking for sanity in the Ranma anime, you'll be looking for quite awhile...
And in the OAV� oh, wait, there was one more point I wanted to make about the swimming episode. When the contest is first announced, it�s revealed that Ukyo is a great swimmer. The chef states that she�d be glad to represent their class. And then, Akane takes over and shoves Ukyo back into the background. She doesn�t even realize she�s done it. She doesn�t even think enough of Ukyo to deliberately hurt her. She just walks over her with the same unconcern you or I would show an ant.
What you fail to see, is that despite having Ranma between them, Akane and Ukyo are friends. In one of the rarer points of the series, Ukyo's concern is strong enough to let Akane go for it. Also, since Ukyo is most likely registered as a boy, could she even legally compete in a girl's swim meet?
This is another case of Akane needing to be good at SOMETHING. If your skills were constantly belittled and every one around you was better then you, you'd act the exact same way. It's called being human. So you can either take it this way, or as a cartoon meant to be funny.
Now for the OAV. Perhaps you wondered why I selected it as an example of my point that Akane doesn�t have to work for her victories. �Surely,� you say, or maybe I�m just imagining you say it, and you stopped reading long before this, �surely that one was a shining triumph for Akane. She was defeated, then she trained hard, came back, and defeated those who had beaten her.� Bullshit.
Let me detail certain important points of that episode. When Akane first challenges Kurumi, Nabiki doesn�t think it�s a good idea. She says the only training Akane has been doing lately is running (more on that later). Akane, ever one to listen to the advice of others (hmmm� I think I left an �n� out of one word in that clause), ignores this. In the fight, she cannot even touch Kurumi, who has to save Akane from flying into a nasty pile of metal equipment. Skip past the remainder of the first half of the story, to the point where Akane runs off to train for a rematch. How long does she train for? A week? Maybe two? I want to say it was a week, but I�m not sure I�m remembering correctly. Ranma-chan is off training as well, to boost her speed and become a better fighter in female form. Then Akane returns, and begins with a fight with Kurumi. During this fight, Kurumi realizes Akane has gotten a lot better. Natsume realizes this too, and tags out her sister.
Did Akane truly improve to the point where Kurumi was outclassed? Please. That is totally ridiculous. All throughout that OAV, Kurumi was characterized as soft-hearted. In addition, she had doubts about what she and Natsume were doing. She was holding back in the second fight, just as surely as she was in the first. She and her sister had been on the road, training for many years with absolute dedication so as not to disappoint their father when they finally found him. To say that Akane suddenly became good enough over the course of at most a couple of weeks to defeat Kurumi is simply not reasonable. Kurumi was going easy on Akane, so Natsume (not nearly so tender-hearted as Kurumi, or maybe just more desperate to have a home) switches places with her. Had Ranma not shown up then, Akane would have been defeated. But Ranma does show up, and the battle is progressing just as it did the last time the four girls fought. I.e., Ranma and Akane fall to squabbling and the two sisters unleash their most powerful attack. So what happens then? Why, Ranma counters with a modified Amazon technique that cancels the sisters� attack and immobilizes them, allowing Akane to do what she does best. Hit an unmoving target.
It's belittling to Kurumi to say she wasn't doing her best. It's a prime tenant of being a martial artist to always try your best. To do less is to insult your opponent. Kurumi isn't the insulting type. During the second match, she was geniunely worried when Akane matched her move for move. She was panting heavily when Natsume tried to intervene, showing she had been forced to work a lot harder then the first match. The training Akane did over a few days (4 to 5 days at most), was mostly to regain the edge she had, since Ranma(not Nabiki) notes the most training Akane had been doing recently had been running. Akane showed remarkable improvement in that short time, and to ignore that, is develop a nice Kuno-like denial syndrome. Akane DID work hard for the fight, and she DID prove she is worthy of the Musabetsu Kakuto Tendo-ryu.
As far as the final attack is concerned, the two girls weren't immobilzed by Ranma's attack, they simply couldn't see Akane coming until it was too late. As Natsume noted, it was going to take a lot more than the Hiryuu Shoten Ha to defeat them. So Ranma couldn't beat them on his own, but working with Akane as a team, they were able to do it.
Also, as far Akane only able to hit an unmoving object? Take another look at her schoolyard fights. Take another look at the first Pantyhose Taro defeat. You might also want to look at the dojo destroyer episode again. Together, they rotated in mid-air, kicking the fast moving signs(anime only). Despite arguing all the while, Ranma and Akane were able to defeat their opponents with some difficulty. Together, they beat the dojo destroyer, Natsume and Kurumi, Pantyhose Taro, and Saffron among others. It kinda makes you wonder how good they would be if they REALLY put their minds together to work as a team, without the arguing.
All throughout the series, we hear Akane proclaiming �I�m a martial artist too!� Well, here in this episode we see what she really means by that: she�ll give just as much as she feels like giving. When there�s a concrete goal in sight, this could mean intense training. But Ranma�s level of dedication might as well be on a different planet. Is that a bad thing? Personally I think Ranma is much too focused on martial arts. He�ll turn into his father (good at the Art, poor at everything else) if nothing changes. He could actually benefit from toning things down a bit. I don�t think the level of Akane�s training is the problem- it�s her attitude. She demands everyone else acknowledge her as an equal when she frankly is not. And she never will be if she�s not willing to pay the price. Stories I read where Ranma goes off, trains Akane for a little while, and then she kicks Shampoo�s butt really make me sick. Shampoo, for all her faults, is a dedicated warrior. She was the Champion of a village that has Cologne as its head. Akane isn�t ever going to beat her without resorting to some sort of trick, like triggering her curse.
I think you mean Akane demands to be treated as a martial artist, because she is. Next to Ranma, even a black belt seems puny, but I guarantee she could kick your butt easily enough. Remember, she waded through fifty attackers every morning without taking a hit herself, using just enough force to put them down without permanent injury. Then, later in the series when the boys attacked her again, she beat them, easily, and in a fraction of the time she did at the beginning(see Volume 17 when Nabiki becomes Ranma's fiancee. The boys attack her again). It looks like she has gotten better to me...
If you're gonna compare Akane to Ranma, realize that Ranma beat Shampoo just as easily, and Shampoo comes from a warrior culture with Cologne as a sensei. Given this, Shampoo sould be at least as good, if not better then Ranma. She should know the Amaguriken, Bakusai Tenketsu, and/or Hiryuu Shoten Ha, but she doesn't. And Ranma, fresh out of Jusenkyo with an unfamiliar and awkward body, was able to beat her quite easily. Going this route, it would seem Shampoo and Akane are evenly matched, though we know this isn't the case.
It's generally understood that Akane received some training from her father when she was young, then continued her training alone when Soun stopped (most likely after Ms. Tendo's death). With no greater challengers than the schoolyard boys, Akane wasn't able to improve. When Ranma shows up, she gets into fights with him, the dojo destroyer, Natsume and Kurumi, Orochi, Pantyhose Taro, Kiima, etc. So with the tougher fights, she's naturally going to improve. The Battle Dougi episode shows that Akane can become much, much better with training (when the suit brought out her latent talent, not even Ranma could beat her).
During the story, Shampoo doesn't get into ANY fights, with the exception Pnathose Taro(she lost) and the last two volumes (when she's mind-controlled, poetic justice because of all the mind-control Shampoo uses during the series). It's not even shown that Shampoo trains at all, while there are many scenes depicting Akane in a gi and working out in the dojo.
Also, most people don't realize that it is highly possible that Ranma has been training Akane since near the beginning of the series. There's a point where they are sparring(i.e., Ranma dodging Akane's attacks), and Akane yells for him to "stop dodging and fight me! You promised to train me!" The conclusion being that Akane asked Ranma to train her and he promised he would. Is Ranma one to back out on a promise? Even if it is dodging, that's enough to get Akane's speed up drastically by the end of the series, which I see is the major point between Akane and Shampoo (Shampoo won that first fight by being faster).
What does all this mean? Akane is a whole lot better at the end, compared to the beginning, while Shampoo is basically the same. It's reasonable to expect that after a couple of weeks to a month of intense training and the chance to learn some new techniques, Akane could easily match Shampoo.
And so what started as a discussion of Ranma�s faults (particularly that he lets Akane get away with too much) has turned back into a rant against Akane. As if you haven�t realized it by now, I DESPISE the unfairness of how she�s treated vs. how everybody else is. I write fanfiction, and my stories
acknowledge her problems for what they are. In my two major stories, she faces
those problems squarely and triumphs over them, although there is pain involved
in the process.
Then you did the right thing. :)
Seriously, everyone else has the same faults that she does, and they still have them at the end, where as Akane has already worked through hers somewhat. And there was plenty of pain for her during the manga, moreso then any other character besides Ranma; that's what causes her character to grow. Nobody else experiences as much pain as her. Who was turned into a doll, not once, but twice? Who was abducted and tied up several times? Who is drugged, attacked, and kidnapped multiple times? Who is constantly being belittled because of what she can't do? Who is being forced down a path not of her own making?(being forced into an engagement, I think she is handling it quite well despite the circumstances)
Also, while there is much noise about Akane's(and the other's) faults, rarely anyone says anything about her redeeming qualities, her good points. And compared to everyone else, Akane has a whole lot more good points. She kind to most people and tries to help them out if they are in trouble, no matter who they are and what they've done to her. If she's wronged someone, consciously or unconsciously, she'll feel regret and sorrow, and try to apologize. For the ones she loves, she's willing to take any risks to keep them safe, no matter how extreme(like setting herself on fire). Akane has more, but I won't list them. Instead I'll tell you to look at her and the others, and this time try to see their their virtues instead of faults.
All the characters in the original series have problems. I�m not about to spend the next hour or two listing them for everyone, or even every fianc�e. I haven�t even listed all of Akane�s. I could do more there, and I certainly could do as in-depth a look at Ranma�s flaws as I have done for Akane (and since on your page you state that Ranma and Akane don�t try to manipulate people, which is completely wrong, I will state that Ranma is plenty manipulative when it comes to trying to get the instant nannichuan from Shampoo). But in the interests of counterbalancing the multitudes who worship Akane and feel she can do no wrong, I�m going to stop here, with one final point.
More like Shampoo manipulating Ranma to get a date. Shampoo knows Ranma won't go out with her unless she bribes him. She created the scenario, Ranma just reacted to it. She dangled the Nannichaun packet in front of him, like putting a worm on a hook. Any other supposed manipulations by Ranma and/or Akane?
R&A don't consciously manipulate anyone, or IF they do, it's usually for a good cause or subconsciously. In fact, one of the traits they share, that practically no one else does, is the fact that they feel guilt and regret when they realize they did something wrong. This is called 'having a conscience.' They try and apologize and make it up to the offended party. They have bad points, but they have some really good qualities as well. Remember to recognize these when you write fanfiction.
Ranma and Akane both have the emotional maturity of twelve-year-olds at best.
Emotionally confused 16-year-old kids going through puberty. If you had to go through everything they went through, you would only dream of handling it as well as they have. It would most likely either leave you an emotional wreck, or you'd end up running for the hills while screaming in terror! ^_^
Before either can hope to have a working marriage relationship, each will have to do a huge amount of growing up. And they�re each holding the other back.
More like they can accomplish so much more because of the strength they give each other. Ranma and Akane do the most growing up through the series. It's everyone else who are the same at the end as they were at the beginning. When you reach Volume 38 and read the wedding scene, this is abundantly clear. Actually, Ryoga and Mousse show some character growth as well (Ryoga gives up on Akane, and Mousse no longer attacks Ranma on sight, knowing that Ranma loves Akane and not Shampoo). Where as Ukyo, Shampoo, and the Kunos have the same old behavior, if not worse.
Taken from a realistic standpoint, everybody in the series needs to grow up. Because it's shown Ranma and Akane can grow, learn, and change at a rate that's at least faster then those around them, the relationship of these two lovebirds will endure.
And taken from a cartoon standpoint, their antics and actions are there because they are amusing and funny. If Ranma and Akane didn't have their unqiue relationship, it wouldn't be nearly as entertaining.
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