On Sat, 26 Apr 1997, H. Torrance Griffin wrote:

On Thu, 24 Apr 1997, Anthony Woo wrote:

Ok I've heard a _lot_ of reasons why this person or that person should or
ought to get Ranma.  I got tired of it.  This is a list of reasons of
reasons why Shampoo, Ukyo, Kodachi, etc _shouldn't_ get Ranma.

Who Should _Not_ Get Ranma (and why)


Ranma + Shampoo = a bad match

Why:  I can't see Shampoo being romanticly attracted to Ranma.  From what
I can tell, the only reason why she's chasing Ranma is the Amazon Law,
Cologne, and (according to Richard Lawson in "Thy Inward Love") her pride.
These do _not_ make for a good match.  

	I must ask a single question here.  If these were the _only_ three
reasons Shampoo's after Ranma, then why did she allow him to live after
her first visit to Japan?  She was convinced the outlander who shamed her
was female and had was inches from caving her skull in... then she just
turned and left to take whatever punishment awaiting her at home.
	I suspect that her feeling for Ranma are a lot stronger than many
say partially because of what she and Cologne are physically and morally
capable of if either of them saw Ranma as nothing more than a trophy
and/or breeding equipment (namely mind-wiping the stud, dragging him home,
and _killing_ anyone who protests). 
	ICYAW, no I don't think Cologne would force Shampoo to wed anyone
she does not think the girl would be happy with.

I can belive this of Shampoo, I have yet to see this kind of morality from
Cologne.  The only reasons why _I_ think she hasn't done what you suggest
is 1) Ranma's will is too strong (if the mind wipe technique didn't work
completely on Akane, it might not work at all on Ranma, also there's no
garuntee that either of them could get close enough to Ranma to apply the
technique--Shampoo couldn't period, and Cologne would have a tough time of
it.)  2) Shampoo wants Ranma to _choose_ her.  _If_ Cologne wants Shampoo
to be happy then she wouldn't mind wipe Ranma because that would take away
his choice and Shampoo wouldn't be pleased with that.
 

Yes, she seems affectionate, but to
me that seems more as a way of tempting Ranma with her body more than
anything else. 

	<shrug> I call it a terminal lack of subtlety.
	'Poo needs to seriously work on her tactics (although they are an
improvement over Fraulien Tendo's), but it is obvious to me at least
that she seeks a _willing_ mate and companion in Ranma

I guess...
 

She _hates_
his female form, and if she's anything like her brother she won't
understand when he explains it to her. 

	My main argument is that she _isn't_ like her brother.  Kodachi is
considerably more intellegent and (IMO) has a firmer grasp on reality that
Tatewaki.  If the curse is displayed/explained to her

Didn't they do that...or was that just my imagination...
 

She's potion happy.  And she's insane (this is a lie, by gross
_understatement_)  

	The latter I must protest.  Kuno Kodachi is rather eccentric and
often utterly amoral, but she has never struck me to be noticably detached
from reality (unlike Tatewaki, Mousse, Ryoga....)

Ok she _may_ not be insane.  But that doesn't excuse her criminal
tendencies...which is still a bad thing, even worse if she's not insane
because it means that she's crippling (relatively) defenseless people of
her own free will (see Manga volume 2 all those bandages on those girls
weren't for nothing, and that mallet that she was using on Akane looked
pretty dangerous, if Akane wasn't such a good martial artist-relative to
reality-she could have been crippled or killed!) I think we all prefer the
belief that Kodachi is insane than the thought that a normal human being
can harbor such cruelty.

He has _no_ attraction to her, whatsoever.  He's very
much afraid of her.  You can try, but...

	To even _start_ a romance between these two, one would have to
alter their current relationship considerably (nothing implausable, they
just need to sit down and talk).  Once that's done, they may prove more
compatable than many think.

"Sit down and talk" you say...about the curse, the law, various dangerous
substances, various blunt (and not so blunt) objects (razor hoops, rods,
miniclubs, ribbons, etc...)

Ranma + Akane = maybe...

	<snip>

Could Shampoo, Ukyo, or Kodachi deal with Ranma
up close on a day to day basis with him running off at the mouth?  He
might be just as insulting with Shampoo or Ukyo if he feels that he's
being forced into a relationship with them (That's how the whole thing
with Akane got started remember?)

	Your logic is sound, but I doubt that any of the these three could
be as _irrationally_ violent as Akane is on a regular basis (her behavior
exacerbates the tension in thier relationship as much or more than
Ranma's).

Oh, I don't know...I'm sure Ukyo, Shampoo, and Kodachi _could_ be just as
irrationally violent, or more so (since they are better than Akane).  Just
look at how hard Kodachi tries to kill Ranma-chan, who's to say that she
wouldn't be just as violent if she thought Ranma was cheating on her
(Shampoo, Ukyo, and Akane might _still_ be pursuing him) Same with Ukyo,
she was abandoned by Ranma once who's to say she might not believe he'd do
it again, she blamed it on him once why not a second time.  I really don't
know about Shampoo and her beliefs about polygamy.

Personally I think it's going to be a _long_ time before Ranma choses any
one of them.  They all need to grow up emotionally before they can really
understand who they really love.  All this is really to say that fanfic
authors better have a damn good reason for having _anyone_ get paired off.

	I agree wholeheartedly.  I grow especially tired of those who
regard Movie #2 as an accurate vision of the future.

what was wrong with movie two--other than odd pairs for no particular
reason ie Kuno/Nabiki, Ryoga/Ukyo, the Shampoo/Mousse thing was handled
well (I thought), of course there was "the Akane helping Ranma for no
particular reason" scene...that bothered me.  At least Movie #1 gave a
reason for them getting closer, Movie #2...didn't.
 
Thanx for listening to me rant and rave

AJ