Mr. Otakki wrote:
If anyone out there cares to, I'd appreciate some notes on what the more
serious aspects of the characters in Ranma 1/2 should be/are (you can
even include references for my sake). Be it notes on just one or two, or
a large novel of notes, I'd appreciate it. I think it'd help me out a
great deal in creating meaningful dialogue and character development.
Thanks!
There is the potential for alot of darkness in Ranma, Ukyou who has
devoted all of her life in some way to Ranma must be incredibly lonely
and when ultimately she fails (if thats the way you see things) then
what is she going to do? Its the end of an era.
Sexuality, aside from exploring what it means to be both male and female
for Ranma (as an interesting read on this I think i would recommend
richard lawson's Thy Outward Part which still disturbs me 3 months after
i read it.) But aside from this there was the recently done It's 11:00
which impressed me cuz of its exploration of how Akane and Ranma might
be in bed together.
A lot of the characters in the story have devoted their lives to Ranma
or had them in some way influenced by him, Shampoo for instance might
feel pressured to do the things she does because of rules or traditions,
how far is Mousses obssesiveness going to take him.
Then there are the Tendo sisters, what affect did their the mother dying
have on them, Kasumi for instance may have lost any sense of herself
trying to take her place, and exactly what is Nabiki doing, she's at
best an extortionist who seems to take advantage of whoever. Whats up
with Akane anyways, why is she so stubborn/angry/frustrated all the
time.
Also if you want to break totally from tradition what is with the sense
of honor that the characters strive so hard to meet. My ex girlfriend
says thats its all alot of bull, its about image and not much more,
ultimately the sacrifices that are made by her parents are done to make
her look good.
I think that there are hints of sexism involved in the story as well.
But thats for another time...
--Eric