It seems that a great deal of time and energy is invested by people
who wish either to suggest "new" fanfic ideas and/or those who 
take it upon themselves to point out that such stories have been
done before.  Not to say that these efforts are completely unworthwhile,
but I take issue with the assumption that saying "it's been done"
automatically invalidates an idea.  

ahh.. but it doesn't.. mearly means that you cna take a stab at it, only
you'll be in someone elses shadow, or be overshadowing them.. writing, at
least in my mind, isn't about competition, and some ppl might see that when
they see that it's been done before..

Consider if Takahashi-san had employed this line of thinking.  "What
if Ranma were roped into some esoteric sort of Martial Arts tournament...
oh, wait, it's been done."  "Suppose I introduce another fiancee for
Ranma... oh, hold on, I've done that."  "Let's say that Ryouga learns
a new technique and challenges... darn, I did that too."  Each of her 
"repetitive" storylines had their own richness and distinctiveness.  The
same potential exists for fanfictions which follow the same theme, so 
long as they are crafted with skill and devotion.  

well.. the series does get repetitive at times.. 

One might argue that it is a bit absurd to get overly hung up on the
principle of originality when one is writing with somebody else's 
characters.  Given the number of Ranma stories out there, it seems
futile to grasp desperately about for ideas which have never been done.  If 
you stretch hard enough, you can assuredly come up with something
unique ("What if Ranma fell in love with a hedgehog?"  "What if
Ryouga was really the Second Coming?"  "What if Akane grew an

Ryouga as the second coming? i think it's been done... sorta.. Eimi-chan's
Shattered Hearts on the Road :) WHICH I WANT MORE OF!! you promised me some
for may! (too bad i don't think eimi's on the list...)

    P-R-P-Chan
    P-R-P-Chan's Pathetic Little Place
    http://www.crosswinds.net/japan/~prpchan/little/index.html
    The Ranma 1/2 Fanfic Library
    http://www.crosswinds.net/japan/~prpchan/index.htm