-----Original Message-----
From: ffml-bounce@fanfic.com [mailto:ffml-bounce@fanfic.com]On Behalf Of
P-R-P-Chan
Sent: Friday, February 05, 1999 1:27 PM

PRP-chan asked for private replies, but I thought this would be
of interest to the list generally because in it I debunk a number
of popular fanfic myths....

1. Does either ever say that Nabiki uses the money she swindles off people
to help the dojo? (i personally don't think so... but i wanna make sure..)

Actually there's absolutely no evidence about it, except to say that
Nabiki is continually eating snacks and wearing new/nice clothes.
It is my opinion that she *does not* contribute to dojo income at all.
Moreover, I think it's a notion quite antithical to her character.

The question of money per se is never really touched on in Ranma at
all, except for one notable passage in vol.36, in the story arc where
Ranma is acknowledged as manly by his mother and Genma is revealed
as an utter worm of negative moral character... where he is chasing
a family medal said to be worth Y2000 (yeah, that's right $20) to
which he reacts with amazement and the thought "TAIKIN!" (big money!)
and then proceeds, for 30-40 pages, to try to steal it.  (It's through
Genma's actions that Ranma is revealed to Nodoka after he himself
is first revealed.)

There is another time where Nabiki is seen running a mail-order
business with Ranma hankies etc.

One final point:  Some people say the girls' names refer to cloud
formation, but there's also a saying in Japan:  "O-kane o nabiki",
or "bowing down to money".  "Nabiki" (continuative form of "nabiku")
means "bowing".

Oh yeah:  Nabiki never really deals in high finance at all.  Yes
she charges a bit for photos (5 photos, the lot for Y3000), but
she then in vol. twenty-something lends out ranma for Y1000 per hour...
cheap, really.

So IMHO the fanfic view of Nabiki is grossly mistaken in many regards.
(On the other hand she's quite capable of unsettling Ranma quite
deliberately, for instance the first time his mother came to visit,
simply because she's feeling put upon [her own mother died].)

2. Is Kasumi (other than her first appearance), ever characterized as
anything but an airhead? something that would give rise to these rumors
that Kasumi knows all, sees all, and is manipulating the others like
puppets...

Kasumi is a parody of a Good Japanese Wife.  Not an airhead, but
accepting.  Actually her character changes quite a bit over the
manga.  At first she gets very angry at Genma just like a normal
person, tells him off, points her finger at him - all normal
aggressive behaviour.  But by the end, in the one and only story
featuring her, her expression of deep anger is to simply touch
Ranma on the forehead and say, "don't do it again".

This seems strange to us but as I said, it's something of a
Japanese ideal to have a compliant wife.  She is a living parody.

3.Is Ono Tofu actually the master of evil? it sure seems that way from the
fics i've been reading... j/k

Toufuu ("north wind") is actually just a joke character who quickly
disappears when the joke runs out or when it looks like he will get
Akane and Ranma together too quickly.  (He was the catalyst for Ranma's
first seriously-positive thoughts about her, in volume 2.)

4.Does Ranma actually try to learn any martial arts just for the sake of
bettering himself? from what i've seen and heard, he only really trains
when they'res someone better than him..

Well, only *exerts* himself.  He is often seen training or accompanying
Akane in some pleasant activity (walking around shopping, around the
house) at other times.  But you also have to recall the episodic
nature of Ranma:  We only see the intersting times, unlike many
fanfics which feel constrained to fill in a linear time continuum.

5.Is Ranma the only person with a mother in the series? It sure seems that
way...

Um... Tendou no, Kunou no, Kuonji unknown (probably no), Hibiki yes but
functionally no.... gosh, amoungst the main characters it seems that
way.  The part-time characters and bit players seem to have mothers only
if said mother is a necessary plot element.

6.Is it ever actually stated that Cologne is in a position of authority in
the Amazon tribe?

Nope.  But nobody gets that old in a primitive society without having
a position of power.  And the Herb story arc gets kicked off because
Cologne is visited for consulting purposes (by Herb).  So there is
ample evidence that she is a VIP, even though she may not be a leader
per se.

7.Is Ryouga ever shown anywhere outside of Japan and China? my opinion is
that he always get's lost in the zoo...

Definitely not.  That is fanfic legend and just plain stupid (to show
Ryouga in the USA, or on Dune, or whatever.  Of course, for comedic
effect such a scene could be useful and it has been used in a number
of early fanfics for exactly that purpose, but along the way it's
become accepted as the norm.

8.Does Nabiki actually control over half the GDP of Japan? j/k just trying
to make a point with this one..

See above.  But remember also comedic device in fanfics which later
becomes fanfic "fact".

9.Has Kasumi ever actually shown any romantic feelings towards
Tofu? i know
i should know this, but i usually just stopped paying attention whenever
Tofu came into the picture.. god how i hated him and Kasumi....

Not sure.

10.Did Ranma ever fight one of the girls? aside of course from the
gymnastics against kodachi, Shampoo in the amazon village, and Ukyou when
she challenged him.. was there any other time he fought one of them?

Ranma fought defensive or targeted battles against Akane on several
occasions (super-strength soba, the battle dougi).

11.Does Mousse ever challenge Shampoo in the series? and is it ever shown
that he could beat her?

No. No.

Actually, that's not true.  An aside is shown of approx. 6yo shampoo
and mousse and a reference made to "you challenged, you lost, too bad"
(not the actual words but it was that kind of statement).

12.Has Akane ever used her malet for anything aside from comedy factor?

Nope.  And she often uses whatever is at hand, at least at first.  Shinai
(a kendo practice sword) are used a lot at first.

Also, almost every member of the cast has used mallets at one time or
another.  Including Ranma.  They are a comedic device.  Akane's Mallet
is yet another fanfic legend... as is the notion that only females
can use them.

13. Does time pass during the series? if so, how long would it be between
Shampoo leaving for China and returning to Nerima?

Not so you'd notice.  At least a year and a half has to pass during
the arc, and there is nothing to *contradict* the notion that Ranma
and Akane are 2nd-year snr high at some point in the story (unlike
early in the story where a strong point is made of saying that they
are 1st year), but I think it is simply that time gets lost a little
bit in the shuffle.  Still, there may be a consistent timeline; I've
never bothered to do  a painstaking analysis.  It helps to remember,
by the way, that the Japanese school year starts in *April* or late
March, not February (southern hemisphere norm) or August (northern
hemisphere norm).

14. In the manga it's shown that everyone at Furinkan (aside form Kuno)
knows about Ranma's curse; what about the anime?

Who knows?  Remember that RT had nothing to do with the anime,
and you can characterise the fill-in episodes as nothing more than
fanfiction... and sometimes not-terribly-good fanfiction.

--
David Eddy - Senior Consultant, Progress Software Melbourne
dje@progress.com

Screening Coordinator and Subbing Bunny, Melbourne Anime Society
My home page is at http://nabiki.newberry.edu/DEddy