What are the benefits?

[SpaceKnight of Chaos]

A lot of discussion has been laid down on this board about the personalities and feelings of the girls after Ranma, but this is one thing that people seem to be forgetting. In an arranged marriage, which is what the girls basically have, feelings and personalities are optional extras; they're getting married because their families see some benefit to be made from tying the two families together in unity. So long as they produce at least one healthy living heir, they otherwise don't have to do anything with each other.

I thusly post this topic to ask a simple question: what, in your opinion, are the benefits of the various engagements? What are the boons the Saotome family will receive for marrying into the Tendos, Kunos, Joketsuzoku or Kuonji's?

In my personal opinion, in terms of satisfying the 'root' of any arranged marriage between martial artists (to create a stronger martial arts style by incorporating knowledge from the other family and by breeding a more promising martial artist), the Joketsuzoku arrangement is the most superior. Ranma has already seen a number of potent techniques from the Chinese Amazons, and these are undoubtedly just the tip of the iceberg- the most potent and deadly of all are unlikely to be revealed to him until after he and Shampoo tie the knot. What's more, Shampoo undeniably has better genes, given that it's canon both that she's far more powerful than Akane and that the Joketsuzoku have been breeding for martial arts prowess for the past three millenia.

In contrast, the Tendos don't seem to have anything worthwhile to offer. A rundown hall with no students, perhaps some techniques in conventional Japanese weapon usage and one-on-many combats, and some genes for raw strength and ki generation courtesy of Akane.

[FriendlyEL]

I think alot of that question depends on aspects of the marriage that are left up to fan interpretation. For example with Shampoo, alot of it does depend on exactly how men are treated in the Amazon village (ex. Will Ranma be able to practice martial arts there in the first place?), or at least if he is expected to move back to China with her. If so, one benefit of marrying Akane is that he would still live in a culture he is perfectly used to. Also, is it really true that Ukyo would expect him to work in her business? If not, one major advantage there is that he would be guaranteed free room and board without working. Then again, if he does one disadvantage could be he has to, and may even be expected to use his girl form at work on a regular basis (which he would find very degrading).

But you are right about that one major advantage Shampoo would have over Akane involving martial arts. There is no way that Ranma is going to gain much in martial arts from the Tendo's. The only people in the Anything Goes school I who I think would have a significant amount of skill to teach Ranma are Genma and Happosai and Genma. Genma first off would train Ranma even if him and Akane were not married. Happosai may want Ranma to be his heir either way, but as far as I know he has not put much effort into training Ranma. Plus, I think Cologne seemed to be able to improve both Ryoga and Ranma's fighting skills quite a bit more than Genma has from the short time she trained them. So yes, as far as martial arts, he's best with Shampoo.

Marry a Kuno, financially you're all set. Kodachi I think would be proud not only to give Ranma and maybe even Genma free room and board but would be more than willing to give him free room and board (at least, she did in the anime). Plus, like with marrying Akane Ranma would still live in the good old Japanese culture.

That's really all I could say. For anymore, I would need to know some about the marriage traditions of both the Amazon tribe and Kuonji clan that are never really touched on in cannon.

[Tovath]

Here are my thoughts on the subject

Ukyo - Genma already collected the dowry from the Kuonji. It was a okonomiyaki cart, remember.

Akane -

the Tendos don't seem to have anything worthwhile to offer. A rundown hall with no students, perhaps some techniques in conventional Japanese weapon usage and one-on-many combats, and some genes for raw strength and ki generation courtesy of Akane.

You might not think much of it but Genma does and he is the one that wants the marriage, so he must see something there worth having

Shampoo - This is not actully an arranged marriage, Ranma accidentally did part of the courtship rituals and this is why she is after them.

Kodachi - she has no legal claim

[Drawde]

Remember, it's for the benefit of the families involved, not the individuals. What does the Saotome family, as a whole, benefit if Ranma's in China? I think that, if the Tendo arrangement fell through, Genma would push for Ukyo for that reason.

Both the Saotome family and the Tendo family heads (Genma and Soun) consider that match to the greatest benefit. It may not have a material benefit, but they consider it worth it. And, in the end, they're the ones with the biggest push for that marriage, being in charge of their respective families.

[Siden]

Tovath-
Whether the engagements are valid or not are not in question, but which has the best benefits for Ranma.


SpaceKnight of Chaos-
I'll stick with the real fiancées, Kodachi just annoys me.

I don't know for sure, but I think El has got the right idea. How often has Ranma show interest in something outside of martial arts? And how much do we really know about life in the Joketsuzoku village?

Ranma has travelled around since a very young age, so a change in culture would likely not hit him too hard. The hardest part would probably be learning the local dialect and minor customs. And in terms of martial arts, Xian Pu is the best choice. In terms of skill, she seems to be the closest to Ranma out of the fiancée group. And just the trio at the Cat Cafe can offer plenty of varying skills to Ranma, from Xian Pu's ability to effortlessly make large round holes in walls (a variation of the breaking point? Spreading ki through the wall on impact?) and Moose's hidden weapons, to the many tricks that Cologne has undoubtedly not yet shown. Pink & Link and Lin Lin & Ran Ran have shown us that there are plenty of different styles in and around the village for Ranma to learn from. Just think of what the other warriors his own age could show him, let alone what the veteran and elder warriors could do. Closeness to Herb and Saffron give him plenty of incentive to train and stay in the area for future challenges. Ryoga and Taro would find him eventually anyway, so it really doesn’t matter where he is when it comes to these two. Plus, she'd likely go through with the wedding night without the risk of beating Ranma senseless, something I think the other girls lack the maturity to do at this point (point in case: every time Akane has been in a remotely sexual situation with Ranma; when Ranma hit on Ukyo during the reversal jewel arc). Furthermore, as you already stated, the Joketsuzoku have been breeding martial artists for millennia, so at the very least they will have plenty of great training techniques intended for young warriors, let alone the physical benefits of inheriting traits from generations of high class fighters.

On the other hand, we have Akane and Ukyo. Ukyo really offers nothing to Ranma in terms of combat style or practice as her personal style is really nothing more than modified Naginata forms mixed with specialized weapons. Ranma could probably create a more innovative style on his own if he tried. In addition, she seems to be equal or beneath Akane in terms of pure skill and power, with her only real edge being gained by her admittedly decent skill with her chosen weapons. Going by her daydreams, Ukyo seems to expect that Ranma would run the restaurant with her, a life that does not suit the wandering martial artist at all. This same problem is held by Akane and the dojo as well. Aside from being easier for challengers to track down, being in a big city like Tokyo and Nerima just hinders Ranma’s development. As for Akane herself, she offers nothing in terms of skill or techniques to Ranma. She may, possibly but unlikely, be stronger than Xian Pu in terms of brute force, but she has shown that she is indeed slower and less skilled overall.


Drawde-
I think the Tendo-Saotome agreement is more for the benefit of the dumbass duo than the families, let alone Ranma. Just marrying a Tendo girl to Ranma can be used to bypass Japan's inheritance taxes, and with a martial artist of Ranma's calibre and the challengers he brings would be the best publicity the dojo could hope for. Best for Soun and Genma, but not best for Ranma. Especially when he would not be the one teaching (Is his a registered master? No. Does he have any experiance teaching? No.).

[bissek]

As heads of their respective clans, the Dopey Duo consider their good to be the good of the clans.

[Tovath]

Tovath-
Whether the engagements are valid or not are not in question, but which has the best benefits for Ranma.

arranged are made for the good of the family, so I was trying to discribe that sorry if I messed up.

[Trimatter]

Hmmm...

SpaceKnight of Chaos wrote:

In an arranged marriage, which is what the girls basically have, feelings and personalities are optional extras; they're getting married because their families see some benefit to be made from tying the two families together in unity.

True. Eastern views of marriage has shifted over the last twenty or so years, but in the timeframe that Ranma takes place in, the Japanese still had a more "business-like" way of looking at arranging marriages. Marrying for love was, and still is to a certain extent, considered a bad reason to tie the knot.

SpaceKnight of Chaos wrote:

In my personal opinion, in terms of satisfying the 'root' of any arranged marriage between martial artists (to create a stronger martial arts style by incorporating knowledge from the other family and by breeding a more promising martial artist), the Joketsuzoku arrangement is the most superior.

Superior? In what way? You said it yourself: "... they're getting married because their families see some benefit to be made from tying the two families together in unity".

This would mean that Ranma and the Soatomes as a whole would have to get some benefit from such an arrangement. Unfortunately, they won't. There would be no mutual benefit involved; it would be all one sided in the Amazons favor.

From the Joketsuzoku point of view, they would get all the benefits without sacrificing much. Remember: Teaching Ranma Amazon techniques was more a means to and end and not the goal. The goal being getting Ranma to consummate the marriage between Shampoo and himself and going back to the village and start raising little Amazons.

Ranma moving to China, siring and raising little Amazons would not benefit the Soatomes in any way - even if they throw in training Ranma in every martial art technique they have. It still would mostly benefit only the Amazons.

SpaceKnight of Chaos wrote:

What's more, Shampoo undeniably has better genes,

Undeniably? That is a real stretch and a highly questionable conclusion and is based solely on opinion without any shred of support from the manga.

However, if you want to take this realistically, you must consider the isolation and population size of the Joketsuzoku village. It is not very big and therefore Shampoo will most likely be genetically inferior to any of the other girls because of the limited gene pool in which she is derived from. The chances of her being the product of inbreeding and ancestral multiple inbreeding is very high. This has always been a real problem with isolated tribes across the world.

SpaceKnight of Chaos wrote:

given that it's canon both that she's far more powerful than Akane and that the Joketsuzoku have been breeding for martial arts prowess for the past three millenia.

This is a matter up to debate and a separate issue, however I'd like to point out toward the end of the manga (which is the canon) - Akane was more than capable than holding her own against opponents that were way stronger than Shampoo. In terms of raw power, Akane is more than a match for Shampoo; in terms of training, Shampoo has it all over Akane. There is good groundwork laid in the manga that with equal time and training Akane would obviously be equal or better fighter. The real difference between them and the only edge that Shampoo has over Akane is the amount of training she has had, coupled with the fact that Shampoo has no problems with killing anyone.

But really, that is all irrelevant to the central problem here.

The problem with an "Amazon arrangement" is: While it would greatly benefit the Joketsuzoku by introducing fresh genes into their limited gene pool, Ranma and his family would get very little, if anything, in return. Grandkids? Techniques that they cannot profit from? Insuring their retirement? Nope. Nothing really - at least nothing that they can really take with them and benefit from in a short term or long term way.

Therefore it would be a bad business deal for the Soatomes and doubtful that they would agree to it.

SpaceKnight of Chaos wrote:

In contrast, the Tendos don't seem to have anything worthwhile to offer.

This is very highly inaccurate and completely unsupported. I don't mean to sound condescending, but there is no way that anyone who has even read one volume of the manga could come to this conculsion. I am a bit baffled by this statement as I will detail my bafflement in the following.

SpaceKnight of Chaos wrote:

A rundown hall with no students, perhaps some techniques in conventional Japanese weapon usage and one-on-many combats, and some genes for raw strength and ki generation courtesy of Akane.

Contrast to what you claim, the reality is that the Tendos have an well known, established and well maintained training hall all set up for a new teacher and master to take over.

The part of no students is a guess on your part that is not supported one way or another in the manga. Since the story centered around Ranma and company, how Soun made money for the household was not important enough to detail, the best that we can hope for is educated guesses. (Sorry Nabiki fans, but she is the biggest drain and proven danger to the household budget, far from the breadwinner that many fics like to show.)

There are a few, rare panels in the manga that does hint at Soun having some sort of job or employment, but not exactly what - it sometimes involves travel. The natural assumption would be that he runs the dojo. If that were the case, then he must have students. Adding to the theory that there are students is the fact that the dojo is well known - far and wide; well known enough that Soun gets calls to aid in something or other from time to time (which consequently, involves travel). Though this is not a "smoking gun" this does suggest that the dojo is functioning at some level and there might be students.

Like I said, this is mostly educated guesses based on razor thin evidence, but at least it is razor thin evidence can be somewhat supported by what is shown and inferred by the manga. So while this is still conjecture, it is less so than your statement.

As far as Akane's skill level goes: She is skilled well above the average martial artist, but not on the same level as Ranma. But Akane's - or any of the other Tendo daughters - skill is irrelevant for an arrangement. As I pointed out above: The Japanese point of view towards marriage is more business-like. The Soatomes are providing a teacher and the Tendos are providing something equally important: An established, well known place to teach.

As far as the other suitors go, seriously look at them: One wants Ranma to live in her "dream life", with him at her side running a restaurant or other food service place. Another wants to drag him back to some back-water village far from his home, family and country and start having prize babies with him. The last suitor, just wants him because she feels the need to be loved by someone. True, this is a rough over-summarization of what the girls have to offer, but basically that is the core of it.

In comparison, the Tendos have a way more mutually beneficial deal to offer the Soatomes than the Amazons do.

It is fairly clear and well supported by the manga, and from the Japanese mindset, that the Soatome/Tendo agreement is the most beneficial to both families. The Tendos would get the next generation master for the dojo, the Soatomes would get a place for their art to be taught and passed on and both elders of the families would have their retirement secured. I know that sounds selfish, but from a cultural aspect (at least in the timeframe of Ranma 1/2 took place in) this sort of thing was fairly common and it was expected that the children take care of the elders in their old age.

I cannot think of any other arrangement that would benefit both parties like the Soatome/Tendo one.

[bneef]

I seem to recall a couple of story arcs where Akane could, if properly motivated, beat Shampoo. Shampoo is also an ambush fighter, not a warrior, who appears to have reached her limits, before the story ever started.

Now back to the main topic at hand: those who benefit in the various arrangements.

Starting with the Tendous, the stated goal is to unite the two schools of Anything Goes. The secondary goal (which is a valid fan fact,) is to unite the families, giving Genma and Soun the more concrete feeling of "brothers." That, and the fathers are for the marriage (whether the inheritance laws factor or not is immaterial at this point.)

Ukyou's engagement, while actually invalid (both she and Genma acknowledge the yatai belonged to the Gambling King at the time Genma took it,) has only two benefits: returning Ukyou to her birth gender and ruining any plans of Genma's. Ranma gets no benefit from the marriage, not even his childhood friend.

I will agree that the Amazon engagement is where Ranma has the potential of getting the most martial arts benefit, but the price is too high and too many things have happened to keep this from moving beyond what it is, a type of friendship. Let's look at the history of the relationship.

First, Ranma accepted a challenge for food, and was rewarded with a death sentence. At his next encounter, Shampoo attacked a room where Ranma was, threatening injury to bystanders. Shortly after that, she attacks Akane, when Akane's back is to her, when male Ranma and Akane tell her female Ranma isn't around. We'll skip each count of drugs, attacks, tricks, etc. to the wedding fiasco. There, Shampoo knowingly attacked people Ranma has repeatedly defended and claims as family, with explosives. Whatever benefits to the Amazon marriage may have had for Ranma, were negated throughout the story.

Bringing Cologne into the equasion has its own issues. She's arguably the best teacher Ranma's had in the series. But that should be carte blanche forgiveness of the Full Body Cat's Tongue. If, as many fans believe, she is a benevalent teacher, she would not torture Ranma with the Cat's Tongue, nor would she encourage the use of the Reversal Jewel, nor would she imply her approval with the drugs, tricks, and threats from Shampoo.

Then there's Mousse. He would be a major challenge to any relationship between Ranma and Shampoo. What no one has explored is what happened to the pets and/or people affected by his use of the Duck Water. If, like Ryoga and Shampoo, he's willing to endager bystanders, he won't hesitate to harm Ranma, and anyone with him.

Finally, Shampoo turns into a cat. That is one the main, all consuming fear of Ranma's. In this regard, Shampoo is too much like Genma, a man Ranma has very little respect for (in some ways, Happosai has more respect than Genma.) Shampoo repeatedly throws her cat form at Ranma, even knowing he is terrified of cats. In this regard, the Amazons will receive no benefit from a "marriage" to Ranma. At best, they can only hope to rape him in a weakened state to get the genes they desire.

The Kunous have no claim.

And the anime only fiancee has a legitimate claim on Ranma. The dowry was a bowl of rice, a piece of fish, and TWO pickles. That was actually exchanged. Ukyou has admitted not having a dowry, and the Tendous only have the dojo (which Genma "acquired" the deed to,) which may or may not have been exchanged.

Anyway, these are my interpretations of the characters and cannon events.

[Siden]

Hmmm... :snip:

You are indeed right, in the sense that the Tendo deal is one of the most beneficial to the Saotome clan (or family, if it really is just the three of them; but I find that unlikely). However, whether this is the better deal for RANMA is the question. Now I do not believe for a second that Ranma would up and ignore the engagement that his parents wanted and run away to China or Ukyou’s, but the Tendo arrangement is not the only choice. If you were to look at it purely in terms of financial and material benefits, as you have, then Kodachi would be the one Genma and Nodoka would support, not Akane. The Kuno fortune alone would ensure that the family would never have to worry about money, and they could build their own dojo in a prime location. Or just buy the Tendo dojo.
Marrying because of honour is out of the question, as both Soun and Genma have thrown that away with the Chardin, an engagement that somehow fell on the already engaged Akane despite there being two other Tendo daughters available at the time, and the Kounji arrangements. Not including the mess that follows Ranma around (I don't feel like digging through the two or three "Ranma Honourable?" threads right now, but IIRC the general consensus was that Ranma and the Saotome family has almost no honour by Japanese standards).

Love is out of the question to, as it has nothing to do with omiai and tribal courtship rituals.

In terms of martial arts legacy, then the Joketsuzoku shine through. The Kunos, Tendos, and Kounji offer little to nothing in terms of martial arts techniques. We have only seen two of their "secret" training techniques, and look at the improvement that Ranma and Ryoga exhibited (no evidence points to Xian Pu or Mousse having undergone either training techniques, leaving me to believe that they are not normally used on rookies [which both Xian Pu and Mousse really are when you look at the old ghoul. If martial arts masters can live to be over 100 and still be combat effective, let alone dominate against all but the best of the younger fighters, then the 16(ish) duo are very close to the bottom of the ladder]). That, combined with the sparse glimpses we have gotten of master-level techniques suggests that this is only the tip of the iceberg. Assuming that the Joketsuzoku are not a bunch of misandrous slavers like some fiction portrays them as, then Ranma would likely still be allowed to train to his hearts content.

If we go into the personal or legitimacy reasons, like bneef has provided above, then Ranma would really end up marrying Kaori, not any of the others. She is the oldest completed arrangement. She did not abuse, try to own, or manipulate Ranma. She even gave him a legitimate way out of the engagement.

However, if you want to take this realistically, you must consider the isolation and population size of the Joketsuzoku village. It is not very big and therefore Shampoo will most likely be genetically inferior to any of the other girls because of the limited gene pool in which she is derived from. The chances of her being the product of inbreeding and ancestral multiple inbreeding is very high. This has always been a real problem with isolated tribes across the world.

While the Joketsuzoku village would indeed suffer from the effects of a limited gene pool if it followed the norm for isolated villages, we have no knowledge to support or deny the fact that they may indeed regularly practice exogamy. For all we know, it is the norm and not the exception for Joketsuzoku maidens to seek husbands outside the village or for young males to travel to surrounding villages to find wives. Labelling them inbred or genetically superior completely ignores the lack of concrete or flimsy evidence to support either. The whole point of the tournament may very well be to determine who is ready to go husband hunting, with the champion getting first pick. But they have been a warrior-based society for something around three-thousand years, if Cologne's sales pitch is to be believed. This, coupled with the glimpse we have gotten of their “secret” techniques, alludes to great skill and power waiting to be uncovered.

At his next encounter, Shampoo attacked a room where Ranma was, threatening injury to bystanders. Shortly after that, she attacks Akane, when Akane's back is to her, when male Ranma and Akane tell her female Ranma isn't around. We'll skip each count of drugs, attacks, tricks, etc. to the wedding fiasco.

There is no real excuse for some of the things Xian Pu has done, but let us get some facts straight here.

She made a hole in the wall and then smashed a locker in frustration. The others in the room where not standing anywhere near Ranma at the time and the closest anyone comes to Xian Pu is when Akane walks up to her. No one was in any danger, not even Ranma. Let’s not forget, that she is trying to kill Ranma. You can’t kill someone of Ranma’s calibre if you hold back.

She did not at any time sneak attack Akane from behind like you are suggesting. She starts out directly facing Akane, after Akane challenged her, and used superior speed and manoeuvrability to get behind Akane and use her memory technique. Saying that she cheated or was dishonourable completely disregards the very foundations of combat. Considering she is a warrior, and not a martial artist, then Akane should count herself lucky she is still alive. It could just as easily been a dagger across the throat, or instant-unconsciousness pressure point, instead of the shampoo trick.

Drugs? Happened once, maybe twice. Nothing Kodachi hasn’t done more often. Attacks? Everyone attacks each other all the time, mostly intending at lest great bodily harm, so you need a better excuse than that. Tricks? Once again, nothing special. Everyone takes every chance they can get to one-up the others, regardless of whether or not it is right or honourable. At the wedding, the girls were desperate, and I’m sure no one didn’t see something like that happening before Ranma even heard about the nannichuan (sp?) water and ran out of the room. Xian Pu hasn't really done aything much worse than the rest of the cast, including Akane.

[antimatterenergy]

However, if you want to take this realistically, you must consider the isolation and population size of the Joketsuzoku village. It is not very big and therefore Shampoo will most likely be genetically inferior to any of the other girls because of the limited gene pool in which she is derived from. The chances of her being the product of inbreeding and ancestral multiple inbreeding is very high. This has always been a real problem with isolated tribes across the world.

I seriously doubt Shampoo is genetically inferior her village laws are basically a form of eugenics. They want to breed with strong healthy outsiders. The strongest reason for the known marriage laws are to prevent genetic inferiority (Kill the people who beat you of same sex could be a means of weeding out the weak because if you kill them you prove your strong but if you don't then obviously your inferior and they will likely kill you). It would not surprise me in the least if her village also weeded out the genetically inferior (either through exile or killing them while they were still children). Other people in the area also have various solutions for this problem the Musk and the phoenix both used Jusenkyo for this purpose. The people around Jusenkyo all appear to be actively trying to make themselves the best of the best. I realize that Mousses sight problem would seemingly counter this form of eugenics but he could be a special case or his sight problem may not be genetic rather caused by an accident when he was young. This is all speculation though, there is not enough knowledge of Amazon culture and practices shown to determine benefits and genetic superiority between fiancee's.

Each fiancee offers a variety of possible benefits to Ranma personally but from a family point of view I'd have to say that the Tendo's or the Kuno's are the most beneficial to the Soatome clan.

Ukyo's family does not appear to have any benefits to offer the Soatome family.

Shampoo may or may not have many possible benefits but whether they want to share them and what exactly the benefits they have are unknown as mentioned earlier not enough is known about her people. Her people are not poor and do have access to magic (or unknown sciences if you prefer to view it that way). Her people are not technologically backwards they have been shown to know of modern technology (Shampoo has a video game system for instance and knew about and how to use modern technology). In several ways they may be technologically superior to the rest of the world since they have and use magical item even have them as toys. Their knowledge of horticulture judging by Pink and Link (who are technically a neighboring village but do trade with the Amazons) is superior to all known growth rates. They may also have knowledge of the healing arts that are superior to the rest of the world as well. As for technology we've seen in her village it has it's own newspaper and telephones (they call up the Jusenkyo guide for instance and that is nearby). Also considering the use of mind control they could be secretly influencing the Chinese government and possibly other governments the Phoenix people who also have mind control magic appear to kidnap people for this purpose. You also have to remember this is an extremely old civilization the Amazons are over 3000 years old they would have had to deal with inbreeding and such much earlier and would likely gathered many talents/magics unknown to the world. (The Musk and the Pheonix are even older Pheonix minimum 4000 years old and Musk are stated to predate all known real life civilizations Herbs states they are more than 14000 years old -they were already an ancient race when the Pyramids were built).

This leaves the Tendo's and the Kuno's. It is possible that the Kuno's have more to offer then the Tendo's do since they are richer and possibly of a higher social status than the Tendos but really this is unknown. Also whether the Kuno's have a real claim is unknown in the Anime they might since their is if I remember correctly some evidence of Kodachi trying to buy an engagement from Genma but my knowledge of the anime is not so great (episode was when Ranma lived with the Kuno's for awhile and Kodachi gave Ranma a dojo).

I'm not going to bother with any of the other fiancees' like Piccolette Chardon who was a fiance to Ranma for awhile. There is more I'd like to say but I don't have the time at this time.

[SpaceKnight of Chaos]

Trimatter, just my rebuttals to some of the points you raised, as I understood them.

First of all, the "kiss of marriage" law (as it's known amongst fans) is stated as being over three thousand years old by Cologne during her first appearance. This means that the Amazons are well and truly aware of the dangers of inbreeding- this law is nothing less than a counter-measure against it. Good genes are the primary things outsider warriors bring into the tribe; their personal skills and knowledge comes second. We don't know enough about the Amazons "back home" to know precisely how this law impacts on daily life, but even besides this and its related selective breeding, the Amazons are of a harsh enough mindset that they have undoubtedly used the practise of exposing sickly (and thus poor gened) babies to die, if they don't do so in these days. Couple this with the harsh training regimes that seem obvious, and the weak and sickly are winnowed out long before they have a chance to breed. We know that the Amazons have contact with outsider tribes, and this means they have other sources of genes besides people who wander in from beyond the territory. Before they went extinct (or at least the Amazons believed they went extinct), the Musk may well have handed over their female children to the Amazons, which is a potent source of good genes, as the Musk themselves were essentially a eugenics cult.


Secondly, one benefit of Ranma is that he can father strong children- this is an undeniable fact. However, it's not his only benefit; if Ranma remains in Japan and uses the techniques and training he receives as a member of the tribe to open his own dojo, he is providing a great boon to the tribe. Students that prove particularly promising can be 'advised' as to the location of Joketsuzoku and told that particularly advanced training is availible for those who travel there. Fresh blood from Japan. Ranma & Shampoo would also essentially represent a 'friendly colony'; Joketsuzoku warriors could come to Japan and stay here, paying for themselves by working as assistants. This exposes them to outside cultures, and gives them a more direct way of finding new blood; not only can they witness the students at their training, but as Ranma's school becomes more and more well-known, strong rivals would seek out and challenge it. Perfect targets for Amazon warriors. Cologne, especially would recognize this, and with her putting her oar in (plus Ranma's own reputation, post-Saffron), I don't see the tribe putting up more than a token argument about it.

For Ranma's side of it, the unusual and impressive techniques of the Joketsuzoku are more likely to attract the curiosity and interest of outsiders than those of the Tendos, which are essentially the same sort of basic moves you could pick up at any generic training center. This means they are more likely to sign up to try them out. The attractive women helping to teach don't hurt either. More satisfied students means more potential students, as well as attracting the rivalry of other schools, which brings in yet more prestige. Ranma thus has a good cashflow and respect, which by extension Genma receives as well.


Thirdly, on the subject of Shampoo being stronger than Akane- we have seen Akane fight opponents focused purely on her only twice. The Dojo Destroyer and Kuno during the Martial Arts Cheerleading battle. If it wasn't for Ranma, the DD would have beaten Akane. In the latter case, Kuno is the absolute bottom of the ladder of the fighting levels of the Nerimite martial artists. Akane improves a little over the series. Kuno gets one power-up, the subconscious Watermelon Splitter, and like the Nekoken this technique is absolutely worthless unless triggered. In all other cases where we have seen Akane fight, she has either been beaten swiftly (Kiima, who she took off guard solely because of the Phoenix Tribe's arrogance and contempt for humans) or the opponent has been more focused on the greater threat of other martial artists (Orochi, focused on Ranma and Shinnosuke).


Fourthly, the Tendo Dojo had no students when Ranma and Genma arrived, and for a training hall supposedly known far and wide, we saw no sign of students returning after the Saotomes moved in, either of whom would be able to teach and one of whom is expected to teach once the marriage goes through. This is not a good sign. Come to think of it, what proof do we have the Tendos are known far and wide? In the three monster-hunt stories I recall that focused exclusively on the residents, the pigtail thieves were plaguing Nerima (and local dojos are undoubtedly the equivalent of Ghostbusters branches) and the Orochi was indirect- Akane saw a report on giant animals plaguing a place she recognized, went there on her own, and found out about the Orochi being there after she arrived. Only the Marauding Octopus Pot has any real signs, and by that stage Ranma & Akane have made several "public appearances".


Finally, the Tendos may indeed provide a training hall and a reputation to attract students, and the Saotomes themselves may supply the primary teacher (as it's evident that Soun doesn't really care about passing on his "knowledge", as evident by the fact he initially offered to let Ranma marry the noncombatants Kasumi or Nabiki), but those are worthless when you consider some facts. First of all, Ranma has not been taught to teach- he has been brought up as a powerful martial artist, but it seems to me that Genma was intending for Soun's daughter to do the actual teaching and Ranma would defend the dojo and know the powerful techniques. Soun, however, seems to think that it's his job to supply the hall and the name to use and Genma's to provide the teacher. For that matter, neither has Akane. Beyond that, Ranma lacks maturity and Akane lacks control over her temper, more hinderances against them teaching.

Given what we know, it seems likely that the students drifted away from the dojo whilst Soun was broken up over his wife's death. While there would be some sympathy, this would still have been a strike against their reputation. Secondly, unless Ranma and Akane seriously straighten out their personal relationship, which they are unlikely to get time for, they are going to keep going at each other in the same way they have all series. Martial arts requires harmony and peace with one's self- both of which are in short supply in a dojo where the teachers scream at each other and even hit each other. A second strike. Finally, unless Akane somehow loses her "boys are perverts" mindset, she is going to risk associating any male student she teaches, at least unconsciously, with the perverts she used to fight at school, and act accordingly. Which means that the Tendo dojo will quickly develop a reputation as a place to avoid unless you desire pain. Three strikes, you're out.

[antimatterenergy]

Akane saw a report on giant animals plaguing a place she recognized, went there on her own, and found out about the Orochi being there after she arrived.

The Tendo's got a phone call, Akane answered the phone.

The city watch came to the dojo to enlist them to capture the panty thief (Happosai) and the the people cutting pig tails.

It seems to me that they are well known how well is unknown. Not capturing Happosai and allowing him to stay at their dojo would damage there reputation particularly if some one else stops him or it becomes common knowledge he lives there.

First of all, Ranma has not been taught to teach- he has been brought up as a powerful martial artist, but it seems to me that Genma was intending for Soun's daughter to do the actual teaching and Ranma would defend the dojo and know the powerful techniques.

We don't know that, Ranma may have been trained to teach. We do not see any proof for or against that. Most of Ranma's training or even the full extent of his abilities were not shown to us. Considering Japanese societies view on women I seriously doubt that Genma expected a girl to teach a dojo in Japan run by a girl would not get very many students.

As for maturity remember we are talking about 16 year olds they haven't even finished growing and the part of the brain that instills patience and maturity doesn't fully develop until around the age of 25 (the part of the brain being developed as teenagers causes more of a relience on emotion than logic, less viewing of consequences of one's actions, and according to scientists at san deigo university the creation and altering of the brain during teenage years causes nerve activity in the teenaged brain so intense that they find it harder to process basic information, researchers say, rendering the teenagers emotionally and socially inept).

[Drawde]

I don't remember anything in the manga saying Soun ever taught students. The dojo might be a purely family one. The anime is where students were mentioned. So Ranma might only be expected to teach his children.

Notice that, as family heads, Soun and Genma are the ones that make all the decisions for their families. Even if they don't end up being so, any decision they make are technically "for the good of the family", even if the decisions are purely selfish. That being the traditional view. And that all their children are still under the age of majority, though Kasumi's close. An arranged marriage is set up for the families' advantage, not the two people being married.

As for the amazons, we don't know what's expected from Ranma. Personally, I expect them to return to China, since that's their home. It wouldn't do any good to bring in outside genes, and keep those genes far from the tribe. And given their actions, I expect their laws to be rather harsh. It might be in Ranma's best interests to keep any of his family members away from them.

With Ukyo, we don't know what she expects from Ranma. Although they may indicate her general thoughts on her marriage to Ranma, the two times we see her imagining how the future ends up, were special cases. Once where Ranma was so weak that a kid could beat him up, and thus not able to do much besides raise the family. And once where it was part of a plan to get Ranma to marry her. Also, she does run a business, so could probably provide for any family she has.

[Southern Cross]

True enough.However,aside from the fact that the Kunoji's's engagement is invalid,there's another problem - Ranma sees Ukyo as a good friend and nothing more,so it's unlikely he'll submit to Ukyo even if he marries her.As he's the only child of his parents,it's his duty to carry on the family line.Even the Dopey Duo realize this,which is why they're so happy when he shows any sort of interest in Akane.