How would you live like if you were a Furinkan High Student?

[FriendlyEL]

Something that I have thought some about after discussing what I think most students think of the various martial artists in Nerinma, I have started to be curious of other's opinions of their reactions to hypothetically being sucked into the Ranmaverse as a Furinkan High student.

- How do you think you would interact with most of the main cast, both in high school and outside around town? Would you try to make friends with/try to chase after romantically them, avoid them, or purposefully piss them off out of spite? Remember, should you chase after Akane or Ranma you may have to take up martial arts to defend yourself.

- How do you think you could cope with the day to day oddness in both Furinkan and what the outside world gives you (property damage, odd villains/challengers of the day)?

There are probably other examples I could give, but those are the main points I can think of.

[SpaceKnight of Chaos]

You know, I'm amazed that this sort of topic hasn't been posted before. But, personally, I think that I would cautiously approach various members of the NWC in a friendly manner, making sure to keep it blatantly obvious that I am not trying to "muscle in" on any particular "relationship", and being sure to keep my distance from things when the spam hit the fan. If they seem stable/open enough at a given moment, I might attempt to offer helpful advice (for example, telling Ukyo that one 'legitimate' way to request Ranma spend time with her is by asking him to spar with her/train her), though I'd be quick to retreat if things look like they're getting hostile.

As top the general weirdness, I'd try my best to stay out of the thick of things, which isn't that difficult- don't get involved in the Kendo club or any martial arts sports team (I hate sports anyway, so that's not too big a problem), don't get too close to any duel being fought (especially if Mousse is part of the group), don't have anything to do with either Kuno or with Gosunkugi, you get the drift. So long as it's no personal danger, I can just roll with it like everyone else does.

[lwf58]

If you look at the series, the majority of the students just go to school and get through the day as best they can. Except for a few episodes in which Principal Kuno goes hog-wild, the hijinks rarely affect many of the students there.

That said, it seems to me that because I'm not a martial artist, I'd have had a completely different circle of friends and probably never have gotten involved with the main characters at all. The stuff they went through would never have impacted on me, if I acted the way I did in high school for real. I usually sought out quiet corners of the campus and read sf&f during my breaks.

[mondu_the_fat]

- How do you think you would interact with most of the main cast, both in high school and outside around town? Would you try to make friends with/try to chase after romantically them, avoid them, or purposefully piss them off out of spite? Remember, should you chase after Akane or Ranma you may have to take up martial arts to defend yourself.

Not being a martial artist and with no real desire to be one, the Ranma cast wouldn't be in my usual circle of friends. I'd likely avoid them, although oggling Ranma (short, busty, redhead) and Shampoo.

For the most part, non-martial artists aren't sucked into a fight, so defeding oneself isn't particularly pressing. Even Hinako, the most likely to "attack" a student (or Happosai, for females) learning martial arts isn't necessary (and in the case of those two, isn't useful unless I reach Ranma's skill).

If push comes to shove, I'll save up and buy a _functional_ mecha.

- How do you think you could cope with the day to day oddness in both Furinkan and what the outside world gives you (property damage, odd villains/challengers of the day)?

The destruction is annoying, desfinitely. I met amused at times, and ignore it on others.

[Zwzn]

I likely anger some female martial artist by saying something truthful about them that they would not want to hear, and end up being killed.

[antimatterenergy]

Think it would have been better than my school was. I don't feel like going into details because frankly I rather forget that part of my life (actually I'd rather forget a large portion of my life if I could).

I will say this though of my freshmen school year.
-school was dangerous
-People were beat up at my school and hospitalized
-drugs were very much available and pushed at you
-there were several gangs
-school had guards and metal detectors.

I could list more bad things and/or personal experiences but that would be too personal.

[FriendlyEL]

One note to keep in mind though to the people who say "I'd keep myself out of it", keep in mind you'd still have to interact with alot of the cast members in something like a school project or simply being randomly approached by a student to pester you (they can do that at times to the loner, not even always out of malice but just to get them to speak). I know myself from high school they have a tendency to force you to interact with other students at times, like it or not.

But it is true that for the most part in the cast actually comes across as less spiteful than kids would in real life.

[lwf58]

That assumes that we'd even be in the same classroom... and the odds are against it; the main cast were in only two homerooms. Nabiki and Kuno were in the one, and Ranma, Akane and Ukyou were in the other.

In Japan, "homerooms" are not the same as in the US. When you are assigned a class, you stay in it all day. You do not go to different classrooms each period. The instructors for each subject go to the class they are assigned to teach instead. That means that everyone in your class studies the same things you do, and you are with the same people most of the school day. The exception to that is stuff like chemistry, home economics, and other courses that require special equipment; then you go to the room that has the things you need for the subject.

The exception to that is that school kids are "encouraged" to join after-school clubs, and those are open to all classes and years. In clubs, the pecking order determined by which school year you are in is very much in force, though.

So the odds are that a given person going to Furinkan would have virtually no immediate contact with the main cast, only seeing their escapades at a distance.

That's why the consensus is rightly that there would be little contact with or influence by the Ranma cast; most of us have (or had) different interests than they did, and would not have joined the same clubs. And with the odds against ending up in their class, even the chance of a casual conversation with any of them is also remote.

[Neko-]

Personally? I'd drop into the background knowing my personality.

I never stood out at school, and doubt I want to stand out in a school that has serious possibilities of doling out corpal punishment in some form or another

[Terra Hitarumonwa]

I would try to figure out where the springs were so I get either get a curse or curse someone else :p

[Neko-]

Curse someone else... yeah right. We all have seen how that works out. You WOULD get a curse yourself.

While it'd be an interesting expirience (atleast short term), I personally wouldn't want a curse that'd stick with me over years and years.

[Jupiah]

I never stood out at school, and doubt I want to stand out in a school that has serious possibilities of doling out corpal punishment in some form or another :)

No kidding. You stand out too much at Furinken High and don't know enough martial arts to defend yourself and and you're likely to get a buzzcut, a pineapple bomb to the face or be drained of chi until you strongly resemble a sheet of paper. I think I'd just blend into the background myself, and enjoy watching the occasional martial arts battle or anti-principal riot.

However, considering how much more powerful martial arts are in the Ranmaverse than in real life, I might be tempted to take it up if I found myself there. Being able to roofhop would be freakin' awesome.

[Ellen Kuhfeld]

Verrrry carefully.