Ranma-More than half- At Hogwarts.

[Spokavriel]

Principal Kuno didn't have the tree growing on his head until after his last trip to Hawaii before the start of Ranma 1/2

[Ellen Kuhfeld]

Comparing pretty much anyone to someone with a palm tree growing on their head and you're going to find the other people to be more stable.

In fact... I think that might qualify as an absolute truth.

Suppose the elder Kuno's wand was made of palm wood - say with a core of Menhune hair. And suppose, further, that when the wand was snapped, a shard of it got impaled into the top of his head. Add in a bit of magic, and you have Principal Kuno.

[Spokavriel]

I was actually thinking of the Palm tree on his head as more of a punishment for him attempting to steal the natives and local gods magic secrets. Since he already lost the right to his societies magics.

[Spokavriel]

Could Nodoka have a place in this Hogwarts idea? Or would that be encroaching too much on Perfect Lionheart's works?

[Shanami]

I could see a wizard or witch taking the knowledge of Nodoka from Genma's mind via legilimancy and having her contacted. However, I don't particularly see her as a teacher at Hogwarts. I could see something more along the lines of Nodoka's involvement in Hikari no Daija than Hogwarts 1/2 for what you've postulated so far. Nodoka as a Japanese witch or squib could get back involved in Ranma's life early.

[Spokavriel]

What if she's Deputy Head Mistress at another magical school in Japan and pen-pals with Minerva?

[Ellen Kuhfeld]

What if she's Deputy Head Mistress at another magical school in Japan and pen-pals with Minerva?

If she's that high up in the magical world, I see no way she'd lose touch with Ranma. She'd have pictures of him, clothes he'd worn, and a strong blood tie. Probably she'd have a lock of his hair from his first haircut. Gosunkugi could manage a locater spell with that much help.

Given that she'd stay in touch, all the horrible things Genma did would be blocked. We might have a genetic Ranma, but he'd be nothing like the Ranma we know and love. Same name, different person - after the Mary Sue, the most terrible trope in fan fiction.

[Spokavriel]

So no go on Nodoka in the Education system... I still think it would be nice to have her penpalls with a Hogwarts teacher. Maybe with Sybil Trelawney? Someone who might not be paying enough attention to the here and now to make the connection and tell Nodoka right away.

[Spokavriel]

I know this whole thing is built off of a few incidents when Ranma's too young to really be going to Hogwarts. So I'm wondering. What kind of Wizardry environment should there be in Japan and Asia? There are allot of ways Fanfiction have covered it but given that this witch is sending Ranma to the Amazon village and this whole thing is still looking at Hogwarts as the best option for education. What options would make sense to have in Japan or Asia? Why would someone from the Far East go to Hogwarts instead of somewhere more locally. Especially considering the necessity of pronunciation on so many spells with R and L sounds that are different from eachother.

[Shanami]

To be honest, I'd guess it would be an entirely different sort of magic between East and West. I mean, look at how vastly different the cultures were prior to recent times. Figuring in that the wizarding world in the West is stuck in the middle of the 1800s (cauldrons, honestly... beakers are much better and scientific equipment would still be more precise than all potions equipment even without the electronics. Don't even get me started on the fashion sense...). It seems likely that there would be some absolutely minimal contact between the Eastern and Western magical worlds.

Since the Hogwarts style of magic seems to be steeped in the ancient magical cultures of the western world, namely the sorts of magic believed in by the Europeans during the middle ages, one could expect the same thing in the Eastern world. I could imagine a School that functioned sort of like a Shinto shrine but that taught magic. There could be a Miko-oriented class with an emphasis in spirit wards and scrying taught by an analogue of Rei Hino. Perhaps spirit summoning would be a large portion of the magic, alchemy instead of potions (being an ancient Chinese art), and a strong elemental basis for magic that wouldn't necessarily involve wands. I'd think something like Shamanistic magic from the Slayers would actually fit very well. More involved in each casting, but far more versatile than Western magic. Naturally, each would have their own associated strengths, and Ranma, being the combat oriented young lad that he is would want to learn both. Perhaps he would go to Hogwarts after a few years learning magic in a Japanese academy after being reunited with Nodoka. The Japanese strike me as not waiting until you are 11 to start education anyway, so he could go to Hogwarts with a basic grounding in Eastern magic as an exchange student when he is 11.

[Spokavriel]

I was thinking more of what the society would be like than the school but that is a great start. Could some of the thousands of Shrines be hiding gateways to magical communities? Would Oriental Sorcerers be subject to the International Confederation of Wizards statute of secrecy? Would there be similar underage use of magic prohibitions?

[Shanami]

I don't think they would necessarily be associated with the International Confederacy. I mean, think about how much interaction the Eastern nations (especially Japan) actually had with the Western ones during the early to mid-1800s. Aside from the Dutch East India Trading Company and the British incursion into India, not much at all. Especially considering that Ranma is Japanese, I'd expect a *highly* insular magical society *unless* you propose that the Japanese (and Chinese) sorcerors were basically shocked out of isolation by WWII (also reasonable, I read a fic, forget which, which had the Japanese wizarding folk highly adapt post-Hiroshima/Nagasaki).

Unless you choose the second of the two paths outlined above, I'd think that perhaps the Eastern world of sorcery would have minimal contact with the International Confederacy (which would govern much of Europe and possibly include the various ex-colonial states) consisting mostly of trading agreements. I still think they would have some sort of expected conduct, but different magic, different rules. For example, there's nothing to say that all the mikos in Japan couldn't actually be sorceresses and they would have to keep all public activity bounded within the religious expectations of a Shinto miko.

I do like the idea of Shrines being the doorway to the magical world in Japan in general though. It strikes me as unobtrusive and would allow ease of access in the way that a pub never could.

The other route of involving then in the International Confederation more actively would still probably see different rules of enforcement based on different cultural norms. But, based on how ridiculously old fashioned the English (and implied rest of the Western Wizarding world) I would imagine that there would be nearly complete separation between the magical cultures and governing bodies from East to West.

I would furthermore imagine that the Eastern magical world would reflect either modern or mid-1800s culture of the region. Which, I don't know you'd prefer. I personally would imagine that the Japanese and Chinese would have adapted rather forcefully after WWII in terms of their interactions with the surrounding non-magical world.

[Spokavriel]

While Japan was isolationist. Even to the point of treating the native tribe to the islands almost as burakumin because they weren't Japanese the time frame you are talking about seems to coincide with the historic facts that can be found in Samurai Shamploo. (not sure if I got the spelling right) But allot of things in that series such as making people step on crucifixes at checkpoints and items with hidden crosses in them to use as hidden proof of Christianity to other hidden converted Christians. Foreigners were allowed so long as they acted like fools tumbling and what not through the streets so that people could see how pathetic non Japanese were.

As to the development of the Asian Wizarding World paralleling the European one I don't really see any reason to do that Muggle equivalent pairing. Consider the differences in the courses you listed. Gun Powder Rockets fireworks and quite a few other things can be clearly attributed to alchemical advances. In a way up until WWII I could easily see the Magical world of Asian nations leading the way on innovations. But with the rise of the People's Republic in China I could see them hunting out all the magical enclaves that were not strong enough to protect themselves for their socialist uniformity. While Japan could still have Magcals advancing but with the influx of American influences magic starts being less politically acceptable but no where near as stunted or segregated as the Europeans who were persecuting their magicals back before Columbus landed in America not to mention the need for hiding in America make quite clear by events in Salem Mass and other less popularized occurrences back in the time of the formation of the colonies.