General Questions mk 2

[Drawde2]

From what I understand, Shampoo's Japanese isn't perfect, but is understandable. But, the WAY she's not good at Japanese doesn't translate into English, so they gave her broken but understandable English instead.

Plus Mousse and I think Shampoo do use slightly archaic Japanese WORDS at times. Like they learned from an old textbook.

EDIT: Here's the explanation http://perfectedition.yuku.com/topic/13 ... anese.html

[SpaceKnight of Chaos]

Here's a question from me: in the anime episode "Les Miserables of the Kuno Estate", at the beginning, Kuno and Kodachi get into a fight over Kuno's eating some cookies that Kodachi has made for Ranma. The fight quickly involves live weaponry on both parties' part, including a glaive (or whatever the correct Japanese name for it is) in Kodachi's hand, and ends up involving guns in each party's hand. Can anyone tell me what weapons the two end up using in this scene?

[SpaceKnight of Chaos]

Some new random questions to zap this flesh golem of a topic with a fresh bolt of lightning.

Why do so many fanfics portray Genma Saotome as fat? I admit that the manga may have different artwork for him, but in the anime, while he is bulky, it's more "built like a brick (censored)" than "flab" - whenever the scene shows bared chest through his gi, he has clearly defined pectoral muscles, and there's a very good almost full-frontal nude scene with him in episode 2, maybe 3, and in the Martial Arts Dining episodes, and both of these show him as being in pretty good physical shape, for all that he's a size or three larger than any other character in the cast.

While Genma was quite fixated on visiting Jusenkyo in canon, what might he have done if somehow he had been persuaded to not go there at the last second? Say, somebody showed him about the curses, or he was lied to and believed it had run dry/been filled in by an avalanche or something?

It's well known what happened when Ranma won his challenge of Shampoo while in female form. And what would have happened if he'd beaten her as a male or been turned back before Shampoo gave him the Kiss of Death or he was chased out of the village is obvious enough: Shampoo would have started trying to wed him. However, what might have happened if Shampoo had been the one to win the battle? Ranma offered to fight her to try and atone for him and Genma eating her prize - if he had lost, would she have been mollified by the fact that she at least got to kick seven shades of snot out "her" for being a thief, or would she still have been holding a grudge? And would her reaction have differed if she had won but the truth about Ranma's identity had come out somehow?

[Makoto]

I'd say it'd take a LOT to convince Genma not to go to Jhusenkyou. They went there because it was supposedly a training ground, as far as I remember - so he'd probably just view a change in environment conditions or even mention of curses (assuming he actually believed the curses were real, before arriving) as simply more obstacles to overcome during training. If the boy couldn't avoid some mystical claptrap curse, then...

As for Genma being portrayed as fat, I couldn't be sure. Some people may just look at a picture or two of him, in his usual clothes - and considering his vices, automatically assume he's fat. Becoming a roly-poly giant panda doesn't help, I'm sure.

Of course, since certain fanon beliefs do pass from fanfic to reader to fanfic...

[Tornado Ninja Fan]

However, what might have happened if Shampoo had been the one to win the battle? Ranma offered to fight her to try and atone for him and Genma eating her prize - if he had lost, would she have been mollified by the fact that she at least got to kick seven shades of snot out "her" for being a thief, or would she still have been holding a grudge? And would her reaction have differed if she had won but the truth about Ranma's identity had come out somehow?

In the manga she had an encounter with Pink and Link from the neighboring village when she was a small child. Pink nearly killed her with plants, and Link healed her. After that, whenever she met one or both of them in the following decade, she would beat the stuff out of them. So she can hold a grudge after a single fight.

I think that she probably would have attacked female Ranma on sight as long as Ranma was in the village or whenever Ranma would return there.

If the truth had come out after Ranma had lost, I think that she would probably treat him no better than Mousse.

[SpaceKnight of Chaos]

Perhaps, but you have to admit that there is quite a level of difference between somebody almost killing you for a laugh and somebody who unwittingly eats your food and then tries to make up for it. Pink poisoned Shampoo almost fatally because she thought it would be fun; Shampoo has a reason to hold a grudge against her. Ranma and Genma have annoyed Shampoo by eating her food, but they haven't actually hurt her, and Ranma is trying to apologize for it.

There's also the fact to consider that Shampoo beat up Link because she mistook her for Pink (they are identical twins), and Pink doubtlessly attacked Shampoo for beating up her innocent sister the next time she came to her village. Shampoo probably didn't realise that they were twins until after she had beaten each girl at least once, and by that time, they were both hostile towards her. Shampoo says she beat them whenever she went to the village, but it's more likely she means that they would try and tag-team her whenever she showed up and she would mercilessly defeat them for trying - note that, in canon, they're the ones who seek her out for a fight. It looks like it's more a vicious take on the Ranma/Ryoga rivalry than bullying.

[Tornado Ninja Fan]

Shampoo says here "That why I hit them hundred times every time I come back to village." There is no mention of any attack by them. And the illustration shows Shampoo with only one of the twins.

When did Ranma try to apologize? He fought Shampoo to avoid any kind of restitution. An apology would be "How can I make it up to you?" not "If I beat you up, it's okay."

[Crescent Pulsar R]

Why do so many fanfics portray Genma Saotome as fat? I admit that the manga may have different artwork for him, but in the anime, while he is bulky, it's more "built like a brick (censored)" than "flab" - whenever the scene shows bared chest through his gi, he has clearly defined pectoral muscles, and there's a very good almost full-frontal nude scene with him in episode 2, maybe 3, and in the Martial Arts Dining episodes, and both of these show him as being in pretty good physical shape, for all that he's a size or three larger than any other character in the cast.

I reckon it's because, in comparison to someone like Ranma and Ryoga, Genma's torso is shaped more like a barrel, rather than an inverted triangle. Add on to that the fact that his top often hangs out, and droops over his belt, and it gives the illusion of a protruding belly. And it doesn't help how rare it is to actually see Genma's midriff. In the manga, anyway.

[Ellen Kuhfeld]

Why do so many fanfics portray Genma Saotome as fat? I admit that the manga may have different artwork for him, but in the anime, while he is bulky, it's more "built like a brick (censored)" than "flab" - whenever the scene shows bared chest through his gi, he has clearly defined pectoral muscles, and there's a very good almost full-frontal nude scene with him in episode 2, maybe 3, and in the Martial Arts Dining episodes, and both of these show him as being in pretty good physical shape, for all that he's a size or three larger than any other character in the cast.

There's no reason he cannot be both strong and fat - sumo wrestlers manage it.

[SpaceKnight of Chaos]

Here's something that just popped into mind. At the end of the story, found in both anime and manga, where Happosai tries to disguise himself as P-chan and sleep with Akane, Akane gets put under sedation by the old pervert... and then starts tossing and turning violently, beating him up in the process, which Ryoga describes as an everynight occurence. However, does this actually match up with the rest of the series? Aside from when she was under the effects of the Incense of Spring Sleep, which is explicitly described as being intended to cause the user to sleep-fight, as far as I can recall, every time that we're ever shown Akane sleeping, she's shown tucked up calmly and peacefully in her bed. Ranma, by contrast, is always shown splayed out and tossing and turning - when Nabiki first photographs him in the anime, when Ryoga sneaks into his room to challenge him during his introductory arc, etc.

So, aside from the story in which it's stated, are there any times that Akane is actually shown to be a violent sleeper? Or might this be one of those incidents where characterization gets bent for the purpose of comedy - like, as Three Headed Dog has mentioned on several occasions here, Ranma's utter ineptitude at playing cards in the Gambling King story when he is shown playing it before and after that story with no problems and Ranma's personality is such that he would refuse to partake if he wasn't any good.

[Crescent Pulsar R]

The thing is, that might only be the case when she's not sleeping alone. Do note that she didn't start to move around, despite the times when she was lying down, undisturbed, and being held by both Happosai and Ranma. It wasn't until Happosai snuggled up to her that she did it. So, even if you don't see her moving around violently, before or after that story, is she also alone? If so, we can't rightly determine whether it was a one-time event for the sake of comedy.

In the story where Ryoga first sleeps in her room, however, there might be some evidence of that sleeping behavior even then. When Ranma removed P-chan from her, she was able to reach out and grab him, even though her eyes were closed. As for whether she should have been sleeping violently at the time, it might not start right away, until a certain stage of sleep (which would make sense, considering that she was so deeply under that she hadn't been woke up by the fighting or being jostled around, in the story where we learn about her violent sleeping); and Ranma had been waiting, at the time, for her to fall asleep, so he had gone in soon after she did.

But, the first point will have to do, unless someone knows of an example where she's sleeping and moving about violently while alone. Oh, and since that kind of movement would likely leave her uncovered by her covers, do we ever see her wake up, with or without P-chan, without her covers, well, covering her?

[SpaceKnight of Chaos]

As far as I'm aware, and I admit I only know about the anime to a very good extent, Akane is always shown tucked up neatly under the covers of her blanket when she's shown sleeping or waking up, whereas Ranma (and sometimes Genma) are usually shown with the covers kicked off and tossing around. That was actually why I asked if Ryoga's claim that Akane is a violent sleeper might have actually been contradictory.

[Crescent Pulsar R]

(My edit came too late, so I decided to delete this from my prior post and put it in a new post. I'm just particular like that. ;/)

So, aside from the story in which it's stated, are there any times that Akane is actually shown to be a violent sleeper? Or might this be one of those incidents where characterization gets bent for the purpose of comedy - like, as Three Headed Dog has mentioned on several occasions here, Ranma's utter ineptitude at playing cards in the Gambling King story when he is shown playing it before and after that story with no problems and Ranma's personality is such that he would refuse to partake if he wasn't any good.

Okay, I have two question about this. The first one: was there any real indication that Ranma was good or bad at playing cards before the Gambling King story? If not, then him turning out to be a bad card player, as illustrated in that story, must be true. Remember, Ranma's the sort of person who's more likely to express what's on his mind than not. Even in a fight, where he should be in his element, he sometimes can't hide how he really feels (example: he gets angry when Kumon Ryu says what he does, when he needed to stay calm). As for the second: are there enough examples of him turning down things that he's not good at, to establish that about his personality? I don't remember anything like that stopping him frok doing something before; especially if it's a challenge, or if it's a matter of pride. If I had to gauge his personality, I'd say it's more likely for him to work at getting good at something rather than drop it without trying. If it's something that he's not interested in, then that's something different, entirely.

As far as I'm aware, and I admit I only know about the anime to a very good extent, Akane is always shown tucked up neatly under the covers of her blanket when she's shown sleeping or waking up, whereas Ranma (and sometimes Genma) are usually shown with the covers kicked off and tossing around. That was actually why I asked if Ryoga's claim that Akane is a violent sleeper might have actually been contradictory.

In none of those cases was P-chan in bed with her? My memory of the anime isn't the greatest, so...

[SpaceKnight of Chaos]

I don't recall Three Headed Dog's precise argument... I believe it was basically, Ranma hates to lose, so while he may have been poor at the very beginning of the series, he would have worked hard on it to get better (as he actually does try in the Gambling King story), and he wouldn't play it even for fun if he doesn't have a chance of winning, as winning means that much to him.

As for Akane sleeping/waking up... P-chan's there on several occasions. I think the odds of him being there are something like 50/50, after it's been established that Ranma's not going to bother sneaking into her room to retrieve him any more. Then there's the scene where Akane wakes up after going to bed on the night before the Martial Arts Gymnastics match; P-chan's not there, but even though she was kind of worried when she went to bed, she's shown perfectly composed and peaceful while asleep, with no signs of having tossed and turned at all. Contrast to Ranma who, every time we've been shown him sleeping at this point, has been depicted sprawled out, covers kicked off, and rolling around at random.

[three headed dog]

Okay, I have two question about this. The first one: was there any real indication that Ranma was good or bad at playing cards before the Gambling King story? If not, then him turning out to be a bad card player, as illustrated in that story, must be true. Remember, Ranma's the sort of person who's more likely to express what's on his mind than not. Even in a fight, where he should be in his element, he sometimes can't hide how he really feels (example: he gets angry when Kumon Ryu says what he does, when he needed to stay calm). As for the second: are there enough examples of him turning down things that he's not good at, to establish that about his personality? I don't remember anything like that stopping him frok doing something before; especially if it's a challenge, or if it's a matter of pride. If I had to gauge his personality, I'd say it's more likely for him to work at getting good at something rather than drop it without trying. If it's something that he's not interested in, then that's something different, entirely.

There are a lot of things I disliked about the gambling king arc (that is the arc I hate). That Ranma is good or bad at cards doesn't bother me. Though we do see Ranma play cards and win prior to that arc for example when pretending to be Ryoga's sister he beat both Ryoga and Akane. Actually we see Ranma play cards a lot for example about a dozen times with his classmates (whether he is winning or not is not shown). Personally I do not see Ranma playing a game repeatedly in which he loses every time; that would piss him off extremely. I do not mind that Ranma lost since he has very bad luck extremely often (damn magic banana peels showing up all the time for example) and all the Tendos including Nabiki lost to the Gambling King when he cheated (that is why they stay at Ukyo's and Nabiki even comments about how she lost because he cheated). The three major things I hated about that full of plot induced stupidity arc (besides he bet the Gambling King the dojo when he didn't even know about the Tendos) is:

(1). Ranma was incapable of telling by the facial expressions of the Gambling King. This is countered by a lot of the manga where he could tell peoples emotions (like how he figured out Akane's crush on Dr Tofu or that so and so character was angry with him -though he did not often know why).
(2). Ranma was extremely unobservant missing extremely obvious things. This is the same character who can only see a technique once and is capable of duplicating it perfectly (like the Umisenken). The same character who saw through the principals and Gosungunki's disguises. The same character who usually is the very first person to figure things out (like how he figured out Tatewaki was the principals son before anyone else). Missing one thing I'd get but tons of clues repeatedly hell no.
(3). Ranma can hide his emotions, thoughts, and is very capable of lying believably. Ranma lies pretty damn often (I'd go as far as saying he lies more than any other character) completely fooling the person/people he lies to like how he lied about destroying the instant boy water or how he lied to Shampoo about really being a girl or how he lied to his mother or how he lied to Chardon, etc. He also does not (at least in the manga) just blurt out what is on his mind (though he is overheard often enough when he didn't expect the person to hear what he said). Hell half of my favorite quotes of his are his non vocalized thoughts for example: "Sometimes I think being stupid can be a major advantage..." a thought he had because Akane didn't figure out P-chan was Ryoga during the mark of the gods. He also had training, i.e. the Soul of Ice which was specifically for suppressing his emotions prior to that arc (generating cold is part two of the technique called the Body of ice by Cologne). Letting his emotions slip once or even twice fine, repeatedly though doesn't make sense based on the rest of the manga.

There are more but I feel I've said enough to support my opinion. Oh and the Akane being a violent sleeper or not; Don't know.