Akane, the misunderstood

[antimatterenergy]

Atlan you said: never hit him hard enough to do anything- never a broken bone, or even a noseblead
She had no idea that her hit wouldn't cause him serious injury it's just that Ranma's so inhumanly tough to cause him serious injury is very hard. Also I believe that there is one point in the manga where akane and the fiancees beat him up (off screen) bad enough that he was covered in bandages.

[DBHay]

The first view we have of Akane shows us all her flaws.
She's short tempered, blames others for her mistakes and reacts with violence when her insults and abuse are topped.
When Ranma taunts her about his figure being better than her she hits him with a table, something that would kill just about anyone.
So she's spoilt and very immature even for the 'Mallet girl' sterotype she's meant to fill.
DBHay

[Cyber_Skaarj]

So she's spoilt and very immature even for the 'Mallet girl' sterotype she's meant to fill.

The "mallet girl" stereotype originated with Akane. Rumiko's manga Ranma 1/2 popularised the use of the mallet in anime and manga.

[MaximumZorch]

Hold on...
While I agree that Akane as the "Mallet Girl" may have popularized that particular icon of feminine strength, it has been shown that Ranma has actually used the "mallet" trick far more often in manga.
As discussed in another thread in this forum, many of the visual cues (the mallet, a microphone, and other small aspects of technology or magic) are comedic effects. They are literary techniques that are used to express insignificant action that otherwise would take many panels, if not multiple story parts.
This is not to say that violence within a relationship is healthy, irrelevent of a martial arts history.
Akane and Ranma, unlike most of the rest of the characters in the Manga or Anime, are far more real as characters. They both have their good points and bad points, mostly centering around their respective egos.
At the moment, I do not have access to my reference material, and I have only a little time to post.
However, it does bother me that unilateral statements similar to "Akane is a Psycho Hose-Beast, with no good in her soul since she was born" or "Ranma is a prick who only cares about feeding his ego at the expense of everyone's feelings" are considered fact.
I will say that everyone in the Ranma 1/2 continuity really need to grow up, and become active supporters of the community, if they lived anywhere near me.
However, as a really important thing, Time never really advances throughout the entire manga or Anime. Despite a few telltales, like martial arts manuvers, hair length, multi part stories, or wrap up episodes, there is no real mention in the stories as presented of the passage of time. Just like the Simpsons. Just like South Park(for the first few seasons at least).
So, in a cannon story, the romance that exists between Ranma and _fill_in_the_blank_, there are issues of trust, ego, affection, need, honor, compassion, sacrifice, and responsibility. All this is places within the venue of slap-stick violence, of silly martial arts.
People, Akane is the normal one in the story.
[/u]

[Zwzn]

Hmmm, mabey when Nabiki and Kasumi said "she's realy a very sweet girl. She's just a violent maniac.", they meant it literally.

The problem is violent maniacs that don't seek help are not nice people.

And while akane hits ranma, she never did it during the Ultimate Weakness Morxibustion. And she never hit him hard enough to do anything- never a broken bone, or even a noseblead.

Akane put Ranma in a hospital at the end of the revesel gem arc. It was clear (to us readers at least) that Ranma was not going there to confess his love for Shampoo. The scene where Ranma tests out his tech on Ukyo proves this. No one even asked Ranma why he was going there.
Another time Akane actually hurts Ranma is during the Valintine's day ep. She knocks him out and then yells at him for not paying attention.

[Cheb]

Hmmm, mabey when Nabiki and Kasumi said "she's realy a very sweet girl. She's just a violent maniac.", they meant it literally.

I am tired to repeat this: they dropped the "chotto" ("a bit") bit in the translation. So, I believe, Kasumi's words were "she's realy a very sweet girl. She's just a bit violent".

[Zwzn]

Hmmm, mabey when Nabiki and Kasumi said "she's realy a very sweet girl. She's just a violent maniac.", they meant it literally.

I am tired to repeat this: they dropped the "chotto" ("a bit") bit in the translation. So, I believe, Kasumi's words were "she's realy a very sweet girl. She's just a bit violent".

That actually makes Akane sound like more of a monster to me then what Viz put. What you say is more correct makes it sound like they are just suger coating that Akane is a cruel and abusive monster to me.

[Cheb]

like they are just suger coating

Hmmm... You know, that may be pretty in character for Kasumi.

[Zwzn]

like they are just suger coating

Hmmm... You know, that may be pretty in character for Kasumi.

Both seem equeally correct to me given who is talking.

[Acey]

Akane gets mad ocaionsaly, its true. But ALWAYS with excelent Reason.

It's declarations like this that prompted me to make that frikkin' list in the first place.

According to this tally, the bad and ugly technically outweigh the good. I'm uncertain how to count the Excuseable into all this...

I did try to be objective, and always asked people who disputed my tarings to tell me so, but I am only human at the end of the day ^^;

*raises an eyebrow*...who in there right mind thinks a spoiled brat like Akane needs any respect. Please note this my opinion of Akane from reading the manga that was how she came off to me.

Akane often deserves respect. Usually morso than most of the characters. But she also deserves our sontempt much more often than any of the other characters too.

plus the one thing I do know that Takahashi did in the manga...Akane was always right, even when she was derinaltly in the wrong that lead me to the spoild brat view of her that I have now.

I've said it before and I'll repeat myself. The ultimate reason why I cannot abide Akane is that while she is presented to us as a major protagonist, she so often abuses that position without consequence.
Akane's role as a protagonist is established not through her actions, but rather her early appearance and 'screentime' in the series.
Its not the jealousy that Akane displays (and she shows jealousy of Ranma a LOT), but rather the confounding distrust she continuously displays toward Ranma throughout the entirety of the story, coupled with an excessively pious mindset that sours her toward me.
I'll admit that had she not been shoved down our throats by Takahashi that my lean against the character wouldn't have been quite as severe. I can forgive another less favourably presented character a sin that I don't Akane. True, her constantly recurring role giving us far more opportunity to witness her bad side. However, she falls into it with disturbing frequency.
I was pretty damn annoyed with Shampoo when she tried to place blame on Ranma for her being cursed at Jusenkyo. It passed. Akane grows angry with Ranma for not eating her meals (after admitting how poor they were herself) and finally guilts him into eating them with crocodile tears. She then gets angry when he refuses to repeat the feat. I find this less forgivable than Shampoo's sin.
That she also shows good traits and kindness doesn't excuse consistent bullying and hypocrisy. A person who gives to charties, helps old people cross the street and buys their spouse thoughtful gifts, but also beats or unfairly accuses that same spouse of misdeeds isn't a good person.
Paraphrasing someone from this board; "Just because you go all gooey-eyed at somebody when they're not looking, doesn't excuse attacking them on fallacious grounds a moment later."
And to paraphrase George R. R. Martin; "If part of an onion is rotten, then it is a rotten onion."

Actually, Shampoo does know the Breaking Point. She used it in the takeout race.

Shampoo used the 'Box Blower Blow', and names the moves such herself. It seems to have a similiar effect to the Basuksai Tenketsu, but Shampoo certainly hasn't gone through the BT training, or she'd be a lot tougher.

I know they hit Ranma.
Shampoo nails him with her bike, Ukyo with his Big Spatula.

Ranma gets hit by that spatula and bike less than a dozen times combined in the entire manga.

Ukyo usually hits him more if she feels slighted by him, as does Shampoo.

Usually!? Actually Shampoo prefers to threaten him or punish him with her cursed form, while I can't recall half a dozen incidents in the entire story when Ukyo hits Ranma outside of battle.

It's more reasoning for why they don't love Ranma, but are more in love with the idea of being in love with him.

Bingo. To be honest, both are only children, and haven't really the experience to understand the concept of love.

Shampoo wants Ranma to go back to China with her.
Ukyo wants him to help run her business with her.

These are both assumptions with only flimsy evidence to back them up.

Akane is violent and untrusting.

Name a martial artist in Ranma 1/2 who isn't at some point?

Shampoo wants him cause Amazon law says so, this after she tried to kill him for the same reason.

That is disconcerting. But I think Shampoo fell for a man because he was able to better her, and wnet on to become obsessed with the idea of that one man despite other male martial artists popping up every other volume who could best her or even Ranma.

Uyko goes from revenge driven psycho to lovebird after he says she's cute, that doesn't show much in the way of emotional stability.

Stability? Having a nifty mixture of positive and negative aspects is why she's so much more interesting than a lot of the other characters. (Discounting the anime) Ukyo almost never devolves into a caricature as much of the cast sometimes do. It's why I like her despite the fact you could accurately describe her as a greedy, deceitful, short-tempered suck-up.
But yes, Ranma and she aren't likely to work nor would I want them to get together (in canon, but there's potential in AUs).

I just down right hate akane. I hated her ever since ep one where she 1st wanted to be ranma's friend thinking he was a she then turns around and hits him with a table hatting himn for being a guy.

I thought that hilarious when I first read it. But then when the abuse didn't stop it got old. Then, it became disconcerting, and made me resentful toward Akane. During my first re-read of the manga, by Book 11, I found that I hated the character.
It is not easy to make me hate a fictional person.

And she never hit him hard enough to do anything- never a broken bone, or even a noseblead

... That's it. I'm reposting the whole damn list. As Zwzn noted, please pay attention to Volume 22, when Akane sucker-punches Ranma hard enough to put him into a full-body cast.

With someone like ranma, does anything short of a blow or a girls tears make him take anything serously?

...Words....cannot... express...

[Hiryo]

So she's spoilt and very immature even for the 'Mallet girl' sterotype she's meant to fill.

The "mallet girl" stereotype originated with Akane. Rumiko's manga Ranma 1/2 popularised the use of the mallet in anime and manga.

I have to disagree with you there with Akane being the 'originated'
'mallet girl' since it was Kaori from 'City Hunter' or even a girl before
(I don't know of) that is true being called to having 'mallet girl'
popularised.

[Innortal]

Ukyo wants him to help run her business.
Remember that often her daydreams when shown, such as when Ranma had the Ultimate Weakness Moxibustion on him, was of her, Ranma, tons of kids (which would make Nodoka proud) working at the Ucchan. They didn't include teaching, dojos, or training trips.
Bad for business.
As for Shampoo, I seriously doubt otherwise. While I'm certain Cologne could do it, we all know Shampoo might not want to stay in Japan.
But on her, I will relent.

[Acey]

Ukyo wants him to help run her business.

Just checked the manga, and Ukyo's fantasy is of Ranma taking care of their children while she runs the business alone.
Ukyo: "I'll take care of you for the rest of your life. All you'll have to do is watch the children."
I think this fanon idea is inspired by Ranma promising to travel and work with Ukyo should he lose her business to the Gambling King. I don't recall any other time she had a daydream about Ranma working with her making okonomiyaki.

As for Shampoo, I seriously doubt otherwise. While I'm certain Cologne could do it, we all know Shampoo might not want to stay in Japan.
But on her, I will relent.

Shampoo does seem to be settled in for the long haul though. She may not show it, but I think she's accepted that she may have to wait years (if ever) to gain Ranma's love. Just conjecture on my part though.

[Innortal]

Good points.

[Hiryo]

She had no idea that her hit wouldn't cause him serious injury it's just that Ranma's so inhumanly tough to cause him serious injury is very hard. Also I believe that there is one point in the manga where akane and the fiancees beat him up (off screen) bad enough that he was covered in bandages.

I think it goes like this with Akane's temper.
1.) Target insults her. (I.e. we replace target with Ranma) Goto point 2.
2.) She shouts back or goto point 4.
3.) Target shouts back. If want to shout back goto point 2 else goto point 4.
4.) Zen-like state only the opposite, whereby Akane still is ignorant of the world although fully consumed in total rage.
5.) Hit the target until target is either a) beaten near to death or b) hit out of current range.
In the beginning Ranma wasn't so though and only through the several
beatings Ranma endured that hurt him worse then Ryoga hurt during
the Bakkusai Tensenkue training the rocks . . . .
Book 01 Page 049
So thereby I agree to part of your statement that

She had no idea that her hit wouldn't cause him serious injury

only because she didn't think and hit him and as Ranma woke up it was
already late evening . . . .
Book 01 Page 053

People, Akane is the normal one in the story.

That price belongs to Kasumi and in the Anime the Teacher that Happosai
went after.
However not even coming up with ONE MEASLY quality other then strenght.
Book 14 Page 14
She hit him during the Moxibution-saga
Book 13 Page 34
even thought he deserved it I can't help it that Akane sees herself as
Ranma's mother . . . .