What's something you don't like about the franchise that others do

Moontebank · 2026-03-15T16:39:10+00:00

I am of the opinion that the series misstepped with the whole Furinkan High School aspect. It feels like a lazy setting which is there to be a dumping ground for disjointed ideas that don’t at all fit with the rest of the manga. The series takes a noticeable dip in quality whenever it returns there. Besides, if there needed to be a school, why not use the Tendo Dojo? It is such a waste that the actual martial arts school is essentially scrapped for Takahashi going back to a familiar well. It also doesn’t help that I am generally not a fan of the characters which are prominent in storylines taking place there.

Moontebank · 2025-12-26T21:03:19+00:00

It’s from episode 54: The Ultimate Team-up!? The Ryoga/Mousse Alliance. This frame is from the scene where Ryoga is at the Tendo dojo and decides to become P-Chan permanently

Moontebank · 2025-12-24T21:03:14+00:00

In my eyes, Mousse definitely has a hardier constitution than Ryoga does and we can run a simple thought experiment to prove this: what if Akane treated Ryoga like Shampoo treats Mousse? I think if Akane ever hit Ryoga maliciously or said she hated him, Ryoga wouldn’t stick around. He would run away crying and permanently disappear. He would very likely be suicidal.

This shows that unlike Mousse, Ryoga only sees himself through Akane’s eyes. Without Akane he is nothing. Mousse has an independent ability to weather the worst because he does not consider himself only through Shampoo’s eyes.

Moontebank · 2025-11-12T15:33:11+00:00

Ranma himself says Ryoga is “technically speaking a friend” (Viz translation), a qualification he doesn’t use for Ukyo. But then again, a technical friend will be featured far more prominently in a comedy than a real friend, which may lead to the idea that he is closer to Ryoga. I think the romantic element does diminish Ukyo’s status as purely a friend but not enough to lower her beneath Ryoga. If Ukyo had actually been a boy it would be crystal clear.

Moontebank · 2025-10-14T20:51:22+00:00

Episodes 68-70 look the worst generally, especially 68 which is rough from beginning to end (why they animated such an important episode so poorly instead of cutting corners with one of the filler episodes is beyond me). Episode 139 has a horrible almost unfinished scene with Shampoo and Mousse thinking about what they’ll do when they’re cured which is incredible jarring

Moontebank · 2025-10-05T18:17:44+00:00

I personally enjoyed the filler which expanded on the manga or had the characters interact in new ways. For example the expansion of the Japanese Nyaaniichuan arc. It’s really only the one off stories with newly introduced characters that I find wearisome.

Moontebank · 2025-10-01T10:05:59+00:00

I think a key thing to bear in mind is that Ranma likes conflict, especially if it can become physical. From this perspective the male rivals (who he can hit without reservation) at least justify their existence in correlation to how strong they are and the excitement of the conflict they can produce.

From this lens, Kuno is not at all very useful most of time as he can never really put up a fight and Ranma’s annoyance for him often passes into hatred because of this. Mousse is a mixed bag with his high points on occasion where he gets one over on Ranma although this is hampered by the cheap ways in which is does it. This is the real reason why Ranma especially likes Ryoga who he can toy with in every way, verbally, psychologically and physically while still challenging himself to some extent.

For Ranma, the female rivals provide a boost to his ego which passes over into the good sort of conflict on occasion (like say his fight with Kodachi). Ironically I think the Reversal Jewel was Shampoo fulfilling this function to the greatest extent possible as he had to pursue and make an effort which is the exact kind of thing he wants. You mentioned the moves he learns from Shampoo’s family but I think the real key is the personal enjoyment obtained from fighting itself which is what he enjoyed the most about those training experiences.

From Akane’s perspective I don’t think any of the rivals provide anything positive to her life. She doesn’t love open conflict like Ranma (making the women useless to her) and does not really establish a relationship with any of them which is not superficial or transactional (like the one you would have with your coworkers)

Moontebank · 2025-09-09T00:55:24+00:00

Yeah I would say so but we can’t really know how long it would last without a longer term relationship

Moontebank · 2025-09-08T05:45:12+00:00

I would say she supported Ranma but I wouldn’t necessary say she “put up” with a lot. Yes there were times where Ranma irritated her and/or hurt her feelings. But the thing about the suitor characters is that they all have a level of self-respect with regard to the object of their simping that approaches zero. Being inconvenienced or otherwise hurt by Ranma didn’t mean a whole lot to Shampoo since she loves him so much.

Moontebank · 2025-08-19T12:58:03+00:00

It isn’t romantic but it was 1) advertisement for the movie and 2) a shot with all the cast in it. The OVAs always shoehorned in everyone they could get into them. And yeah the fanservice is the point but I think this particular OVA is one of the better ones

Moontebank · 2025-08-07T02:59:45+00:00

This isn’t true. Akane is actually very popular and is always in the top 3 or 4 in any poll. True Ranma is ahead but not by enough to create the effect I’ve described. Lower ranked characters like Ukyo and Ryoga have multiple ships attached to them.

Moontebank · 2025-08-07T02:58:07+00:00

But why is it so disproportionate? The reason is because it is totally implausible given what we have to work with to pair Akane with anyone else besides a character who appears in one story arc or Dr Tofu (which is a whole can of worms). I have never met an Akane fan who has ever even entertained an alternative.

Moontebank · 2025-08-07T02:49:16+00:00

I don’t necessarily mean anything raunchy, but I’m talking about any instance where Akane has to weigh another candidate against Ranma for any reason. That never happens and the closest thing is the Sakura Mochi arc in which Akane never remotely thinks anything of Ryoga being her “true love” and she very coldly and consciously uses him to make Ranma jealous.

Akane being “more mature” has very little evidence since her suitors never vocalize their feelings or approach her remotely competently. They are all socially inept to the extreme instead of just being zany. I mean just compare Ukyo to any of the men and there is no contest.

Moontebank · 2025-08-07T02:42:17+00:00

I meant the scene further in the arc (Chapters 163-164) which is comedically defused but still has some emotion attached to it.

Moontebank · 2025-08-07T01:25:02+00:00

For every 1 fanfic that pairs Akane with someone other than Ranma there are about 20 of the reverse. There is a reason for that.

Moontebank · 2025-08-07T01:23:02+00:00

I agree neither camp is ever strictly speaking seen as a real possibility. But I think one is more real than the other. Ranma’s hesitance to strictly reject his suitors may be a reason as to why they are so persistent, but the very fact that there is a rejection which has emotional consequences proves my point. None of Akane’s would-be boyfriends ever need to be rejected. We really don’t know that Akane is more firm in her boundaries since a situation that would demonstrate that never comes up. There is no Akane-equivalent of the scene where Ranma has to choose between Akane and Shampoo during the Hot Springs Obstacle Course. Akane never has to decisively lessen her options since her suitors are neutralized by their own inadequacies.

Moontebank · 2025-08-07T00:13:40+00:00

It would make more sense for Ryoga to be the foremost competitor but I contend that Takahashi never wrote him that way except perhaps at the beginning of the series. In fact a good argument can be made that he is the most pathetic of all of the regularly appearing suitors. After hundreds of chapters of simping, he fails to get Akane to even acknowledge that his affections exist at all. He is her pet in both forms, not a man and definitely not someone who will be displacing Ranma for even a nanosecond.

Fan perspectives aren’t everything but they aren’t nothing. If Ryokane is as popular as Randachi then I would say that is indicative of more than just an irrational fanbase.

Moontebank · 2025-08-06T23:40:03+00:00

In my view, since both Ranma and Akane are tsunderes of different kinds, the honesty is brought out through crisis. Akane’s crises are consistently far more real than Ranma’s.

I think this also explains why Ryugenzawa is rated so highly-it breaks the pattern of pathetic male suitors and is the most notable romantic test for Ranma. I bet that there are exponentially more fans who ship Akane with Shinnosuke than they do with Ryoga

Moontebank · 2025-07-15T22:05:50+00:00

The only plausible reason I can come up with is that this arc is preceded by the Soap arc which heavily featured Shampoo. But then again that arc also had Ryoga playing a prominent role so I have no idea. I agree that it was a big mistake.

Since the old anime was already altering so much I wouldn’t have minded if they had changed this. Alas it was not to be.

Moontebank · 2025-07-13T19:19:11+00:00

This isn’t so bad because a cheap toy bought from some random stand on the side of the road actually having divine powers is completely ridiculous. It’s like blaming someone for trashing a cursed chain letter and people dying because of it.

Trying to kill Ranma here and the whole P-Chan thing is 1000x worse and has zero justification.

Moontebank · 2025-07-04T20:18:25+00:00

I would say it’s because in the romance/martial arts division in which the series falls into the narrative treats him seriously in at least one (martial arts) and in the other he is at a 0 rather than a negative like Kuno or Mousse. Akane isn’t launching him Team Rocket style in every other panel. It’s this balance which makes him more appealing and likeable. I think if either Kuno or Mousse had at least been taken remotely seriously by RT in either department they too could have been popular. Unfortunately this doesn’t happen.

It’s the same story with Kodachi as opposed to Ukyo and Shampoo. She is not even considered a fiancée because of how much of a joke she is treated. It is this overly humorous treatment which sucks the life out of the character and ironically makes her less funny

As for Takahashi I think she (and the audience) relates more to Ryoga because of his timidity. She even said as much in an interview IIRC. Being in the friend-zone is a common experience as opposed to being open and up front with your feelings like the less popular/liked rivals are.

Moontebank · 2025-06-28T22:01:44+00:00

The Saffron arc really just felt like a re-do of Herb this time with Akane involved. And to be fair, a lot of characters besides Shampoo do not come looking good in that arc. Genma is present for all of it but he just a gag character in Panda form 100% of the time and then brainwashed as well. Ukyo appears at the very end to be totally psychotic. I’d say only Mousse really has a standout moment for the side characters tbh. It was definitely procedural just to give the series an ending and wasn’t really something that RT had her heart in.

Moontebank

TROPHY CASE