Subject: Re: Name Ranma's Son
From: databank@mindspring.com (Zen)
Date: 8/19/1996, 6:59 PM
To: fanfic@fanfic.com

just to warn you... (in cas you haven't seen Vampire Princess Miyu),
"Shinma" actually means devil or daemon, or some supernatural (and evil)
force. She Shinma are the daemons which Miyu has to send back to the
other worlds. ^_^

misachan

Well, According to Zen's Wa/Ei Jiten, there is no word "Shinma" listed as a
single word... and it *is* a pretty damned comprehensive one...

In the Miyu context, Shinma is also a compound... from MA, meaning demon or
evil spirit.  The Kanji used to spell it is different - so as long as you
use the same Kanji as from Ranma's name, then you are OK...

The thing to remember is that punning is not only possible in Japanese, it
is *inevitable*  The Romajii does little to convey the subtlety of Japanese
spelling - By varying the Kanji, Ranma's name can mean either Wild Horse,
or wild demon.  The romanization of the name would not change.

So, go with what you like.

Zen still thinks that ShinMa is pretty good - since it can be spelled to
mean either

True Horse
New Horse

(or, if you *are* so inclined)
New or True Demon.

Zen-