Someone just recently made me realize a fact about Ranma fanfics--there 
seem to be at least two types of characterizations of the cast: the 
"stereotyped" characterizations and the "in-depth" ones. The former 
portrays the characters true to the manga and anime: Shampoo seems 
hellbent on nothing but marrying Ranma and getting him to eat her 
passion spice; Mousse seems hellbent on nothing but claiming Shampoo as 
his bride and destroying Ranma; Ryouga seems hellbent on nothing but 
winning Akane's heart and destroying Ranma, etc, etc, etc. Mind you, 
this is not a bad thing, as it is these very traits that define them, 
but it is true that fans of that particular character would feel a 
little bit irked by the shallowness with which that character is 
portrayed (a die-hard Akane fan read my first fic "Akane and Ranma", and 
she felt strongly that I overdid Akane's short temper). The latter 
portrays characters in the way the author feels that they should be 
portrayed, with more depth and realistism than which the manga and anime 
provides. This type shows these characters' convictions, analyzes their 
real feelings, and explains what makes these people click. One example 
of "stereotype" characterization versus "in-depth" characterization is 
Mousse being ridiculously blind, clumsy, perpetually slamming into 
things and enduring ungodly amounts of abuse by Shampoo in the name of 
blind love versus a Mousse who explains that he cannot afford to have 
his eyes fixed and displays hurt feelings when Shampoo abuses him both 
emotionally and physically. 

I guess the thing here is that while some people prefer to read some 
characters portrayed the way they usually act instead of reading about 
those same characters portrayed in a way that gives the readers more 
insight into their personalities, other people prefer otherwise. And 
while I don't really see anything wrong in either depiction of Rumiko 
Takahashi's creations, I'm still in the dark in how they should be 
portrayed should I ever write another fic.

To stereotype...or not to stereotype?

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