On Sun, 28 Apr 1996, Ryan Mathews wrote:

In other words, I'm saying that there's little to no basis in the manga 
or anime for writing the cast of RANMA 1/2 as complex characters.  Any 
depth of character pretty much has to be completely created from 
scratch.

Not that there's anything wrong with that, as long as you accept that 
you're turning the characters into something they're not.  RANMA 1/2 is 
the very antithesis of complex characters.  As I like to say "If you 
want to change the rules so you can pick up the ball, fine, but don't 
call the new game 'soccer'."

While this is perfectly valid UP TO A POINT, the characters are still 
Ranma characters.  While most of the characters are not complex, true, we 
can expand on what we do know of them and add depth.  However, they are 
not 'new' characters.  Your analogy of calling the games soccer doesn't 
quite fit.  If I were to decide that because I added depth to the 
characters that I could call it something other than Ranma 1/2 and claim 
the characters for my own, I think that many Ranma fans would string me 
by my toes out the window.

It would be as if you'd taken your Mihoshi fanfic and decided that since 
it doesn't fit into an 'official' storyline (despite, as you say, there 
_is_ no truly accepted official storyline (I add: except, perhaps, the 
manga which only the first issue of has been translated)) you could call 
it something other than a Tenchi Muyou story and claim the characters as 
your own.

I'm not saying that you did or would try to do this, I'm merely pointing 
out a flaw in the analogy.