On Wed, 23 Oct 1996, WebDragon wrote:

        I would like to point out that in Desperately Seeking Shampoo, Ranma
asked Ukyo if she still loved him.  Would Ranma do the same thing to, say,
Ryoga?  (do not include the "Koi no Fishing Rod" incident :) )

   Ranma asked her that because he was afraid that he somehow was no longer 
as desirable as he'd been. He's not blind--he knows Ukyo wants him. The 
idea does flatter him very much, and it would be quite a blow to his 
pride if suddenly he wasn't desirable any more. He doesn't expect or want 
Ryoga to like him like that (I hope! :) ).

        And another point.  Any advances Shampoo or Kodachi makes toward him
(Ranma) alarm and embarass him, too.

   No, they simply irritate him. Unlike with Ukyo, he's only too happy to 
try to drive shampoo or Kodachi off without a second thought for their 
feelings.

        And yet another point.  Viewing Ukyo as a boy may have been a matter
of perspective, but ever since Ukyo revealed herself to be a girl, it is no
longer such.  What bothers me is that she STILL wears boys' school clothing
once in a while, and I have never been able to understand that.

   I can think of a few:
   She registered with the school as a boy, and can hardly tell them that 
she's now a girl (she dressed as a boy when she came first);
   she may still consider herself a boy to some extent, as some have 
conjectured, and certainly was raised as one, so to dress as a girl would 
feel unnatural;
   and, to boot, it's her best outfit. (At least I think so. Come on, 
now, lads, am I the only one who thinks she looks positively gorgeous in 
that uniform? :) )

        Remember how Ranma was attacking Ukyo all out when they first meet
as teenagers?  The truth was exposed (forgive my pun) and Ranma, realizing
that Ukyo is a girl, treats her as such.  He beats the hell out of male
characters without turning a hair, but he won't lay as much as a finger on
female characters - and I do believe Ukyo qualifies as one. 

   Really? He fought Kodachi and Shampoo in their first stories without a 
qualm. The difference is this: the macho Japanese man will not wish to be 
seen displaying any affection towards a woman or to be actively seeking 
her company. That is why Ranma, who sees himself as machismo personified 
(having an ego the size of many European nations), makes a big show of 
how undesirable he finds Akane, in spite of everything else he does. The 
fact that he allows himself to be seen actively seeking the company of 
Ukyo is evidence that this female is in a different category from Shampoo 
and Kodachi or even Akane; in a sense, he does not think of her as a 
woman at all.

        I understand your point of view but, like you said, it is debatable.
I believe that the interpretation of Ukyo's character ultimately rests with
the individual.  

   True, Ukyology (the study of Ukyo) is far from an exact science, but 
that does not prevent someone from making a statement about her that is 
flat wrong. And yes, that does include me. Not even Miss Seawright is 
always right, despite her protestations. Sorry, Miss S., but this 
remains the case. It is unfortunate, but such is life. :)

        Ukyo is a controversial character.  Remember the part when Ukyo got
sick and Konatsu offered to run the business for her?  Near the end, when
Ukyo wakes up from her fainting spell, Akane is seen taking care of her.
Would Akane do the same for Shampoo?  Or Kodachi?  I do not believe so.
Reciprocity must have something to do with Akane's reaction to Ukyo's
sickness, or events in that part of the manga would have been quite different.

        Ukyo is not blameless.  In Akane and her Sisters, Ukyo tried to hurt
or seriously injure Akane with various flying objects of increasing weight.  

   When we discuss the anime, we are treading on thin ice, as the manga 
(actually by Takahashi and hence authentic) and anime (with which she had 
little to do) disagree in many places. The "Akane and Her Sisters" story 
did not appear in the manga at all and can thus be labeled apocryphal.
   A better example would be Ukyo's attacking Akane with her food bombs 
in the final manga installment (during the infamous wedding fiasco).
   You are not clear just where in the timeline your story is set. After 
the abortive wedding, it is not at all clear that Akane or even Ranma 
will hold such a benevolent view of Ukyo.
   By the way, for those who wondered: Akane finally does admit she loves 
Ranma in the Contrary Jewel story (though it took the jewel to amplify it 
to the point where she'd actually say it), and almost does with a clear 
head in the Shinnosuke story, at the point of death.
   Ranma admits his love in the final story, when he is convinced 
(wrongly) that Akane _is_ dead. 

Some less charitable interpretations would have her rub Akane's face in 
the fact that Ranma was there (and half-undressed to boot!). It would 
have been clinching proof to Ukyo (and to Akane besides!) that Ranma 
didn't want Akane after all.

        Clinching proof?  So....following your line of reasoning, a naked
Shampoo intimately hugging a fully-undressed naked Ranma, in the bath to
boot, is NOT clinching proof?  As I recall, Akane was angry for the rest of
the night and the day after, but nothing further was mentioned of the
incident.  

   The difference is this: Ranma was quite obviously not responding to 
Shampoo's advances, but equally obviously was to Ukyo's. This will not be 
lost on Akane. Shampoo in the bath she would forgive; Ukyo with Ranma she 
could never forgive. Nor should.

  To remind Ranma of his responsibility. Sense of duty towards someone 
is not love, you know. If he loved Akane, as you believe he does, he 
would have at the very least told her to stop the moment she did 
something untoward ("Aw, come on, Ucchan...I hate it when you act all 
weird like this!"). I can quite easily see him giving her a good hard 
slap and leaving for greener pastures forthwith.

        But the two weren't acting weird....in their minds, that is.  They
had thrown away their adult roles and assumed their old mantles as the
Ranchan and Ucchan of a decade ago.  They forgot that things were different
now than they were ten years ago.  

   Oh, did they now? It seemed to me from your very own words that Ukyo 
acted with intent to seduce Ranma. That sounds like a fairly adult role 
to play to me! 
   After re-reading your story I get the impression of Ukyo being nothing 
more than a conniving little housebreaker set on getting the man of whom 
she professes to be a friend of all things to forget his beloved, and 
almost succeeds too, which doesn't show Ranma in the best of lights either; 
once his guard's down she practically throws herself at him. I have next 
to no sympathy for either of these. As this was clearly not your intent, 
please consider starting from scratch.
   No. I'm being too harsh. Let me try again.
   Try this. It might work better if you tried something along the lines 
of the Shinnosuke story, where the perfectly innocent Shinnosuke makes 
little beyond the most virginal advances--if even that, I'm not sure 
Shinnosuke quite knows where babies come from, and would probably forget 
the minute you told him--but even so it is admittedly quite hard for 
Akane to resist him.
   Ukyo might take him in, certainly appreciating Ranma's company--I know 
I would, if asked by a girl I desired to take her in for the night--but not 
meaning to try anything on him in his present state where he's evidently 
incapable of thinking of anything but Akane, as in (say) the Gambler King 
story, where she had no prior obvious intent to do anything other than 
help him beat the Gambler King (it is only Akane that suspects 
wrongdoing; but though I'm sure Ukyo appreciated the quality time with 
Ranma there's no evidence she tried or wished to try anything on 
him--she is, after all, quite young and to be honest really quite 
innocent). Of course, he is a man, and she is a woman, so this will be 
harder to stick to than might be preferred; I might take the desired one 
in resolving to remain a gentleman in spite of everything, out of 
consideration for her, but the temptation to take advantage will be 
quite strong and continuously present.
   So Ukyo may find it, so to speak, increasingly difficult to be a lady 
given the obvious temptation. She can start just enjoying being with 
Ranma with no other immediate intent; but she need not remain there, and 
probably will not despite herself; she might find herself falling into 
it, so to speak, probably needing to rationalize it as she goes (I'm not 
doing anything to him he'll regret later, right? It's only a kiss, 
there's no need for him to be afraid of me, a kiss is just a kiss, it 
feels nice, that's all, right?). This will make her come off as at least a 
little more sympathetic; and, within the story, her not obviously 
plotting to "get" Ranma (Come now; the romantic music wasn't what you'd 
call "subtle," was it?) would make him more comfortable and--just 
maybe--more likely to respond to her displays of affection.
   I suppose what I'm saying is that Ranma should put up a bit more of a 
fight and Ukyo shouldn't be so damn obvious what she's up to--or, 
ideally, not be up to anything at all at first, at least not right then. 
I cannot quite see ranma completely forgetting himself like that around 
Ukyo. As I said, she doesn't quite count as a girl.
   You might want to try cutting out some of the insights into what Ukyo 
and Ranma might be thinking, as well. It is actions, after all, that 
truly reveal one's character. If you wish to reveal Ranma's 
temptation--which is crucial to your story, which collapses without his 
being tempted--temptation is not yet sin--do it through his actions, not 
his thoughts. The story is told from Ukyo's perspective, so to reveal her 
thoughts is permitted; but unless she can read Ranma's mind she cannot 
know what she is thinking, and perspective is inconsistent.
   Have him not quite so insistent and a bit more playful on the matter 
of his boxers, say ( :) ), or, perhaps have him pause a bit too long 
when they get too close, on a more serious note. Do, however, have him 
show at least some resistance; a little hesitation on his part at the 
crucial moment, perhaps? (This makes for a little suspense. Will he? 
Won't he? Does he want to? [This will be less obvious, if his thoughts are 
hidden from us.] Is he capable of it? The bastard! No, no, no, no, no, we 
wouldn't do that, he's Ranma, he's a hero! Heroes don't betray their 
girlfriends! Do they?) 

        According to your definition of love, a relationship along these
lines would be dull beyond belief, not to mention unrealistic.          

        Where is the fire of individuality?...Do you deny that Ranma 
and Akane love each other, despite their obvious disregard of your 
concept of 'love'?

   You've misunderstood me. I said "of all desire contrary to the 
interest of the beloved and the relationship with the beloved," not "of 
all desire." To purge oneself of all desire is quite impossible and an 
absurd demand to make of a living human being. If one _is_ free of 
desire, he is either the Buddha, or dead, or Kasumi. :)
   Of course Ranma and Akane are their own people. But neither would be 
unfaithful to each other in a million years. Akane would never dream of 
going to Ryoga, and though the temptation was strong she did not give in 
to Shinnosuke's advances. Can we not assume Ranma is made of as stern 
stuff, if we are to hold both to the same standard for love?

  It was Ranma's even considering cheating on Akane that ruined the 
story for me completely. He really does come off as a complete bastard.

        Perhaps he forgot about Akane in that moment that they shared,
enveloped by music and their nigh-forgotten childhood memories of playing
with each other.

   Playing with each other? Um...I understand your meaning, but would you 
like to rephrase that? :) (Comes off as a little perverse...I know 
little children occasionally play doctor, but still...:) )
   Well, it is true that Ukyo's memories of her childhood affection from 
Ranchan could only have helped her fall in love with Ranma. And that 
Ranma was genuinely fond of Ukyo from the very start is undeniable. It is 
also true that he considers her attractive. But he's never given any clue 
that he views her as any more attractive than any other pretty girl 
(while even his finding Shampoo prettier than average disturbed him 
terribly, I don't recall his being disturbed at his finding Ukyo 
attractive). I remain unconvinced that his geunine affection for Ukyo 
could ever completely overwhelm his love for Akane even for a moment.

        He didn't even consider once cheating on AKane.  NOT ONCE in Namida
did he even think of that.  In fact, up till Ukyo play-wrestles with Ranma,
he was brooding on and on about Akane.  Then you see how fast he jumped off
Ukyo when he heard Akane, and remembered about her.  Ranma simply didn't
think.  He acted.

   Well, the idea of cheating on Akane evidently didn't bother him, 
because he did not resist Ukyo's moving to kiss him. His failure to make 
the least bit of resistance is inexcusable.

  The reason Ukyo never gets Ranma is simple--he doesn't want her in 
that way, at all. Just how he does feel about her is uncertain. I 
believe that he doesn't know what to think or feel about her. This will 
become a real problem after the end of the manga. But he desires her not 
at all.

        Perhaps a combination of factors, which have been mentioned here and
there throughout my reply, contributed to his 'unexpected' behaviour.  

   I'm sorry. You haven't convinced me. If that was your intent, the 
story still needs much work. Don't be discouraged though. The story shows 
much promise.

Paul Corrigan
budgie@insomnia3.dorms.utoledo.edu