On Fri, 14 Feb 1997 radler@pw.net wrote:

        Great!! Hope Ranma will win.. :)
        Reason: I am a total Ranma fan.. i think.. and like the others have
said.. Ryu has got a personality resembling a ton of bricks.. or Bill Gates
or a dead guy..
        BTW: I hope you plan on including Ryouga and Ken.. Makes a nice
battle too.. or maybe Hinako-sensei would like to participate in teaching
Sakura a little lesson...

  Hello, I've just joined the list, (A few days ago, following the 
recommended lurking procedure by the FAQ) and I have to toss my comments 
in here:

  RYU WILL WIN.  Period.  Yes, I like Ranma better. :-P  Ryu is by far 
the better fighter.  This is of course ignoring all the hatred most 
fighting game players like myself have for the shoto-clones.  I dislike 
them because all the "scrub" (AKA button pounders) play them.. ALL THE 
TIME.  Ryu is simply better.  Why?  Let us compare the "facts:"

Personalities:
1.  Ranma is hot headed, arrogant, impatient, and overestimates himself.
2.  Ryu has always been portrayed as the opposite of the above.

Skills:
Ranma:
1.  Chestnut fist technique.  (I can't spell Japanese properly yet, no 
complaints. :-P)
  Ryu has assumingly faced off against Honda and Chun-Li in the past, so 
he's seen this before and would know how to deal with it.

2.  Mouko Takabisha vs. Ha dou ken
  Ranma's attack is stronger but Ryu's will partially cancel it out.  
Ranma also telegraphs his attack, and Ryu is smart enough to notice.

3.  Hiryuu Shoten Ha vs Sho ryu ken
  Ranma's is obviously more flashy, but Ryu's is defintely stronger.  In a
manga published in the U.S. (Tokyama Comics I think?  Yes, I own it.) Ryu
commented that the odds on someone getting up from a *single* sho ryu ken
are next to nil.  Getting grazed by one is bad enough.  All Ranma's Hiryuu
Shoten Ha does (that I've seen) is toss someone high into the air. 

  Ryu is also in his 20s, 5 to 10 years older than Ranma.  He is 
definitely more experienced.  Any comments to this?