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.

	That will only give Ryu an initial advantage.  Ranma would underestimate 
Ryu for about ten seconds, however he is very fast to spot any opponents 
strengths and weaknesses.  And while he often lacks patience, he is so tenacious 
that he can win simply by virtue of outlasting his opponents.

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.

	Theoretically, however I suspect that the differences between the 
various techniques will require variation in countering each person.  So Ryu 
will have to see Ranma fight for a while before he can figure out the proper 
counter.

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.

	The techniques are very different.  The Ha dou ken is a technique that 
can be used repeatedly and quickly.  the Mouko Takabisha is dramatically more 
powerful but is slower to generate and can't be done very often.  Basically I'd 
say that if Ryu tries to counter the Mouko Takabisha with his Ha dou ken it'll 
get disrupted without even slowing down the Mouko Takabisha.  Also the Mouko 
Takabisha hits a much wider area and is harder to dodge.

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. 

	Ranma is a lot tougher than most people.  And he's fast enough that 
after one experience with a Sho ryu ken he'll avoid any further ones Ryu tries 
to throw.  As for the Hiryuu Shoten Ha, it generates a small tornado, which 
hurls the victom straight up, and they fall and hit the ground REAL hard.

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

	How often has Ryu modified one of his techniques in the middle of a 
fight.  Ranma started studying fighting much earlier than Ryu, and he has 
clearly demonstrated himself to be a master of improvising new techniques on the 
spur of the moment.