Ok I've heard a _lot_ of reasons why this person or that person should or
ought to get Ranma.  I got tired of it.  This is a list of reasons of
reasons why Shampoo, Ukyo, Kodachi, etc _shouldn't_ get Ranma.

Who Should _Not_ Get Ranma (and why)


Ranma + Shampoo = a bad match

Why:  I can't see Shampoo being romanticly attracted to Ranma.  From what
I can tell, the only reason why she's chasing Ranma is the Amazon Law,
Cologne, and (according to Richard Lawson in "Thy Inward Love") her pride.
These do _not_ make for a good match.  Yes, she seems affectionate, but to
me that seems more as a way of tempting Ranma with her body more than
anything else.  I also don't see Ranma romanticly attracted to Shampoo.
First, she turns into a cat.  A _definite_ minus in his book.  Second,
she's spent most of the time they've known each other trying to kill him.
She might find that easy to forget but he probably hasn't.  Her
association with getting killed is probably pretty strong with him.  I
also don't see Ranma as the type who would go for someone who chases him
by throwing herself at him (see Marisa Price's "A Lesson In Love").
Shampoo also comes from a village of Amazons, don't forget.  Amazon's
probably aren't too into male rights.  Ranma would have status as
Shampoo's husband, nothing more.  I really don't see him standing still
for that kind of treatment, he's just to arrogant to take second as the
house husband (though many people _say_ this wouldn't happen, I really
don't see how it could not, since the women are dominant in the Amazon
culture, Shampoo would dominate over Ranma by social convention.  I don't
think either of them are strong enough to defy the entire Amazon society,
do you?)  Mind you I'm not saying that it couldn't happen, just that it
would require some very definite changes in both of them for it to be
plausible.


Ranma + Ukyo = not the best match in the world

Why:  Though many fanfic writers portray this match to be the second most
likely match up after the Ranma/Akane match, I don't really think that's
the case.  Ranma and Ukyo have been friends for a long time, but they
haven't seen, talked, written, or otherwise communicated for the last ten
years.  Do you know how much someone can _change_ in ten years!  In the
Manga and the Anime Ranma tries to pick up their relationship where they
left off, but they were just six years old then.  The way that they see
each other can't have changed that much, but they're now very different
people from who they were when they were six.  The last ten years has
probably changed them a lot but those changes haven't registered in their
minds yet.  Also, I don't think Ranma is attracted to Ukyo romanticly.
The guy has spent the last _ten years_ beliving that Ukyo was a guy.  His
first reaction upon learning the truth was the pour hot water on her!  I
don't see that Ranma has really adjusted to the fact that his best friend
is a girl.  I also don't see Ukyo as being in love with Ranma.  First of
all, she's just spent the last ten years trying to beat him up.  Her
association with being left alone and abandoned can't lead to a healthy
relationship down the line.  I think she'd be more possesive than Akane
because she's always associated Ranma with abandonment.  Second, according
to the Anime and the Manga he's the first person to call her cute.  This
is what leads her to "fall in love" with Ranma.  To me it sounds more like
infatuation than love.  That brings up the point that Ukyo's view of
herself is probably male.  She has spent the last ten years trying to be
as male as possible.  I don't see her giving that view of herself up
lightly.  This would definitely be an obsticle to her marriage with Ranma.
Right now this doesn't seem to be a problem but later on when her "male"
persona becomes more evident how will it affect her relationship with
Ranma.  Also, their goals in life are very different.  Ranma's life is
martial arts (and getting rid of his curse).  Ukyo's life is okanomiyaki.
What if Ranma doesn't want to settle down as okanomiyaki chief and she
does?  Or what if he doesn't want to be burdened by her cart?  Again I'm
not saying that it's not possible just that I would take a lot of change
in both of them to make it plausible.


Ranma and Kodachi....I don't really have to spell _this_ one out to you,
do I?

Why:  This one would take a major overhaul in _both_ of them.  She _hates_
his female form, and if she's anything like her brother she won't
understand when he explains it to her.  Ranma's her first male contact,
besides her brother (see Manga volume 2) definite infatuation, not love.
She's potion happy.  And she's insane (this is a lie, by gross
_understatement_)  He has _no_ attraction to her, whatsoever.  He's very
much afraid of her.  You can try, but...


Ranma + Akane = maybe...

Why:  Personally _I_ see this match as the most likely, of course that's
the way Takahashi wrote it.  She's overly violent, mallet happy,
untrusting, overly jelous, and can't cook.  He's insensitive, arrogant,
selfish, and doesn't think before he speaks.  Though I've been told,
several times, why these two are a poor match they do seem to be the best
pair that I've seen.  Especially since Akane's been living with Ranma for
the last year.  That's a definite plus on their side since, no matter how
well you think you know a person, living in close proxitmity is the best
test for a relationship.  Could Shampoo, Ukyo, or Kodachi deal with Ranma
up close on a day to day basis with him running off at the mouth?  He
might be just as insulting with Shampoo or Ukyo if he feels that he's
being forced into a relationship with them (That's how the whole thing
with Akane got started remember?)

As you can probably tell I'm a big fan fo the Akane/Ranma pair, but I'm
not so blind as to see that it probably wouldn't work as well as everyone
seems to think (See Zen's "The Bitter End" for more elaborate reasoning).
Personally I think it's going to be a _long_ time before Ranma choses any
one of them.  They all need to grow up emotionally before they can really
understand who they really love.  All this is really to say that fanfic
authors better have a damn good reason for having _anyone_ get paired off.

Thanx for listening to me rant and rave

AJ

"Ooops"
	-Someone, Somewhere, for no apparent reason (Uh-Oh)