First, I agree that there's no point in limiting Ranma fanfiction
to comedy only, when Rumiko Takahashi felt no need to so limit herself.
The Kumon Ryu story has already been mentioned.  I could also contrast
the silliness of the story where they try to convince Nodoka of Ranma's
manliness by having him peep at Akane in the bath, with the seriousness
of the story where Ranma decides to confront his mother, even at the
risk of his own life.  Two stories dealing with the same situation,
from two quite different angles, that somehow Takahashi makes hang
together.

    Takahashi also walks a narrow line in depicting the Ranma-Akane
relationship.  The makers of the anime, and a lot of fanfic authors,
fall off that line one way, by over-emphasizing the insults and the
violence.  Other authors, especially those bringing Ranma and Akane
together, fall off the other way by showing us a Ranma and an Akane
who are too emotionally mature.  I think the Ranma-chan story falls
into the first camp.

    The very beginning of the story hits a false note.  Akane is out
jogging, getting mad at Ranma and planning to beat him up?  And then
nursing that anger all day long?  Akane gets angry at Ranma when he's
around, and sets her off, and then she calms down.  I believe the
angriest she ever got at Ranma, and the worst fight they ever had,
was in the enchanted dogi story in volume 32, when she thought Ranma
was trying to seduce her to get rid of the dogi.  (Ranma's problem was
that she was right, at least at the start).  Even then, at the climax
of their battle, when Ranma kept her from falling onto the newly painted
bench, she stopped being angry at him, and even asked if she could stay
on his lap a little longer.

    Also, contrary to a lot of fanfics, Akane does not habitually use
Ranma as a guinea pig for her cooking.  I can think of about half a
dozen stories, out of all 38 volumes, where she cooks, and half the
time there are extenuating circumstances. (The Sakura Mochi story is
not really about cooking, for example, and in the Secret Sauce, she has
to cook for Ranma because they're pretending to be married.)


Reid Carson
rcarson@mnsinc.com