I had a debate on RAAF with Lord Archive on Nabiki's characterization a while
back.  IMO, Nabiki changes personality during the manga series, though she has a
number of consistent characteristics as well.  Throughout, Nabiki is much more
stingy than she's usually given credit for in fanfic (in fact she fights a
stinginess dual in manga vol 29):  she borrows Akane's clothes, sticks other
people with restaurant bills, etc.  Early on, she offers to tell Gosunkugi a
secret she doesn't yet know (Ranma's weak point) if he buys her a CD player.
Nabiki is consistently shameless in how she makes money, but only in a funny
way:  she sells topless photos of Ranma, who's really male, but is never shown
selling the corresponding photos of Akane.  [A consistent treatment of the
shameless, greedy Nabiki, in the context of today's Japan, would turn her into
one of those Japanese high school part-time prostitutes, but, since this isn't
funny, Takahashi never suggests this.]

Early on, Nabiki is also fairly lazy and self-indulgent.  She enjoys making
money, but won't work to do it.
In manga volume 35, however, we see a single episode with another Nabiki:  this
one is running an international mail-order business from home (for topless
girl-Ranma napkins), and planning ahead effectively to plant cameras, tape
recorders, etc, where they'll be needed to continue to blackmail Ranma.  It is
this Nabiki that
various fanfic writers extrapolate from to derive the future CEO businesswoman.

The Nabiki whose money-making sustains the family is fanfic myth, and actually
contradicts a few points in the manga.

The Nabiki who runs all betting at Furinkan High School is an anime innovation.
There is none of this in the manga (that I can remember).

And Nabiki never shows any sign of romantic interest in Kunou, nor he in her.

Important manga Nabiki stories:
     Volume 17, Nabiki becomes Ranma's fiancee instead of Akane
     Volume 29, Nabiki's stinginess duel.
     Volume 35, Nabiki and Ranma at home alone (episode 5)

Sources of translations:  see the Ranma FAQ page,
http://www.wot-club.org.uk/RanmaFAQ/, which has pointers to manga translations.

In my own stories, I've stretched the canon manga Nabiki more than I have
perhaps any other character, and you may want to do the same, for the same
reason:  Nabiki's main purpose in the manga is comic relief, but what's funny to
the Japanese is not always the same as what's funny to us.  Excessive stinginess
is not particularly funny to me, whereas making a teen-age Japanese girl a high
finance whiz or world-class hacker is.






Mike Noakes <s669330@aix2.uottawa.ca> on 02/18/99 10:22:48 PM

To:   Fanfic ML <ffml@fanfic.com>
cc:    (bcc: Bert Miller/USD/US/Unisys)
Subject:  [FFML] A Question concerning Nabiki...





     Hi!

     Well, as the header suggests, I need a bit of help with Nabiki.
Writing her is proving tough, and I don't feel I'm keeping her true to
character.
     So I'm wondering, which manga/anime episodes would seem to display
her best -- as in, reveal reliable aspects of her personality?  More
importantly, where could I find summaries/translations of these?

     Thanks for any help,
     Mike Noakes
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