(This was posted 1/10/97.)

	I'd just like to add a comment here, about Ranma 1/2 characters.

	*ahem* I have my favorites. That is of no question. Overall,
it's sweet, lovely, intelligent, caring *whap* ow! Okay, already. Ukyou
is my favorite overall. Ryouga and Mousse are tied as my favorite male
characters. However, I do not and cannot hate any of the characters,
even Kodachi (actually now, especially Kodachi, for whom I've developed
a soft spot for lately).... Blame it on the fanfic I'm writing.

	Some of you may say that this is a copout. Well, go ahead. I 
just like the series too much to hate the people.

	Ucchan? Don't even get me started. I'm a deacon of the Church of
Ucchan. You want to know why I like her, go there and see...please!

	Ranma? Blade, fellow deacon of Ucchan, you hate Ranma for what
he's put Ucchan through. I'm none too pleased either...but part of the
reason that it's happened is because he's too afraid of hurting *anyone*
at all. Not Akane, not Shampoo, not Ucchan...I don't know about Kodachi.
Unfortunately, this causes him to hurt each one even more, by not
setting things straight. I've got personal experience with this, on the
receiving end of the kindness that kills. And you have pointed out
earlier that his upbringing really wasn't socially oriented, which
hampers him a bit to begin with.

	Shampoo? Nope, I don't hate her either. I agree, she can be 
really bimboish. That's very unfortunate; there was much potential for
her, as you could probably detect from her first appearance in the 
series. However, I maintain that she's not as stupid as she seems. Okay,
maybe not too much smarter, either, but there's more to her than what 
you see. She lets Cologne do the plotting for her because she must--
Cologne is her elder, and the Chinese have an incredible amount of 
respect for their elders (again, I know this personally), and this is 
emphasized by three points: first, Cologne is her Great-grandmother 
(elder by blood), she is very old and wise (elder by wisdom), and she is
the leader of the tribe (elder by politics--okay, that doesn't sound
right, but...).

	Mousse? I like him a lot. He's a powerful fighter, moreso than 
it seems. He practices a deadly form of martial arts.... The only reason 
he can't win against Ranma is because he can't see that well. The reason
he can't win against Shampoo is because he loves her far too much. He
can't bear the thought of hurting her. Now, this does get overboard at
times, I can agree. (That's why I wrote "Mousse, Version 2.0"--to be
posted soon in raac *ahem*.) But that's just his devotion speaking.

	Kodachi? I kind of feel sorry for her. She's nuts, yes, but 
everyone needs some love. Seriously. It's just unfortunate that she 
falls for Ranma.. (In fact, as I mentioned above, I'm writing this fic 
about a guy who's a little nuts himself and falls for her.) She's rather
comical, in my view....

	Kunou? He's funny. He's got an ego so big, it could supplement 
my own lack of an ego. But it's hilarious. Besides, he's a noble guy. 
Too bad he's such an idiot that it's pointless. But that's why he's so 
funny....

	Kasumi? Too perfect? Heh. That's stupid. It's disliking 
something because it's just out of place. The world of Ranma needs a 
little bit of normality so normal...that it's weird. Okay, maybe it's 
not normal. But really, Nerima needs a core of calm. If it weren't for 
her, the Tendous and Saotomes would have torn each other apart. (Go read 
"Heart of the Home" by Richard Lawson.)

	Ryouga...ah, now. Once, I really disliked him. Why? It annoyed 
me how damned vicious he was at the beginning of the show. But after I 
saw more, I really started to like him, once he mellowed out. And the 
rest, they say, is history.

	The closest I could get to hating someone is, perhaps, Happi...
but that's really just annoyment. It's far from hating. He makes the 
show a little bit more...odd.

	Hmm. Ah, yes, Genma. He's a dork, that's no question. But he's a
buffoonishly funny dork. It _is_ his fault, perhaps, that Ranma is 
rather uncultured...but that's life. Hmm, I sense that argument is kind
of weak.... But I just can't dislike Genma too much.

	Nabiki? She's the cutest mercenary you'll ever find. Despite 
being manipulative and underhanded a lot...I don't think she does 
anything bad enough to deserve malicious thought and feeling.

	Cologne is there to make sure that Shampoo is happy.... It's not 
for her own sake that she does this sort of stuff, you know.

	*gasp* Damn, that was long.... Anyone in particular that I 
missed? (Forgive me, I don't know all the characters....)

One last thing, about Ukyou, for those of you who think she's suddenly a killer, just because of the last manga: that's just pure crap. Go read my shortfic, "Talking About It".

Any comments?

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