Tales of Ranma and Ranko



Tales of Ranma and Ranko by Jack Staik and Jillian Lynn "Lady Tesser" Staik is a multipart long-format work of Ranma ½ fan fiction. Its first installment was released to the Web in 1999, and they continued writing it through the early 2000s, producing three novella- or novel-length stories and two short side stories before abruptly vanishing from the Net at some point during Spring of 2002, leaving its fourth and final installment incomplete after seventeen chapters. Although not explicitly identified as a Continuation fic, internal comments reveal that TORAR begins less than two weeks after the end of the disastrous near-wedding at the end of the Ranma ½ manga.

The stories open with Nabiki and Akane tracking Ranma to a secret hideout where Akane is certain he is having romantic rendezvous with another woman. Nabiki is less certain this is the case, but if there's a chance for profit, she'll go along with it. There they discover that yes, Ranma is meeting a girl, but it's not one of the fiancée brigade, or even a new paramour -- it's a female soul who came along with Ranma's shape-shifting curse who calls herself Ranko, and the only way they can interact is through a mirror. Eavesdropping on their conversation reveals unexpected truths -- that Ranma loves Akane but is convinced she hates him, that Ranko believes otherwise and wants him to open himself to Akane.

As Akane spirals into a nervous breakdown because of the revelation (and implications) of Ranko's existence, she presents Ranma with a moment of vulnerability that allows him (encouraged internally by Ranko) to admit his feelings to her, triggering a sea-change in their relationship. Mere hours later, as Ranma tells her about it, Ranko finds herself able to step out of the mirror and into true existence. Meanwhile, as a typhoon bears down on Tokyo, the remaining fiancées each independently decide to take advantage of the weather to claim Ranma for themselves.

When a desperate Ukyo kidnaps Ranma, Akane and Ranko team up to rescue him. However, the rescue attempt becomes a multi-sided battle involving not only all the fiancées but also Happosai, Tatewaki Kuno and Ryoga, whose secret identity as her pet P-chan Akane also discovered as a result of that fateful visit to Ranma's hideout. Akane and Ranko together hold off the others long enough for Ranma to get free, and together the three of them curbstomp the rest. Driven by a volatile mix of rage, love and emotional instability from her near-breakdown, Akane discovers her first ki attack, a newfound confidence in herself, and her place as a Saotome at the side of her love and his sister. In its aftermath, a terrified Shampoo tries an end run around Cologne's last-ditch attempt to steal Ranma, and instead finds her destined true love is... Ryoga? Meanwhile, Ukyo has her own breakdown and is committed to a psychiatric institution (and Kodachi is returned to hers). On Dr. Tofu's orders, Ranma and Akane retreat to the hideout to ensure a long, no-stress rest for her as they solidify their newly-admitted relationship.

Under any other circumstances this would be a happy ending, but no such luck. Even as Ranma and Akane explore and cement their relationship, and Ranko and Dr. Tofu begin orbiting each other, events continue to cascade. Faces both familiar and new arrive in Nerima with their own agendas and plans, some of which threaten the burgeoning relationships of the main characters. Kuno undergoes a transformation that while it makes him even more himself than before, also renders him far more of both a pest and a danger. The incestuous elements of Ranma and Ranko's original relationship refuse to die, and the nominal siblings struggle with -- and nearly succomb to -- them. Nabiki discovers a secret about Ranma's maternal family that explains much about their fathers' behaviors over the past few years. Shampoo seizes an opportunity to rebel against Cologne and her schemes, and makes Amazon history in the process.

And finally unexpected Crossover elements manifest... just in time for the incomplete story to grind to a halt, leaving everything up in the air.

The Tales of Ranma and Ranko initially look like an imaginative but otherwise standard Ranma ½ Continuation fic, in the style of so many other fan works of the late 1990s. But the further the reader gets into it the more it becomes clear that "just like the others" is anything but what it is. What is is, in fact, is a monumental aversion of Status Quo Is God combined with For Want of a Nail, possibly written as a Deconstruction of so many prior Ranma fics where his male and female aspects become separate but little else changes. Here, they separate, and inexorably everything changes in one ever-accelerating cascade of change followed by even greater change. In the matter of just a couple weeks, the comfortably comedic stasis which served Ranma ½ for nine years of publication, thirty-eight tankobon volumes, and seven seasons of anime is utterly shattered and transformed into something unrecognizable but still somehow familiar. In an astounding act of literary sleight of hand, the Staiks manage to set in motion well over a dozen plots and subplots that irretrievably and unnoticeably mutate the familiar Nerima of both canon and fanfic into something unrecognizable, juggling them deftly so that no one plot grows stale or is forgotten behind all the others.

The realization of just what was in motion, and what it might have led to, when the Staiks disappeared from the Net makes the disappointment felt at its premature end all that sharper.

The extant parts of Tales of Ranma and Ranko, in order, are:
 * Ranma's Secret
 * Ranma's Fiancées
 * A Matter of Romantic Chemistry
 * Our Wedding Day (incomplete; link goes to an archived page for the whole series with links to the individual chapters)

There also exist two short side stories, "Nabiki's Plan" and "A Greater Evil", but neither is part of the greater plot. Indeed, "Nabiki's Plan" is little more than a joke in script format, while "A Greater Evil" (credit to Lady Tesser alone) is a horror-type story that doesn't match the rest of the Tales in tone, subject or, indeed, quality.

""She ... put up with us, even loved us a little ... but we never were 'hers'.""
 * Abhorrent Admirer:
 * Wakko Warner (no, really) to Ranko for the short time he's in the story.
 * Akari eventually becomes this to Ryoga after he enters into a relationship with Shampoo. Plus, after he's back on his meds, he finds her pig fixation somewhat creepy.
 * Ina Sophia (from Medina) is this for Dr. Tofu.
 * And while Kuno remains (or becomes, depending on how you look at it) this for Ranko, after he gets his hands on Happosai's scrolls of teachings, he becomes this for basically every girl and woman in Nerima.
 * Abusive Parents: Genma, of course.  This is a Ranma ½ story, after all.  However...
 * The late and unnamed Mrs. Tendo apparently subjected the young Akane to a virtual panoply of emotional abuse, thoroughly damaging her self-esteem among other emotional issues, all of which contributed to her dysfunctional relationship with Ranma at the start of the stories.
 * In Ranma's Fiancées, Nabiki explains to Ranko that she and Akane were unplanned, unlike Kasumi, whom their mother lavished her love on. Only their father actually wanted them.


 * Ranko initially feels this is true of Nodoka.
 * Ranko initially feels this is true of Nodoka.

"[Y]ou hit my Ono-sama, ruined my tea-party, and GOT MY FAVORITE SKIRT DIRTY!"
 * Accidental Public Confession:
 * With a careful combination of neutral comments and leading questions, Nabiki gets Nodoka to admit that Ranma is not Genma's son, as well as the given name of his real father, by suggesting that she and Kasumi know most or all of that information already.
 * The tables are turned on Nabiki when in a moment of stress she admits to both sleeping with Jiro/Pantyhose and that Ichiro might be her father. In front of Kasumi.
 * Accidentally Accurate: Ranko's rant at Nodoka about abandoning Ranma to Genma early in A Matter of Romantic Chemistry is just vague enough in details for Nodoka to think Ranko is talking about herself -- and that leads Nodoka to believe that Ranko is Ranma's long-dead twin sister, who was not stillborn as the hospital had told her.  Upon hearing the whole story Kasumi is convinced (and then at least partly convinces Ranko) that Ranko's soul is that of the unnamed sister.
 * Adults Are Useless: Averted throughout the story, especially with Ryoga's (and Ranma's, and Taro's, and...) father Ichiro -- who can effortlessly defeat any of his children.
 * All Love Is Unrequited: In general averted, but Nabiki has a thing for Kuno that she knows will never work out.
 * In the wake of her fight with Tofu, Ranko angsts that this may be her lot in life.
 * Animal Talk: Variation: different species appear to have their own languages.  Ryoga in pig form, P-Chan and Akari's pigs are all mutually comprehensible.  Similarly, cat!Shampoo and her cat mirror twin can speak with each other.  In Our Wedding Day, P-chan and one of Akari's pig minions hold an extended conversation in her presence which she doesn't even seem to notice.
 * Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Played with in Ina's reasons for finally unleashing on Ranko:

"Ranma settled back to watch. He'd never admit it, but Nabiki's talent for off-the-cuff bullshit both impressed and entertained him enormously."
 * Babies Ever After: Seems to be in the offing in Our Wedding Day, as well as an explicit goal for some characters.  Shampoo has her adopted son (and is looking forward to more with Ryoga).  Cologne is scheming to arrange a child born of Ranma and Ranko for the Amazons to raise.  Ukyo, having given up on Ranma and starting a relationship with Konatsu, dreams of tiny little androgynous children in ninja garb wielding spatulas.
 * Badass Cape: Akari starts wearing a pink, ruffled one -- to go with the rest of her pink and pig-themed ensemble -- as part of her transformation into a Super Villain.
 * Badass Longcoat: Once Akari starts going full Super Villain, she begins to dispatch trained pig spies wearing them.
 * Battle Aura: Akane initially has trouble controlling hers, which is a problem because it's a hot aura that can start fires.
 * Bavarian Fire Drill: One of Nabiki's skills.  She uses a mix of confusion, distraction and outright lying to get the fathers to sign paperwork that defeats their plan to swindle Ranma out of his inheritance without either checking that it's actually she says it is.  She later cleverly baffles reporters who've caught scent of the inheritance and are besieging the Tendo home.

"Inside, Yuka asked Akane "Is it always like this?" Akane looked at her. "Is *what* always like this?" The visiting schoolgirls facefaulted."
 * BDSM: Ina Sophia, despite her outward Kawaiiko appearance and behavior, is into seriously hard bondage while apparently not being too concerned about things like consent on the part of her chosen partner.  Which is the major reason she's an Abhorrent Admirer for Dr. Tofu, whose one date with her went... disastrously wrong from his point of view.
 * Because Destiny Says So: Ranko's intuition about why she's shifted her purpose from running off with Ranma to getting him and Akane together.
 * An ambiguously-worded prophecy convinces Lady Aga of the Phoenix People that she and Ranma are destined marry.
 * Beneath the Mask: Kasumi's canon simple and oblivious personality is a mask explicitly donned by a far more complex woman as part of the means she uses to keep the household peace.  However, she begins to drop it when she reaches out to and starts establishing a relationship with Pantyhose Taro early in A Matter of Romantic Chemistry, and it erodes further when the fathers' intent to swindle Ranma out of his inheritance is discovered.  By Our Wedding Day the mask seems to have been abandoned entirely.
 * Beware the Nice Ones: Akari Unryuu, Ryoga's ex-girlfriend.  Canonically sweet and innocent, after becoming increasingly upset and frustrated at Shampoo "stealing" Ryoga followed by an accidental dose of "Rage Essence", Akari seems to have crossed some kind of threshold and can't stop being angry, nor does she seem to want to.
 * Bi the Way: Once she gets over her jealousy issues and finally opens up to Ranma, Akane has absolutely no qualms about sex with his girl form.  But probably only his girl form.
 * The Big Damn Kiss: Near the end of Ranma's Secret Ranma and Akane get a kiss that, despite not being overly dramatic or energetic, is a major turning point in their relationship.
 * Bigger on the Inside: Ichiro's sample case.  Nabiki suspects he uses some variation on the Hidden Weapons technique to pack it.
 * Brother-Sister Incest: A powerful current running under the entire series from the very beginning.
 * Ranma and Ranko's relationship is initially cast as a romantic one frustrated by her existence only as a spirit on the other side of a mirror from him. Even so she is working on getting Ranma and Akane together.  When she is given an independent physical existence, she seeks romantic love elsewhere... but their attraction, based on their original intimate connection as two souls sharing the same body, keeps resurfacing and causing tensions between Ranma and Akane.  Along the line Nodoka acquires the erroneous belief that the two have had a sexual relationship and, as befits her intentional swerve from the traditionalist martinet she was, tries to support her children even in such an unconventional relationship.  And Cologne schemes to arrange, via long-distance magic, a child on Ranko by Ranma for the Amazons to raise.  In part because of her efforts, Ranma and Ranko come dangerously close to having sex near the end of the extant material but manage to resist their impulses.
 * Away from the primary plot, one reason Jiro is initially annoyed at his father is because Ichiro failed to warn him that Rose Petal, his first love, was also his half-sister until after they had become lovers and planned on marrying.
 * Then there is concern that history might have repeated itself when Nabiki -- with whom Jiro had had a weekend-long fling in a Love Hotel -- discovers she may be another of Ichiro's children..
 * And finally, in the last extant chapter of Our Wedding Day, Ryoga is disturbed to discover that one of the strippers hired for the bachelor party thrown for him and Ranma is his sister Miyumi -- in part because he had found her attractive. (And Miyumi doesn't seem at all upset that he did.)  It's unknown where this would have gone, but it seems likely that it was the start of yet another parallel thread of incestuous attraction in the plot.
 * Brown Note: Tofu's canonical crazy behavior in Kasumi's presence turns out not to be because he's in love with her, like everyone (including him) believed, but because there's something about her biochemistry to which he's allergic, and which causes him to suffer epileptic-like seizures around her.
 * But for Me It Was Tuesday: This moment from Our Wedding Day:

"At first, Nabiki thought she'd found the journal of a playboy, but the notes also had travel schedules and sales records. The notes about the women showed concern and caring, and a genuine interest in them. Lonely women, needing a shoulder to weep on, always found it in Ichiro Hibiki.  She smirked to herself."
 * Calling the Old Woman Out:
 * Early in A Matter of Romantic Chemistry, Ranko rips into Nodoka for abandoning Ranma to Genma's tender mercies, calling her an unfit mother who kicks babies into the street.
 * In a more formal and limited way, the Matriarch's Challenge that Shampoo issues to Cologne turns one of these into a formal battle of wills and personalities.
 * The Casanova: Averted by Ichiro.  Although he's generally believed to be a Casanova by everyone who hears about his history (and offspring), it's not the case at all.  He's a caring, empathetic man who is pathetically incapable of a crying, unhappy woman:


 * Oddly, he doesn't seem bothered by the general perception that he is a Casanova, and is rather flippant about it.

"Nabiki shook her head. "What ever happened to little Akane 'Death-To-All-Perverts' Tendo?" Ranko chuckled. "She's been kidnapped by aliens and replaced by Akane 'Let's-Try-*This*-With-Chocolate-Sauce' Saotome.""
 * Casanova Wannabe: Kuno after he finds (and studies, and embraces the lessons in) Happosai's scrolls.
 * Cast from Hit Points: Basically how Akane fueled her ki attacks during the fight at Ukyo's restaurant; although it was instinctive on her part, Dr. Tofu identifies it as a technique called "The Heart's Fire".
 * Casual Kink:
 * Shampoo's Inner Monologues make it clear she's not a "vanilla" girl; there's a point in A Matter of Romantic Chemistry where she muses about teaching Ryoga to "appreciate her tastes for chocolate sauce and silk scarves and all sorts of role-playing". Earlier passages make it clear she is (or was) rather promiscuous and not at all opposed to group sex with more than one guy at once.
 * Akane also loosens up dramatically and becomes sexually adventurous:


 * To her own shock and surprise, Akane discovers in Our Wedding Day that she has an exhibitionist streak -- and is a bit of a voyeur as well.

"The next few days passed quietly. No mysterious supernatural occurrences, no monster attacks, no duels of super-powered martial artists. Peace and quiet reigned. Of course, this bizarre and unnatural event made the residents of Nerima terrified. Then the People's Turnip Liberation Strikeforce attacked an all-you-can-eat vegetarian restaurant with barbeque-sauce bombs and tried to free the salad toppings into the wild, and everyone relaxed."
 * City of Weirdos: Nerima, as is common in later Ranma fic, is a place where the weird and bizarre is commonplace:

""Can I have your autograph?" she asked excitedly. "I'm a really big of yours! I've got all your manga!""
 * Clone Degeneration: Appears to be what's behind  -- a scene in Our Wedding Day reveals (to the reader) that she's.
 * Closer to Earth: Ranko, but she doesn't quite have a perfect handle on living as an independent being.
 * Continuation: It's not explicitly identified as a continuation fic, but it begins no more than two weeks or so after the end of the manga.
 * Contrived Coincidence: Ryoga's mother and sister are strippers at the bachelor party Jiro throws for him and Ranma in the last extant chapter.
 * Covert Pervert: Implied of Kasumi -- Ranko notes that Kasumi's tastes in literature are racy enough to leave her blushing.  But even if she is, she's not enough of a pervert to remain in the house once Ranma and Akane are married and having sex; after one very noisy night she starts looking for her own place.
 * Crossover: Firmly in play as of chapter 10 of Our Wedding Day, when Lina Inverse of Slayers arrives in Tokyo.  Sadly, the extant material ends before we see the payoff for this.
 * Curse Cut Short: There are more than a few, particularly in the scene in Dr. Tofu's office right after the fight with kaiju!Pantyhose in A Matter of Romantic Chemistry.
 * Cuteness Proximity: Shampoo around.
 * Dead Fic: Abandoned in early 2002 when its authors abruptly vanished from the Net with no explanation.
 * Deus Ex Machina: The Amazonian "Love-Wish Ring".
 * Demon Head: Lste in Our Wedding Day, Nabiki demonstrates that she knows how to perform this technique.
 * Amusingly, the actual gods involved in the first two stories get too much focus and background detail to count as deos ex machina.
 * Damsel in Distress: Ranko, caught up in Ina Sophia's "tea party" at Tofu's office, when she thinks that Ina's a non-combatant and can't be attacked by her Warrior's Code.  She screams for help when her father calls -- but when she realizes that Ina can give as good as she gets, the gloves come off and she doesn't restrict herself to nonviolent means.
 * Distracted by the Sexy: Kuno, upon joining the battle at Ukyo's near the end of Ranma's Fiancées.  He simply freezes at the sight of nearly half a dozen girls who are soaking wet, half-naked or both, making it easy to take him out of the fight entirely.
 * Divine Intervention: Why the mirror allows Ranma and Ranko to speak to each other, and why Ranko was able to step out of it -- the Japanese deities Benzaiten and O-Kuni-Nushi are responsible -- and typical of gods have more than one reason and purpose behind their interventions.
 * They also get involved in.
 * Doomsday Device: Toward the end of the extant portion of Our Wedding Day Akari is explicitly described as working on one.
 * Doting Parent: Shampoo becomes this for.
 * Dude in Distress: Ranma gets kidnapped by Ukyo -- and then tied up with a mass of noodles (hey, it's Ukyo) -- toward the end of Ranma's Fiancées, requiring Ranko and Akane to go to his rescue.
 * Mocked with Tofu's reactions to Ina Sophia -- which include running to the Tendo home, hiding in the hamper, and begging Ranko to protect him.
 * Early Installment Weirdness: Played with.  The first chapter of Ranma's Secret was originally released as a stand-alone story, and makes no bones about the relationship between Ranma and Ranko being a romantic one frustrated by her lack of a separate physical existence from his.  The rest of Ranma's Secret and the beginning of Ranma's Fiancées go to extreme lengths to explain this away -- but then the entire over-arching plot of the stories suddenly pivots on its heel, and the incestuous subtext between Ranma and Ranko resurfaces and becomes one of the conflicts driving the plot of the remaining material.
 * Eloquent in My Native Tongue: Shampoo hates how limited her Japanese is and how it makes her sound like a bimbo; given the option she prefers to use Mandarin or English.  (In particular, after the events of Ranma's Fiancées, she speaks exclusively in Mandarin to Ryoga, who replies in Japanese.)  A fair amount of the stories is actually told from her point of view, and seeing her thoughts and native-language dialogue reveals a far more complex -- and irreverent -- character than most fanfics portray.
 * Embarrassing First Name: Principal Kuno.  No, it's not "Paulette", although a bystander suggests it might be.  It turns out to be "Koneko" (Japanese for "kitten").
 * Erotic Dream: In A Matter of Romantic Chemistry, Tofu has several about Ranko after her first night on the job as his receptionist, which appear to have been arranged for him by a friendly succubus he knows.  Ranko, in turn, has her own erotic dreams and daydreams about Tofu.  And eventually the two of them have a shared erotic dream (which the succubus denies having any part in).
 * Everything's Better with Bob: One of Dr. Tofu's patients is a tentacle monster whose three-hundred-syllable name is ungainly and almost impossible for humans to pronounce, so he goes by "Bob".
 * Evil Laugh: In Our Wedding Day Akari involuntarily develops one, and keeps telling herself to stop doing that.
 * Exact Eavesdropping: There are multiple aversions of this trope throughout the series, as different people overhear conversations but fail to hear critical information, then jump to incorrect conclusions about the matters being discussed.  It drives part of the story's comedy -- and in one case leaves Nodoka with a fundamental misapprehension about the nature of Ranma and Ranko's relationship which isn't resolved by the end of the extant material.
 * Extremely Short Timespan: Ranma's Secret and Ranma's Fiancées seem to take place over the course of a week or less, with part of the first story and almost all of the second happening in the last 48 hours of that time. Nabiki even notes in Ranma's Fiancées that everything has happened very quickly, almost improbably so -- it's been less than three weeks since the failed wedding from the end of the manga.
 * Face Fault: Everyone when Kasumi addresses Ranko as "Ko-chan" upon first seeing her.  And numerous times after this.
 * Fan Girl: Akane is a massive fan of Bob the tentacle monster.

"Jiro groaned. "There are *more*?" Rose Petal rolled her eyes heavenward. "Figures. Stupid-Father no breed - Stupid-Father pollinate.""
 * Father of a Thousand Bastards: Ichiro Hibiki, Traveling Salesman.


 * Featureless Plane of Disembodied Dialogue:
 * Chapter one of Ranma's Secret plays out like this because Akane and Nabiki can only overhear what's being said, and can't see the speakers.
 * Any conversations between Benzaiten and O-Kuni-Nushi work out this way, mostly, too.
 * For Want of a Nail: Ranma's discovery that Ranko is a full person in her own right (thanks to a little Divine Intervention) sets in motion a massive cascade of changes away from the status quo in Nerima.
 * The Force Is Strong with This One: In Our Wedding Day, Cologne notes that Rose Petal is "gifted in sensing the Unseen Forces" when she asks about the magic she sensed the prior night.  Since the magic was something Cologne did that she wanted to keep hidden, she gave a deliberately misleading response while noting she'd have to be more careful.
 * Foreshadowing:
 * Benzaiten and O-Kuni-Nushi discussing an unnamed someone they intend to pair with Ranko just before they change the enchantment on the mirror to allow Ranko to step out of it.
 * Indeed, the change to the mirror itself.
 * The weather report heard at the end of Ranma's Secret.
 * O-Kuni-Nushi's warning to Benzaiten not to speak to a person named "Random".
 * Freak-Out: Akane's near-breakdowns first upon learning of Ranko's existence, then after the battle in the storm at the end of Ranma's Fiancées are both quiet and calm but very much examples of this trope.
 * Ukyo's inability to cope with the reality of Ranma and Akane's relationship at the end of Ranma's Fiancées (and subsequent institutionalization) is a much more typical instance.
 * Freud Was Right: The "weird dreams" Ranma remembers from during Ranko's periods when they shared a body: "Donuts and pocky, bullet trains in tunnels..."  Lampshaded by Nabiki, who comments "Gee, how Freudian."
 * Friend Versus Lover: One of the themes of the extant material is just exactly what kind of relationship Ranko will have with Ranma -- especially after and despite the beginnings of her relationship with Dr. Tofu.
 * Frying Pan of Doom: Makes several appearances in A Matter of Romantic Chemistry, usually applied to Mousse.
 * The frying pan also turns out to be a weapon in Kasumi's personal Art, and she is most adept at its use in combat.
 * Functional Magic: Dr. Tofu turns out to have learned a variety of Rule Magic while on his walkabout, from Ina Sophia, who turns into his Abhorrent Admirer.

""Ugh," he commented. "
 * Get Rich Quick Scheme: Apparently, when Nodoka first met them, Genma and Soun had just sunk all their life savings in a door-to-door yak butter distributorship.  Given the lack of a profitable yak butter business in the current day, you can guess where that went.
 * Girls Love Stuffed Animals: Of course Ina Sophia has a plush bunny.  She calls him Mister Snugglekins.
 * Give Me a Sign: After Kasumi convinces him that he has no reason not to choose his own new name, Taro goes out looking for a sign to help him decide what that name will be.  Not long into his walk, he is literally smacked in the face by a sign for "Jiro's Arcade" just as he's considering "Jiro Hibiki".

"DISCLAIMER: Nabiki is innocent of any and all wrong-doing. (She paid me to say that.)"
 * Good People Have Good Sex: Ranma and Akane, starting in A Matter of Romantic Chemistry.
 * Great Escape: Kodachi Kuno -- incarcerated in a mental institution as of the start of the stories -- stages a jailbreak during the typhoon at the end of Ranma's Fiancées, using improvised rhythmic gymnastics tools.
 * Green-Eyed Epiphany: Despite Akane's jealousy this is actually averted in Ranma's Secret.  It's made very clear that Akane didn't realize her feelings for Ranma because she realized she was jealous, but because Ranko recognized, understood and explained those feelings to Ranma and she overheard it, allowing her to finally understand her own behavior.
 * Green-Eyed Monster: Akane is initially wracked with jealousy and suspicion of Ranko -- and quite reasonably so, given how she and Ranma expressed their feelings for each other in the first chapter of Ranma's Secret.
 * Half-Identical Twins: Ranma and Ranko.  Dr. Tofu identifies them as "diploid" twins, and genetic testing confirms it.  As far as DNA is concerned, they're both related to their parents, but they're not related to each other.  (Which just complicates the Brother-Sister Incest subplot.)
 * Heartbreak and Ice Cream: Used by Akane to calm down Ranko after the literal explosion of her fight win Ina.
 * Hello, Nurse!: Invoked by Wakko Warner (no, really) when he encounters Ranko as Dr. Tofu's receptionist in A Matter of Romantic Chemistry.
 * Hold Up Your Score:
 * Ranma and Akane score Ranko's first pounding of Kuno this way early in Ranma's Fiancées.
 * In Our Wedding Day, the women in the Tendo household score Dr. Tofu's butt when his pants get torn off.
 * Horny Devils: One of Tofu's "exotic customers" is a succubus (first class) named Eryala whom he apparently knows very well -- and who arranges a few Erotic Dreams for him.
 * Humongous Mecha: As part of a plan to force Ranma and Akane to repeat their senior year at Furinkan, Principal Kuno unleashes a giant mecha made of palm trees, coconuts and tiki statues.  Unfortunately for him, it doesn't actually do anything because he forgot to appropriate the school budget to by electric motors for it.
 * I Do Not Own: Played for Laughs. Each chapter has its own disclaimer, which get playful and strange as the story goes on, with things like:

"Cologne cleared her throat, and pogoed ahead to the back door, saying, "Come along, time to get him. You're sweating off the Jusenkyo Soap already." "It hot in raincoat, Hiba-chan," Shampoo replied, following her. &lt;If this ruins my skin, you little monkey, I'm going to kill you!>"
 * I Need a Freaking Drink: After hearing the women in the Tendo household discuss their respective men's... ahem, male endowments (and Ranko her own, in male form), Sasuke retreats to his room and his emergency stash of tequila.
 * If You Ever Do Anything to Hurt Her...: When he starts seeing Kasumi seriously, Ranma casually gives Jiro/Pantyhose a warning: "Make her unhappy, and you'll have to die, of course."  Ryoga agrees with him -- and so does Jiro.
 * Imagine Spot: Ryoga gets one early in Ranma's Fiancées when he fantasizes how things will go, if not back to the status quo, then to an evolution of it that benefits him.
 * The Immodest Orgasm: Ranma and Akane, during their retreat to Ranma's hidden apartment over the school gym in the early part of A Matter of Romantic Chemistry.  At least one of them is regularly making noises that convince students and staff that the gym is haunted and/or possessed.
 * Later, once they're home, Ranma and Akane continue being loud, to the point that Nabiki complains frequently,
 * And when Cologue casts a lust spell at the Tendo household from afar in Our Wedding Day, it's not just Ranma and Akane, but Ranko and Tofu... and Nabiki and Kuno. The neighbors complain, and Kasumi starts looking through classified ads for her own place.
 * Incest Subtext: Averted.  There is no incestuous subtext in this story.  It is very firmly in the text.
 * Inner Monologue: Shampoo gets many examples which starkly contrast what she does and says in Cologne's presence to what she's actually thinking:

""Nice try, Obi-wan. You ain't the first goob to try that in the past three thousand years.""
 * Other characters get their turns at being the viewpoint character with their own Inner Monologues visible to the reader, but Shampoo seems to be one of the most prominent.
 * Innocent Innuendo: Chapter 5 of Ranma's Fiancées starts with a passage where Nabiki overhears something that sounds like Ranko and Ranma sneaking off to have sex -- but which turns out to be them playing a video game together.
 * It Runs in The Family: The Hibiki blood seems to carry not only outstanding physical/martial arts prowess (one unnamed non-martial artist child of Ichiro is an Olympic athlete), but a certain degree of irresistable curiosity, and frequently problems with temper/anger (although this may simply be the result of annoyance with their father).
 * Japanese Honorifics: Becomes a plot point when Ranko expresses her anger with Nodoka by explicitly rejecting the older woman's use of the "-chan" honorific plus her first name, and demands that Nodoka call her "Saotome-san".
 * Later, one can track how Ranko's acknowledgment of her feelings for Dr. Tofu progress by the way she goes from "Tofu-sensei" to "Ono-san" to "Ono-kun" over the course of A Matter of Romantic Chemistry.
 * Jedi Mind Trick: Tofu tries get the cooperation of the unsympathetic harbor master of a Chinese shadow port with a magical effect along these lines.  It doesn't work.

""{We are really [CENSORED] now,}" Shampoo whispered in her native tongue."
 * Kawaiiko:
 * Ina Sophia is this to a tooth-rotting degree -- Cologne at one point describes her as the "Anti-Amazon". Her sweetness and apparent innocence even radiates in her aura.  Which makes her interest in non-consenual bondage and fetishwear all the more of a shock to Dr. Tofu when she reveals it.
 * Akari Unryuu somehow manages to be kawaii even as she's turning herself into a Super Villainess to get Ryoga back.
 * Ki Attacks:
 * Ranko discovers she can't use Ranma's ki attacks, and eventually develops her own variations on them, tailored to her own personality and style.
 * By the end of Ranma's Fiancées, Akane figures out how to use her Battle Aura as part of a devastating hand-to-hand attack, although initially it's dangerously draining.
 * She also develops a ranged heat-based attack she calls the Jeigoku Seisatsu.
 * Ryoga's ability to perform his depression-fueled shi shi hokodan is reliant on him staying off his anti-psychotic medications. When he's properly medicated he's unable to muster up sufficient depression to generate it.
 * Kryptonite Factor: After her separation from Ranma, Ranko has almost perfectly pure female ki -- making her dangerously vulnerable to Happosai's ability to drain female ki.  (Ranma has almost perfectly pure male ki at the same time, but nobody wants to drain that.)
 * Principal Kuno's Embarrassing First Name. Like Rumpelstiltskin, when it is revealed he vanishes permanently (or so the narration implies), burrowing into the ground and disappearing.
 * Left Hanging: The authors vanished from the Net without warning after posting part 17 of Our Wedding Day, leaving pretty much every plot thread unresolved:
 * Lina vs. Ina
 * The identity of "Random"
 * The identity of Ryoga's unnamed grandfather
 * The Ranko/Tofu romance arc
 * The resolution of the (nominally) incestuous attraction between Ranma and Ranko and its impact on Ranma and Akane's relationship
 * Akane's continuing rounds of self-discovery
 * The development of the fourth Amazon village/colony
 * Cologne's long-distance magical meddling with the Saotome-Hibiki family
 * Mousse and Rose Petal's relationship
 * The Phoenix Warriors and Lady Aga
 * The locations and plans of Jiro's monstrous mirror-self
 * Ukyo and Konatsu's relationship, and their new restaurant away from Nerima.
 * Lemon: There once was an explicit version of Ranma and Akane's first sexual explorations during the typhoon in Ranma's Fiancées (see Lime, below) published separately from the main story, but it seems to have been lost in the years since the authors vanished.
 * At least one sequence in Our Wedding Day firmly straddles the line between Lime and Lemon.
 * Lime: Ranma and Akane's sexual explorations during the typhoon in Ranma's Fiancées are presented with just barely enough detail to allow the reader to figure out what they're doing, without actually describing anything that's happening.
 * Relationships and sexuality eventually become primary themes in Our Wedding Day (mostly) without getting too explicit.
 * Literal Genie: The "Love-Wish Ring", an Amazonian magical artifact pulled out by Cologne as a last resort for acquiring Ranma for Shampoo and the Amazons after Ranma, Ranko and Akane definitively curb stomp everyone at the end of Ranma's Fiancées.  As her only chance to prevent what she sees as her imminent death at Akane's hands should she succeed at stealing Ranma with a wish, Shampoo specifically wishes not for Ranma, but for her "one true love" to appear.
 * Long Con:.
 * Luke, I Am Your Father: Ryoga's father Ichiro turns out to be Ranma's actual father, as well as the father of Pantyhose Tarou, at least one Chinese Amazon... and maybe Nabiki.  Among many others, apparently.
 * Magic Mirror: The ordinary mirror, trashpicked by Ranma, which initially allows him to communicate with Ranko, and then acts as a gateway for her (and later other Jusenkyo-born spirits) to step through.  It was enchanted by the explicit action of the Japanese deities Benzaiten and, later, O-Kuni-Nushi.
 * Magic Skirt: Averted on at least one occasion, when Akane has to tuck up her skirt so it won;t fall around her face while doing some gymnastic climbing.
 * Make a Wish: Cologne's last-ditch try at acquiring Ranma for the Amazons at the end of Ranma's Fiancées is the "Love-Wish Ring", a Amazonian magical artifact.  (It doesn't work as expected when Shampoo words her wish so as to give herself a chance to avoid being murdered by Akane after it's granted.)
 * Mama's Baby, Papa's Maybe: Apparently averted for Ichiro Hibiki's children -- all the ones we see (and/or their mothers), at least, are aware he's their father (because he keeps tabs on all the children he knows of, and their mothers).  Ichiro is initially unaware that he is Ranma's (and Ranko's) father, and this fact is also hidden (temporarily) from Ranma for various good-intentioned reasons, but Nodoka always knew.
 * Played straight with Miyumi Hibiki, Ryoga's sister. Their mother Ichiko isn't sure who her father is, except it's not Ichiro.
 * Martial Arts and Crafts: For a Ranma fic there are suprisingly few:
 * The Ninja School of Notary Martial Arts, a practitioner of which is present to notarize the last document needed to short-circuit the fathers' scam -- a contract formalizing the gifting of the dojo to Ranma and Akane upon their marriage -- and deliver it to the relevant city office to make it all official.
 * The very concept is mocked In-Universe with a discussion of a theoretical "Martial Arts Clogging" style. Ranko forbids mentioning it around Ranma, because he would be in tap shoes in an instant.
 * Meaningful Rename: After Kasumi convinces Pantyhose Taro he need not follow the traditions of a village he hates and will never return to, and after he receives a sign what that name should be, he renames himself "Jiro Hibiki".  In the wake of the rename he seems more inclined to accept his role in his larger family, and seeks to become worthy of courting Kasumi.
 * Shampoo renames "Kondishonaa" ("Conditioner") as part of "raising him right".
 * Menstrual Menace: All the Tendo girls and Ranko in the last few extant chapters of Our Wedding Day.
 * Mind Control: In the hopes of getting a Saotome-Saotome child for the Amazons to raise, Cologne -- at the time on a ship returning to China -- essentially targets the Tendo home with a combination lust/compulsion spell.  Twice.  Her intent was to drive Ranma to impregnate Ranko; she didn't count on Ranma's will power, the depth of his feelings for Akane -- and the presence of other people in the home the second, stronger time.
 * Mistaken for Gay: A bit of Mother Tofu's Inner Monologue reveals that Tofu's father was convinced his son was "a fairy".
 * Modesty Bedsheet: After Akane runs right from the bath to Ranma's room at the climax of Ranma's Secret, and he realizes she's nude, she takes his sheet and wraps it around herself.
 * Most Common Superpower: Ranko (and female Ranma)'s bust size is ridiculously exaggerated in these stories, with one cup from Ranko's bra large enough to fit on a man's head like a knit cap or leather aviator's helmet.
 * Mysterious Parent: Ichiro Hibiki is this for Ranma just long enough to get everyone wondering, then promptly appears while looking for Ryoga and is identified.
 * Ryoga has a Mysterious Grandfather, who sends him a cryptic letter in Our Wedding Days.
 * Narrative Profanity Filter: There are multiple cases where the authors replace presumably obscene language with what amounts to text Censor Boxes, such as:

""You're not mad at me?" Kikuko asked in surprise. Nabiki hugged her tight. "Not at all! In fact, you have finally proven worthy of being my heir!" Kikuko would have facefaulted except Nabiki was holding her too tight. Nabiki smiled. "When I depart to take over the underworld of some college, *you* will be the Hard Bitch of Furinkan, Mistress of Bookies, and Holder of All The Secrets!" Several people nearby quickly bowed, hoping to get into Kikuko's good graces right off. "Yes, *you*!" Nabiki continued. "You'll have the Secret Photo Lab, the Hidden File Cabinet, the Master Password to the Computer System, and even... the Little Book!" Kikuko's eyes grew wide. "*THE* 'Little Book'? The one with ... *those* phone numbers in it?" Nabiki nodded, and Kikuko decided to faint."
 * Naughty Tentacles: One of Dr. Tofu's "exotic clientele" is a tentacle monster named Bob, who models for hentai manga.  Nabiki turns out to be his agent.  (And Akane is a massive fan of his work.)
 * Ninja: As part of transforming herself into a Super Villain, Akari changes her pigs' training from sumo to ninjitsu, and sets them (unsuccessfully) on Shampoo.
 * No Medication for Me: Ryoga turns out to need anti-psychotic medication, but has refused to take it because its effects prevent him from performing his signature Ki Attack. (And because it gives him heartburn.) Once his father ensures that he takes his meds properly and regularly, Ryoga calms down considerably, gets in a relationship with one of Ranma's former fiancées, and becomes a valued friend and ally to Ranma.
 * No Periods, Period: Expressly averted in Our Wedding Day.  Ranko's the first, but when all the women in the Tendo home get their period at the same time, Ranma flees as quickly as possible.  By pure coincidence, Lina Inverse's period begins at the same time as well.
 * No Social Skills: Ranma is baffled by the "rules and rituals of politeness and civilized behavior" (due to Genma deliberately depriving him of any experience in them) and at least initially relies on Ranko to navigate through them.
 * Non-Lethal Warfare: Averted -- Ryoga and Shampoo actually kill a large number of Akari's ninja pigs when they attack the Nekohanten.  Subsequently, the restaurant has a lot of pork specials added to its menu.
 * Noodle Incident: The off-screen "Cantaloupe Incident" which contributes substantially to Sasuke's decision to quit working for Kuno.
 * Apparently Eryala is responsible for Tofu expriencing a few of these. Naturally no details are forthcoming.
 * Oblivious to Love: Both Tofu and Ranko are (at least initially) oblivious to each other's attraction to them.  However they do get past it.
 * Only a Flesh Wound: Jiro's claim when Tofu suggested that he's too injured for a second go at his monstrous mirror counterpart.  Subverted in that he really is too injured, and comes out of the subsequent battle even worse off.
 * The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: Ranko may be pissed off at Dr. Tofu in Our Wedding Day, but she doesn't want anyone beating him up on her behalf.  He's her boyfriend -- if anyone's going to beat him up, it'll be her.
 * Only Six Faces: Explained In-Universe as a consequence of Ichiro Hibiki being everyone's father.
 * Only the Chosen May Wield: As an Amazonian artifact, the Love-Wish Ring will only work for women, as Mousse discovers when he grabs it and wishes for Shampoo to love him.
 * Orphaned Series
 * Out-of-Character is Serious Business: A couple cases:
 * Ryoga's complete personality shift when medicated is a key plot point.
 * Similarly, Kasumi's true personality, hidden behind (as she puts it) a facade of simple obliviousness, begins to creep out and allows her a chance to find her own happiness.
 * In the face of Ranko's initial hatred of her, as well as other factors that confound her traditionalist views, Nodoka makes a deliberate decision to abandon the strict positions to which she had hitherto adhered and allow her children (and herself) to seek happiness through non-traditional paths.
 * Passing the Torch: When Nabiki finds out just how far her former flunky Kikuko will stoop in her attempts to become her replacement/competition (Kikuko sold a copy of the video tape Nabiki holds as blackmail on her to a porn studio), she knows that she's finally found a worthy successor:

""Normally, I wouldn't stoop to violence ... but you hit my Ono-sama, ruined my tea-party, and GOT MY FAVORITE SKIRT DIRTY! THIS MEANS WAR!!""
 * Plot Twist: The ending of the first chapter of Ranma's Secret, which was originally a stand-alone short story.  Throughout it, Akane and Nabiki were hidden out of sight of Ranma and the unknown but familiar-sounding girl and unable to look without revealing themselves.  It's only in the final moments of the story that Nabiki dares to peek -- and sees Ranko in the mirror.
 * Porky Pig Pronunciation: While drunk, Genma can't seem to pronounce "seppuku" even after several tries, and has to resort to "disembowled".
 * Raise Him Right This Time: At the end of Ranma's Fiancées, .  His original personality and knowledge is explicitly noted to have been suppressed or erased entirely; Shampoo adopts him and explicitly invokes this trope.
 * Rapunzel Hair: Rose Petal, whose hair goes to her ankles.
 * Reaching the Clouds and Rain: Akane uses this phrase during her first sexual explorations with Ranma during the typhoon in Ranma's Fiancées.
 * Really Gets Around: Shampoo, before she discovers that Ryoga is her destined true love, seems to have been very sexually active behind Cologne's back, occasionally thinking about her various partners and what she has done (or will do) with them.  At a moment when the readers can see her thoughts she admits to having had sex with dozens of men.  We also learn that she and Pantyhose Taro had a weekend-long fling.  And that she slept at least once with Dr. Tofu.
 * Redshirt Army: Akari's ninja pigs, who attack the Nekohanten en masse only for most of them to be killed by Shampoo and Ryoga.
 * Right-Hand-Cat: Parodied in Our Wedding Day with P-chan, whom Akari keeps tied up and hanging from her neck like a pendant.
 * Running Gag:
 * Ichiro Hibiki discovering he has more and more children. (Plus his reactions from discovering anyone who is a "near miss".)
 * Ranma being attacked by drug-crazed (and apparently incompetent) spearmen from the Cult of the Holy Shoes is a running gag across the Staiks' writing as a whole; unsurprisingly the Cult makes two appearances in the course of the stories.
 * Samurai: In addition to training ninja pigs as her minions, super-villainess!Akari also trains up (and equips!) a cadre of samurai pigs.
 * Seers: The late Mrs. Tendo apparently had the Second Sight, which Kasumi inherited.  This is expressed in Kasumi's case mostly as being precognitive, for instance knowing ahead of time when to have a full tea service ready, and at several points across the four stories she deliberately "looks ahead" to see visions of the future, varying in clarity and focus.  Averted when she is utterly surprised by Nodoka's pregnancy, which only becomes "visible" to her when she is informed of it mundanely.
 * Nabiki has also inherited the ability, but to a far lesser degree. However, thanks to some training with Kasumi, she can still use it (with preparation and concentration) -- and does so to find.
 * Servile Snarker: Sasuke, regarding the Kunos, in the brief moments where we see his Inner Monologue.
 * Sexy Schoolwoman: Ranko's initial try at a school uniform -- worn on her first day at Furinkan in A Matter of Romantic Chemistry -- looks, according to Nabiki, like it belongs in a Soapland.  (Which is Japanese for "she looks like a stripper".)  Ranko quickly realizes she's overdoing it, and dials it back several notches.
 * Ship Sinking: In opposition to the vast majority of Ranma fics from its era, Tales of Ranma and Ranko boldly torpedoes the hallowed "Tofu/Kasumi" ship in favor of "Tofu/Ranko" and "Kasumi/Jiro ".  This is aided by the innovative re-interpretation of Tofu's canon crazy behavior around Kasumi as a kind of seizure caused by actually being allergic to her biochemistry.  The fan-favorite Ryoga/Ukyo ship never even sails here, replaced by Ryoga/Shampoo and Ukyo/Konatsu.
 * Shippers on Deck: Benzaiten and O-Kuni-Nushi.  They make their interventions explicitly to get not only Ranma and Akane together, but also Ranko and Doctor Tofu.
 * Shotgun Wedding: Nodoka reveals that this is how she and Genma were married, when she (and because) was two months pregnant with Ranma.
 * Sickeningly Sweethearts: Ranma and Akane once they finally admit their feelings to each other.
 * Smite Me, O Mighty Smiter!: A variation appears when Ranma and Ranko discover their still-present, complementary curses.  Ranma looks up at the sky and shouts, "This is your idea of a joke, isn't it?"
 * Spank the Cutie: Becomes a regular, if off-screen, part of Ranma and Akane's romantic play.  We only ever see people commenting on having witnessed them spanking each other -- except for a moment near the end of the extant material where Ranma actually threatens to never spank Akane again if she doesn't reveal Principal Kuno's given name.  (It Makes Sense in Context.)
 * Spit-Take: Akane, when she learns her friend Yuka is an occasional model for tentacle monster hentai manga.
 * More than a few cases of drinks coming out through the nose show up through the stories.
 * Squeaky Eyes: Many, many instances of eyes making a "piku-piku" sound.  Eventually, "piku-piku" actually becomes a verb, denoting a squeaky eye blink.
 * Stalker with a Crush: Ina Sophia, toward Dr. Tofu.
 * Status Quo Is God: Not only averted, but torn to shreds and the shreds cast to the wind.
 * Super Strength: Ichiro Hibiki is strong enough to not only hold Pantyhose Taro's monster form at a standstill, but can also pick him up and slam him -- one-handed.
 * Super Villain: Akari begins recreating herself as a pink, pig-themed Blofeld after her alliance with Mousse fails miserably and she gets dosed with "Rage Essence".
 * Take That: To tabloid reporters in chapter 11 of Our Wedding Day.
 * Tastes Like Diabetes: Ina Sophia.
 * There Was a Door: Ranko goes right through a wall in a fury when she learns the family has beaten up Dr. Tofu on her behalf.
 * This Means War: Ina Sophia, once Ranko finally angers her sufficiently for her to shed her Kawaiiko persona:

""You know, Ko-Chan, I thknk you might have a bit of a temper." "Don't be silly.""
 * Three-Way Sex:
 * Shampoo's Inner Monologue makes it clear she's no stranger to this or even more participants; at one point she wishes she could slip into bed with a guy or three, and explicitly wonders if the Misamoto brothers are available for an assignation.
 * Because they appear "on-screen" and venture into Lime territory, Kuno's fantasies about Akane and the "Pig-Tailed Girl" go here, too.
 * Once she overcomes her jealousy and rage issues, a much more relaxed Akane half-seriously offers a three-way with Ranko to Ranma. (Ranma nervously declines.)
 * Too Dumb to Live: Genma, who quite sincerely decides that a Jusenkyo-cursed daughter is basically a second son to train.  Even Soun thinks Genma's being really dense here.
 * Later we discover when Nodoka files for divorce on grounds of non-consummation that Genma has never actually had sex with his wife -- and he still thought Ranma was his son. Soun once again has some choice words about Genma's intellect when he hears this.
 * Traveling Salesman: Ichiro Hibiki, father to many characters scattered along his usual route.  Although initially suspected of being a serial lecher in keeping with one of the stereotypes of the Traveling Salesman, it eventually turns out he's a soft touch for an unhappy/abandoned wife with a sad story;, he cares/cared for all of the women he's slept with, and scrupulously keeps tabs on all his children that he knows of.
 * Twin Telepathy: Ranma and Ranko share a very simple version of this, where one can tell if the other's been hurt.  Jiro lampshades this.
 * Two Siblings in One: A magic mirror splits Ranma and Ranko, the spirit of his girl form, into two separate individuals. Some time afterward, they learn from Ranma's mother Nodoka that Ranma had a stillborn twin sister, and Ranko believes that she is/was that sister.
 * Undead Tax Exemption: Averted with Ranko.  Nabiki attempts to forge sufficient documents to get her enrolled in Furinkan High School, but it all collapses almost immediately during an interview with Hinako Ninomiya, thanks to poor preparation by Nodoka and Ranko in the face of Hinako's probing questions.
 * Understatement: Nabiki indulges on occasion, most notably immediately after an enraged Ranko utterly obliterates Kuno in A Matter of Romantic Chemistry:

""Don't worry! It's not like something horrible's gonna happen!" The Spirits of Luck that cluster fast and thick around the Saotomes heard this insult to their power, and accepted the challenge."
 * Unresolved Sexual Tension: Between Ranma and Ranko.  It ebbs and flows through the stories, but after Ranko's falling out with Dr. Tofu over Ina Sophia (and him abandoning her to Ina's tender mercies) in Our Wedding Day it seems to reach a critical peak, with Ranma and Ranko moments from consummating their attraction before tearing themselves apart near the end of the extant material.
 * Walking the Earth: What Dr. Tofu did during his canonical absence from Nerima.  He specifically calls it his "walkabout".
 * Weddings in Japan: The different "wedding"s a Japanese couple undergo becomes a plot point.  Ranma and Akane complete a formal, legal wedding by filing the proper forms, just as every other Japanese couple does.  However, when word gets out that they're planning another public ceremony, this convinces at least some people (who really ought to know better, being Japanese themselves) that they aren't married yet, and there's still a chance to prevent it.
 * Ranma and Akane also buck the usual way of things by planning a Shinto wedding -- since the Western-flavored one at the end of the manga was was such a disaster.
 * What Could Possibly Go Wrong?:
 * Ranma makes the mistake of asking this early in Ranma's Fiancées. It immediately starts to rain, revealing that despite their separation from each other, Ranma and Ranko both retain Jusenkyo curses -- hers turns her into a clone of Ranma when she gets wet.
 * And then there's this moment from A Matter of Romantic Chemistry:


 * When All You Have Is a Hammer: Ukyo uses leftover okonomiyaki to board up her restaurant ahead of the incoming typhoon in Ranma's Fiancées.
 * Who Are You and What Did You Do to X?: When Akane apologizes to Ranma for the first time, he asks her, "Are you really Akane?"
 * A Year and a Day: The Amazons actually know of a genuine cure for Jusenkyo -- it's to stay in one form for a year and a day, after which that form becomes permanent.  Simple in concept; far less so in execution.
 * You Have to Believe Me:
 * One advantage Pantyhose Taro has in raiding drug dens for pocket cash and food is that the cops never believe the residents when they describe the huge hybrid monster that wrecked the place.
 * No one -- especially anyone who's met her -- believes Tofu's descriptions of Ina Sophia as a vinyl underwear-wearing dominatrix. At least not until Ranko makes her angry...
 * Zany Scheme: A generous description of Soun and Genma's various attempts to regain control of Ranma's inheritance.  Technically they're zany.  But mostly they're just pathetic.