Desperately Seeking Ranma/Trivia

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Trivia about Desperately Seeking Ranma includes:

  • Rouge Angles of Satin: In general Pixelwriter1 averts this, but a few things slip in here and there, such as "phase/faze" and "its/it's" confusions.
    • They also have an idiosyncrasy in their writing style in which, when they have two bits of dialog and a nonverbal reaction from the second speaker to the first between them, they almost invariably append the reaction to the first speaker's dialog instead of prepending it to the second's, in direct contradiction of standard rules of composition and usage. If the reaction is ambiguously worded, it can be quite confusing. For instance:

"So, no stealing a NASA souvenir, then?" Rei joked, sounding slightly disappointed. Ami gave her a severe glance.
"No. Leave the space toys alone." Rei giggled as her friend folded her arms and stared hard at her.
"Aww. OK, I guess being here is good enough."

In proper composition the line breaks should be at "Ami gave" and "Rei giggled", to keep the characters' actions and speech together. This error is endemic throughout all of Pixelwriter1's work.
  • Shout-Outs:
    • Right from the start, there is the title, which references the 1985 film Desperately Seeking Susan.
    • In addition to a highly variant version of Sailor Moon, there are shout-outs to a few other Magical Girl series among the inhabitants of Minato.
    • There are more than a few references to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:
      • Nabiki has read it and references it in her thoughts during one of her very first exposures to Ranma and Kasumi's magic.
      • While considering what she's seen so far on her off-world vacation, she thinks of "the things, the people, and the things that are also people" -- which is almost certainly another deliberate reference on her part to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
      • At least one alien from another universe has enjoyed reading The Hitchhiker's Guide as well, and regrets the passing of Douglas Adams.
      • When displaying that she has a bathing suit handy, Aiko also notes that she knows where her towel is.
    • Britain has a magical government and subculture that draws heavily on Harry Potter.
    • "Yori" mentions to an FBI agent that there are pockets of magic in Louisiana, the coast of Massachusetts, and Arkansas.
    • When Akane briefly mentions possibly learning how to use a sword from Shampoo, Nabiki's shudder at the thought of her with a sword in her hands may be a subtle reference to The Bitter End.
    • During their off-Earth "vacation", Ranma and Kasumi take Nabiki to a world which looks a lot like Coruscant, although Nabiki compares it to a sunnier, cleaner version of Blade Runner.
    • There are a few In-Universe references to Monty Python's Flying Circus:
      • During the Halleckton affair there is a brief moment of levity when the Canadian soldier accompanying Nabiki (in her "Azumi" persona) waves off a minor injury with "'Tis but a scratch." "Azumi" blinks and replies, "A scratch? Your arm's off!", to his amusement. The exchange is the start of their bonding as friends, and much later, when they meet again at an inquiry into Halleckton, Azumi greets him as "Sir Black Knight'.
      • Ami is stunned to meet a "demon"/alien who resembles a humanoid crow, but a moment later thinks to herself, "But beautiful plumage" to her private amusement.
    • There is a brief cameo by several denizens of the Discworld in the wake of the time machine's destruction.
    • "Oh my god, it's full of star" (sic) as a suggested reaction to one of the after-effects of the time machine's destruction.
    • At one point, an automotive engineer describes Misaki (who at the time is driving an insanely-powerful race car) using the usual format for the Stig:

"Some say she wiped out an entire invading demon army with one shot, and that she has no understanding of the concept of fear. All we know is that she's called Misaki," the man said in a low respectful voice.

    • In the same chapter as the Stig reference:

"Why do I have the urge to say something about Detroit, sunglasses and police?" Misaki asked with a grin.
"No idea," Haruka laughed. She pulled a pair of sunglasses from her pocket, putting them on carefully, which made Misaki giggle, then settled herself comfortably. "Hit it."

  • When the Sisterhood (sans Azumi) show up for the Tendos' party, Yori brightly calls out "Hi, everybody!" To which Nabiki replies, "Hi, Doctor Nick!" to the amusement of some partygoers and the confusion of the rest.
  • One of the specialists recruited for the expedition to Ellesmere Island is Harry Granger.