Die for Our Ship/Anime and Manga/Ranma ½

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


If Akane haters had it their way, Ranma wouldn't show any pain at her prospective death... he'd be happy instead!

Essentially every character in Ranma ½ has experienced both this trope and Draco in Leather Pants at one point or another, often with one portrayal arising as a backlash to another.

  • Being the Tsundere official love interest of what is possibly the most-shipped fictional character in history, Akane Tendo is frequently flanderized to the point of literal psychosis (The Bitter End, anyone?). Even after the end of the manga, many fics depict her relationship with Ranma as suddenly and inexplicably taking a turn for the worse. This has led fans of her character to emphasize her compassionate side, sometimes over-correcting to the point of "Saint Akane" who is an absolute Love Martyr.
    • Mention the "Knights of the True Fiancee" to anyone who was active in online Ranma fandom during the first decade or so of the World Wide Web and watch them wince. They set a gold standard for sheer raving insanity re: shipping that even the Harmonians at their unbalanced worst have yet to equal. Forget just constantly flaming, stalking, and harassing opponents of their preferred ship on Internet fan forums -- if the Knights learned where you lived, they'd do it to you in real life.
  • On the other hand, Shampoo is often written by fans as being heartless, psychotic, downright evil, and willing to kill Akane and Mousse in cold blood and VERY violently in front of Ranma to get her "Airen"'s love. While this does have some basis in canon where her personal motto is "obstacle is for killing," many of these fanon depictions of her get ridiculously over-the-top and turn her into a Complete Monster.
  • Likewise, Ryōga's eternal grudge and posing as P-Chan, while not exactly admirable, often result in him being flanderized into a Complete Monster to pave the way for Ranma/Akane. This is despite the fact that in canon he's saved Ranma's life, helped him up when Ranma truly needed it (and Ranma also gave him a helping hand) and eventually begins to get over Akane, hooking up with Akari instead. In fact, it's especially strange when you consider that out of all of Ranma and Akane's long-term suitors, Ryōga is one of the very few (if not the only one) who willingly steps aside.
  • In contrast, Ranma's own arrogance and personality flaws are frequently overlooked because of his harsh childhood and the many demands honor has placed upon him. This leads other fans to remind the readers of the times that he's stretched honor to his advantage, performed petty con artistry on much of the cast, and otherwise holds responsibility for some of his troubles... but they also go too far once in a while, portraying him as overtly evil, spiteful and malicious instead of the Jerk with a Heart of Gold he is in canon.
  • Ukyō is also made a Love Martyr, much at the expense of Akane (two words: Mike Rhea). And in others, she's as bashed as Shampoo by "Saint Akane" fans. There was even one fic in which she was turned into a dog.
    • Then there's the militancy of many Ryōga/Ukyō shippers. While much of their violence is directed against the other prominent characters, Ryōga and Ukyō's respective love interests (Akari and Konatsu)... if they're lucky, they're either ignored entirely or randomly paired with other folks for the sheer sake of RyoKyo. If they're lucky.
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