Ranma ½/Headscratchers: Difference between revisions

***** Then way, pray, has she been [[Bound and Gagged]] so many times when her '''established physical strength''' would allow her to simply break free of them with no effort whatsoever? If we're looking at Kuno and Akane as equals in a kendo tournament, she should beat everyone there in minutes. I'm using the fact that the situation in Nerima due to Gendo's and Ranma's coming here has gone so out of control that it feels that established strength that we know Akane has is being completely thrown out the window for the sake of drama, which feels unacceptable. Honestly, we're talking about putting her up against someone who should have no chance in hell despite a really strange gimmick. Let Kuno be weak and be readjusted, I say; its accurate and fair to the Tendo!

***** I don't get the point you're trying to make here. Before, you argued ''against'' Akane's prowess on the basis that Kuno had improved and she hadn't (using her [[Distressed Damsel]] status as proof that she hadn't,) but here you argue in her favor by saying Kuno should remain weak and "readjusted" in order to be fair to her. As for the other statements, again, you're digressing. If the question was about Kuno and Akane, every other circumstance is outside the point. And she ''did'' "beat everyone [at the kendo tournament] in minutes," '''we were ''shown'' this''', and the attending audience ''explicitly comments on it'' (even though we're ''never told'', beyond her classmates' reactions, whether she's equal to Kuno. Remember, their match was ''interrupted'' and ''inconclusive''.) But since you insist, and for the sake of argument, let's look at her [[Bound and Gagged]] moments and why she didn't "simply break free" with her strength:<br />'''Cologne''': Twice. Not only is Cologne orders of magnitude more skilled and powerful than anyone in Nerima, at least one of those two times she caught Akane via a surprise pressure point attack. The first time, she also hung Akane from a tree and bound her arms, giving her no leverage to escape until Ranma brought her down to the ground, and the next time we see her she's already free (either by herself or with Genma's help.) The second time, she ''refused'' to escape until Mousse intervened, and as soon as he did, she broke free by herself.<br />'''Mousse''': He sprang out of nowhere and popped sleeping powder in her face. Even Ranma has fallen to this exact ploy dozens of times. Once she was conscious, she was very clearly distracted and panicked by the threat of the Jusenkyo water; as soon as she had the chance (and everyone else was involved elsewhere) she broke free on her own.<br />'''Principal Kuno''': She's unconscious when we see her hanging from the ceiling, so it's likely she was also caught off guard (he later did the same to Ranma.) As soon as she woke up, she broke free and attacked the Principal.<br />'''Pantyhose Taro''': He's a Ranma-level fighter who can easily overpower her, he didn't even bother tying her up until the very end --at which point she ''did'' break free of the pantyhose (and Takahashi specifically pointed out the feat of strength that this was, since pantyhose is more flexible than rope and Akane still tore it to pieces.)<br />'''Lime''': Didn't even bother tying her up, he just grabbed her and threw her over his shoulder. The guy can keep a collapsing ravine from closing, Akane would need Ryoga-like strength to even make him ''notice''.<br />'''Sexy Tea Shop Kunoichi''': We never see her get caught, but judging by how they kidnapped Ukyo, it's likely they ambushed her in a similar fashion. And then she was hung from a tree again, and again, unlike the Principal Kuno example, the position gives no leverage to break the chains. Once she's on the ground, the action cuts away and we don't know whether Ranma or Akane herself broke the shackles.<br />'''Kiima''': Being carried off by a flock of ravens is such a bizarre situation we can't really tell how skill or strength could help. But afterwards, she ''drowned'' and fell unconscious on her own, and Kiima just fished her out and put her in a cell. Akane ''broke free on her own'' within moments after waking up simply by kicking the cell door loose.<br />Now, see the common threads in those examples? Either she's caught by a martial artist ''far more powerful than her'', or she's KO'd by surprise. And except for three instances, not only do we ''see her break free on her own'', but Takahashi ''draws attention to it''. And of the missing instances, two of them could go either way, and the third would've been impossible for anyone short of Ryoga (and that's being generous to him, seeing how he couldn't break free from Lime's grip either!)<br />Of course, what ''any'' this has to do with Akane "being a good match" for Kuno in a straight up kendo tournament (where Kuno was going all-out, but where both of them had to follow standardized rules and regulations, and use shinai instead of bokken) for a few panels is anyone's guess. OTOH, her reactions to the above "[[Distressed Damsel]]" situations, and her continuous involvement with supernatural/superhuman foes and creatures ''consistently'' show her various physical feats for the entire manga, whereas Kuno only gets a few chances to show off his ''permanent'', consistent skill level.

 

* '''All things considered, wouldn't it have been a bazillion times easier for Ranma and Akane, despite their occasional quarrel, to get married? After all, they were the only ones who had mutual love in the entire Dodecahedron.'''