The Wild Horse Thesis: Difference between revisions

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The Wild Horse Thesis

''[[The Wild Horse Thesis]]'' by "Calamity Cordite" (AKA "Calamity-Queen of Cordite"~~; real name Lisa Grey~~) is a [[Crossover Fic|crossover]] between ''[[Ranma ½]]'' and ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]''. Making yet another attempt to eliminate Ranma Saotome and free the heart of Akane Tendo, Hikaru Gosunkugi casts a spell from a scroll given to him by a mysterious cowled figure. To his surprise (and the readers'), the attempt succeeds and banishes Ranma into a set of of ''Evangelion'' video tapes, where Gosunkugi is sure he will come to a swift and terrible end, along with the rest of humanity.

''[[The Wild Horse Thesis]]'' by "Calamity Cordite" (AKA "Calamity-Queen of Cordite") is a [[Crossover Fic|crossover]] between ''[[Ranma ½]]'' and ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]''. Making yet another attempt to eliminate Ranma Saotome and free the heart of Akane Tendo, Hikaru Gosunkugi casts a spell from a scroll given to him by a mysterious cowled figure. To his surprise (and the readers'), the attempt succeeds and banishes Ranma into a set of of ''Evangelion'' video tapes, where Gosunkugi is sure he will come to a swift and terrible end, along with the rest of humanity.

Three days later, the Tendo household -- thoroughly agitated over Ranma's disappearance -- receives a package containing a set of video tapes entitled ''Neon Genesis Evangelion ½''. Watching them, the Tendos learn what has happened -- Ranma has been inserted into the world of one of his favorite anime, ''Evangelion'', and forced to take the place of Shinji Ikari. Unfortunately for the combined plans of Gosunkugi and Hideaki Anno, Ranma is ''not'' Shinji -- he knows exactly what's coming and why, and goes to work on derailing the plans of both Gendo Ikari and SEELE.

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* [[All Just a Dream]]: Ranma's initial suspicion upon realizing in chapter 1 that he's inside ''Evangelion''. [[Pinch Me|Feeling the heat of a piece of burning wreckage convinces him otherwise.]]

* [[Arbitrary Skepticism]]: Misato suffers from this for a good way into the story, initially refusing to believe Ranma about one of his abilities after all the ''other'' "impossible" things he's proven to be able to do. She does get better, though. Oddly, scientist Ritsuko is a bit quicker to accept Ranma's claims.

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* [[Book Ends]]: Each chapter begins and ends with a scene in Nerima, before and after ~~waching~~ an episode or more of the video tapes.

* [[Barrier-Busting Blow]]: Ranma accidentally destroys the door to Rei's apartment by knocking too vigorously.

* [[Berserk Button]]: When Fuyutsuki suggests NERV has been humiliated by Ranma and Asuka's initial performance against Israfel, Ranma's [[Battle Aura]] ignites and she slams him against a wall before giving him a [["The Reason You Suck" Speech|dressing-down]] that leaves him [[Bring My Brown Pants|pissing his pants]].

* [[Bi the Way]]: Once her feelings about Ranma begin to awaken, Rei appears to be attracted to both his male and female aspects equally.

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* [[Book Ends]]: Each chapter begins and ends with a scene in Nerima, before and after watching an episode or more of the video tapes.

* [[Bring My Brown Pants]]: In chapter 8 Ranma rips into Fuyutsuki with a [[Tranquil Fury]] that leaves him pissing in his pants.

* [[Brutal Honesty]]: Ranma, even more so than in the source material:

{{quote|"Sorry I'm late," she chirped cheerfully. "I'm..."

"Captain Misato Katsuragi," Ranma interrupted, getting in the car, "competent Tactical Operations Officer but a ditzy juicer when not in the middle of a battle."}}

** His candid revelations to ''Evangelion'' characters how he feels about and what he thinks of the people from Nerima also have this effect on the watchers.

* [[Calling the Old Man Out]]: Ranma gives Gendo a [["The Reason You Suck" Speech]] virtually every time they come face-to-face.

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* [[Deus Ex Machina]]: A literal one, when it turns out {{spoiler|the prime mover from almost the first sentence has been the Egyptian goddess ~~Bast~~, in response to the prayers of Nodoka, and she ensures that Rei and Asuka -- previously wholly fictional entities -- are rescued from the end of the anime and transported into the "real" world with Ranma at the conclusion of the story}}.

** Then there's the dressing-down she gives Fuyutsuki in chapter 8.

* [[Corpsing]]: In-universe -- Nabiki has to suppress her laughter at the [[Hypocritical Humor]] she witnesses among the fiancées watching the tapes.

** Later, Rei uses her [[The Stoic|stoic]] appearance to hid her own amusement and pleasure at various developments.

** Misato does an adequate job of hiding her hilarity at Ranma's reactions to her proposals for parceling out bedrooms when Asuka moves in.

* [[Creepy Twins]]: Ranma (in girl form) and Asuka can do this for humor value when they care to.

* [[Cross-Popping Veins]]: A rare text example appears in chapter 9.

* [[A Date with Rosie Palms]]: Rei discovers and explores her sexuality in the wake of watching a bare-chested Ranma utterly thrash Gendo in a "sparring session".

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* [[Deus Ex Machina]]: A literal one, when it turns out {{spoiler|the prime mover from almost the first sentence has been the Egyptian goddess Bastet, in response to the prayers of Nodoka, and she ensures that Rei and Asuka -- previously wholly fictional entities -- are rescued from the end of the anime and transported into the "real" world with Ranma at the conclusion of the story}}.

* [[Egyptian Mythology]]: We learn at the start of chapter 9 that Nodoka had found an incredibly out-of-place shrine to Bastet somewhere in Japan while pregnant with Ranma, and had made a pilgrimage there to prey for a blessing on her unborn child.

* [[Fanon]]:

** Akane gets the stock mallet-happy borderline-psychobitch characterization here. Unusually, though, she's not reticent about smashing people other than Ranma if she thinks they deserve it.

** Akane gets the stock mallet-happy borderline-psychobitch [[Lethal Chef]] characterization here, complete with the "depleted uranium mallet-sama +5 versus perverts". Unusually, though, she's not reticent about smashing people other than Ranma if she thinks they deserve it.

** Ranma's ailurophobia is so severe he cannot even say the word "cat". He is also portrayed as so "conditioned" by fiancee abuse that honest affection from Rei and Asuka puts him a fear-based fugue.

** Soun is a human waterfall at the least provocation.

** Nodoka spouting "My son is ''so'' manly" and waving fans at every opportunity.

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* [[Folgers Crossover]]/[[Fusion Fic]]: Ranma Saotome of ''Ranma ½'' replaces Shinji Ikari in ''Neon Genesis Evangelion''.

* [[God Test]]: Ranma repeatedly has to demonstrate what he's capable of when his claims and explanations are doubted by the people around him, like Misato and Asuka -- at least the first few times.

* [[Gone Horribly Wrong]]: Misato's attempt to prank Ranma in chapter 9 is basically harmless, but results in him curled into a foetal ball, nearly catatonic and expecting to be beaten by the girls.

* [[Groin Attack]]: Gendo inflicts one on Ranma during their "spar" in chapter 3. Unfortunately for him, Ranma toughs it out instead of folding.

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* [[Folgers Crossover]]/[[Fusion Fic]]: Ranma of ''Ranma ½'' replaces Shinji Ikari in ''Neon Genesis Evangelion''.

* [[Hold Up Your Score]]: When Akane mallets Ryoga at the start of chapter 3, Kasumi, Nabiki, Shampoo, Ukyo and Cologne all hold up scores.

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* [[Hypocritical Humor]]: Shampoo has strong opinions about Misato:

{{quote|"Shampoo no like Airen living with purple-haired slut."}}

** Later, when Ranma's [[Internal Monologue]] describes Akane as an "abusive hypocrite" she immediately vows to beat him for it on his return.

* [[Identical Stranger]]: Ranma's girl form and Asuka can (and ''do'') pass for twins.

* [[If It's You It's Okay]]: Asuka considers herself heterosexual -- except for Ranma's girl form. {{spoiler|And, ultimately, Rei as wel}}.

* [[If You Ever Do Anything to Hurt Her...]]: Ranma threatens Gendo with a second "sparring" session if Rei is injured by her second activation test with Unit 00.

* [[Insult to Rocks]]: Ranma, regarding Gendo:

* [[Internal Monologue]]: Ranma's thoughts are apparently presented to the show's watchers in Nerima as some manner of narration, given their responses to things he does not say out loud.

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* [[Lemony Narrator]]: The narrative voice is not above throwing in the occasional comment or explanation.

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* [[Lemony Narrator]]: The narrative voice of the story is not above throwing in the occasional comment or explanation.

* [[Lickspittle]]: Ranma's opinion of Fuyutsuki. She calls him a "boot-licking toady" and a "spineless worm" to his face in chapter 8.

* [[Literal-Minded]]: Ranma does this sometimes for humor value:

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"What is it, Ranma?" Misato's face appeared in a window on Ranma's display.

"It's an unsettlin' issue demandin' a solution or decision, but that's not important right now," Ranma quipped.}}

** Rei gets away with a few things once she starts embracing her emotions simply by playing up her earlier literal-mindedness and ignorance, such as when she walks in on Ranma in the bath in chapter 8.

* [[Meaningful Name]]/[[Punny Name]]: The unnamed boring teacher who lectures interminably about Second Impact is here given the name [[Ben Stein|"Bendo Steinakawa"]].

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* [[Overly Narrow Superlative]]: Although it isn't obvious to its recipient:

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{{quote|Ranma smirked. "You're the best driver I've ridden with."

{{quote|"You really want me to teach you how to drive?" Misato asked hopefully.

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~~"Hell yeah,"~~ Ranma smirked. "You're the best driver I've ridden with."

She was the only driver he'd ridden with but she didn't have to know that.}}

* [[Pinch Me]]: Feeling the heat given off by a piece of burning wreckage in chapter 1 is Ranma's first indication that his experience isn't [[All Just a Dream]].

* [[The Rival]]: As part of enticing Asuka into a friendship, Ranma points out that they can be best friends ''and'' rivals at the same time. For Asuka, who was already inclined to accept the offer, this just seals the deal.

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* [[Shipper on Deck]]: Kasumi, for Ranma and {{spoiler|''both'' Rei and Asuka}}.

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* [[Shipper on Deck]]: Kasumi, initially for Ranma and {{spoiler| and Rei, and then later ''both'' Rei and Asuka}}.

* [[Single-Minded Twins]]: During (and sometimes after) the training to defeat Israfel, Ranma (in girl form) and Asuka do this. Toji thinks it makes them [[Creepy Twins]].

* [[Smarter Than You Look]]: Ranma. The author writes a Ranma who is very intelligent but ignorant outside of martial arts. Part of this story involves him becoming motivated to learn some (many?) of the things he was ignorant about.

* [[The Snark Knight]]: Ranma is this in the ''Evangelion'' world, mainly because he already knows everyone's secrets and doesn't bother to hide his disdain for anyone he thinks is useless or villainous.

* [[Staring Contest]]: Rei and Pen-pen get into a series of them in chapter 9. She wins them all.

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* [[Trapped in TV Land]]: Due to a magical spell, Ranma is trapped inside a series of video tapes which contain ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]''. He finds himself replacing the character of Shinji, but has all his [[Martial Arts and Crafts|abilities and techniques intact]]. Unlike some of other examples of this trope, though, we see Ranma having his Tokyo-3 adventures from the viewpoint of Ranma's family and ~~fiancees~~, who are watching the tapes in the "real" world. The best part is seeing Ranma telling people in the show of his "previous" life, thinking no one knows what he's talking about, while the characters in the "real" world are subjected to his honest opinions of them.

** Hikari tries her luck against Pen-pen later; it's not revealed who won.

* [[The Stoic]]: Rei, as in canon ''Evangelion'', but here we learn that she's been ''trained'' to be a stoic, rather than it being a consequence of her isolated upbringing. With Ranma's encouragement, she abandons her training.

* [[Sweet Tooth]]: Ranma introduces Rei to the wonders of ice cream and chocolate, and she is never the same again.

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* [[Trapped in TV Land]]: Due to a magical spell, Ranma is trapped inside a series of video tapes which contain a copy of the anime series ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]''. He finds himself replacing the character of Shinji, but has all his [[Martial Arts and Crafts|abilities and techniques intact]]. Unlike some of other examples of this trope, though, we see Ranma having his Tokyo-3 adventures from the viewpoint of Ranma's family and fiancées, who are watching the tapes in the "real" world. The best part is seeing Ranma telling people in the show of his "previous" life, thinking no one knows what he's talking about, while the characters in the "real" world are subjected to his honest opinions of them.

* [[Triang Relations]]: {{spoiler|When Asuka arrives in Tokyo-3, she, Ranma and Rei end up in a type 7, where Ranma is "a". Eventually, though, it evolves into a type 8.}}

* [[Twin Threesome Fantasy]]: Referenced at the end of the story by {{spoiler|Rei, who notes that she gets to experience this with Asuka and Girl!Ranma}}.

* [[What Is This Feeling?]]: Rei is ... confused by the pleasant sensations she feels while watching a bare-chested Ranma as he fought with Gendo during their "spar" in chapter 3, and while remembering it afterward. Analyzing them eventually leads her to [[A Date with Rosie Palms]]. This leads her into exploring all the ''other'' emotions she has been suppressing for years.

* [[Younger Than They Look]]: Played with. Ranma, in Shinji's role, is "officially" fourteen years old -- but Ritsuko Akagi notes that his male form looks several years older (which he is); interestingly, his female form averts this, appearing to be closer to fourteen than Ranma's actual seventeen.

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Trivia about ''[[{{ROOTPAGENAME}}]]'' includes:

* [[Rouge Angles of Satin]]: Calamity Cordite is prone to typos and word choice errors (such as "new" for "knew").

* [[Shout-Out]]:

** Naming the homeroom teacher [[Ben Stein|"Bendo Steinakawa"]] is an explicit shout-out to ''[[Ferris Bueller's Day Off]]''; the auther lampshades it in a note at the start of the next chapter.

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== Fridge Brilliance ==

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* Although at first the idea that ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'' is [[Ranma ½|Ranma]]'s favorite anime seems like an anachronism, it's just ''barely'' possible (especially if one simply accepts [[Comic Book Time]]) -- ''Evangelion'' ran on TV 1995-96, and ''Ranma'' (both anime and manga) ended in 1996.

== Fridge Horror ==

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== Fridge Logic ==

* Misato was Asuka's guardian for some years in Germany. Why doesn't she note early on that Ranma's girl form is identical to Asuka? Oddly, Ritsuko does.

* Ranma (and other characters) claim several times that ''Evangelion'' is Ranma's favorite series, he's watched it several times, and he's discussed it extensively with [[Those Two Guys|Hiroshi and Daisuke]]. How is it then that he has missed seeing the episode with Ramiel ''and'' doesn't know what happened in the segment he missed?

[[Category:Pages Original to All The Tropes]]

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* Although at first the idea that ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'' is [[Ranma ½|Ranma]]'s favorite anime seems like an anachronism, it's just ''barely'' possible (especially if one simply accepts [[Comic Book Time]]) -- ''Evangelion'' ran on TV 1995-96, and ''Ranma'' (both anime and manga) ended in 1996.