Favorites and Least Favorites...
Kaoru Shimitsu
a decade, I'm well aware that everyone has their favorites and hated
characters. While I attempt to appreciate each character for the
elements they bring to the series, as well as the particular
idiosyncrasies they exhibit, others tend not to share in my universal
sense of optimism with each character.
Of note are the WoS [Worshippers of Shampoo], the KTF [Knights of the
True Fiancee], and a variety of other, less notable fandoms of varying
radical fanaticism.
Those aside, which characters kept you with the series? Kept you
coming back for more? What were the people that, at moments, made you
want to just stop the tape/dvd/laserdisc and take a break from the
series as a whole?
Who are your favorites? Who do you loathe? And why?
Ceqli
Kodachi is hard to take, and I admit to a special liking for Ling-Ling
and Lung-Lung.
Grayson Towler
of the anime somewhere in the middle of year three. "Copycat Ken" was
the last straw, or close to it.
If I have to pick a favorite character, it's Ryouga. Not necessarily
for his own personality, although I like him quite a bit. Ryouga
always seemed to accompany the better stories in Ranma 1/2. He acted
as a catalyst for the action, and always brought out the most
interesting sides of Ranma and Akane. Ranma (as a character) always
required a kick in the seat for anything to happen -- he rarely
initiates any action, but rather reacts to things that happen to him
or around him. Ryouga is Ranma's first real rival both in skill and
for Akane's affections, and he remained the best of them in my
opinion.
Least favorite? Nodoka. I say this from a perspective of a writer more
than a reader. When I was writing Ranma fanfiction, I made a few stabs
at scenes involving Nodoka. She absolutely killed any scene I put her
in. Thudded onto the page like a slab of lead and made the scene
dreary beyond reckoning. It's odd, even with characters that I didn't
particularly enjoy in the manga (such as Happosai), I felt like when I
investigated them as a writer, I could find a way to like them and
make them work. But not Nodoka. Odd, that. I didn't much like her as a
reader either.
I never thought Mousse quite came into his own as a character either.
Takahashi-san put his shtick on display, but I never really got the
sense of a consistent person underneath.
Ceqli
very much agree that Ryouga is a wonderful character. In spite of
myself, I find myself pulling for some characters - that is, I hope
the best for them, somehow. Ryouga is one of them. Others are Ukyo,
and, weirdly, Kuno. I guess I admire his determination.
Kaoru Shimitsu
I had recently been re-reading much of the Manga, and found quite a
few of the fanon perceptions claimed as CANON to be humorous at
times. As example, Hiroshi and Daisuke appear quite freqently
throughout the series (Of interest to me in particular), as do Yuka
and Sayuri. The two girls appear a little less than the two boys.
I think for me I come at the entire series from a Kasumi perspective,
caring pretty much universally for everyone and seeing them as one big
crazy family.
Ranma, I think, is mostly what keeps me in the fandom. Or, rather,
the possibilities that Ranma represents. A lot of people propose
expanding on the concept of dual genders and creating your own
stories, I must say that in some ways it is hard. Ranma presented a
sort of balance in the crazy subject of transgenderism, and a
springboard for such stories that was ideally suited by its props and
players.
That for the longest time, it dominated the fanfiction environment
utterly, serves as example of how rich a setting and world it really
is... yet it is a pale imitation without Ranma.
Raleigh
Hm.. so who is it I like and who do I dislike ehh? Alright. I
dislike Akane immensely. I've read a good deal of fanfiction as well
as the entire manga series and can honestly say I see no difference
really between canon and fanon Akane. They are both overly violent
and quick to anger.
As for who I like, that is as likely to vary as the weather. I like
Mousse no so much for what actually happens with him, but the
implications of his character and his potential. I find it
interesting no author ever explores the simple fact that his fighting
style is really an assassins technique which means he is possibly the
most likely to kill without flinching of every character in the
series. I also am a big fan of Ryouga for mostly the reasons already
stated here as well as the fact that he and Ranma both seem to be
parts of the same equation at least if not sides of a coin. Nabiki I
also like, regardless of what most people think of her, simply because
she represents so much potential and is the only female character in
the series I believe has a character similar enough to Ranma's for it
to honestly work.