> So far as in her ability to do 'female tasks', it's pretty obvious
that
>she probably never attempted most of them before the series begin.
>Though it doesn't make a whole lot of logical sense, that's how the
>series goes.  She certainly didn't cook before the series begin.


I'm tempted to disagree.  Because when someone suggests Akane should
cook, like Nodoka did in the "cooking" episode, Nabiki and Soun got all
gloomy and disappointed... I interpreted that to mean that she has
cooked disasters before, and her family is ...um...depressed?
frustrated?....with her "ineptness"...

>Otherwise, Akane just tries to do whatever is required of
>her, messes up, probably gets angry, and then tries it again another
>time.


She's determined, for sure.  Or stubborn, some might prefer.

> As far as martial arts is concerned, it is not her life.

Yeah.  She's practically the only one who *had* a life outside the Art.
It's important to her, but not as important as Ranma's Art is to him, as
Shampoo's Amazon tradition is to her, as okomokiyaki is to Ukyou... I
think it counts for a lot why Akane isn't as good as she could be.

> As for appeal?  Akane doesn't really care about the attention of the
>opposite gender.

Except for the ones who really count... like Tofu at first, then
Ranma...

I'm not sure if my manga is accurate, but in v34 when Akane was walking
home after shopping with Nodoka and "Ranko," she was depressed,
remembering Ranma's words "Who'd wanna look at such small breasts???"
and she thought something like, "Am I that abhorent to you?" or "Do I
have so little appeal?"

'Cause I read the Ranma Project translation and it was different there,
so I'm not sure if in the original Japanese manga, that's really what
Akane thought...

> Though I've to admit the relationship between Ranma and Akane gets
>weird toward the end.  They act like an engaged couple (or at least
good
>friends), but there is no sign they want to be married anytime soon,
and
>of course if you really ask them they'll probably still tell you that
>it's not their will to be together, but they don't actively resent the
>fact either.


Maybe it's because even though they have admitted (at least to
themselves) that they love each other, it doesn't mean that they're
anxious to get married?

Besides, I know I certainly would prefer it if they would marry on their
own... I mean, they decide to get married on their own, like maybe Ranma
proposes, instead of the parents pushing them into it and then they
agree 'cause they love each other anyway, it isn't so bad...

> Akane and Ranma is just a couple that was meant to be.  I don't look
>for any deeper meaning in their relationship besides that.


Perhaps that's where we're different then.  Girls tend to be a lot
more...romantic, when it comes to love stories like this.  I know the
reason I got hooked into this series is because I was so anxious to see
them "live happily ever after".

Stiffanie Flores