Reply-To Stiffany:
> Mark :
> >Is it just me, or does Kuno look a lot like Tuxedo Mask from Sailor
> >Moon whenever he's wearing a tuxedo?
> Hey!  I resent that!  Mamoru looks a lot LOT cuter! ^_^
> I've never seen Kuno wear a tux.  When did this happen?

I was reading it last night. It's during that cheerleader arc where Kuno
takes Ranma-girl out on a date. He dresses up in a tux and everything.
If he'd have had a mask on...ooohh..scary.

> Wizard:
> >1.Does anyone know when Princess Mononoke (sp?) will come out on video,
> >or has it allready?
> 
> Ooh!  I got a pirated VCD of Mononoke Hime a few months back, maybe
> around Christmas.  Only one thing I can say about it:
> 
> IT'S GREAT.
> 
> <insert gushing voice>  I LOVE Ashitaka! ^_^
> 
> It's the first Miyazaki film I ever watched, and it's left me hungry for
> more. ^_^  Could anyone recommend some good Miyazaki films?

I gotta admit, Mononoke was one of the coolest animes I've ever seen. I
traveled six hours last year with a friend (who didn't want to go) to see
it in a small art theatre. To me it was worth every second of the drive to
get there, but my friend, who used to barely tolerate my anime hobby, now
hates it with such a passion that he leaves the room if I start playing a
tape. I don't really understand how someone can hate something so
much... Why do some people hate anime so much? I've seen people who never
watch cartoons in their lives get completly hooked upon watching one of
the least interesting episodes of Dragon Ball Z. And I've seen people
who love (American) cartoons and video games turn their nose at a Miyazaki
film like it was the bebonic plague (sp).

> Mark:
> >But Ranma is shown to have some control over it. In the Cologne arc,
> Ranma uses Shampoo to force himself into the Cat-fist technique so that
> he can beat Cologne.
Stiffany:
> Like Swee said, that was *before* he went into the Cat-Fist.  Ranma has
> the advantage of going into SHEER OBLIVION when he goes "cat".
<snip> 
> So, this disproves your theory that Ranma has any control over it.  The
> fact is, he has NONE.

Imagine for a second that you've got a loaded gun in your hand. You pull
the trigger, and the bullet finds it's mark and does the damage that you
intended.

Now, draw a parrallel to Ranma. When he used Shampoo to go into cat-mode,
he basically pulled the trigger. Just because he has no control over the
bullet, doesn't mean he isn't responsible for the consequences. Ranma knew
what he was doing. He controlled the Cat-fist technique just like he would
had he used any other martial arts move. Just because he isn't thinking 
while he's in cat-fist doesn't mean he doesn't control it.

> Okay.  Can I ask you one question?
> 
> Do you have a phobia?

Not that I know of...
 
> *I* have a phobia.  I am deathly afraid of cockroaches.  I'm also afraid
<snip>
> However, I realize that Ranma's fear of cats is much MUCH worse than my
> phobia.  He was *five* years old when he was trained in the Cat-Fist - I
> was about 7.  He had DOZENS of cats crawling all over him - I had only
> one, that one time.  The cats scratched his eyes and skin and drew
> blood

That's a bit graphic, but okay. I guess I can see the relation.

> He's paralyzed into immobility when in close contact with a cat.  I can
> still run, shout at the top of my lungs for someone to come and help me.
> When Ranma's fear goes over the scales, he's not even capable of
> *moving*.

Wait, wait, wait. The whole deal about him freezing and turning to stone
is just a comedic effect for the manga because you can't show people
jumping up and down and screaming as effectively. In the anime, they
substitute it for running and screaming.

> THAT is why I recognize the Neko-ken as Ranma's greatest weakness, and
> just because he gets an all-powerful technique from it, that doesn't
> make his suffering any less terrible.

Okay, geez. I wasn't trying to say he wasn't suffering over it. I know
how terrified he is of cats, but I don't believe it to be his greatest
weakness. If anything, Ranma's greatest weakness is his desire to win
every single thing he views as a fight no matter what.

> >So we've got Ranma parading around as a girl
> >because he enjoys all the benefits of a girl's body. That's hardly the
> >actions of someone who _hates_ turning into a girl.
> 
> So we've got Ryouga parading around as a little black pig and enjoying
> all the benefits that came with the Jyusenkyo SoD Pig package deal.
> That doesn't seem like the actions of someone who _hates_ turning into a
> pig.

Hey, I wasn't the one saying that he hated it in the first place. I agree
with Roderick (now) that Ranma and Ryoga don't like their cursed forms,
but in Ranma's case, I think Roderick was trying to say that Ranma _hated_
turning into a girl. I was trying to point out all the times that Ranma
never hesitates to use his girl form to get something that he wants.
Unlike Roderick, I feel that Ranma would hesitate if he ever
seriously found a cure for himself. I don't know why I feel this way. I
just think that if Ranma cures himself, he's losing more than he's
gaining. He's losing a piece of himself. I feel that Ranma's curse almost
defines his character. It's part of who he is, and if Takahashi meant for
him to be any other way, she'd have cured him before she ended the manga.

> >Addition: And he seems
> >to have no qualms about turning into a girl and wearing girl's clothes
> >whenever he wants to fight another girl.
> 
> Addition:  He seems to have no qualms about turning into a pig and
> jumping into a girl's bed whenever he's starved for affection.
> *YOU* are the one who makes it seem like Ryouga's curse is a lot lot
> worse than it really is.

I do think Ryoga's curse is worse than Ranma's. Do I think Ryoga
should have a different curse? I don't know. I think all the cursed forms
were made to fit the characters and their personalities to a certain
extent. But Ryoga's curse poses a much more physical problem and danger
than Ranma's curse. Sure, Ranma has to deal with the embarassment of
turning into a girl, but Ryoga has to deal with escaping being eaten and
losing fights whenever he turns into a pig. It's just a more debilitating
curse than Ranma's.

I realize Ranma's whole Sepuku thing, but after reading that arc
yesterday, I don't really believe its all that serious anymore. Ranma _is_
a man among men, and if his mother can't see that, which I think she could
like when he rescued her, then it's his mother who is delusional. If she
can seriously kill her own son for a curse that he has no control over,
then it's her that has the problem and not Ranma.

> >Let me restate and revise my earlier statment. Despite Ranma's and his
> >family's percieved absolute disgrace/hatred of turning into a girl,
> it's still an all around better curse than any of the other cast,
> barring maybe Genma and Pantyhose Taro.
> 
> For you.
> 
> For us?  No.

Bull. Tell me that you would rather turn into a pig than a man/girl
(depending on your gender) and really mean it.

> For Ranma?  _Are you out of your freaking mind?_

That's Ranma's problem for not realizing how fortunate he is not to turn
into an animal. If he can't see it, then it's his own damn fault. The
sepuku thing would still be over his head if he turned into a pig, so it
doesn't matter when you're comparing how bad the curses are.

> The simple fact is that _everyone_ of them hates the Jyusenkyo curse,
> except possibly Genma and Tarou.

I basically agree with you there.

> Another undeniable fact is that _everyone_ of them is able to find a way
> to turn that weakness into an advantage, when the need arises.  Ranma
> with the cute-girl routine, Ryouga with P-chan disguise.  Mousse can
> fight in his duck form.  So can Shampoo in her cat form.

So are you admitting that Ranma's using his girl body to get whatever he
wants is as bad as you think Ryoga's using his pig form to get closer
to Akane?

> And _everyone_ of them will gladly jump into the SoD Man (SoD Girl for
> Shampoo) when given the chance.

Maybe they would...

I think Jusenkyo curses are a probably for life. If they jumped into a SoD
Man, they'd probablu just wind up some freak of nature - a half man half
woman or half pig half man - like in the second movie where the bird,
lobster, monkey, and dog guys weren't completely human).

Mark