Don:

>    Well, Akane has been consistently my favorite 
>Anime female character...

I know the feeling.  I discovered Ranma back in...um...lemme see... I
started reading Ranma manga since 1996, and I've been hooked since.  Ranma
and Akane have been, since then, my favorite anime characters/couple.  

After some time, I would discover some new anime and for a while *almost*
think that it would replace Ranma.  The most recent example is Rurouni
Kenshin.  But although I like Kenshin and his romance with Kaoru, I find
that I *still* like Ranma better... WAAYYY better.

Of course, I *am* aware that I haven't watched that many anime, so I'm not
exactly of expert opinion on this. ^_^  But don't feel sorry for me, Ranma
is more than enough for me. ^_^

Stiffanie Flores