I first heard about this series in a side note page from another manga I was reading. And then, one day, I found a copy of the first volume in a bookstore, so I bought it and gave it a read. I didn't think it was perfect or anything, but entertaining enough to continue, so I bought some more volumes and kept reading. As time went on, I even bought two seasons of the anime, and I noticed the differences. I've long since stopped reading/watching the series, but I still think about it a lot. It's really that memorable. But looking back, are my feelings for it positive or negative?
Hate to say this, but the answer is irrevocably negative. I now DETEST this series, its author, her other works, and every stereotype it adheres to in regards to the genre: the unwanted harem, the main girl being a total bitch, the spineless protagonist who lets everybody walk all over him, utterly failing at Black Comedy, annoying and obnoxious characters with pretty much only one or two notable traits, etc. I have come to utterly loathe the Double Standard trope, as mangaka use it way too damn much just for a cheap attempt at comedy.
Let's talk about the characters. I despise every one of them. The Takahashi Couple trope is a demonstration of how people do not fall in love, yet the author keeps trying to claim they are. All I see is two squabbling babies who are not allowed to properly develop, yet the author pretends that they are. Akane is a spoiled, short-tempered Jerk Sue. I'm not saying Ranma is a saint, but for those who whine that he insults her all the time, she does THE EXACT SAME THING AND MORE! Between the two, Akane is the only one allowed to resort to violence, and for some reason, Ranma just stands there and lets her hit him despite the fact that it is well within his power to make her stop, ESPECIALLY when she attacks him for something that clearly ISN'T his fault. She has absolutely no faith in him, and when she's proven wrong about something, she seldom apologizes; and even when she does, that hardly balances out her violent behavior. When Ranma does or says something stupid, he gets hit; when Akane says or does the same, nothing happens to her.
As for the others, they're rotten, too: Nabiki is a sadist, and Rumiko Takahashi seems to think letting the bitch get away with her misdeeds makes her funny; Genma and Soun are obnoxious cowards; Happosai is annoying; Ryoga is a cowardly, perverted, self-pitying hypocrite; the suitors of both genders are just as bad as Akane in their own way; and, as stated before, Ranma is an Extreme Doormat who refuses to put his foot down and tell everybody to wipe their own asses instead of getting him to do it for them: since the very start of the series, everyone in Ranma's life has tried to, in some way or another, control him, and he just lets them do it when he has no reason to, and it isn't funny that he does.
In the end, I HATE this series. This is all just my opinion. Feel free to disagree.
I tried to give it a chance, but it just sucks.
I first heard about this series in a side note page from another manga I was reading. And then, one day, I found a copy of the first volume in a bookstore, so I bought it and gave it a read. I didn't think it was perfect or anything, but entertaining enough to continue, so I bought some more volumes and kept reading. As time went on, I even bought two seasons of the anime, and I noticed the differences. I've long since stopped reading/watching the series, but I still think about it a lot. It's really that memorable. But looking back, are my feelings for it positive or negative?
Hate to say this, but the answer is irrevocably negative. I now DETEST this series, its author, her other works, and every stereotype it adheres to in regards to the genre: the unwanted harem, the main girl being a total bitch, the spineless protagonist who lets everybody walk all over him, utterly failing at Black Comedy, annoying and obnoxious characters with pretty much only one or two notable traits, etc. I have come to utterly loathe the Double Standard trope, as mangaka use it way too damn much just for a cheap attempt at comedy.
Let's talk about the characters. I despise every one of them. The Takahashi Couple trope is a demonstration of how people do not fall in love, yet the author keeps trying to claim they are. All I see is two squabbling babies who are not allowed to properly develop, yet the author pretends that they are. Akane is a spoiled, short-tempered Jerk Sue. I'm not saying Ranma is a saint, but for those who whine that he insults her all the time, she does THE EXACT SAME THING AND MORE! Between the two, Akane is the only one allowed to resort to violence, and for some reason, Ranma just stands there and lets her hit him despite the fact that it is well within his power to make her stop, ESPECIALLY when she attacks him for something that clearly ISN'T his fault. She has absolutely no faith in him, and when she's proven wrong about something, she seldom apologizes; and even when she does, that hardly balances out her violent behavior. When Ranma does or says something stupid, he gets hit; when Akane says or does the same, nothing happens to her.
As for the others, they're rotten, too: Nabiki is a sadist, and Rumiko Takahashi seems to think letting the bitch get away with her misdeeds makes her funny; Genma and Soun are obnoxious cowards; Happosai is annoying; Ryoga is a cowardly, perverted, self-pitying hypocrite; the suitors of both genders are just as bad as Akane in their own way; and, as stated before, Ranma is an Extreme Doormat who refuses to put his foot down and tell everybody to wipe their own asses instead of getting him to do it for them: since the very start of the series, everyone in Ranma's life has tried to, in some way or another, control him, and he just lets them do it when he has no reason to, and it isn't funny that he does.
In the end, I HATE this series. This is all just my opinion. Feel free to disagree.