Natsume & Kurumi on Ranma's training trip - need suggestions

[Spokavriel]

If you want to go that Animal Defender route watching the Miyazaki movie Pom Poko would be a good idea. Sure its not at the same level that Ranma could achieve after some practice nor make use of any martial arts. But it is a great example of what can be done by Tanuki along with hints at other shape shifters if they are motivated even untrained in any fighting style.

[Spokavriel]

The main reason I brought up the plot is because the way Nodoka is kinda demands whatever happens with her will either drive or override plots as needed to assure survival. While it sounds good to get the Saotome family back together she has the potential to be a repeating antagonist even if not intentionally. And well with still trying to establish a dynamic for the Tendo home... In a way this might work better for real life but for story telling your more or less going to have to set up 3 stories that only come together about half the time. There's the Tendo family plot line showing how things develop there. There's the Saotome home drama. And then there's the School/public interactions line which remains the only one any cannon introductions could come up in. But nothing has what is needed for cannon results. So all 3 of these narratives will have to be concurrent and this is before setting up other characters to introduce them to the setting.

[SpaceKnight of Chaos]

Thank you for mentioning that fact. This is going to take quite a bit of work before we pull it off...

[Spokavriel]

Will Natsume and Kurumi be main characters? Or will Ranma and Genma's trip back to the Saotome home make it so the entire Tendo household become background characters like Yuka and Hiroshi or other school characters?

[SpaceKnight of Chaos]

Seeing as the basic idea is to pair up Ranma and Natsume, I'd say they'd be main characters. Though I will admit that the rest of the Tendo household could very well fade into the background, depending on how I end up putting this idea together precisely.

[Spokavriel]

Akane doesn't have a back ground attitude. Kasumi could easily end up forgotten in this fic. Nabiki will end up noticeable due to sharing class with her "sister" not to mention her selling of photos to Kuno. And well you know Kuno.