by SpaceKnight of Chaos » Thu Apr 28, 2011 1:47 pm
While I confess to not knowing Touhou very well, if Hakurei Reimu can genuinely call upon the kami, then she should be capable of curing Ranma's curse.
In canon, the real meta-reason that Ranma can't ever be cured is because the series ultimately bows to Status Quo Is God - it's the same reason why nobody can ever really grow as a character; it's supposed to just basically keep on grinding along. However, in-series, nobody with any real spiritual power ever shows up; we see precisely three Shinto priests in the series - the one who hires Ranma, Soun & Genma to help him reseal the evil oni, the one who needs Ranma, Akane & Ukyo to fight off the kami who he has offended by drawing pictures that portray just how ugly it really is, and the one who sells the Battle Dogi to the Tendo Dojo. None of them ever show any signs of serious spiritual power, except the ability to draw sutras... and even Ranma is capable of drawing sutras.
Really, the curse does not show any particular signs of being hard to remove... if you can get your hands on some kind of curse-breaking magic. While the loose continuity of the series muddies things by showing Pantyhose Taro absorbing the Octopus Spring curse (though let's not forget his cursed form is a mix and match critter based on four seperate curses to begin with), we do have the characters themselves reference Nanniichuan and Nyanniichuan (respectively) as being cures - we even see Ranma and Genma, at the end of the Instant Nanniichuan arc, remove the koi from the pond, apply Instant Nanniichuan powder, and use it to change themselves back to normal. The only problem is that Instant Jusenkyo Water causes one transformation, so if a person with a real Jusenkyo curse uses it, then the next dose of cold water causes their real curse to come out again. Aside from Jusenkyo rip-offs, though, only one piece of magic that relates even slightly to curse-breaking, the Wishing Sword Manganmaru, ever shows up.
Anyway, what I'm saying is, if Reimu is powerful enough to communicate with the upper level kami, then she should be able to speak to a kami of healing or purification or, as Mondu said, gender-bending, and ask them to remove the curse. If they decide to go along with it, then Ranma will be cured. Note that's an "IF" - even with shrine maidens, kami don't do something for nothing. Anything from owing them favors to having to "pay" them in some fashion first to having to beat them into doing it is quite understandable.
Of course, if kami are a bust, then from what I know of Reimu, her taking Ranma with her to go raiding for magical artifacts (the library of Patchouli Knowledge would be a perfect place) is perfectly in character.
Water, water, everywhere, and all was cursed and black!
Drowned ones cast bad spell and out come pig, girl, duck, panda!
Swirl, swirl, slithery pond, and join with magic spring!
Swirl, swirl, dirty pond, and rid the cursed sting!
Here my prayer, I beg you please!
Now turn these curses BACK!
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