Can Hakurei Reimu cure Ranma's curse?

Requests for information (such as weapons, maps, history, grammar, spelling, outlining, ect) for your writing. Or where to post useful reference sites that you have found useful in writing. Anything from information research to writing guides.

Can Hakurei Reimu cure Ranma's curse?

Postby Crescent Pulsar R » Wed Apr 27, 2011 3:04 pm

I haven't yet been able to play through many of the Touhou games, so I don't know much about her abilities, and I don't know what to assume as far as her disinterest in training in concerned. I could wait a while and figure it out myself after I've played through enough of the series, but I'd rather find out the viability of the plot device before I'm unable to stop myself from investing more time and ideas into what I have in mind.
Crescent Pulsar R
User avatar
Crystal Power Senshi
Posts: 4122
 

Re: Can Hakurei Reimu cure Ranma's curse?

Postby mondu_the_fat » Wed Apr 27, 2011 10:06 pm

In canon, Reimu's ability, other than danmaku and the yin-yang orbs, is to fly.

That's basically it.

http://en.touhouwiki.net/wiki/Reimu_Hakurei

In Strict Sense (written by Zun, so likely canon), its implied that she has the power to send outsiders back out through the border (all outsiders are advised to seek her out so that she can send them home). In Silent Sinner (also by Zun), it was shown she can ask the gods for favors with the appropriate ceremony. That's likely the best way of going about getting Reimu to cure Ranma. Find a shinto god that can remove curses or change the gender of somebody, and Reimu asks that god to remove Ranma's curse. Yukari can also likely haxx the curse, although its unlikely Reimu will ask her to do so.
"So Igor wasn't kidding. Most people just ensure they won't die cold and alone by making friends...I gain superpowers and have mysterious voices tell me I did a good job. My life is a goddamn mess."
-- Minato Arisato, My Life is a Goddamn Mess
mondu_the_fat
User avatar
Asteroid Senshi
Posts: 919
 

Re: Can Hakurei Reimu cure Ranma's curse?

Postby 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!

http://www.issendai.com/rpgs/japanese-boys-names.shtml
http://www.issendai.com/rpgs/japanese-girls-names.shtml
SpaceKnight of Chaos
Prism Power Senshi
Posts: 2561
 

Re: Can Hakurei Reimu cure Ranma's curse?

Postby Crescent Pulsar R » Thu Apr 28, 2011 9:26 pm

I haven't gotten to Mountain of Faith yet, but how about Hina Kagiyama? Because I'm not sure how her power works.
Crescent Pulsar R
User avatar
Crystal Power Senshi
Posts: 4122
 

Re: Can Hakurei Reimu cure Ranma's curse?

Postby mondu_the_fat » Tue May 03, 2011 5:33 am

Likely. However, you _did_ specifically ask for Reimu. A number of beings in gensokyo are capable of magic and curse removal, in degrees far more than what was shown in Ranma. I'm pretty sure Kanako can pull off something like that. Or you can get Eririn to concont something that makes him not change genders, or a more effective water proof soap, or someone weave an illusion over her female form so that he always appears male, or something.

As for Hina Kagiyama, the ability to remove misfortune is largely a ceremonial/symbolic one, like baptisms or blessings -- you don't see actual sin being washed away or a life suddenly becomes more fortuitous because of the blessing. But since it is gensokyo, you can always turn it literal.
"So Igor wasn't kidding. Most people just ensure they won't die cold and alone by making friends...I gain superpowers and have mysterious voices tell me I did a good job. My life is a goddamn mess."
-- Minato Arisato, My Life is a Goddamn Mess
mondu_the_fat
User avatar
Asteroid Senshi
Posts: 919
 


Return to Fic Research

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users

cron