Where do you see Ranma in 5 years?

[antimatterenergy]

Genma didn't really accept the cart for Ukyo he stole it. (He was supposed to take Ukyo as well.)
The Saotome honor is already shot to hell because of Genma. Ranma's reputation is also pretty bad because of actions taken by Genma, Happosai, Akane, Ryoga, Ryu Kumon, and others. Even though Ranma is in a difficult situation where every choice he makes has consequences he is not without options. One possibility for Ranma if he wanted to marry Ukyo or Akane he could do so without loss of honor by being adopted into their clans and no longer being a Soatome. I can think of several other ways as well. Though I'd like to point out Ranma doesn't seem to overly care about family honor to begin with. Ranma's easiest means of clearing up the family honor is to tell his mom the problem and have her make Genma fix the mess up since it's his fault to begin with and tell Genma that he can't marry Akane until the Ukyo situation is fixed. (Genma can clear this up alot easier then Ranma)
Reason I mentioned that it was only an oral agreement was because it's a lot easier to get out of one then a written contract especially since it would be one persons word against another, there being no concrete proof that it ever actually happened.

[GenocideHeart]

Genma didn't really accept the cart for Ukyo he stole it. (He was supposed to take Ukyo as well.)
The Saotome honor is already shot to hell because of Genma. Ranma's reputation is also pretty bad because of actions taken by Genma, Happosai, Akane, Ryoga, Ryu Kumon, and others. Even though Ranma is in a difficult situation where every choice he makes has consequences he is not without options. One possibility for Ranma if he wanted to marry Ukyo or Akane he could do so without loss of honor by being adopted into their clans and no longer being a Soatome. I can think of several other ways as well. Though I'd like to point out Ranma doesn't seem to overly care about family honor to begin with. Ranma's easiest means of clearing up the family honor is to tell his mom the problem and have her make Genma fix the mess up since it's his fault to begin with and tell Genma that he can't marry Akane until the Ukyo situation is fixed. (Genma can clear this up alot easier then Ranma)
Reason I mentioned that it was only an oral agreement was because it's a lot easier to get out of one then a written contract especially since it would be one persons word against another, there being no concrete proof that it ever actually happened.

Wouldn't it be the same for the Tendos? We only have THEIR word it's a'pledge'. For all we know they got stone drunk while celebrating knocking their wives up and drunkenly made the pact, and now uphold it out of pure greed.

[DBHay]

Written or oral agreement; and regardless of the ownership of the yatti the fact is that Genma accepted it as dowry for Uyko.
That he promptly broke the agreement doesn't matter, he's admitted in front of Ranma and the Tendo's that he made the agreement and took the dowry.
He and Soun can talk about honor all they like, they've placed so much honor on Ranma marrying a Tendo but Ranma can't win, marrying either Akane or Uyko destroys the Saotome honor.
Which is why I think the series ended unresolved, none of the solutions fitted with a slapstick comedy, Ranma can commit seppuku, go ronin or someone has to cancel one of the marriage arrangements, and we know how good everybody was at being reasonable.
DBHay

[antimatterenergy]

GenocideHeart: Yes both the Tendo and Ukyo's engagements are as far as we know are oral. The major difference is that the Tendo's engagement supersedes Ukyo's (even told Ukyo's dad that Ranma was already engaged) and more people are backing it (Genma, Soun, and Akane to a point whereas Ukyo only has herself and maybe her dad but we don't see him try to enforce it).
DBHay: Genma never accepted the Yatti as dowry he out right stole it. He also never outright states that Ukyo is Ranma's fiancee instead he tells of how Ukyo's father wanted to engage them, how he said that Ranma was already engaged, and that he asked Ranma which does Ranma like more Ukyo or Okinamiyaki (<-spelled wrong) and Ranma chose the food.
It's more than just marrying Akane or Ukyo if Ranma marries anyone it destroys the Saotome honor (what little honor is left) provided that Ranma first doesn't somehow leave the clan, resolve the situation, approach the clan heads with an alternate solution (money or passing on the engagement to the next generation for example), goes Ronin, becomes clan head, proves that Genma wasn't the head of clan at the time of engagement, has Genma resolve the engagement (Genma made it very easy to discredit Ukyo's claim see the thread about how valid is Ukyo's claim for how) etc... Ranma does have options as to how to solve the situation and Genma has more.

[Anchoku]

This discussion is spiraling toward pointlessness. Takahashi-san set the story up so there wasn't a good solution to everyone's problems. If you insist on trying to inject reality into the story, consider these points:
1. Neither Ranma, nor Genma are all that concerned about honor; certainly not enough to commit seppuku or, marry a girl Ranma's not interested in.
2. There isn't a way to preserve everyone's "honor" so you're better off thinking of likely ways Takahashi would have "fixed" things if she were so inclined.
3. Arguments with each other over how to justify Ranma picking your favorite fiancee is the mark of the otaku. Take a deep breath. Now, exhale and repeat after me. "I have a life and this is not it."

[DBHay]

The point I'm trying to make is that Ranma has two valid fiancees if it comes down to honor, marry either of them and he has none, something that's very important to the Japanese.
Ranma's honor might be confused but he is an honorable person, otherwise Ryoga would be dead by hammer by now.
He was raised to value honor by his father as a means of controlling Ranma, that's why Genma always jabbers on about the 'Honor of the schools' as a goad to Ranma.
As far as the best fiancee goes I'm in the 'None of them' camp.
DBHay

[mondu_the_fat]

I think I'm the only one seing Ranma getting over with his occasional problems with intimacy and simultaneously satisfying multiple women.

[antimatterenergy]

I agree with DBHay in that Ranma can't marry anyone without loss of honor until he or someone else resolves the situation. A thing Ranma and some of the other characters can do but it will not be an easy thing to do.
Most people seem to confuse a persons morals with their honor. While they can be tied together they are not the same thing. Some honorable stuff is not moral and some moral decisions will prevent you from doing somethings that honor would demand.
I too think Ranma would be best off with none of his fiancees as things stand.
Mondu_the_fat - I also agree with your statement. Given Ranma's massive endurance and stamina he could probably keep up with many girls at a time. Though he'd have to be careful to not accidentally hurt them considering his strength, speed, and to not overly exhaust the girl. Hell if the girls are not physically enhanced (martial arts, magic, science, etc...) many might be needed just to keep up with him.

[otiina]

In five years, Ranma will probably be back on the road... alone.. or with shampoo.
It seems to me that out of the three agreements, the one with the Tendos is the most easily taken care of. If Soun and Genma both agree to judge the whole thing unattainable or void, then the pledge die... things will probably reach this point.
Ukyo... again, similar to the Tendo agreement, it will die a natural death with both parties mutually agreeing to go their separate ways.

[Tovath]

that's the problem. I can't see any of them backing down

[bissek]

I agree. None of the fiancees is the type to back down unless they are either forced to or some method is found that allows them to save face when backing off. Ranma doesn't have anything that satisfies the latter and can't bring himself to cause the former (The most obvious solution to the kiss of death is to break the neck of the Amazon in question. Ranma probably knows this intellectually, but couldn't bring himself to do it when Shampoo was trying to kill him).
The only way the Nerima mess can be resolved is if Ranma can find the help of a third party who has no stake in his marrying (or not marrying) one of the girls. With the possible exception of Tofu (Who dropped off the map halfway through the series for no apparent reason), I don't think such a person exists in Ranma 1/2. That's part of the reason why Ranma crossovers are popular. It gives an easy way of providing such a third party.

[otiina]

True, none of them will back down. For the moment. But do you honestly think they can hold out for 5 years, 10, 15, 20? I dont. Common sense will prevail sooner or later.
I can think of one way to save face. Ranma not marry any of them. That way, no clan manages to get ahead at the expense of the other.
In the real world (Outside the twisted realities of the characters involved in this madness), what part does honor play? Being a ronin isnt too bad. The founder of Mitsubishi was a ronin and look at his company today.

[A.Nonymous]

I saw a page quite some time ago that explained the significance of Genma asking Ranma which he liked better "Ukyo or Okonomiyaki"
It stated that in Japan there are two types of arranged marriages, one is based on "Family Honor" like Genma claims for the Tendo engagement and Ukyo's father claims for his arrangement and those which aren't like the engagement Mrs. Tofu was trying to set up for Dr. Tofu.
While arranged marriages aren't legally enforceable anymore Ranma were to break the TENDO agreement he'd most likely be disowned.
The significance of Genma asking Ranma to choose is that it places the engagement into the non-honor category... Thus as far as Genma is concerned there's no "Family honor" involved...just fraud and theft. And that's for Ranma to deal with if it ever catches up with them.
The truth is that based on "Family Honor" the Tendo/Saotome agreement holds more status as they can actually point to a valid honorable reason for the agreement in the first place, "The joining of the Schools," while the Kuonji/Saotome agreement doesn't. "They liked each other as kids" doesn't count much for "Family Honor," and would only get you a "marriage meeting" and the right of refusal.

[bissek]

Of course, "Family Honor" is a concept conditional on the families HAVING honor. You could make a fairly good argument that none of them - including Ranma and Kasumi - have any honor to lose.
In regards to the Kuonji agreement being at best an arrangement for a marriage meeting, then Genma by rights should not have taken the yattai until after the meeting - IF the meeting resulted in an engagement. The "Ukyo or Okonomiyaki" conversation does not count. I think marriage meetings have to be done at an age when the parties theoretically getting married are old enough to know what's going on.
As such, it could be that all the Saotomes owe the Kuonjis is money to replace the yattai, which could be countered by a bill for Ukyo's share of the damage to the dojo during the aborted wedding.
As for trying to settle the engagement mess with marriage meetings: I'm not too solid on the requirements, but I think the components needed for one to occur are:
1: The presence of the potential bride and groom
This one's easy. With the exception of Akane, who would refuse to show up if Ranma said or did something she perceived to be rude or perverted in the recent past unless dragged in by her family, any of the girls after Ranma would cheerfully agree to a marriage meeting.
2: The absence of violent and/or crazy people trying to disrupt the meeting
This one is not an official requirement, but given Ranma's life, it is a de facto requirement.
If any of the wanna-be brides (including Kodachi) other than the one invited shows up at the meeting, the meeting will degenerate into pointless violence. If the meeting is with Shampoo, Mousse will attack the meeting. If the meeting is Ranma with anybody, Kuno and/or Ryoga may turn up and cause a fight. If the meeting is with Akane, Soun and Genma will try to force a successful wedding and have a priest standing outside the door. Nodoka may help them. If the meeting is with anyone other than Akane, the dopey duo will try to ensure the meeting fails so that Ranma will return to Akane, again possibly helped by Nodoka. If anyone female is at the meeting at all, Happosai may turn up and disrupt things just by being his usual self.
The only way to fill this requirement is to have all the above parties bound, gagged, and locked into a secure facility somewhere on the opposite side of town from the meeting.
3: The presence of one or both parents of each member of the couple
This one is automatically impossible, as Gemna, Soun and Nodoka are tied up on the other side of town. This is further complicated by the fact that with the possible exception of Cologne, none of the fiancees parents/guardians are pushing the match for the sake of their children, they are pushing it for their own sake (Genma + Soun: Retirement. Kuonji: Reclaiming the pride he lost by trusting Genma. Principal Kuno: Probably hasn't noticed his children's lust lives, except to note that they hang around people who need haircuts), and even Cologne has an ulterior motive in tribal politics and inflexible laws. That means that it is highly unlikely that the parents will be reasonable.
4: (Not sure on this one) A matchmaker/arbitrator/peacekeeper
As I've said before, neutral parties to the mess called Ranma's life are hard to come by in Nerima. Ones that people will actually listen to are even harder to find.

[otiina]

If Ranma breaks the agreement... then yes, he probably will end up being disowned or disinherited at best. BUT, if it was the families themselves that made the decision to nullify the agreement, then it would be possible to get rid of the Tendo agreement.
The critical person here would be Nodoka, the fact that the weilds the honor blade of the clan implies that she is in a position of standing in the clan. Her opinion of the matter is bound to carry some weight. She will undoubtedly seek a resolution to the problem (on her own or after careful prodding from others), and I believe that eventually she will come to consider the option of nullfying the agreement.
Regarding the matchmaker, I think the matchmakers role would be to screen the list of possible brides. Im not so sure about the Japanese version of a matchmaker, its possible that they role of the matchmaker in Japanese marriage meetings is a third party only. A mutual acquaintance that makes the introductions, ect. The traditional chinese matchmaker on the other hand... she has a certain formula that she uses to make matches.