Where do you see Ranma in 5 years?

[DBHay]

How do you think Ranma would change in five years.
Would the constant abuse and fighting of his female suitors leave him distrusting women?
Would the constant shifting of other peoples problems onto him make him dispise others?
Would the constant attacks make him violent and prone to fighting with less restraint, not caring if he hurt people?
I know it's a slapstick comedy but his life is one long brawl populated with idiots and demented losers, what affect do you see it having on him?
DBHay

[migele]

To tell the truth I see him dead or at least crippled.
If Canon continued ... probably wrecking University while trying for some major.
Other alternative is ronin, because Nodoka got fed up.
But dead is the most probable.

[Forum Troll]

Ranma is very good at living through things that should kill him, both day to day and monumental threats. I see him still stuck in the same situation just 5 years older and a probably even more crazy.
Forum Troll

[antimatterenergy]

First Ranma doesn't really trust people as is.
Five years is too large a time period. Characters change and the way the Ranmaverse is currently setup there are hundreds of possible changes that can occur in a few weeks time much less 5 years. I don't see the situation lasting that long someone will be drastically hurt before than or give up before then. I don't see Ranma dead or crippled though. Mainly becuase Ranma is too tough and has to many survivor instincts. Just to many possiblities for me to guess as to what will be. If there weren't so many possiblities there wouldn't be as much Ranma fanfiction as there is.

[iiradned]

Isn't this what fanfic is for?

[migele]

It is.
however unless he leaves Nerima I can only see a dark future for him.

[Frog]

Reallistically speaking, in 5 years, I see him following his Father's example. He'd make some plausible excuse to go in an extensive training trip and never return. He'd be chased, ofcourse, but he'd probably manage to stay one step ahead of everybody and live happily doing what he's been doing for most of his life: traveling and training.
Would make for a funny fic, I think. Where in the world is Ranma Saotome?

[migele]

hmm Chasing Ranma fics ... I think there are two of that kind.
both unfinished.

[Musouka]

Which ones?

Would make for a funny fic, I think. Where in the world is Ranma Saotome?

A crossover with Carmen San Diego perhaps?

[Khortez]

If nothing had changed from the end of the manga I see Ranma with Akane, a little bit more mature, more comfortable with each other. The other messes would have been resolved with a random yet oddly hilarious sequence of events, and Ranma would have been training more and getting into more hijinks as cures for his curse keep popping up near him, yet staying continuously out of his reach.
I still see how people see Ranma as being dark at all, even with the Nekoken training, and most of the violence is just slapstick comedy of the style of the 2 stooges only scaled up a bit for more powerful people. If you analyze Looney Toons as much as you analyze Ranma you would find that LT is a much darker show underneath everything, with all the shootings of Daffy Duck, Bug's unknown sexual preferences, Pepi Lepuw's attempts to rape the house cat, all the minor characters that turn into fried chicken in random explosions.
To end the rant though, I just want to say that for fanfiction, making Ranma 1/2 darker than it it really is, is alright. But don't just outright state that it is a dark comedy or anything. Its just overanalyzing things to the point where they lose their original meaing.

[MacShimi]

One of the things that always strikes me about the Ranma series is how well Takahashi captured the mind-set of teenagers. Ranma is amazingly competent, a martial arts prodigy. However his prodigious abilities in the martial arts have come at the expense of many day-to-day skills. The series is an interesting portrayal of someone trying to adapt to a society that they don’t really understand.
Ranma, for all that he claims to be sensible, and a man of the world, is actually much less experienced than he thinks. When it comes to martial arts, he is able to hold his own, or outright defeat anyone. Outside of martial arts he is far more vulnerable. Certainly, he has some useful skills, most acquired from necessity on the road. Most of these skills seem to be at the rough self-taught level, though he is at least competent at them. N.B. Competent, not good or talented.
Having been on the road for 10 years, he then arrives at the Tendo Dojo, and is told that he will be returning to school. It is at this point that most of the deferred experiences that he (and particularly Genma) have fled from in their 10 year training journey catch up with them. Whereas on the training trip he never had to face the consequences of his actions, now that he is in one place he is surrounded by the consequences of his actions, and of course those of others (Genma, Soun, Cologne, Shampoo, Ryoga, Tatewaki & Kodachi & Ukyo et al).
In 5 years time I see Ranma as having moved on. To be perfectly blunt I see Ranma as having learnt a lot from having been in the mess that he was placed in during the time of the Manga, but I also see him as having completely separated himself from the environment there. I believe that Ranma would be a martial artist as he likes to define it: One whose life is fraught with peril, and whose duty it is to help the weak. I do not necessarily see Ranma as being Ronin, but I certainly could see him using it as a threat against his ‘honour-bound’ parents. Yes, it would be a dishonourable act by Japanese terms. But the only way to untie the Gordian knot was to cut it. Similarly the only way out of his situation might be to renounce his family, not what he learnt from them, but te intolerable situation they created for him.
I think that tough as Ranma is there comes a time when you’ve just got to say enough is enough. I’m sure he’ll then go out and seek trouble of his own making, but at least then it’s trouble of his own making, not that created for him by others. As for university or not who can say?
If I’m forced to make a statement on the fiancée issue I’d have to say I choose none. In their own ways each of Ranma’s fiancées is an appalling fit for him. We do stupid things to please our parents and friends when young. But when we mature we realize that our own happiness comes from standing on our own decisions, and not abrogating our responsibility on others. To place all future happiness (from a relationship) in the hands of any of Ranma’s fiancée brigade would be disastrous.
So that’s my 2 pence…

[Zwzn]

Given how things are going in the manga I have to say Ranma will have to deal with at least one person dieing because of the people attacking him. That person(s) might be a bystander, the person he is fighting, or even himself.

[DBHay]

Someone dying is very plausible, both Ryoga and Moose have shown total indifference to bystanders when attacking Ranma, Moose tossing knives and chains, Ryoga nearly killing Akane with a thrown bandana.
How would that effect the rest if someone, a bystander perhaps was killed, would the whole house of cards come tumbling down?
Or would they shrug and continue on, I can see the Amazons treating any legal problems caused by Shampoo killing someone as an minor problem, by their rules it is, though I think they'd hand Moose over without a qualm.
DBHay

[Zwzn]

Someone dying is very plausible, both Ryoga and Moose have shown total indifference to bystanders when attacking Ranma, Moose tossing knives and chains, Ryoga nearly killing Akane with a thrown bandana.
How would that effect the rest if someone, a bystander perhaps was killed, would the whole house of cards come tumbling down?
Or would they shrug and continue on, I can see the Amazons treating any legal problems caused by Shampoo killing someone as an minor problem, by their rules it is, though I think they'd hand Moose over without a qualm.
DBHay

Ranma seems to care alot about the lives of others. He would likely at least try to keep it from happening again if he is not the dead person.

[bissek]

It's not that Ryoga and Mousse would harm a bystander, it's just that they can't be bothered to check if their actions would endanger one - which is arguably even worse. If either one of those does manage to do a nontrivial injury to a bystander, Ranma may well decide that the gloves are coming off.
As for his fiancees, I think Ukyo would be the best match for him. I'm not saying that she's a good match, just that she's the best option out of the three he has. For a good match, he'd have to find an extra fiancee (provided by fanon created engagement) or renounce Genma's idiocy and find his own girlfriend.