Genma's Goals- what are they?

[SpaceKnight of Chaos]

This was inspired by a comment (or possibly several, can't recall off the top of my head) made in another topic. Though fanon makes many assumptions, Genma's plans and goals are all but unknown in the Ranma 1/2 canon, and many of the facts contradict the theories. For example, if it's wealth Genma wants, why doesn't he engage Ranma to Kodachi (as a hetero-relationship, Ranma wouldn't have a problem with it on that account. He would object to marrying such a lunatic, but that's a lesser problem), who is heir to one of the richest families in Japan (anime canon) and is quite willing to take in Genma, not just as 'package deal' for Ranma, but because she actually sees him as something of a surrogate father? If he wants to empower the school, why is he so fixated on the Tendos, who have no new techniques and, really, are fine with Ranma marrying one of their family who does't have the slightest interest in martial arts?

What is it that Genma wants from the future for himself... it could be wealth and the comfortable life that would ensue. It could be to become famous as the world's greatest martial arts sensei, or for his school of martial arts to become world-renowed. He could even be after world domination, for all we know. We just aren't really told anything. So I come before you all to ask: what do you think Genma's goals for the future are?

[mondu_the_fat]

For example, if it's wealth Genma wants, why doesn't he engage Ranma to Kodachi (as a hetero-relationship, Ranma wouldn't have a problem with it on that account. He would object to marrying such a lunatic, but that's a lesser problem), who is heir to one of the richest families in Japan (anime canon) and is quite willing to take in Genma, not just as 'package deal' for Ranma, but because she actually sees him as something of a surrogate father? If he wants to empower the school, why is he so fixated on the Tendos, who have no new techniques and, really, are fine with Ranma marrying one of their family who does't have the slightest interest in martial arts?

I've answered this before:

Genma isn't interested in marrying off Ranma for the money as he is interested in marrying Ranma off to the Tendos.

Why? Because Suon is his friend. He'll be happier marrying off Ranma to one of his daughters rather than to the Chardin family with all their wealth.

I doesn't really go more beyond that that. "Uniting their chools" is nothing more than an oblique way of saying "we want our children married to each other."

[SpaceKnight of Chaos]

I'm not saying that friendship with Soun isn't a reason why he's so insistent that Ranma marries a Tendo. But why go to all the trouble of making Ranma into what he is now (crude and egotistical, admittedly, but also a martial arts expert) if that's all he wants from life? Why take him from his mother at the age of 2 and haul him ceaselessly around the country on a 14-year-long non-stop martial arts training journey, if all he ever planned was for him to shack up with one of Soun's daughters and start teaching lessons at the dojo?

I'm asking what people think Genma wants, both in general and specifically, from the future, not why he's so insistent on Ranma marrying Akane. I just brought that up as an example.

[FOG3]

Genma's basically a bottom feeder, there is no evil overlord plan. There wouldn't even be a point to try to make such a plan, due to the nature of such an operational mode preventing making anything approaching effective predictions in anything beyond the immediate future. There's what can he do now, and how can he keep my bets hedged.

I seem to remember responding to a similar post possibly by you about why he doesn't lock with Kodachi. Well let's be blunt here, because if he hooks up Ranma with Kodachi, Kodachi can pull out and leave him high and dry because then he has ZERO leverage at that point. To quote the Russians "Promises are like pie crust, they're meant to be broken" so no leverage, makes such things only worth the paper they're printed on. Neither Kodachi nor Ranma themselves are liable to do anything to insure their end of the bargain as you think of it, making that injunction gutless.

As long as he messes around with Soun he's secure for the moment, and it's not quite as straight forward to nail him for some of his other crimes as one might think. I'd say he's very cautious about hedging his bets in regards to anything that could render irreversible change. He however doesn't plan so much as he reacts, and I think it is giving him too much credit to act as if he intentionally programmed Ranma evil overlord plan style.

[Ezvir]

Genma's goals seem to be, in order of importance:

1. Training Ranma to be the best martial artist he can possibly be.
2. Marrying Ranma to one of the Tendou sisters.
3. Curing his baldness if given the opportunity.
4. Curing his pandaism.
5. Eating tasty food.
6. Ranma's overall wellbeing.

There is little reason to believe that they are connected in any way (except 6. to 1. and 2. obviously). He has taken a lack of 5. for the sake of 1. repeatedly (foremost by going on training trips in the first place) and 2. contradicts 5. as long as Akane is the sister in question.

Supposing some sort of master plan that links all his actions requires that he is capable of long term planing in the first place, and also capable of not babbling about it in the course of acting on it over all 38 volumes.

[Neko-]

You forgot one: Escape Nodoka's wrath (read: perform seppuku).

I put that one in at 3.

I'd switch the current 3 and current 4 tho.

[mondu_the_fat]

I'd say curing his Panda form is on the bottom of his list. I mean, he's remarkably well-adjusted to being a panda, far more than Ranma is with being a girl. It does seem to solve his other needs -- hair (heh), food (panda can digest bamboo shoots, which probably tastes well to his panda tongue, not to mention in good supply), plus a convenient (if temporary) escape from uncomfortable situations (which would include Nadoka, if she were on that list).

[FOG3]

Supposing some sort of master plan that links all his actions requires that he is capable of long term planing in the first place, and also capable of not babbling about it in the course of acting on it over all 38 volumes.

You know that could probably make for a good short fic. Something along the lines of:

It was perfect, absolutely perfect. Thanks to his masterful plan he had not only convinced a quality Chinese and Okonomiyaki dealer to be within easy walking distance, but he could get a discount in their attempts to convince his son to marry them. Genma allowed himself to engage in some maniacal laughter.

Ah but that wasn't the best part. Thanks to egging on both the Kunos and fooling the impressionable Soun he could get quality meals FOR FREE.

"What are you doing?"

Genma turned to see Ranma, and proceeded to act totally innocent. "I'm sorry, Ranma is something wrong?"

"Kasumi said to get ready, we're going out for ramen tonight."

Dash, his brilliant plan. How could he have forgotten to get a ramen dealer indebted to him. Why, oh why?

[Drawde]

if all he ever planned was for him to shack up with one of Soun's daughters and start teaching lessons at the dojo?

Nothing in the manga says the Tendo dojo is a teaching one. It might simply be the dojo the Tendo's use to practice in. It's the anime that brought teaching at it up.

[SpaceKnight of Chaos]

Isn't Ranma mentioned as going to inherit the Tendo Dojo in the manga as well? And if Ranma isn't supposed to be using his martial arts skills to support Genma & Soun, why the hell did Genma teach him martial arts? If all he and Soun were after was to simply unite their families, with no martial arts elements at all, wouldn't Genma have let Ranma have a more normal life so that he would be able to better get on with Akane and/or get a job to support his father?

[Ezvir]

Isn't Ranma mentioned as going to inherit the Tendo Dojo in the manga as well? And if Ranma isn't supposed to be using his martial arts skills to support Genma & Soun, why the hell did Genma teach him martial arts? If all he and Soun were after was to simply unite their families, with no martial arts elements at all, wouldn't Genma have let Ranma have a more normal life so that he would be able to better get on with Akane and/or get a job to support his father?

Because being a martial artist is an end in itself? There is no indication in the manga that the 12+ year training trip and the engagement are causally related. Or that Genma intends to retire on Ranma's labor.

[SpaceKnight of Chaos]

As has been pointed out here, it is the custom in Japan for children to support their parents. As Ranma was supposed to marry a Tendo daughter, and as women don't have much employment there, that seems to indicate to me that Genma expects Ranma to be the one paying for his livelihood once Genma retires. And in and of itself, being a martial artist does not pay the bills- Soun Tendo is on the council, Ukyo runs an okonomiyaki shop, the Amazons run the Cate Cafe in Nerima, you get the drift. About the only way Ranma can make a living from martial arts is by being a dojo destroyer (that is, going around challenging rival dojos for cash money) and/or competing in tournaments, or by running his own dojo.

[FOG3]

Isn't Ranma mentioned as going to inherit the Tendo Dojo in the manga as well? And if Ranma isn't supposed to be using his martial arts skills to support Genma & Soun, why the hell did Genma teach him martial arts? If all he and Soun were after was to simply unite their families, with no martial arts elements at all, wouldn't Genma have let Ranma have a more normal life so that he would be able to better get on with Akane and/or get a job to support his father?

Because Takahashi wanted to write a comedic story involving martial arts this time around instead of effectively a rewrite of Maisson Ikkokou. Eventually you're going to run into the walls of Takahashi's fiat in any analysis. She wrote an episodic comedy, not an epic with a very thoroughly thought out plot line, setting, and universe. I'm not telling you that you can't try to work with getting as much consistency going as you can get away with, but this is not a negligible factor here. Plus to be blunt you're reaching even if this wasn't the case with your argument here.

Your underling assumption here is that Genma has an Evil Overlord Plan to trump all Evil Overlord Plans in excruciating detail, and he wouldn't dare do anything beyond what is absolutely necessary for the Evil Overlord Plan. That precept is inherently very weak in general, for Genma it's not really even tenable.

As has been pointed out here, it is the custom in Japan for children to support their parents. As Ranma was supposed to marry a Tendo daughter, and as women don't have much employment there, that seems to indicate to me that Genma expects Ranma to be the one paying for his livelihood once Genma retires. And in and of itself, being a martial artist does not pay the bills- Soun Tendo is on the council, Ukyo runs an okonomiyaki shop, the Amazons run the Cate Cafe in Nerima, you get the drift. About the only way Ranma can make a living from martial arts is by being a dojo destroyer (that is, going around challenging rival dojos for cash money) and/or competing in tournaments, or by running his own dojo.

Because clearly a 16ish year old doing well enough in High School is much too old to change his career path... You aren't really thinking this through are you?

Do yourself a favor and stop making these overextended appeals.

[mondu_the_fat]

Isn't Ranma mentioned as going to inherit the Tendo Dojo in the manga as well? And if Ranma isn't supposed to be using his martial arts skills to support Genma & Soun, why the hell did Genma teach him martial arts? If all he and Soun were after was to simply unite their families, with no martial arts elements at all, wouldn't Genma have let Ranma have a more normal life so that he would be able to better get on with Akane and/or get a job to support his father?

And? Genma taught him martial arts because Genma believed martial arts was a positive thing, like a lawyer father wanting his sons to be lawyers, a doctor father wants his son to be doctors, etc.

That martial arts doesn't exactly fit _our_ definition of a good livelihood doesn't mean Genma thinks its a bad way to make a living.

About the only way Ranma can make a living from martial arts is by being a dojo destroyer (that is, going around challenging rival dojos for cash money) and/or competing in tournaments, or by running his own dojo.

Add some theft, breaking and entering, grifting, and monster hunting to that list. Likely not enough, actually, but Genma doesn't really think that way. He's gonna teach Ranma martial arts, a noble practice which is enough to get him through life and provide Genma with a retirement plan -- that's how Genma ticks. Hey, it was good enough for him, it's going to be good enough for the boy.

[SpaceKnight of Chaos]

Why are you people acting like I've been asking why Genma raised Ranma the way he did? I'm not! All I'm asking is what people think Genma's goals for the future are, not why he's lived the way he has or why he made all the engagements or anything else! I'm not saying he's an Evil Overlord, not saying that he's got some sinister masterplan, I just wanted to hear what people think Genma wants from life.