Ranma/Akane's Marriage: how long do you think it would last?

[SpaceKnight of Chaos]

If this should have been put in the "Polls" forum, I apologise; please feel free to shut it down. Anyway, like the title suggests, if Ranma & Akane did get married, how long do you feel they would actually be able to stay married to each other?

[PCHeintz72]

If this should have been put in the "Polls" forum, I apologise; please feel free to shut it down. Anyway, like the title suggests, if Ranma & Akane did get married, how long do you feel they would actually be able to stay married to each other?

This is a very loaded question.

The problem is, I think this the wrong question to ask... I think it better to ask, were Ranma to marry Akane, how happy would it be?

Frankly, were they to get married, unless the fathers and mother stopped stepped back the pressure in the thought it might not be needed and they had won and got what they wanted, I think they would stay together quite some time. Even without it, it would take some doing I think to make either go the actual step to end it. But in any case, I do not think it would be an overly happy marriage.

To me, I do not think much was decided or made clear at all at the end of the manga, and I am definately not one to believe in either destined love, soul mates, or other such.

[SpaceKnight of Chaos]

Makes sense to me; if you can tell me how I should 'revise' this question to the one you suggest, I'll get this thread deleted.

[LadyRelena]

In the anime I can't see Ranma and Akane's marriage lasting for a few week let alone for the resat of their lives.

In the manga however, they do seem to mature and progress (even though it's not by much). In the manga their marriage could last forever if they continued to mature and work hard at their relationship. As they stand now though, I still doubt that they are a good match.

[EdenB]

I'm going with for a few years.

I doubt much of it would be happy though, marriage would likely be the only thing keeping them together most of the time.

[Scooter]

I'd give them 18 to 24 months at most. And I have to echo Eden; I doubt very much it'd be a happy one.

[Spokavriel]

I say the marriage would last until the end of their lives. But considering the way danger keeps increasing while Ranma and Akane are trying to be together I don't see them surviving long enough to get into college if they marry any time before graduation.

[mondu_the_fat]

Their lives would be a living hell. That being said, I see them staying with each other forever. Their marriage, being an arranged one, does not need love. And I _do_ think they love each other, which is bonus.

[Ezvir]

It depends on the circumstances, of course. If they marry only because they are pressured without being ready I could see their relationship breaking down pretty soon.
But assuming they marry out of their own will and on their own time schedule, after they have put their affairs in order (which is the plan at the end of the manga), I don't see any logical reason whatsoever why anyone should think it would not last.

One frequent reason for divorce is disillusionment with the partner. But Akane and Ranma already are perfectly aware of each other's many, many, many flaws, don't seem to have any great expectation of changing the other, but apparently love each other anyway, and no disillusionment is at all likely (P-chan situation won't work out that way either for various reasons). Nor is either of them enough of a doormat for the other to walk all over until they can't stand it anymore (I absolutely loathe fanfics that portray Ranma like that by the way). They show each other when they are unhappy with something, but are quickly willing to make up, and both show willingness to compromise in order to do so. Also they understand each others feelings and motivations pretty well. (Ranma about as well as possible for a shounen protagonist, which is less than perfect, Akane with the complication of understandably assuming the extra motivation of being a lech initially, but eventually learning better, mostly)

As for the Ranma teasing Akane and her hitting him in retaliation routine, it becomes less frequent over the course of the series, and isn't much of a problem anyway: Ranma enjoys teasing, particularly people he feels close to, and doesn't mind being hit when he deserves it all that much. (note how he insults Akane and then hitshimself when he believes her dead). He doesn't expect people to be really hurt or carry a grunge over the teasing if they retaliate (he doesn't tease anyone who doesn't), and at least for Akane he seems to be right. So neither of them is building up any resentment over it.

The cooking situation will obviously be settled in a way they both can live with, if only because Akane would have to eat her own food if she is cooking for the two of them. In fact I can see Akane asking Ranma to cook one in a while because she can't stand her own food anymore and him replying that it tastes fine to tease her (stomach=strength of a hundred men). More likely her cooking improves to acceptable with enough training and motivation, though.

By the way, I don't particularly think Akane and Ranma are meant for each other or anything like that, if Ranma married Ukyou or a Shampoo who doesn't turn into a cat under the same circumstances [marry out of their own will and on their own time schedule, after they have put their affairs in order] I wouldn't expect them to divorce either. Of course any marriage can end because people can change in unexpected ways and might stop being compatible with each other, but that's not predictable in any way, at least not with the information available, so there is no reason to expect any particular marriage to end in that way.
And to repeat myself, I don't particularly like Akane, I just don't hate her like most people here seem to do.

[PCHeintz72]

Blinks... have to disagree.

The main thing, but hardly the only one is I fail to see the 'trust' in their relationship for it to hold long term and be happy.

I'm also not convinced on the compromise aspect of things you mention.

And I do not think Ranma enjoys being hit with all those items from Akane all the time. However, even if one takes those hits as comedy, and replaced them with either lashing out verbally only, or mere slaps, it is not right.

For those that think the violence is not present as much in the manga, or as you state, in the later parts of the manga, I normally refer them to:

Ranma vs Akane Argument League Tables

• [Direct] http://web.archive.org/web/200604150304 ... ument.html

Regrettably, that link cuts off at volume 35.

[Ezvir]

The main thing, but hardly the only one is I fail to see the 'trust' in their relationship for it to hold long term and be happy.

Akane trusts him as far as she knows she can trust him, which increases over the course of the manga as their relationship improves and she gets to know him better; presumably her trust would keep increasing. Seeing as Ranma can be pretty dishonest that seems to be far more healthy for their relationship than trusting him completely only to be disillusioned and not being able to trust him at all anymore. She doesn't irrationally distrust him, at least if you try to see things from her perspective and don't count reactions in the heat of the moment, and she trusts him enough not to be worried about normal interaction with women which is the main problem of distrust in relationships (e. g. Hinako before he starts to grope her, interestingly enough Ukyou Shampoo and Kodachi don't trust him that far, presumably you also think a relationship between one of them and Ranma couldn't work long term)

I'm also not convinced on the compromise aspect of things you mention.

She is willing to give up on the dougi just because it bothers Ranma.

And I do not think Ranma enjoys being hit with all those items from Akane all the time.

I'm not claiming he enjoys it. I'm merely claiming he enjoys teasing her more than he minds being hit.

However, even if one takes those hits as comedy, and replaced them with either lashing out verbally only, or mere slaps, it is not right.

How so? If neither of them builds up any resentment why should it ever become a problem?

For those that think the violence is not present as much in the manga, or as you state, in the later parts of the manga, I normally refer them to:

Ranma vs Akane Argument League Tables

• [Direct] http://web.archive.org/web/200604150304 ... ument.html

Regrettably, that link cuts off at volume 35.

She hits him 3 times in V36, once in V37 and not at all in V38.
According to that list she hits him:
72 times in V 1-10,
56 times in V 11-20
28 times in V 21-30
41 times in V 31-38 [average of 5.125 times per volume]

127 times in the first 19 volumes
71 times in the second 19 volumes

V 34 is an outlier (particularly considering that the list counts hitting him while she is dreaming} and the trend is downwards.
It also seems to me that the percentage of hits after teasing is moving down slightly.

EDIT: I missed a few in V36, but anyway there are considerably more in the first half of the manga than in the second and my main point was that there is no reason to think they have a long-term effect.

[Vilkath]

I would say it be for the rest of their life, more out of honor than anything else. Ranma is to honor bound to call it quits if they already got married, and I don't think Akane would want to be seen as the one to give up on the marriage. That being said it could very likely be hell on earth, Akane might even cheat on Ranma with other boys, justifying it to herself that Ranma cheated on her through her own delusions.

Even if they end up happily together some how, I think their family would drive them nuts. They don't exactly seem to have the money to live on their own, I am under the impression Ranma is ment to take over the Dojo. So they would still be living in the Tendo Dojo with the rest of their nutty family, and Genma and Soun more then likely become unbearable leeches durring this. Happosai is still around, and not even Ranma can seem to get rid of the guy unless he suddenly willing to kill him (if he could).

So I say their relationship is going to be hell on earth, no matter how much they are in love, no matter how much their relationship improves things will not get better with their family around and I can only imagine the Kuno's, debt collectors, and some other fiancee's still bothering them.

[toushin]

for those of you who haven't read the bitter end or any jim bader fanfic read them and you will have your answer

[Necavit]

If Rumiko wrote it, and I suppose she would.

They'd live happily ever after.

Im always baffled when people point out how abusive Akane is and than try and turn physical comedy into abusive relationship.

You cant turn it around. Its meant to provoke laughter.

Otherwise they are all scum. Every single character has commited a violent act against another which is meant to provoke laughter.

Ya know that arc with the phoneix on Kuno's head. Ranma beamed a merchant with a mailbox when he was trying to leave. Why thats assault! He should go to jail! He can only solve his problems with violence!

No its a gag. Please stop treating it as anything else.

I was going to go further but I see Evzir has already hit most of points I hit and the ones I was going to.

[Zwzn]

If Rumiko wrote it, and I suppose she would.

They'd live happily ever after.

Im always baffled when people point out how abusive Akane is and than try and turn physical comedy into abusive relationship.

You cant turn it around. Its meant to provoke laughter.

Otherwise they are all scum. Every single character has commited a violent act against another which is meant to provoke laughter.

No its a gag. Please stop treating it as anything else.

I was going to go further but I see Evzir has already hit most of points I hit and the ones I was going to.

Your argument in a nut shell is it's just slapstick.

The problem with that argument is that the "slapstick damage" does not always magically just disappear, and the people being beaten at times heal at a rate Daedpool would at times be proud of, and are stupidly resistant to damage. It is also often not clear what is and isn't ment to be "slapstick".

Akane has threatened Ranma and Genma with death if they dare say her cooking was not good. She has put Ranma in a full body cast because of an insult. She has knocked Ranma out because she was just stressed. Every time she can she takes great plessure in hurting Ranma.

Ya know that arc with the phoneix on Kuno's head. Ranma beamed a merchant with a mailbox when he was trying to leave. Why thats assault! He should go to jail! He can only solve his problems with violence!

A shop keeper who sells deadly things to just anyone off the street? Ranma should have just killed the guy IMHO. Alot of people are likely dead because of that shop keeper.