I was going through the Ranma 1/2 links at Anipike one night...and low and behold! I found some sites that were actually for the Ranma and Ukyou match. And, I doubt if they're the only sites out there.

I understand that in the Internet you could put up anything you want. Free will, right? So, in response to the Ranma and Ukyou match, I decided to write this article.

My message here is quite clear and simple. Ranma and Ukyou do NOT belong together. I totally disagree with the match, and I would like to justify the reasons that stand.

Akane Tendou

Ah! We anti-Ukyous just love her! And, so does Ranma although he would never admit this openly and Akane wouldn't dare confess her true feelings for him.

Yet she does stand in the way of Ukyou trying to get Ranma's affections. Akane has a better chance than Ukyou, despite her shortcomings. She's this real cool fiancée who doesn't have to know how to cook or doesn't have to be dainty or ladylike to get Ranma to like her. She doesn't even have to try because Ranma clearly likes her best above all his fiancées.

Even though Ranma and Akane play that little game called denial, it is so obvious how they feel for each other. I've seen so many Ranma 1/2 anime episodes and read Manga series where they show how much they care for one another. Heck, these two even have a theme song!

Do Ranma and Ukyou have a theme song? Do pigs fly? Do chickens moo?

Ranma Saotome

What? The reason why Ranma and Ukyou do not belong together is...Ranma?

Let me elaborate.

Ranma doesn't love Ukyou the way she loves him. The feeling is just not mutual. He made that clear when he only six years old when he picked the okonomiyaki cart over her. Well, guess what, people, ten years later, Ranma still hasn't changed his mind. That ought to tell you something.

"But he called her cute," you say.

Ha! Please! If she was cute, then why doesn't just Ranma break up all his engagements to Akane, Shampoo, and Kodachi and marry her? He could easily move out of the Tendous and live with Ukyou and eat all the okonomiyakis he want.

Of course, he doesn't move out of the Tendous. Out of loyalty, perhaps? Maybe. If this was the only reason, he'd be a pretty unhappy guy. And, frankly, I don't see him being miserable.

I think that the real reason he wouldn't leave the Tendous is that he had gotten too attached to Akane to leave her. They've shared so many moments together. Time and time again, he refuses to give up Akane to anyone and for anyone...including Miss Ukyou Kuonji herself.

Rumiko Takahashi? A Ranma and Akane fan?

Eh? What the heck does Takahashi-san got to do with the Ranma and Ukyou match? I'd say that she's pretty against it herself. She did say that Ranma and Akane were the only "real couple" in the series. She did not say that it was Ranma and Ukyou, or Ranma and Shampoo, or Ranma and Kodachi, or Akane and Ryouga...Well, you get the point. This basically rules out any other fiancées Ranma has and other suitors Akane has as well.

My Views on Ukyou Kuonji.

I don't really hate Ukyou, and I'm not going to sink into a lower level and insult her. I actually see her as a pretty and successful businesswoman. She's independent and self-supportive, and she clearly doesn't need "Ranma honey" hanging around her life. She needs to give up Ranma and find someone else who cares for her.

Friends can become lovers, but in the case of Ranma and Ukyou, this is too impossible. Ranma sees her as a friend and nothing else. He also cares for Akane deeply and vice versa, and Rumiko Takahashi has made that clear. Ukyou is at a disadvantage here, and you may continue to advocate the Ranma and Ukyou match. But, the harsh reality, folks, is that Ranma and Ukyou do not belong together.