When the ending of the series Ranma ½ by Rumiko Takahashi finally made its way across the Pacific via the Internet in the late 1990s, it baffled, frustrated, and even angered many of Takahashi's American fans. Primarily, the series revolved around the competition between a number of fiancées over the right to marry a boy named Ranma, the main character of the series. The fans eagerly awaited the final "judgement" from Takahashi-sensei concerning who would win Ranma's hand in the end. Debates had raged across the 'Net for months, even years, over who was the "best" fiancée for Ranma, and the problem is that they still do today.
Takahashi's ending to Ranma ½ would hardly be considered an ending
in American terms; no loose ends were tied up at all - rather, the reader
was told that the story would "go into extra innings," only the
readers wouldn't hear any more about it; at least not from Takahashi-sensei.
While such an ending may not be too uncommon in Japan, American readers
were more or less shocked that the author would leave them hanging, as Americans
traditionally favor deus ex machina, butter-pat endings that re-affirm their
faith in the order and goodness of the universe. On the contrary, a comparatively
large portion of Japanese entertainment flies in the face of this value.
Ambiguous endings are often even favored in Japanese works; an inclination
that probably arose from the indirect style of communication preferred in
the Japanese culture and language itself. So the reader is left guessing
the author's opinions regarding the various issues raised within the 6840
pages of a manga series like Ranma ½. And with a writer as prolific
as Rumiko Takahashi, there are quite a few issues. However, hope is not
lost for Takahashi's fans dying to know her thoughts and views.
It is often said that each author really only has one story to tell and
that each different book that they write is merely a re-working of that
story. While this is probably not the case with Rumiko Takahashi, who has
written a variety of different kinds of works in different genres, she does
seem to re-examine certain themes, character types, and inter-personal relationships
with several of her works. Most notable are the threads of character types
and relationships within her two longest and most famous works, Urusei Yatsura
and Ranma ½, and her most recent endeavor, Inuyasha.
In each of these works, the focus of the Takahashi's story concerns an unrequited
romantic relationship between the male and female protagonists. In each
case the male protagonist is rather selfish and rude, more interested in
conquest than human relationships. He also tends to attract other women
who compete with the female protagonist for his affection. The female protagonist
tends to be jealous and unusually physically strong. She just barely tolerates
the insufferable character traits of the male and the circumstances surrounding
the relationship to allow it to continue. Though both seem to harbor romantic
feelings for the other, neither can easily admit their feelings aloud.
However, as these three series progress, from Urusei Yatsura, to Ranma ½,
to Inuyasha, though the main characters share these basic traits, the degree
to which they share them changes. It seems as if these "stock"
characters are actually evolving over the course of the stories. It is almost
as if Takahashi takes a formula for their relationship and places it in
new circumstances and allows it to develop and advance. Through these three
series, while the male protagonist tends to become stronger and somewhat
ruder, he also becomes more sensitive to the feelings of the female protagonist.
The female character becomes less strong physically but more understanding
concerning the male protagonist's faults and forgiving about the advances
of other women. Each becomes more co-operative with the other and can more
easily admit their romantic feelings toward one another.
The catalyst for the maturation of these characters is introspection concerning
the duality within that character's nature. In each succeeding series, Takahashi
literally breaks the character down into dual parts to force each protagonist
to revise certain character traits. In Urusei Yatsura, there is no overriding
theme of duality, but in Ranma ½, the male protagonist Ranma gains
both a male and a female body. Then, in Inuyasha, both the male and female
protagonists are "broken down" into two bodies. The male protagonist
becomes the feudal Period "half-demon" called Inuyasha, who cycles
between a demonic and fully human body each month. The female protagonist
Kagome, is a modern day high school girl, the re-incarnation of a Feudal
Period priestess who loved Inuyasha but died believing that she was betrayed
by him. Her old body is resurrected and much of the series revolves around
a strange competition over Inuyasha's affection between the modern day Kagome
who loves him and her previous incarnation who still harbors ill-will toward
Inuyasha but is very jealous of Kagome.
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