Boy: A Ranma 1/2 picspam (for kink_bingo)

[terajk]

Title: Boy: A Ranma 1/2 Picspam
Fandom: Ranma 1/2
Rating: Teen
Characters/Ships: Ranma/Ranma, Ranma/Ryoga, Ranma/T. Kuno
Images: 23
Content notes: Underage, nudity of people under the age of 18
Note: For my "gender play" square forkink_bingo

This is Ranma Saotome:

 

So is this:

\

Ranma is a male martial artist who turns into a girl when splashed with cold water. In general, he considers this a curse--one of his goals is to be a man in multiple senses of the phrase. He's a boy and will make sure you know it in some way. One of my favorites is his one-piece swimsuit with his gender emblazoned on the chest:



Yet, there are times he'll....



[Transcript: Ranma in a flowery dress, holding his skirt in one hand and a flower in the other. He's smiling and saying: "...Be the prettiest l'il thing you ever saw!" Above him is the word "Teeheeheeheehee."His father watches with proud tears in his eyes and says: "That's my boy!" Ranma's fiance Akane watches in visible silence ("....")]


Is Ranma a boy with a girl's body sometimes? Yes, but his gender is more complicated than that. In female form, he'll move and act in a feminine way, especially to get things he wants. Here, he's playing "sweet little girl" to get free food. I'm especially fond of how he hunches his shoulders and curls his fists under his chin:



[Transcript: Shops in the street, with the word "Hwooooooo" written above the panel. Someone says: "You're such a sweet little girl! Here, have another bun--for free!" Below, female Ranma, wearing a hat with a star on it, smiles with her eyes closed and says: "Oooo! Golly! Thank you so much!"]


He adopts a similar persona while pretending to be his rival Ryoga's younger sister. (He calls himself "Yoiko," which means "good girl.") Ryoga falls for it, and provides some bonus big brotherly behavior. Say that three times fast!:



But Ranma doesn't only act innocent and little-girlish. If he wants something badly enough, he'll seduce a man. Here he is playing sex kitten-slash-damsel in distress with Tatewaki Kuno, to get Kuno to wish for him to be "all man":

 [Transcript:

Panel 1: Ranma leans against Kuno, purring, and says: "Oh, Ku-u-uno!" Kuno says: "P-p-pigtailed-girl?"

Panel 2: Ranma looks up at Kuno, hands folded to her chest, and says: "I'll do annny-thing you want me to!" A small volcano erupts on top of Kuno's head. Above it says: "B-BOOOM!"]
 

 

 He also uses his female form to trick his martial arts master, Happosai:

[Transcript:

Panel 1: Happosai whips hi head around, tears in his eyes, and says: "B-but...but...there has to be at least one lovely young thing still..."

Panel 2: Offcreen, Happosai says: "Aha!" A naked woman is sitting by the edge of the bath, washing her hair.

Panel 3: Happosai, smiling and with tears in his eyes, leaps forward. He says: "An oasis in the desert! A Buddha in Hell!"

Panel 4: The naked woman has turned around; it's Ranma (still with suds in his hair), and he's grinding his fist into the back of Happosai's head. (Happosai is face-down on the floor). Ranma says: "Tsk. My 'master,' falling for an old gag like that."]


In general, though, being girlish isn't something Ranma enjoys...in the plot. The covers and chapter-openers are a different story; they often feature female Ranma in various fun-looking feminine poses. For reference, a rare chapter-opening picture focusing on male Ranma (with bonus photograph of female Ranma in the background):


Although he's leaning against a wall, he's still holding his body much straighter and more solidly than he is in the bathouse, where he looks shy and possibly seductive:



There's something about the way his hands are resting on his knees here:



I like the self-protective yet inviting way he's holding his fan in this one, and how his two fingers on either hand compliment each other. Note his tongue peeking out:



The scandalized-looking panda in the cover image below is Ranma's father.



 

 

The Ranmas hold their bodies very differently, which is easiest to see when they're together. They're often in the same outfit, making similar poses. Notice how arrow-straight male Ranma's sitting (or kneeling, or standing), while female Ranma curves against him:

In the image below, look at their hands--male Ranma's blocky thumbs-up, the sweep of female Ranma's arm and the upward flow of her hand:

In closing, I'd like to leave you with the Ranmas in eveningwear, holding glasses of wine or champagne--because I can.

Comments

*cheerful sigh*

[elke_tanzer]

Ah, Ranma 1/2. I have such fondness for this fandom! :-)

Re: *cheerful sigh*

[terajk]

I just discovered it within the last few months myself :-) (I knew of it, but didn't start reading/watching it until I found the manga at the library). I feel 20 years behind everyone else--it's still a shiny new thing to me--so it's nice to find people who are still fond of it!

Re: *cheerful sigh*

[elke_tanzer]

Oh, wow. Welcome! I have all of the DVDs and manga and somewhere around here I still have some little figurines... when I was reading in Ranma 1/2, it was on USENET.

Where are Ranma 1/2 fans hanging out nowadays? There used to be a cluster of folks on GreatestJournal and another cluster on Blurty, but those sites are defunct.

Um, if you want to go exploring in the time capsule that is my journal entries relating to Ranma 1/2 fandom, feel free: http://elke-tanzer.dreamwidth.org/tag/fandom+-+ranma

If the stories I rec'd way back when for crack_van don't work any more, you might try simply googling for the title and author, in case the stories exist elsewhere than the links I provided. I'm fairly certain that some of the resource sites I linked to in the overview have disappeared, or at least changed their locations, too.

*twirls you and your shiny new enthusiasm in a giddy circle*

Re: *cheerful sigh*

[terajk]

Oh, wow. *Dives into your rec list* Um, that Kunou's Excellent Adventure is AWESOME.

I'm still looking for where the Ranma fans are hanging out. The most I've found are on FFNet. I did make a DW comm, but *is shy about releasing it into the wild, because I have to run it.*

Eee, USENET! I'm really sorry I missed out on the fandom when it was huge. It would've been really nice to read/watch the series when I was, like, twelve, partly because I have a spatial impairment very, very similar to Ryoga's and I've never seen it portrayed so accurately before. (I wrote about it/him here, if you're curious).

[bigbrasskey]

This is really cool! Delicious, and clever - I love the way you point out details, like their balancing postures - and really well suited to the kink. I've always had a delighted soft spot for Ranma's casualty with performative femininity.

[terajk]

Thank you! I had a ton of fun making it.

I've always had a delighted soft spot for Ranma's casualty with performative femininity.

"Casual" is the word, isn't it? I love how his relationship with his gender is more complicated than it looks. Only Ranma can have fun with something he dislikes. (Sort of like how his relationship with Ryoga develops, and how he has no problem helping out Pantyhose Taro. Twice).

Also, icon love!

[pseudo_tsuga]

Nice picspam! I love how you point out the difference in the body language. Ranma 1/2 was my first manga, the one my friend used to introduce me to the whole thing.

[eruthros]

This is a great picspam! I like the panels you've chosen - they really do illustrate the differences in body language and gestures between the two Ranmas.

[terajk]

Thank you! I had tons of fun making it!