Martin Bennett wrote:
 

Mousse is NOT the bravest character by a long way. That title, goes without
question to Ranma. Look at all the battles he's fought for Akane. Mousse
never does anyting like that. He's not in Ranma's league! 

	Ranma's the bravest character?  I don't really think Ranma could be classified 
as brave just because he fought for Akane.  Ryouga would do the same, and probably more. 
It is just that Ryouga does not appear as often as Ranma.  Otherwise he would be just as 
brave, if not more, as Ranma.  

Mousse is to emotionally weak to resolve their relationship. He is afraid of
losing to her becuase she will hate him more, and he is afraid to beat her
because he WANTS her to love him , not feel duty bound. 

	Shampoo doesn't need to marry Mousse even if Mousse beat her and that's why 
Mousse doesn't do it.  Mousse grow up very close to Shampoo's village, so he's probably 
assumed to be part of the community.  The Amazon laws says you must marry a man who beat 
you from OUTSIDE. 

IT's not so much that he's afraid of her. He's afraid of the consequences of
beating her.

	What consequences?  The most Amazon laws could say is that Shampoo must now 
choose between Mousse and Ranma.  Obviously Shampoo will choose Ranma because Ranma is 
stronger.  No consequences whatsoever.
 

Hear hear! While I like Ryouga, I have to admit, he is a pathetic coward.
However the example of Ryouga beating on Akane is spurious 'cause it's
never going to happen anyway. 

	Ryouga is not a pathetic coward.  He's anything but that!  He won't beat up 
Akane because he has no reasons to do so, and Akane has no reason to beat up Ryouga 
because Ryouga never offended her (except for the oni story).  Like Kun-chan said 
before, Ryouga's shy and afraid to confess his feelings.  That doesn't make him a 
coward.  Ranma's just as bad as Ryouga in confessing his true feelings, so that should 
make him a coward too.  Ryouga would do anything in her power to help Akane, such as the 
Shinnosuke story.  Even if Akane doesn't love him, he would still help her no matter 
what.  He bravely accepts his fate and would still help Akane even though he knew he 
would not be loved.  That is bravery, not cowardice.  Even Ranma hesitated a bit before 
helping Akane because he thought Akane doesn't like him anymore.  

A more interesting question is why does Ranma *LET* Akane hit him?! He is
MORE than good enough to just avoid it. 

	He doesn't avoid it because he is at fault and probably not paying attention.  
Also, I'm positive that when Akane is at her full potenial she is much better than 
Ranma.  So, it could be that when Akane is angry that momentarily raises her fighting 
ability to her full potenial and thus beating up Ranma easily.

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"RANMA NO BAKA!" Akane Tendo, Ranma 1/2

"Power only breeds war ... I wish I'd never been born." Celes Chere, Final Fantasy 3

Don Wang <dwang@sprynet.com>
RPG, strategy game, and Ranma 1/2 fan.