Okay, he picked the second stupidest option available to him, he still
attacked her recklessly.  He stuck his foot in it, stupidly.  Like I   

said,

I consider all the so called engagements to be meaningless.  Ranma had   

no

choice in any of them.  Now, if you argue one or two are valid because   

his

father agreed to it then I argue back to say that has no legal basis   

even

in Japan whereas Shampoo's does in her society (not in Japan, granted)   

and

carelessness and even ignorance is not a defense (given that he was at   

one

time in the Amazon society and had the obligation to respect their laws   

and

therefore know them.  If this was the first time he met an Amazon I'd   

let

him off but not under the actual circumstances.)

The thing here you forget is that arranged marriages ARE common in Japan,
and that people ARE held to it, even if there may not be a law about it.
The children do it out of respect for their parents.

I guess that you could say that there's no law forcing an engaged
couple to marry - but most of them do it because they love each other.
It's not a law ... but it is still held to.

So, basically, Ranma and Akane ARE engaged, Ranma and Ukyou ARE engaged,
and Shampoo is nothing to do with Ranma, except in her own mind and in
the minds of her people.

Ranma and Akane/Ranma and Ukyou are engaged in the minds of ALL the
people.

But, well, I don't even think that SHAMPOO HERSELF believes that she
is a fiancee of Ranma. She believes that she is Ranma's _wife_.

So, not even Shampoo of Cologne count Shampoo as a fiancee.

Therefor the only people engaged to Ranma are Akane and Ukyou.

...

Plus, how on earth can you blame Ranma for something he didn't know?

Amazon Rules that Ranma knew up till that point - Any Amazon who gets
KOed by an outsider is to be killed.

So, Ranma could stand with the killing - but he had no idea about the
other law.

So how, pray tell, is it Ranma's fault?

Maybe if you go to another place, and break a custom that you didn't
know about, then it's your fault? And that you should be forced to
do the punishment for breaking that custom, even though you didn't
know about it?

I mean, really.

Kun-chan...

Well Howabout the rudeness factor? Ranma and Genma did just barge in and   
start eating first prize. And if they had actually been able to talk   
instead of EAT - Fight _ RUN AWAY!!!! Things might have gone   
significantly differently ;-)

I do agree with you on the fiancee thing though..  

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