Ranma 1/2 headcanons that nobody asked for
* Akane was much less invested in martial arts before her mother died. after her death, teaching the katas and the routine of exercise became both a coping mechanism and the primary bonding method for soun. little akane latched onto martial arts because she could see the good it was doing for her father
* Ranma is (on paper) a really low ranking. Since his father basically took him on a training roadtrip straight out of a kung fu movie, he has next to no idea how dojos actually work. he took the tests to get a higher belt ranking like, idk, twice. Akane ropes him into being part of a demonstration for a women’s self defense class and he was FLOORED. no student was getting hurt, everyone was being supported and encouraged. what kind of training method was this? there are mats everywhere so people can fall or flip each other safely- is this new???
* Ranma can barely read Japanese, but he knows a smattering of almost all asian languages, just from back-packing with his dad.
* Of the entire Nerima Wrecking Crew, only Akane would be eligible to participate in a legal tournament. she doesn’t go for low blows/attacking from behind, her opponents know that they’re in a fight, she doesn’t rely on hidden/improbable weapons or ki attacks
*genma likes spending time as a panda because he digests food slower (stays full longer), has a fur coat to keep him warm, he doesn’t have to constantly carry an umbrella or a tea kettle around, and he secretly likes not having to wear pants
*After his wife died, soun was an emotional wreck. his daughters picked up the slack (Kasumi became the housewife, Nabiki made sure the bills were paid and everything was in good repair, and i’ll bet Akane took over teaching more than a few times when Soun just couldn’t handle it that day) but having Genma around (basically as a minder/ emotional support panda) is what really stabilized his mood swings.
*ryoga makes sure to buy souvenirs every time he gets lost and ships them back home, or to the tendos. whenever he gets back home he updates a series of maps he has with a dot every place he’s been. once ranma and akane calculated how far he’s walked and it came out to just over 20,000 miles- for weeks Ranma kept singing the “i would walk 10,000 miles” song at him.
*before her mother died and she had to take over the household, Kasumi dreamed of becoming a chef at a fancy restaurant. when everyone else is out, she’ll teach herself a new recipe to try. once a month Kasumi takes a ‘self-care day’ and has lunch out at a beautiful restaurant and tries something new each time.
*Nabiki supplements the family finances by blackmailing stock brokers and hedge fund managers. once she graduates she fully intends on going to business school to learn how to do it herself.
* there’s a difference in the tendo/saotome branches of anything goes martial arts. ranma’s way more honorable than his father but when he gets into a difficult spot, he has no trouble with low/dirty blows. akane on the other hand mostly fights hand to hand, though she’s been shown to have the equipment and skills for swords, bow/arrows, a spear once or twice (IIRC) and others. this tells me that while the Saotomes method is more ‘any means within reasons necessary’, the Tendo school of thought relies more on prepardness and adaptability
*akane occasionally trains at outside dojos (the tendos don’t have room for an archery range), and she practices fighting against opponents who are armed. Ranma tags along once and is surprised that she actually has competitive friendships at the different schools opposed to friendly rivals who sometimes try to kill her the way he has.
