Ranma ending thoughts
Picked up Ranma 1/2 volume 36 the other day.
I tried my best to remain unspoiled all this time. Unfortunately when everyone else already knows the ending, it's hard not to happen upon it by accident online. I found out months ago that Ranma and Akane don't end up getting married, so that was no surprise.
And, however much my little fangirl heart would have loved to see everything tied up in a nice little bow, with all the curses removed, and Ranma and Akane finally sharing a real kiss, and everyone with their respective partners living happily ever after, my little fangirl head has to admit that Takahashi came up with the best possible ending for the story, and I liked it.
I like that the story ends with the characters intact as the same people we knew them for all that time. Happosai's still wrecking havoc; Genma's still the sign-wielding panda; Shampoo, Ukyo, and Kodachi are still nuts for Ranma (and Kuno's still nuts for girl-Ranma); Ryoga's still an adorable "two-timer"; Akane's still clueless about P-chan; and most importantly of all, Ranma and Akane still haven't grown up.
But they made progress. Ranma's scene when he thought Akane was dead was perfect. At first he does what he usually does, he calls her stupid for sacrificing herself. But then he has the maturity to admit that's not what he meant to say. And he has the maturity to admit to himself that he loves her.
So, are Ranma and Akane "there" yet? Are they mature enough and honest enough with themselves to get married? No. But there is the hope that someday they will be. For now, it's enough for them to just grow up together. And I like that we can look back at the series and always remember them as they are.
Ranma is the first serial Rumiko series I've read all the way to the end. So I don't know what her tradition is for ending these things. And while I think keeping loose threads at the end is perfect for Ranma, I have to say I don't think that would be the ideal way to Inuyasha. (Of course, I could be proven wrong.)
Not that it wouldn't be nice for Inuyasha to have some loose threads, things for us to work out ourselves however we want them to be.
The obvious things that should happen before Inuyasha ends:
1) The Shikon jewel completed and destroyed so that no one can use it for ill again.
2) Naraku defeated. (Note I didn't say "destroyed". What if Naraku is turned into a human at the end or some other twist?)
3) Some sort of resolution for the Inu/Kag story. If they both make it through alive, then at the very least let us know if they end up living in the same time period. (Could they end up together if Inuyasha remains a hanyou? Besides him having to keeping the ears and stuff hidden, Kagome would age and die much faster than he. For it to work, wouldn't he have to be human?)
The other things that could be left loose-end, but would be nice to know:
1) What happens to Shippo if Kagome (and possibly Inuyasha) left for the Modern Era? Would he stay with Miroku and Sango, go off on his own, get adopted by Kanta's father...?
2) Of course, leading to Miroku and Sango, assuming they both survive the series. This could possibly be the most obvious loose end to keep. She doesn't have to show them getting married. I could see her ending it with Miroku still up to his old tricks. But again, it would be nice to see them get their "happily ever after".
3) Sesshomaru, Sesshomaru, Sesshomaru. Will we even see what happens to him? Not that it's crucial to the main story or anything. Or will it just be a shot of him walking off into the sunset with Jaken and Aun and Rin trailing after him while the winds blows happily and we just assume that life goes on as usual? (Or will he end up dying like his father?)
So basically what I'm saying is that for Inuyasha, an ending where they're still chasing after Naraku and the Shikon plot isn't resolved wouldn't work, whereas for Ranma keeping everything pretty much status quo did.
I tried my best to remain unspoiled all this time. Unfortunately when everyone else already knows the ending, it's hard not to happen upon it by accident online. I found out months ago that Ranma and Akane don't end up getting married, so that was no surprise.
And, however much my little fangirl heart would have loved to see everything tied up in a nice little bow, with all the curses removed, and Ranma and Akane finally sharing a real kiss, and everyone with their respective partners living happily ever after, my little fangirl head has to admit that Takahashi came up with the best possible ending for the story, and I liked it.
I like that the story ends with the characters intact as the same people we knew them for all that time. Happosai's still wrecking havoc; Genma's still the sign-wielding panda; Shampoo, Ukyo, and Kodachi are still nuts for Ranma (and Kuno's still nuts for girl-Ranma); Ryoga's still an adorable "two-timer"; Akane's still clueless about P-chan; and most importantly of all, Ranma and Akane still haven't grown up.
But they made progress. Ranma's scene when he thought Akane was dead was perfect. At first he does what he usually does, he calls her stupid for sacrificing herself. But then he has the maturity to admit that's not what he meant to say. And he has the maturity to admit to himself that he loves her.
So, are Ranma and Akane "there" yet? Are they mature enough and honest enough with themselves to get married? No. But there is the hope that someday they will be. For now, it's enough for them to just grow up together. And I like that we can look back at the series and always remember them as they are.
Ranma is the first serial Rumiko series I've read all the way to the end. So I don't know what her tradition is for ending these things. And while I think keeping loose threads at the end is perfect for Ranma, I have to say I don't think that would be the ideal way to Inuyasha. (Of course, I could be proven wrong.)
Not that it wouldn't be nice for Inuyasha to have some loose threads, things for us to work out ourselves however we want them to be.
The obvious things that should happen before Inuyasha ends:
1) The Shikon jewel completed and destroyed so that no one can use it for ill again.
2) Naraku defeated. (Note I didn't say "destroyed". What if Naraku is turned into a human at the end or some other twist?)
3) Some sort of resolution for the Inu/Kag story. If they both make it through alive, then at the very least let us know if they end up living in the same time period. (Could they end up together if Inuyasha remains a hanyou? Besides him having to keeping the ears and stuff hidden, Kagome would age and die much faster than he. For it to work, wouldn't he have to be human?)
The other things that could be left loose-end, but would be nice to know:
1) What happens to Shippo if Kagome (and possibly Inuyasha) left for the Modern Era? Would he stay with Miroku and Sango, go off on his own, get adopted by Kanta's father...?
2) Of course, leading to Miroku and Sango, assuming they both survive the series. This could possibly be the most obvious loose end to keep. She doesn't have to show them getting married. I could see her ending it with Miroku still up to his old tricks. But again, it would be nice to see them get their "happily ever after".
3) Sesshomaru, Sesshomaru, Sesshomaru. Will we even see what happens to him? Not that it's crucial to the main story or anything. Or will it just be a shot of him walking off into the sunset with Jaken and Aun and Rin trailing after him while the winds blows happily and we just assume that life goes on as usual? (Or will he end up dying like his father?)
So basically what I'm saying is that for Inuyasha, an ending where they're still chasing after Naraku and the Shikon plot isn't resolved wouldn't work, whereas for Ranma keeping everything pretty much status quo did.