No, silly, you’re not being Pitted; this is MPSIMS!
I want to get an explanation of your name.
Here’s what I’ve got so far:
[ul][li]Ranma is an anime type character.[/li][li]His/her/its sexual identity is somewhat fluid. (Note: I’m perfectly well aware of what every letter in GBLTQ stands for, and don’t have to resort to euphemism. The phrasing is accurate: the character has a problem something like Teiresias’s in mythology – it changes sex under some stimulus or other.)[/li][li]Any clarification as to what the actual story is, the background on the character, etc., if available on the Internet, is found on some web page produced by supercilious fangirls (or fanboys) to whom a thorough knowledge of all issues Japanimation-related is de rigueur and the infallible sign of having human-level awareness.[/li][li]At the risk of giving away my secret identity as Easily Annoyed Man, I refuse to try to wade through their 'tude-laden and effusive prose to get the answer.[/ul][/li]
So it’s time for you to unveil yourself – what is a Boytyperanma, and why’d you choose the name?
I have the first…three seasons I think. Actually, they’re really my SO’s but I enjoy them, too. They are a completely light-hearted fun little anime, unlike most of the blood and guts and gore in other anime. Lots of cute characters.
Basically, Ranma Sautome as a child was engaged to Akane Tendo. But when they meet at age 16, she is a real tomboy and hates boys. She finds out about his change, and of course it seems perfect - she hates boys, so she’s got a half girl fiance. But she won’t relent.
Little by little the news comes out that in the intervening years Genma, Ranma’s dad, has used his son as a bargaining chip and engaged him to almost anything female in exchange for a meal or a business. So all these fiancees come out of the woodwork to lay their claim on him.
Also, he’s a member of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts. And he’s picked fights before, too. So challengers keep coming out to face him, too.
Aaaaaaaaand, he has boys falling in love with his girl-side, which icks him out to no small degree.
Now the thing is, Akane claims she hates him. But she fights for him time and time again - and yet they fight like crazy. He calls her the “un-cute fiance” but also defends her and takes care of her.
Not being into anime I had never heard of this Ranma character. I’ve always parsed the name as Boy Typer Anma, though admittedly I couldn’t come up with a meaning for anma.
I have heard of (but not seen) the anime, but I still parse his name as “Boyty Peranma.” And I don’t know what either of those words are supposed to mean.
Hell, I read it as “booty peranma”. The stupid part is I know it’s “boy type Ranma”; I just keep forgetting. I have a mini-epiphany every time I realize my mistake.
That hot-water aspect TroubleAgain mentioned is one that never occurred to me before.
I have no excuse. I’ve watched a lot of Ranma. /sigh
I’ve seen all 7 seasons of Ranma, but it’s been a little while. The explanations so far are pretty much dead on. The only thing I would add is that I only remember the terms “boy type Ranma” and “girl type Ranma” being used very early in the show, when Ranma first meets Shampoo. Shampoo wants to marry “boy type Ranma” but goes into homicidal psychopath mode on sight of “girl type Ranma,” with hilarity ensuing. Especially since most of the supporting cast finds this amusing and takes every opportunity to dump hot water on Ranma’s head.
Shampoo’s way of speaking is a bit ideosyncratic, as she is an “Amazon warrior” from China with a shaky grasp of Japanese.
