Final Analysis: It is my conclusion that most of Akane's problems stem from a problem in self-esteem. This would at first glance seem unlikely, since Akane is a very strong young woman who has a lot of faith in herself and her ability to do whatever she sets her mind to. But it's not the trying that seems to suggest the self-esteem issues, it's the anger that comes with her defensivenses when something is challenged. Akane, more than her sisters, was raised almost entirely by her father. She embraced martial arts the most, and she came to take great pride in her training and her ability. In the first episode it's suggested that she's more at home in the Dojo than in the house. But she wants to be balanced; Akane wants to be the best at everything, and so even though she would not take back the time she's spent training, she can't accept that there are more domestic kinds of things that she just can't do. Case in point: cooking. *G* And amazingly, Akane knows she can't cook yet she is hurt and offended that other people realize this, and she refuses to slow down and learn at a natural pace. Upon examination, it seems to me that all of Akane's anger is linked to the areas in her life where she feels least certain: homemaking (ie cooking, cleaning, decorating, and so on), her lovelife (which is to say, Ranma and specifically Ranma's feelings towards her), and - ironically - her martial arts, an area where she had been mostly unparalleled before Ranma came to stay. And it makes sense. Akane was the town sweetheart, beloved by most of the boys in the school, and she was freely contemptuous of them but undoubtedly took a secret pride in the fact of it; she was the top (known) female martial artist in Nerima, and the apple of her father's eye. Ranma shows up and right away she's been beaten by another girl - who turns out to be a guy - who sees her naked and says that she has "nothing to interest him" - who then becomes her fiancé, against her will - who takes a snide pleasure in telling her how bad she is at quite a lot of things - who attracts female attention like honey attracts flies, and proceeds to (accidentally) flaunt said attention in front of her. And all those women who hang over him? Martial artists, most of them more powerful than Akane, who is at last ousted in the thing she was best at. LOVE MAKES YOU DO THE WACKY As the series progresses, it's pretty clear Akane is in love with Ranma. She, unlike Ranma, seems to have admitted it to herself (although she never really admits it to anyone else). But she has no experience with boys, and is pretty well aware that her femininity can be... lacking. Even worse, the person she wants to impress most is the person who most often insults her. What Akane really needs to do is get a grip on herself, take a few deep breaths, and listen when Ranma talks to her; sometimes he's just needling her, but on occasion there's more to it below the surface, and Akane is too busy blocking it all out with rage to hear it. ;) Even though Ranma can shoulder a fair amount of the blame for their relationship because of his tendency to stick his foot in his mouth, Akane's temper is the main hurdle they need to overcome before they can have a functional relationship. She needs to stamp down her pride some, too; she's too busy burning to have everyone see her as a warrior and a powerful martial artist to realize just who she is pushing away, until it's too late. CLUELESS WITH A CAPITAL "CLUH": Of course the one other main obstacle in Ranma and Akane's relationship is her attachment to P-Chan, who, unknown to Akane, is the cursed form of one Ryouga Hibiki. Also unknown to Miss Not-So-Observant is the fact that Ryouga is head-over-heels in love with her, and lacks the courage to ask her out. Whether or not Ryouga - if he voiced his feelings for her - would be an actual bonafide contender against Ranma is not certain; Akane hasn't given him much notice romantically up until now, and she's known him quite a while now. But Ryouga is determined; plus, of course, there's the fact that - as P-Chan, Akane's pet pig - Ryouga sleeps in her bed and gets a good view of a lot of Akane's anatomy. And Ranma knows about the curse. And hasn't told Akane. Overall, I'd say it's not likely to go over well when the truth comes out.
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