Final Analysis: The easiest way to diagnose Nabiki: Sociopath. I mean she has the symptoms: lack of affect, amused by inappropriate things, treats other people as objects to get her what she wants. But, no, I think that does Nabiki a disservice. I think Nabiki's problem is that she is very very smart, far smarter than most of the people around her, and it frustrates the hell out of her. Yeah, I think she's developed the wrong kind of attitude about it, but she clearly has the ability to see the humour in it. And really, most of the people she treats as significantly stupider than she is - Kuno, Ranma, etc - well, they kind of are. I don't think she holds most people in contempt the way she seems to, though. Well, Kuno maybe. I think she and Kuno have a weird kind of sexual tension, but she so clearly thinks him a moron that I doubt it'll go anywhere. (But surely even Nabiki recognizes that Kuno is hawt.) There's the Very Altruistic Nabiki theory that conjectures that she is actually the one keeping her family afloat, using her blackmail schemes and so forth... Well, I don't see that. Sorry to the Nabiki fans. :D What I see is a woman who has, someway and somehow, had a taste of the good life, LIKES it, and has the knowledge of how to manipulate others so that she can keep getting that lifestyle. In other words, she's in it for herself, but she is at least making sure that her family doesn't have to pay for it. I guess that counts for something. ;) NABIKI AND RANMA Nabiki's relationship with Ranma is one that leaves a lot of questions for me. Okay - I think she clearly likes him just fine. I mean, she doesn't respect him at all, likes playing mind games on him, yeah, but that doesn't mean she dislikes him (rather the opposite I'd almost think). But does she want him to marry Akane? Does she have any interest in the two of them being happy together? Does she care at all? That's the part I wonder about. Actually pairing up Nabiki and Ranma is usually good for a very entertaining story. The "Fiancée Switch" storyline was a hoot; Nabiki is SUCH a mind-game girl. *G* Stick those two together and you've got a great "smart-cynic/dopey-muscle" dynamic going. Very different from Ranma and Akane. But as a romantic pairing? It would never work, in my opinion. Nabiki has a bit too much of a tendency to look down on Ranma, just a little, even affectionately (if it is that). She's hard to read, but I don't read any hidden romance into her regard for Ranma. NABIKI AND ANYONE, FOR THAT MATTER One of the later manga story arcs has proven that Nabiki is capable of love. Or something like it. She has to respect the person, though, and for Nabiki that takes a lot. ^_~ Evidently Nabiki will not fully respect anyone she can push around or force into paying for her; then that person becomes a patsy. On the other hand, she will never ever back down from getting her way, so there's kind of a contradiction here. But it opens the doors to a lot of possibilities! At some point Nabiki is going to possibly reconsider; if she is capable of falling in love, eventually she will want the companionship. Who she ends up with then will be a verrrry interesting question to have answered.
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