Girl Days

Akane and Ranma. It Makes Sense in Context.

The concept of Ranma being a girl full-time has been used with elegance, with depth, with wisdom, with angst, with a strange blend of tragedy and unexpected entertainment.
Someone had to tackle it with absolute lunacy, insanity and the occasional real big mallet.
Girl Days, or how I learned to stop worrying and love my bra.

A classic but incomplete Original Flavor fanfic for Ranma ½ by Rob "Kenko" Haynie.

Ranma's mother Nodoka has come to the conclusion that the only way for her son to remain sane and become the paragon of manly virtue — a man among men — that she requires of him, is for him to face his femininity with masculine determination and learn what it means to be a woman among women. And she has a plan for how.

So starts the Girl Days training program. By maternal decree, Ranma must remain a girl for the next two months, and thereafter at least one day out of every four. And this means not just being in her girl form — she must be a girl in everything from behavior to underwear. And given Nodoka's often odd concepts about masculinity and femininity, that means Ranma is headed into territory he's steadfastly avoided. At least most of the time. Hate the idea as he does, Ranma will not refuse her — and before too long he's starting to wonder if maybe there might be something to this crazy idea...

Although the central idea of the story is not one that Ranma ½‍'‍s creator Rumiko Takahashi might ever have chosen to explore, Haynie takes it and runs with it directly into exactly the same kind of comedic and chaotic territory that typifies the best manga chapters.

Haynie wrote eighteen seventeen and a half chapters of Girl Days between April 1999 and November 2002. He also wrote a short fic set in an Alternate Universe of the Girl Days verse, A Girl Days Spamfic [dead link] , in which Principal Kuno is inspired by the fight between Ranma and Big Pocky. And between 1999 and 2000 he wrote four chapters of an equally incomplete Sequel entitled Redheads, in which the post-Girl Days Ranma and Akane find themselves thrown into the world of Slayers.

Girl Days can be found here.

Tropes used in Girl Days include:
  • A-Cup Angst: In the earlier portions of the story, Akane is as sensitive about her bust size as she is in canon; when she first appears she is fuming, in part, because of a comment made about it during a typical Nerima scrum. As her relationship with Ranma improves, though, it appears to fade away, until by the end of chapter 10 she can acknowledge that no, she may not have the largest breasts of the girls orbiting Ranma, but she has nothing to be ashamed of, and she also has other features that she knows for a fact Ranma likes.
  • Abhorrent Admirer: In addition to Kuno's canonical pursuit of female!Ranma and Akane, there is Enzo, an unabashed pervert who thinks that making obscene suggestions and propositions to Ranma (or other girls) will get her to have sex with him. As Ranma notes in chapter 11, Kuno at least tries to be romantic; Enzo is just cringe-inducing.
    • Also for Ranma, Prince Midol of Kasarikustan.
    • In what is clearly a case of poetic justice, Mousse (who is canonically Shampoo's Abhorrent Admirer), has an Abhorrent Admirer of his own in Hilda the Chinese Viking. (No, really.)
  • Action Dress Rip: Averted In-Universe by a Neriman dress shop which, knowing its potential clientèle, offers skirts with Velcro and snaps along the seams that allow them to pop open for fighting and then be closed right back up afterward. Ranma, forced by the terms of Girl Days to wear skirts as much as possible, buys five — two of them minis. (And ends up liking them a lot.)
  • Action Girl: Just about everyone female, especially during the costume party.

In girlform, Ranma + Chinese Shirt - Chinese Pants = Cute Girl in sleeveless minidress.

Cologne, matriarch of the Amazons, War Leader of the Jokuzetsu, and generally an annoying old bat...

  • Author's Saving Throw: Suggesting in chapter 15 that Pillow Creek, being a magical town, moves around -- thus explaining why Haynie gave it as being located in two different states.
  • Badass Longcoat: Ranma wears one over her fighting gear (see Hell-Bent for Leather, below) to hide it until it's time for a proper reveal.
  • Baka: One of the wizards of Pillow Creek has been taking Japanese lessons, and shouts "Fred no Baka!" when they punish Fred Yerfburger for trying to take over the world (with, it is implied, a Hyperspace Mallet).
  • Becoming the Costume: The unexpected effect of Fred Yerfburger's spell on everyone during the costume party arc.
  • Belligerent Sexual Tension: Subverted — as a result of his Girl Days training, both Ranma and Akane get a better handle on communicating with each other, and their usual level of angry exchanges drops markedly. In fact, the overall tension level between Ranma and all the fiancées drops until they routinely hang out together in one big gang.
  • Berserk Button: It requires her to be on her period to respond to it, but Ranma doesn't take well to being called a pervert. And because of the bizarre influence of her friends Hiroshi and Daisuke on her sexual education, Ranma has permanently associated Cheese Whiz with perversion and will react as strongly — if not more so — if it's even mentioned in her presence, let alone actually present.
  • Big Eater: Ranma's canon abilities in this area come into play in an Italian restaurant in chapter 6, at which Ranma orders several persons' worth of food. When Kuno, who by coincidence is also dining there, expresses doubt that she can eat it all, it becomes a wager where he will pay the entire bill for the table if she finishes everything. She does, and he does.
    • A chapter later, Ranma absolutely ruins a restaurateur's day when she and Ryoga win an "all-you-can-eat, on-the-house" evening at a local dining establishment.
  • Book Ends: Chapter 5, which starts and ends with dinner at Ucchan's for the Saotome and Tendo families. Lampshaded by the Lemony Narrator:

The circle closes. Not always on a significant thing, but it does close.

  • Braids of Barbarism: The Chinese Vikings in general, but Hilda's waist-length blonde braids are specifically brought to the readers' (and Ryoga's) attention.
  • Brick Joke: Delivered to the readers, not to the cast: After the Tendo family atlas reveals improbably-named towns (like "Chicago" and "Sainte-Marie") scattered around Japan, right where Ryoga thinks they are, the narrator reveals that the chief cartographer of the atlas is one Soujiro Hibiki.
    • Chicago, Japan itself becomes a brick joke, when it's mentioned in Fred Yerfburger's guidebook to Japan as one of the nation's homes to shape-shifting martial artists of really ridiculous power.
    • "Penguin-chan!"
    • Turns out the Chinese Vikings have some kind of trade agreement with Kasarikustan.
  • Brief Accent Imitation: Daisuke in chapter 10, after accidentally seeing more of Shampoo than he expected to during a volleyball game, unintentionally (?) mimicks her speech patterns: "Shampoo jump high. See under t-shirt. Shampoo no wear bra."

"... You think we should follow her to see if there's something wrong?"
"No, I think we should follow her because I want to get a closer look at how her tush moves under that chainmail. Rowr."

  • Bunny Ears Lawyer: Almost literally in the case of one particular ancestor, Itsuno Kuno, who wore a rabbit strapped to his head at the Battle of Sekigahara Plain, but the Kuno clan overall, according to the narrator, have historically been oddballs but capable in their chosen fields. It's only the Nerima branch who are outright Cloudcuckoolanders.
  • The Cameo: Fred Yamada, who comes from a different Ranma fic entirely. See the Shout-Out listing on the trivia page.
  • Chaste Hero: Ranma is depicted here as fundamentally clueless about sex; she knows it exists, that it involves two people (usually of opposite genders), and some of the actual mechanics, but for unclear reasons isn't ruled or even influenced by lust like most other teenagers. If anything, Ranma is more than a little frightened of sex, regardless of which form she's in. (Part of that is because some of her concepts are formed by hanging around with Hiroshi and Daisuke, who are both clueless and perverts, and rely on rumor and dirty magazines for their information.)
  • Cheongsam: Ranma buys a miniskirted one during her first shopping trip in chapter 2, although she clearly has second thoughts about it later. In chapter 4 she wears it first because she was bribed to, then to mess with Shampoo the entire ward.
    • In chapter 11, Ranma gives Akane a fighting outfit that uses a cheongsam-like tunic as its top section.
    • At least one girl (outside the core cast) wears a cheongsam to Furinkan's first Casual Friday in chapter 15.
  • Chest Insignia: It doesn't actually go on her chest, but Ranma starts acquiring clothing and other possessions with horses on them, including socks, pajamas — and the Ran-mallet. (The "ma" in "Ranma" means "horse" in Japanese.) She comes to think of it as her "signature motif".
  • The Chikan: Ranma and Akane both have to injure several early in chapter 6 when they're groped on the way to the beach. The gropers won't touch Kasumi (presumably due to her Incorruptible Pure Pureness) or Nabiki ("who might have seemed too scary"). And the narrator assumes that since there were no sliced-up bodies left in their wake, no one tried to grope Nodoka (who was, as always, wearing the family katana on her back).
  • Clingy Jealous Girl: In addition to the assortment already present in Ranma ½ canon, we discover that Ranma's mother Nodoka is this way about her husband Genma. To the astonishment of pretty much everyone.
    • And Hilda for Mousse.
  • Cloudcuckooland: Nerima, with some of Wackyland's cheerful, brightly-colored danger mixed in for flavor. Normal people — like the group of boys on the beach in chapter 6 — want nothing to do with Nerima or the inhabitants thereof.
  • Cosmic Plaything: Ryoga is convinced — especially after getting accidentally turned into a girl — that he is one. He's probably not wrong.
  • Conspicuous Trenchcoat: This plus platinum-blond hair dye is Ukyo's disguise while stalking watching over Ranma and Ryoga's date in chapter 7.
  • Contrived Coincidence: Why the entire cast of the story all end up at the beach in chapter 6, despite none of the various subgroups knowing that the others were going. The narrator holds this up as an example of synchronicity.
    • Later in the same chapter, the mere existence of a piglet-sized model of Ryoga's combat umbrella just when he needs one while in piglet form. Again called synchronicity.
    • Strikes with a vengeance when Ranma and Ryoga go on a date in chapter 8, starting with getting an evening on the house from their chosen restaurant by (coincidentally) being its ten thousandth patrons.

"You aren't going to sell any pictures of Ranma in that outfit," said Akane coldly.
Nabiki stared at the wreck of what had been a camera. "But... but... all that yen..."
"This is Ranma's happy weekend. NO photos. Or... or I'll evaluate you."
Nabiki began to regain control. "And what does that mean, little sister?"
"You have been lax in your training. You used to train with Daddy and me. I think your skills have slipped. I should find out how much."
Nabiki froze— again. Akane was DEAD serious. And no amount of yen would be worth the pain that the youngest daughter was apparently willing to inflict.

  • Cool Shades: The mirrorshades Ranma wears with her "fighting gear".
  • Corpsing: In-Universe, Akane and Nabiki are frequently shown trying desperately not to laugh while Ranma taunts her father with the fruits of her Girl Days training. In chapter 17, they have to resort to stuffing the sleeves of a gi into their mouths to keep from laughing out loud. In the same incident, Ranma herself has to retreat before she cracks up.
    • At several points in the story, Cologne similarly has to keep herself from breaking out into guffaws, mainly to preserve her dignity and image as an unflappable elder. Late in chapter 17, though, she gives up and finally collapses in hysterics.
  • Create Your Own Hero: What Fred Yerfburger accidentally does when trying to take over the world — his very first spell ends up creating an army of heroes who identify and try to dogpile him.
  • Cute Little Fangs: If anything, getting transformed into a girl makes Ryoga's fangs even cuter.
  • The Cutie: Female!Ranma can turn this on and off at will in canon; when combined with Girl Days training it gets turned Up to Eleven. See also Kawaiiko, below, for an instance where it turned itself on and went to twelve because Ranma's brain chemistry had been kicked in the butt by her first period.
    • When Ryoga accidentally gets turned into a girl in chapter 17, it appears she cannot do anything without doing it cutely. Even threatening to kill someone. And in chapter 18, it turns out she can also turn it Up to Eleven completely unconsciously, in order to scam extra ice cream from a vendor.
  • Death Trap: In chapter 13, the mutated school is filled with them.
  • Determinator: The narrator frequently notes that Ranma never gives up. Ever.
  • Dissimile/Metaphorgotten: Played with. The Lemony Narrator occasionally indulges in similes that initially look like they're just not going where you think they should, but at the last moment do. For example:

Being Ranma, she was taking to [Amazon training] like a fish takes to tartar sauce— that is, not exactly willingly, but, nevertheless, very well.

  • Distracted by My Own Sexy: Ryoga-chan in chapter 17, when she spots herself in a mirror while putting on the clothes Ranma is handing her right after her transformation, but her reaction is far less "wow, I'm yummy" than "holy crap, is that really me?"
  • Distracted by the Sexy: Ryoga, in chapter 2, when he tries to attack while Ranma and all three Tendo girls are sunbathing:

Faced with four pretty girls (of which three were definitely scantily clad and one wasn't wearing that much, really) Ryoga Hibiki did the only thing he could possibly do—
Develop a major nosebleed and pass out.

    • Enforcing this trope on her opponents is much of the purpose of Ranma's "fighting leathers".
  • The Ditz: Ranma in her very brief Kawaiiko-overload mode in chapter 8 gives every impression of being a complete ditz, and Big Pocky thought of her that way until their fight began.

But the one thing he was certain about is that this plan would hide him so perfectly from Hilda that she'd never find him. Never in a million years.
You could almost hear the panting of ominous thunder trying to catch up and wondering how in hell it had missed its cue.

  • Either-Or Title: In Kenko's own capsule description of the fic, he calls it Girl Days. Or, how I learned to stop worrying and to love my bra.
  • Embarrassing First Name: Principal Kuno's first name is "Paulette". He does not like it, nor does he want anyone to know it.
  • Engagement Challenge: Delivered to Prince Midol of Kasarikustan at the end of chapter 4, and made up of two difficult tasks and one Impossible Task, in order to keep him from pursuing female!Ranma.
  • Epiphany: Akane has one about her cooking skills in chapter 17, after tasting her own cooking for the first time.
  • Evil Overlord: Fred Yerfburger is convinced he's destined to be one. The continual refusal of the universe to cooperate deeply confuses and upsets him.
  • Exact Eavesdropping: Played with when a movie-goer (who turns out to be the cousin of Hikaru Gosunkugi) overhears Ranma and Ryoga's conversation while they're watching Hellraiser II in a movie theater, and misinterprets their comments comparing the story to their usual goings-on. He comes to the erroneous but understandable conclusion that they are a pair of supernatural monsters amusing themselves it by watching a human-made horror film — which they don't find terribly scary.
  • Exact Words: Akane's first interactions with Shampoo in chapter 4 make liberal use of this trope to mess with the Amazon.
  • Face Fault: Akane gets in one when she first learns of the Girl Days training.
    • Happosai does one in chapter 15 when a demon he summoned insists on a good Reuben sandwich from a specific deli on the Ginza in exchange for committing some mayhem.
    • In chapter 16, Nodoka does one when Ranma tells her what she misses most about being a guy.
  • Faceless Goons: Fred Yerfburger has an army of literally faceless minions.
  • Failure Is the Only Option: When you're a rogue wizard trying to Take Over the World, at least. Cosmic law says so. And the more you deny it, the worse it will be.
    • Kuno's attempts in chapter 15 to present a tribute to his loves.

"Just because you can't see the sheer magnificence of my path doesn't make it loony!" Kenchuro protested. "They laughed at Fernbeister, you know!"
"Who?"
"Emilio Fernbeister, the inventor of the solar powered flashlight!"
Akane paused. "Um... wouldn't a solar powered flashlight only work during the daytime?"
Kenchuro hesitated, and replied, "All right, bad example. How about Mao Khu Leng?"
Ranma thought a moment. "Oh, yeah. Cologne was telling me about him. Worst alchemist in Chinese history. Tried to create an invincible army out of candied yams. Died when attacked by a horde of starving peasants in the Leung dynasty."
"Emperor Norton?"
"Who?"
Pause. "Never mind. But it's still not loony!"

It's basically the often used 'Ranma has to be a girl for a while' plot... but, well, not that after all. Because I'm a humorist, I do it without angst.

  • Fate Worse Than Death: At the start of the story, Ranma explicitly makes this comparison between wearing a sun dress with jewelry and the seppuku contract his mother holds over him.
  • Fictional Document: The Pocket Guide to Chinese Amazon Law, which Nabiki consults in chapter 4.

"...I bought it off the Internet."
"Where do they sell something like THAT?!?"
"Amazon.com. Hmm... you think there's a connection?"
Ranma, Akane, and even Kasumi groaned.

  • Fiery Redhead: Ranma, much more so when she has her period, but she calms down considerably the more comfortable she becomes with being a girl.
  • Filler: At the end of chapter 10, the author admits in a note that the entire chapter was filler to set up was to happen in chapter 11.
  • Foreshadowing: In Chapter 2, Ranma buys a Cheongsam, saying, "Just in case I have to impersonate an amazon..."
    • And then there's an incredibly blatant example in chapter 11, which the Lemony Narrator lampshades by explicitly saying, "This is called foreshadowing."
    • In the later chapters there are what appears to be foreshadowing for material which was never written, such as Ranma idly musing about hitting Nabiki with Nannichuan water and turning the tables on her by taking beefcake photos.
  • Freak-Out: Ranma's reaction when her first period began started with four and a half minutes of screaming. (Because she had been forewarned, it wasn't the seventeen it could have been.) It gets worse. But it results in Ranma finally understanding, deeply and emotionally, that her girl form is truly female and real — and reinforces her determination to continue with the Girl Days training. It also begins the first truly substantial changes in her relationship with Akane.
  • Gag Boobs: Implied of Hilda, who is explicitly described as "pneumatic".
  • Gag Echo: When the combined Tendo-Saotome party finally makes it to the beach in chapter 6, one of a group of boys watching them can only say "Look at the redhead!" over and over again.
    • In chapter 13, "Mercury Ice Mallet?" gets the same treatment.
    • And "I want to HURT him" from Nabiki once they've cornered Fred Yerfburger.
    • Chapter 16: "ANOTHER MONTH?!?"
  • Gender Bender: Ranma. Duh.
    • In the last few extant chapters, Ryoga, who got hit with mud made with instant Nannichuan and then accidentally washed it off with the waterproof soap.
  • Gender Flip: In chapter 9, Akane briefly imagines herself having a set of problems similar to Ranma, envisioning herself dressed as Ranma and getting attacked by a girl in a bandanna with a pink parasol.
  • Genre Savvy: When all the fiancées coincidentally meet outside an Italian restaurant, Ranma for once realizes exactly what is likely to happen — a massive fight which ends with massive property damage and her pummeled into paste — and simply takes off.
    • And when the girls follow, find out why she ran, and vow not to fight and in fact make her weekend at the beach the most fun it can possibly be, Ranma has a severe feeling of dread.
  • Get Out!: When Kuno accosts Akane and Ranma on their shopping trip in chapter 8, Ranma's response starts with "GO AWAY." When Kuno persists, it gets worse.
  • Gilligan Cut:
    • "Makeover time!" in chapter 4.
    • Ranma goes from refusing to dress as Priss Asagiri for the costume party in chapter 11, much less sing "in character", to being on stage and belting out "Konya wa Hurricane" in one fast cut.
  • Girlish Pigtails: When Ranma briefly goes full-bore Kawaiiko in chapter 8, she puts her hair up in twin ponytails. Tied off with bright yellow bows.
  • The Glomp: To be expected, as the original work is one of the Trope Codifiers. However, in chapter 4, Ranma reveals to Akane that the reason he never resisted or tried to escape from Shampoo's glomps is that The Glomp is actually a specialized martial arts move that leaves its target with only one way to get out — by grabbing the glomper's breasts. Akane doesn't believe her until she demonstrates. Then Nabiki's copy of The Pocket guide to Chinese Amazon Law reveals that taking that one way out would have been an automatic acceptance of Ranma's Amazon "married" status.
  • Go-Karting with Bowser: The fiancées (except for Kodachi), who nominally consider each other enemies or at least unfriendly rivals, discover in the wake of their alliance in chapter 6 that they actually like each other. They begin to spend time together, starting with a sleepover.

Leather it was. A black glossy gleaming leather shorts and halter combo, with calf-high boots and a chain-link belt. And the Mirrorshades. Can't forget the mirrorshades. Or the fingerless elbow length gloves. Or the fishnet stockings. Even the choker.
Ranma was RADIATING "Bad Girl".

For Bonus Points, and to make for a dramatic reveal, she wears a black leather trench coat over this.
  • Hilarity Ensues: Pretty much all the time, actually, this being par for the course for an Original Flavour Ranma ½ fic, but a few instances stand out — like the softball game on Shampoo's first day at Furinkan in chapter 9.
  • Honor Before Reason: Arguably one of the central themes of the fic, starting right from the beginning when Ranma insists on taking the Girl Days training seriously. (Then again, it's a recurring motif in the original manga and anime as well.) Ranma finds himself in multiple uncomfortable situations because of his honor.
    • Combined with Nobody Calls Me Chicken and yet another Contrived Coincidence is responsible for Ranma and Ryoga going on a date in chapter 7 — and not just going on a date but absolutely determined to make it a fun and romantic date.
    • Averted when Genma — who has canonically insisted Ranma fight everyone and everything who challenged him no matter how stupid — agrees that Ranma can ignore Kenchuro Tojo's challenge in chapter 14, because there is no dishonor in refusing to fight a loony.
  • Horny Vikings: Chinese Vikings, neighbors and sometime-rivals of the Chinese Amazons.
  • Hoist by His Own Petard: Fred Yerfburger's final tactic is to force all the attackers to face their greatest fears — unfortunately for him, Ranma is right in front, and goes right into Neko-ken mode. As the narrator notes, "Fred barely teleported away alive."
  • Hot MILF with a sword: Nodoka fits the appearance of the trope and contrary to canon is apparently quite skilled with the family katana, but averts it by not actually having a mission, per se, other than not having to use the katana on her son.
  • Hulk Speak: Shampoo, as is canon for the North American dub, and whom Ranma then imitates for a full day in Chapter 4.
    • And because she's basically Scandinavian!Shampoo, Hilda the Chinese Viking.
  • Humongous Mecha: One manifestation of Fred Yerfburger's spell during the costume party is a good half-dozen or more mecha from as many sources.
  • I Do Not Own: Played for Laughs. Haynie's start-of-chapter "disclaimers" begin with "(insert usual tired and practically universally memorized disclaimer here)" on chapter 1 and get progressively more playful and goofy as the story goes on.
  • I Gave My Word: One of the reasons Ranma refuses to cheat on the Girl Days training — he promised his mother he would take it seriously.

"Horny slutty goofy fat mean geeky girl!"
"Who you call geeky?"

  • Idiot Ball: The Narrator is of the opinion that Fred Yerfburger has it handcuffed to his wrist, although he doesn't say so in so many words. Fred's demonic familiar also comes to this conclusion, and decides she'd rather take the punishment she'll get for breaking her contract with him rather than get dragged down by his stupidity.
  • Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Kasumi, who is so innocent that subway gropers won't come near her. However, her innocence and her automatic assumption that everyone is kind and good-hearted in everything they do make her come across as a bit dim. (However, she's anything but dim; her apparent obliviousness is a benefit of her personal Art.)
  • Informed Judaism: In-Universe example — in chapter 7, Ranma claims Ryoga is a rabbi — at the First Synagogue of Judaic Shinto — in order to explain to a waitress why he won't eat pork. Apparently "he doesn't like it" wasn't a good enough reason.
  • Insane Troll Logic: Given that this is a Ranma fic, it's inevitable. Ryoga, Mousse and Kuno all demonstrate their usual off-kilter thought processes (although the story tends to be somewhat sympathetic to Ryoga). Even Akane comes in for her own share, with a bit of the Fanon-standard conviction that there's a perverted reason for anything odd that Ranma does — but that eventually fades from her character. The narrator sometimes helps things along by giving the reader an insight in their thought patterns — and in one glorious case involving Kuno shows the reader the exact chain of logic:

Kuno Logic can be a beautiful thing to see. This time it was positively magnificent.
(When girls argue, Saotome gets beat up.
(The girls are (mistakenly) in love with Saotome.
(The girls should be in love with Me.
(Saotome isn't here, so they WILL be in love with Me.
(The girls are arguing.
(Therefore, I will get beat up.)
From a mix of one accurate and a group of flawed propositions, Tatewaki Kuno had managed to come to a completely accurate conclusion.

    • The very concept of the "Baka-Ken" practiced by Kenchuro Tojo is an attempt to weaponize Insane Troll Logic.
    • In chapter 11, Kuno comes to the conclusion that the reason Ranma and Akane reject his romantic advances is not because they don't like him, it's because he's been giving them the wrong kind of flowers.
  • Inside Shoes: Ranma gets a quick lesson from Akane on customizing uwabaki to express individuality in school as part of the chapter 8 shopping trip.
  • Ironic Echo: After she starts attending Furinkan, Shampoo finds that she has to deal with a mob of boys who, misunderstanding Amazon traditions, try to defeat her to get a date. Shampoo is annoyed that she's not allowed to kill them.

"Never mind. No one can actually get inside."
####
Inside, Kuno and Gosunkugi were making their way to the back doors of the mutated school.

  • Irony: Ryoga muses on it during his (accidental, involuntary) date with Ranma in chapter 7:

It was ironic, he thought. Try to take out a girl, and disaster happens. Take out a fake girl, and suddenly everything starts going well. He supposed that it was because for once there was no danger of romance rearing it's head.

    • At the start of chapter 13, the Narrator insists that Irony is the most powerful of all the fundamental forces of the universe.
  • Japanese School Club: Several pop up spontaneously when Ranma returns to school in girl form, one for pretty much every permutation of Ranma's gender and people's preferences thereof (and general stupidity of their members).
  • Jerkass Has a Point: In chapter 8, Akane admits that in between all the extremes of emotion her period inflicted on her, Ranma had a few very valid observations and complaints about their relationship.
  • Joshikousei: Chapter 8 features Akane and Ranma shopping for school uniforms, with an extended lecture by Akane about how girls can customize their uniforms without running afoul of school rules, surprising and intriguing Ranma. (This has an unfortunate side effect when Ranma suffers a Not Himself moment caused by her period later that same day, and briefly becomes an extremely Kawaiiko schoolgirl.)
  • Karma Houdini Warranty: Expires for all three fiancées when they follow Ranma and Ryoga on their date in chapter 7; each one gets into the same kind of wacky and falsely-incriminating situation that Ranma almost always finds himself in under "normal" circumstances. Having been many times on the receiving end, through, Ranma is understanding, if not particularly happy.
  • Kawaiiko: Ranma in chapter 8, when Big Pocky first arrives, has been trying to distract herself from the wild and severe mood swings caused by her first period, and aided by her somewhat altered brain chemistry slips right into a full-bore "cutesy girl" mode without really thinking about it. (Cologne later provides an herbal tea which helps her get back on an even keel. But not before Big Pocky is thoroughly confused about who it is he's come to fight.)
  • Ki Attacks: Prompted by Kuno and her first period, Ranma spontaneously manifests one in chapter 8 that briefly turns her into Lum from Urusei Yatsura while striking Kuno with a bolt of lightning. Later in the same chapter, Big Pocky accidentally presses Ranma's Berserk Button and she comes up with a revised Mouko Takabisha which she calls "Tigress's Righteous Fury".
  • Lampshade Hanging: When Hilda, Shampoo and Mousse enter into a situation eerily reminiscent of some of the things Ranma usually gets caught up in, Ukyo and Cologne discuss the similarities just before things escalate into something even more like what Ranma normally gets caught up.
  • Lemony Narrator: The narrator of the story has very definite opinions about the characters and the action, and gives the impression he's nudging you in the side and sharing in the laughter as things spiral out of control.
  • Lesbian Romance: What Akane briefly thinks Nodoka is "training" both her and Ranma for as part of the Girl Days program. Ranma disabuses her of the notion fairly quickly.
  • Lethal Chef/Cordon Bleugh Chef: Fanon Akane is in full force where these tropes are concerned, although she does improve noticeably after the fiancées become friendly and start sharing lunches at school. That still doesn't stop her from creating the occasional toxic mess when not watched carefully. She does learn in chapter 17 that good cooks taste the food they are creating, and so should she — sadly, while facing one of her toxic messes, which sends her running for the bathroom.
  • Lingerie Scene: Ranma gets more than a couple, thanks to her mother's insistence that she sleep in very feminine nightwear at least one night in every three. During chapter 6 she even has a discussion with Kasumi (and later Akane) about what she does and doesn't find comfortable in sleepwear.
  • Logic Bomb: Ranma considers herself a heterosexual lesbian when in girl form, after Cologne jokingly suggests it.
    • Certain simple questions have this effect on Kuno. Then again, Kuno's an idiot.
  • MacGuffin: The Amulet of Impressions during the costume party arc.
  • Magic 8-Ball: The Crystal of Leng-Khao, one of Cologne's enchanted Amazonian doo-dads. Unlike the trope namer, it's informal and rather chatty, provided you ask the right questions.
  • Magic Pants: Averted for Genma when he tries to get onto the beach in panda form in chapter 6, and they have to prove he's human and not a pet.
    • In chapter 10, Ranma wishes for a school uniform that would change when she does. Akane jokes that it would probably have several other school uniforms pursuing it romantically.
  • Magical Land: Kasarikustan, home to Prince Midol, but it's kind of run-down and subpar, and just barely qualifies as a magical land by virtue of possessing a magical lake that pickles herring in 16 seconds.

In other words, No, it's NOT another failed cure for Ranma. It is, however, an excellent cure for fish.

  • Mama Bear: Even though she knows Ranma is more than capable of handling herself and any unwanted attention, Nodoka gets... protective. With her katana.
    • And Ranma seems to enjoy sending guys her way to set her off.
  • Martial Arts and Crafts: It wouldn't be a Ranma fic without'em. One notable example is Big Pocky, who has a style based entirely around snack foods. And it culminates in chapter 14 with the arrival of Kenchuro Tojo, the creator of the "Baka-ken", whose Art is based on the idea that one can be so bizarrely incompetent that it goes completely through and out the other side into mastery. Ranma refuses to fight him on the grounds that he's a loony.
  • Medieval Stasis: Subverted by the Chinese Vikings, who maintain the appearance of their traditional longboats and dwellings, but build them all with modern materials, mechanisms and amenities.
  • Mind Screw: Nodoka inflicts one on Ranma — possibly intentionally, possibly not — when she buys her a black piglet plushie.
    • Ranma messes with Shampoo's head enough to make her run panicking back to Cologne twice in the story — first intentionally while playing at being an Amazon in chapter 4 and then unintentionally under the influence of her period in chapter 8.
    • The general effect that Ranma's declaration that she is a "heterosexual lesbian" has on her friends — although Ukyo has enough common experiences to grasp what Ranma means.
  • Mistaken for Gay: In chapter 4, Kuno literally cannot recognize Akane and Ranma when they are disguised as Ranma and an Amazon, respectively, and instead simply identifies them as a lesbian couple and thus not to be bothered with.
  • Moe: To her shame and embarrassment, Fred Yerfburger's demonic familiar looks like a cute girl-next-door type dressed like a Magical Girl, with absolutely nothing eldritch or disturbing about her.
  • Mundane Utility: During the costume party arc, Wolverine!Kasumi uses her adamantium claws to slice food.
    • Mousse uses the Hidden Weapons technique to store freshly-washed dishes, making it easier to put them away when he's done washing up.
  • No Export for You: Averted: a translation to Spanish was done by Guillermo Riquelme Valenzuela (authorized by Haynie himself), and it's currently available on Riquelme's Ranma ½ website. It was only translated until episode 14, however.
  • No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Ranma delivers these to several characters, starting with his own father. Big Pocky didn't fare too well, either.
  • No Periods, Period: Utterly averted. Ranma's first period gets a long and intense look at the comedy it causes.
    • And when you come right down to it, deliberately averted in-universe by Nodoka, who required the initial "two months" specifically to make sure Ranma goes through at least one period.
  • Noodle Implements: We never do find out why a cheese sandwich is required for Ranma's Amazon training.

[Shampoo] also was, at the moment (due to an unfortunate incident with a barber pole, a drunken sailor, a fire hydrant and a college fraternity prank), a cat.

  • Nosebleed: Seems to be Ryoga's lot in life.
    • He gets one and then passes out when he comes upon Ranma and the Tendo sisters all sunbathing in swimsuits in chapter 3.
    • He suffers one in piglet form when Akane finds him on the beach in chapter 6, and he is not only pressed firmly against her breasts, he sees virtually every girl in the cast in a revealing swimsuit.
    • He gets another one in human form (and passes out) in chapter 11, when he comes upon Ranma (in her battle leathers) and Akane (in her new fighting outfit) sparring together.
    • He valiantly staves off several others during the course of the story.
  • Not Himself: Aided by period-induced off-kilter brain chemistry, Ranma first starts acting Tsundere, then goes full-bore Kawaiiko for a short while in chapter 8. It takes an herbal remedy from Cologne to set her to rights.
  • Oblivious to Love: In chapter 8, Akane quickly reasons that Ryoga accidentally asked Ranma on a date thinking for some reason she was someone else — but can't quite figure out who Ryoga might have meant to ask instead.
  • Oh Crap: See Right Behind Me, below.
  • One Fred Limit: Averted with Fred Yerfberger, rogue wizard, and Fred Yamada, maker of the best American-style burgers in Nerima.
  • Original Character/God Mode Sue: Kenchuro Tojo from chapter 14 is a deliberate parody of this kind of character, which was very common in Ranma fic at the height of its popularity — Haynie explicitly says so in an author's note appended to the end of the chapter.
  • Original Flavour: Considered one of the best original flavor Ranma fanfics ever written, even in its incomplete state.
  • Panty Thief: Genma, in chapter 8, attempts to steal Ranma's feminine clothing in order to force her to be more masculine despite the Girl Days training. Ranma, slightly addled by her first period, interprets it as a panty theft and reacts accordingly.
    • Any chapter in which Happosai appears, per standard.
  • Pardon My Klingon: Played with. Kenchuro Tojo recounts how the Amazons wouldn't let him near Jyusenkyo because he was a "chu-loofa". Ranma, who has been learning Amazon lore from Cologne, explains that "chu-loofa" is an Amazon slang word that means "loony".

"Ranma take lessons from mercenary girl?" smiled Shampoo.
"Huh? What'cha mean?"
"Ranma get paid selling stick-boy. Then Ranma get paid again, take stick-boy back."

  • Playboy Bunny: Nabiki's outfit for the costume party that starts in chapter 11. Chosen because no one would expect her to wear something like that, because it would attract the eyes of the businessmen she hoped to network with at the party, and because it was cheap.
  • Properly Paranoid: Throughout chapter 15, Ranma insists a fight is in the offing and prepares for it, even though everyone else tells her she's wrong. She wasn't.
  • The Prophecy: Seized by a sense of foreboding, Cologne attempts in chapter 11 to scry the future using the Crystal of Leng-Khao. Its immediate response is "YOU'RE SCREWED." Her attempts at clarification merely result in emphasis on how screwed they are. When Mousse asks why they're screwed, the Crystal provides entire paragraphs of detailed information on who, what, why, and how.
  • Puff of Logic: Ryoga is extraordinarily calm and collected about seeing a naked Shampoo run out of the kitchen of the restaurant where he and Ranma are having a date in chapter 7, as he's assuming that it must be a hallucination brought on by bad sushi, despite discussing the sight with Ranma. When Ranma points out that she is seeing the same thing, Ryoga's self-possession vanishes and he passes out.
  • Qurac: Kasarikustan, home to Prince Midol. Actually located near India rather than in the Middle East, but as the trope notes lots of countries ending in "-stan" fall under its aegis.
  • Reset Button: Destroying the Amulet of Impressions causes reality to "snap back" to the way it was before Fred Yerfburger tried to take over the world, effectively making the previous two or so chapters not have happened, although not perfectly so. Mousse probably lost his raise, though.
  • The Reveal: Although the fiancées' costumes for the costume party are discussed for a good chapter and a half — and Akane actually appears "on-screen" wearing hers at least once before the party — we don't actually find out what they are until the start of the party proper in the middle of chapter 11.

"This is becoming preposterous! Your mother is insane! Your mother is demented! Your mother is completely out of her mind!"
"My mother is standing behind you."
"Awk."

  • Rummage Sale Reject: Kenchuro Tojo, as a result of the Insane Troll Logic behind the "Baka-ken" martial art. He shows up at the Tendo home wearing a lime green neoprene wetsuit complete with twenty-pound SCUBA tank and mask, with an electric pink tutu and deely-boppers, under which he is wearing a set of underwear which is half lace boxers and half blue denim panties. Not surprisingly, he passes out in the heat of the Tokyo summer.
  • Serious Business: High school sports when Ranma and all the fiancées are involved.
  • Severely Specialized Store: Chapter 6 features the "Nagayosi Mallet Factory Outlet". Subverted in that the store was teetering on the brink of going out of business until several dozen girls needed weapons to pound Happosai with.
  • Schadenfreude: Ranma resolves to enjoy Ryoga's week stuck as a girl in chapter 17.

[S]he sped off like a very fast thing going, well, very very fast

    • According to Mousse in chapter 17, interrupting a formal battle of insults between a Chinese Viking and a Chinese Amazon is itself an insult.

[Author's Note: The astute reader will notice that Ryoga Hibiki has what can best be described as a somewhat unusual logic system. Rather than going from facts to conclusion, one starts at the conclusion and jams the facts around it. And in the minds of the likes of Ryoga Hibiki and Tatewaki Kuno, we all KNOW what the conclusion is.]

  • She's Got Legs: Akane. During the first true thawing of their relationship in chapter 8, Ranma explicitly tells her she has nice legs, to her surprise. Later, as she checks herself out in a mirror before going to the costume party, Akane acknowledges that Ranma is right.
  • Shopping Montage: Most of chapter 2. And almost any time some specific outfit gets mentioned, it's sure to be Foreshadowing.
    • Chapter 8 has the shopping-for-school sequence.
  • Sobriquet: In chapter 14, Ranma refers to Tatewaki Kuno (who dubbed himself "the Blue Thunder" early on in canon) as "the Chartreuse Flatulence of Furinkan High", which is mutated by Shampoo into "the Green Fart". Within 48 hours it had become a game in which Kuno was addressed with multiple absurd sobriquets in the form "the (color) + (object)". (Ranma's favorite is "the Tartan Electric Massage Unit With Sunlamp Attached".) It reaches the point that even Kuno got confused as to what his preferred sobriquet was, and demanded he be addressed as "the Green Fart".
  • Sophisticated As Hell: In her fury at being denuded and groped by Happosai, Kodachi simply gives up on her elegant speech pattern when trying to express herself.
    • And then there's Cologne's very simple "Oh, shit" when she feels Fred Yerfburger cast his spell.
  • Stalking Mission: The fiancées each independently take it upon themselves to follow and watch over Ranma and Ryoga's date in chapter 7. Naturally, Hilarity Ensues. Ultimately subverted by Akane, who feels vaguely ill at ease over the entire idea and bails on it almost immediately, only to have Ranma and Ryoga end up in the park where she's been thinking things over; panicking, she hides and watches them, and then defends them from a misunderstanding by Shampoo and Ukyo.
  • Standing in the Hall: Ranma and all three fiancées end up doing this on Shampoo's first day attending Furinkan, when she gets into an argument with a teacher over the lack of female emperors in Japan's history.
  • Status Quo Is God: Mostly averted. One of the few ways in which Girl Days is not Original Flavour is that it's entirely about changes to the status quo which generally improve things for most of the core cast, yet do not rob the setting of its comedy. Even so, the Love Dodecahedron at the core of the plot does not get resolved — if anything, characters like Hilda just add to it — and yet, the conflict becomes friendlier and generates humor in different ways.
  • Stealth Clothes: Genma puts on a purple ninja outfit with a handkerchief over his head to steal Ranma's "disgusting feminine clothing" in chapter 8.
  • Stripperiffic: Ranma's black leather "fighting gear".
    • Influenced by Nodoka's decidedly odd concepts of what is feminine, Ranma's nightwear and bathing suits. Not that she minds terribly much about the latter.
    • Nabiki's bathing suit in chapter 6. And Kodachi's even more so — especially as hers came with an "instant off" mechanism she wasn't expecting until Happosai used it.
  • Suppressed Mammaries: Ukyo, who is apparently even more busty than in canon, takes it Up to Eleven. Ryoga (who got an accidental view at one point) can't figure out how she can hide her breasts with a simple bandage.
  • Sweat Drop: Multiple instances, including Akane and Nodoka.
  • Talkative Loon: Happosai, after having his brain short-circuited by an accidental infusion of male chi in chapter 6.
  • Tempting Fate: Fred Yerfburger has an unfortunate habit of saying or thinking things like "my shields are impenetrable" and "nothing could go wrong" just before something goes wrong and his shields get penetrated.
  • Title Drop: Ranma first calls them "Girl Days" in chapter 2.
  • Tomboy: If Ranma's got to be a girl, this is the kind of girl she wants to be. However, Ranma has absolutely no problem being a very girly girl when it gets her something she wants.
  • Tomboy and Girly Girl: Ranma and Akane, generally. Although as chapter 8 demonstrates, Ranma can out-girly Akane (or any other girl) whenever she cares to, she prefers to think of herself as a tomboy.
  • Town with a Dark Secret: Subverted by Pillow Creek, Minnesota (or Michigan, or wherever), population 237. Hidden from mundane sight, it is almost entirely populated by powerful wizards who, with one notable exception, want nothing more than to study magic and occasionally cuddle with a friendly nature spirit while watching TV and drinking beer.
  • Tsundere: Ranma in chapter 8, whipsawed back and forth by her hormones, switches between incandescent fury and girlish giggles within seconds.
  • Two Lines, No Waiting: Chapter 17 runs two parallel plots for quite a while — one the tale of Hilda and the Chinese Vikings in Nerima, the other Tatewaki Kuno having a pleasant and uneventful day out on the town — until they inevitably intersect — and then promptly diverge again before they can actually interact.
  • Understatement: Chapter 8 is filled with all manner of ... restrained commentary on Ranma's period-affected state of mind, ranging from the Lemony Narrator's "She was in A Mood That Was Somewhat More Than Merely Bad" to Nodoka's own "Ranma may be... somewhat moody".
  • Unfazed Everyman: Kasumi. It is a benefit of her Art, which turns household chores into kata that help her maintain her composure — and her apparent obliviousness.
  • The Unpronounceable: Fred Yerfburger's demon familiar, whose name is so far outside the ability of humans to speak that it appears as a different string of random consonants every time it appears in text.
  • Unreadable Disclaimer: The warning on the packaging for the waterproof soap that excessive use may cause effects to persist for over a month after discontinuing use. It's unreadable because it's written in Coptic. (But only on those products sold in Japan and China.)
  • Unstoppable Rage: Ranma, if you press her Berserk Button while she has her period. At best you will be severely injured.
    • During the costume party arc, Nabiki's absolutely enraged that she's been turned into a literal bunny girl.
  • Vagueness Is Coming: Ultimately subverted by the Crystal of Leng-Khao in chapter 11, which, though it initially just says "YOU'RE SCREWED", is happy to spew out paragraphs of detailed information (giving names, methods, and solution) when asked properly, and saying "YEP. THAT'S THE PLACE. HAVE FUN." when the cast checks with it after they think they've found Fred Yerfburger.
  • Volleying Insults: A truly classic example can be seen in the "complicated traditional word-war" in which Shampoo and Hilda engage during chapter 17. True to the trope, it starts out lame and goes south from there, aided by both girls' limited grasp of Japanese:

Shampoo and Hilda were, well, not being particularly nice.
Not nice at all.
"Horny Girl."
"Stupid Amazon."
"Horny Girl."
"Stupid Amazon BITCH."
"Horny SLUTTY Girl."
...
"Stupid UGLY Amazon bitch!"
"Horny slutty GOOFY girl!"
...
"Stupid ugly SILLY Amazon bitch!"
"Horny slutty goofy FAT girl!"
...
"Stupid ugly silly nasty no-talent Amazon bitch!"
"Horny slutty goofy fat mean geeky girl!"
"Who you call geeky?"
"Shampoo call horny slutty goofy fat mean geeky girl geeky!"
...
"Stupid ugly silly nasty no-talent flat-chested Amazon bitch!"
"Horny slutty goofy fat mean geeky trampy girl!"

  • Vomit Discretion Shot: In chapter 17, when Akane tastes her own cooking for the first time, she runs to the bathroom. There are several small intervening scenes, and then the narrator explains the benefits of a Western-style toilet as known to generations of frat boys, before we see Akane having an epiphany about her cooking.

The walk back was uneventful.
No, sorry, that was a different walk back. THIS walk back was something other than uneventful.

  • What Could Possibly Go Wrong?: Fred Yerfburger asks this in chapter 13. The only reason it doesn't get a corresponding entry here under Tempting Fate is that Fate had already given into temptation long before where Fred was concerned, and was just toying with him at this point.
  • Where the Hell Is Springfield?: Pillow Creek, the wizard town, seems to wander between several states whose names start with "M". Minnesota and Michigan both are given, with Minnesota seen most often.
  • Who's on First?: Chapter 11 has an exchange between Ryoga, Ranma and Akane that verges on this trope when both girls are being innocently sexy, which disturbs Ryoga; however, all he can manage to verbalize is that they stop doing "that", which he refuses to fully describe, confusing both Akane and Ranma.
  • Wholesome Crossdresser: Konatsu. He pulls it off so well that in chapter 6 he's mistaken for a beautiful girl while wearing a swimsuit.
  • With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: Discussed. In chapter 9, Akane while thankful for the serious (and effective) training Ranma is now giving her, worries about attracting the same kind of weirdness that follows the other world-class martial artists that roam Nerima.

"She say Shampoo have accent. Not understand, no use MSG at Nekohanten, but if Hibachan say so..."[1]

  • Zany Scheme: Mousse has one in chapter 17 to hide from Hilda. Naturally it goes wrong.
  1. ↑ "Accent" is a brand of MSG marketed in the United States.
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