The Wild Horse Thesis: Difference between revisions

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* [[Egyptian Mythology]]: We learn at the start of chapter 9 that Nodoka had found an incredibly out-of-place shrine to Bastet somewhere in Japan while pregnant with Ranma, and had made a pilgrimage there to prey for a blessing on her unborn child.
* [[Egyptian Mythology]]: We learn at the start of chapter 9 that Nodoka had found an incredibly out-of-place shrine to Bastet somewhere in Japan while pregnant with Ranma, and had made a pilgrimage there to prey for a blessing on her unborn child.


* [[Epiphany]]: Amazingly, Akane undergoes one as a result of watching the videotapes and realizes that she had become an abuser of a boy she loved. The other girls have their own, less visible, epiphanies about their relationships with Ranma as well.
* [[Epiphany (trope)|Epiphany]]: Amazingly, Akane undergoes one as a result of watching the videotapes and realizes that she had become an abuser of a boy she loved. The other girls have their own, less visible, epiphanies about their relationships with Ranma as well.


* [[Fanon]]:
* [[Fanon]]:

Revision as of 21:54, 20 November 2020

The Wild Horse Thesis by "Calamity Cordite" (AKA "Calamity-Queen of Cordite") is a crossover between Ranma ½ and Neon Genesis Evangelion. Making yet another attempt to eliminate Ranma Saotome and free the heart of Akane Tendo, Hikaru Gosunkugi casts a spell from a scroll given to him by a mysterious cowled figure. To his surprise (and the readers'), the attempt succeeds and banishes Ranma into a set of of Evangelion video tapes, where Gosunkugi is sure he will come to a swift and terrible end, along with the rest of humanity.

Three days later, the Tendo household -- thoroughly agitated over Ranma's disappearance -- receives a package containing a set of video tapes entitled Neon Genesis Evangelion ½. Watching them, the Tendos learn what has happened -- Ranma has been inserted into the world of one of his favorite anime, Evangelion, and forced to take the place of Shinji Ikari. Unfortunately for the combined plans of Gosunkugi and Hideaki Anno, Ranma is not Shinji -- he knows exactly what's coming and why, and goes to work on derailing the plans of both Gendo Ikari and SEELE.

Meanwhile, the watchers in the "real" world are learning uncomfortable and unpleasant truths, thanks to the third-party omniscient viewpoint of the anime they are watching, a viewpoint that lets them hear Ranma's true, unvarnished feelings about the people who surrounded him in Nerima. As more and more members of the Ranma ½ cast join the viewing over the course of several days, they become split between those rooting for Ranma to find what happiness he can and those outraged that he is happier in Tokyo-3, even in the face of the Apocalypse, than he was in Nerima. And then it's revealed that Ranma has a secret patron who has been pulling the strings behind the scenes all along...

It can be read here.

Tropes used in The Wild Horse Thesis include:
  • Abusive Parents: Ranma considers Gendo this by proxy, having handed the young Ranma (in his In-Universe Backstory) to his lunatic cousin Genma to raise and train (with the intent that Ranma return broken in spirit, not the transcendant warrior he became).
    • Also inverted in that Ranma takes every opportunity he gets to insult, belittle or even physically assault Gendo Ikari. But at least he's straightforward about it from the first moment they face each other:

"Let's get somethin' straight, Pop; I don't like you. I think you're an egomaniacal coward with a god complex and I intend to bust your balls every chance I get."

  • Arbitrary Skepticism: Misato suffers from this for a good way into the story, initially refusing to believe Ranma about various of his abilities after all the other "impossible" things he's proven to be able to do. She does get better, though. Oddly, scientist Ritsuko is a bit quicker to accept Ranma's claims.
  • Barrier-Busting Blow: Ranma accidentally destroys the door to Rei's apartment by knocking too vigorously.
  • Bi the Way: Once her feelings about Ranma begin to awaken, Rei appears to be attracted to both his male and female aspects equally.
  • Book Ends: Each chapter begins and ends with a scene in Nerima, before and after watching an episode or more of the video tapes.
  • Bound and Gagged:
    • Genma and Soun end up restrained and gagged when they act out one too many times early in the story.
    • When Akane flips out over how Ritsuko characterized her in chapter 9, she wakes up in chapter 10 tied up and gagged herself, propped up on the wall next to her father and Genma.

"Sorry I'm late," she chirped cheerfully. "I'm..."
"Captain Misato Katsuragi," Ranma interrupted, getting in the car, "competent Tactical Operations Officer but a ditzy juicer when not in the middle of a battle."

  • His candid revelations to Evangelion characters what he thinks of the people from Nerima also have this effect on the watchers.
  • Camp Gay: The ice cream shop where Ranma, Rei and Asuka normally scam ice cream hires a counter boy who is apparently one and can thus resist the girls' feminine wiles.
  • Corpsing: In-universe -- Nabiki has to suppress her laughter at the Hypocritical Humor she witnesses among the fiancées watching the tapes.
    • Later, Rei uses her stoic appearance to hid her own amusement and pleasure at various developments.
    • Misato does an adequate job of hiding her hilarity at Ranma's reactions to her proposals for parceling out bedrooms when Asuka moves in.
  • Creepy Twins: Ranma (in girl form) and Asuka can do this for humor value when they care to.
  • A Date with Rosie Palms: Rei discovers and explores her sexuality in the wake of watching a bare-chested Ranma utterly thrash Gendo in a "sparring session".
  • Deus Ex Machina: A literal one, when it turns out the prime mover from almost the first sentence has been the Egyptian goddess Bastet, in response to the prayers of Nodoka, and she ensures that Rei and Asuka -- previously wholly fictional entities -- are rescued from the end of the anime and transported into the "real" world with Ranma at the conclusion of the story.
  • Egyptian Mythology: We learn at the start of chapter 9 that Nodoka had found an incredibly out-of-place shrine to Bastet somewhere in Japan while pregnant with Ranma, and had made a pilgrimage there to prey for a blessing on her unborn child.
  • Epiphany: Amazingly, Akane undergoes one as a result of watching the videotapes and realizes that she had become an abuser of a boy she loved. The other girls have their own, less visible, epiphanies about their relationships with Ranma as well.
  • Fanon:
    • Akane gets the stock mallet-happy borderline-psychobitch Lethal Chef characterization here, complete with the "depleted uranium mallet-sama +5 versus perverts". Unusually, though, she's not reticent about smashing people other than Ranma if she thinks they deserve it.
    • Ranma's ailurophobia is so severe he cannot even say the word "cat". He is also portrayed as so "conditioned" by fiancee abuse that honest affection from Rei and Asuka puts him a t-based fugue.
    • Soun is a human waterfall at the least provocation.
    • Nodoka spouting "My son is so manly" and waving fans at every opportunity.
  • God Test: Ranma repeatedly has to demonstrate what he's capable of when his claims and explanations are doubted by the people around him, like Misato and Asuka -- at least the first few times.
  • Gone Horribly Wrong: Misato's attempt to prank Ranma in chapter 9 is basically harmless, but results in him curled into a foetal ball, nearly catatonic and expecting to be beaten by the girls.
  • Groin Attack: Gendo inflicts one on Ranma during their "spar" in chapter 3. Unfortunately for him, Ranma toughs it out instead of folding.
  • Hold Up Your Score: When Akane mallets Ryoga at the start of chapter 3, Kasumi, Nabiki, Shampoo, Ukyo and Cologne all hold up scores.

"Shampoo no like Airen living with purple-haired slut."

  • Later, when Ranma's Inner Monologue describes Akane as an "abusive hypocrite" she immediately vows to beat him for it on his return.
  • If It's You It's Okay: Asuka considers herself heterosexual -- except for Ranma's girl form. And, ultimately, Rei as wel.

To call him a snake is an insult to snakes everywhere.

  • Inner Monologue: Ranma's thoughts are apparently presented to the show's watchers in Nerima as some manner of narration, given their responses to things he does not say out loud.
  • Lemony Narrator: The narrative voice of the story is not above throwing in the occasional comment or explanation.
  • Lickspittle: Ranma's opinion of Fuyutsuki. She calls him a "boot-licking toady" and a "spineless worm" to his face in chapter 8.

"Ah, hell, Misato, we got a problem," Ranma said.
"What is it, Ranma?" Misato's face appeared in a window on Ranma's display.
"It's an unsettlin' issue demandin' a solution or decision, but that's not important right now," Ranma quipped.

  • Rei gets away with a few things once she starts embracing her emotions simply by playing up her earlier literal-mindedness and ignorance, such as when she walks in on Ranma in the bath in chapter 8.
  • Mugging the Monster: Toji's attempt to beat up Ranma on the first day of school doesn't go as easily as it did against Shinji.
  • The Multiverse: Subverted. Ranma, it turns out, has not been transplanted to an actual different universe in which the events of Evangelion play out, but in a full-experience recreation of it in which he is the only "real" person -- at least until the end.

Ranma smirked. "You're the best driver I've ridden with."
She was the only driver he'd ridden with but she didn't have to know that.

  • Pinch Me: Feeling the heat given off by a piece of burning wreckage in chapter 1 is Ranma's first indication that his experience isn't All Just a Dream.
  • The Rival: As part of enticing Asuka into a friendship, Ranma points out that they can be best friends and rivals at the same time. For Asuka, who was already inclined to accept the offer, this just seals the deal.
  • Shipper on Deck: Kasumi, initially for Ranma and Rei, and then later both Rei and Asuka.
  • Single-Minded Twins: During (and sometimes after) the training to defeat Israfel, Ranma (in girl form) and Asuka do this. Toji thinks it makes them Creepy Twins.
  • Smarter Than You Look: Ranma. The author writes a Ranma who is very intelligent but ignorant outside of martial arts. Part of this story involves him becoming motivated to learn some (many?) of the things he was ignorant about.
  • The Snark Knight: Ranma is this in the Evangelion world, mainly because he already knows everyone's secrets and doesn't bother to hide his disdain for anyone he thinks is useless or villainous.
  • Staring Contest: Rei and Pen-pen get into a series of them in chapter 9. She wins them all.
    • Hikari tries her luck against Pen-pen later; it's not revealed who won.
  • The Stoic: Rei, as in canon Evangelion, but here we learn that she's been trained to be a stoic, rather than it being a consequence of her isolated upbringing. With Ranma's encouragement, she abandons her training.
  • Sweat Drop: Multiple appearances, usually in response to something Ranma has done or said, often in conjuction with Asuka and/or Rei.
  • Sweet Tooth: Ranma introduces Rei to the wonders of ice cream and chocolate, and she is never the same again.
  • Trapped in TV Land: Due to a magical spell, Ranma is trapped inside a series of video tapes which contain a copy of the anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion. He finds himself replacing the character of Shinji, but has all his abilities and techniques intact. Unlike some of other examples of this trope, though, we see Ranma having his Tokyo-3 adventures from the viewpoint of Ranma's family and fiancées, who are watching the tapes in the "real" world. The best part is seeing Ranma telling people in the show of his "previous" life, thinking no one knows what he's talking about, while the characters in the "real" world are subjected to his honest opinions of them.
  • Triang Relations: When Asuka arrives in Tokyo-3, she, Ranma and Rei end up in a type 7, where Ranma is "a". Eventually, though, it evolves into a type 8.
  • Twin Threesome Fantasy: Referenced at the end of the story by Rei, who notes that she gets to experience this with Asuka and Girl!Ranma.
  • What Is This Feeling?: Rei is ... confused by the pleasant sensations she feels while watching a bare-chested Ranma as he fought with Gendo during their "spar" in chapter 3, and while remembering it afterward. Analyzing them eventually leads her to A Date with Rosie Palms. This leads her into exploring all the other emotions she has been suppressing for years.
  • Younger Than They Look: Played with. Ranma, in Shinji's role, is "officially" fourteen years old -- but Ritsuko Akagi notes that his male form looks several years older (which he is); interestingly, his female form averts this, appearing to be closer to fourteen than Ranma's actual seventeen.
  • Your Mind Makes It Real: Unknown to Ranma a form of this trope is in play -- the world created by Gosunkugi's spell reacts to his expectations and beliefs, and shapes itself to them: if he believes he can improve his sync with Unit 01 by infusing it with his ki, he can... and if he believes he can change the outcome of Evangelion, he can do that, too.
  • Zany Scheme: Kaji's "train the pilots with dance to work in perfect coordination" plan to deal with Israfel, in Ranma's opinion. When Ranma learns the EVAs are ready long before Israfel has finished regenerating, he blows his stack. Abandoning the training, he and Asuka deploy immediately to kill the twin angel on a simple count of three while it's still immobile and weakened.


TRIVIA

Trivia about The Wild Horse Thesis includes:

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LACONIC

Banished to a doomed world, Ranma Saotome fights to save humanity and befriend two girls who need it.

View the verbose version here.

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FRIDGE


Fridge Brilliance

  • Although at first the idea that Neon Genesis Evangelion is Ranma's favorite anime seems like an anachronism, it's just barely possible (especially if one simply accepts Comic Book Time) -- Evangelion ran on TV 1995-96, and Ranma (both anime and manga) ended in 1996.

Fridge Horror

Fridge Logic

  • Misato was Asuka's guardian for some years in Germany. Why doesn't she note early on that Ranma's girl form is nearly identical (or nearly so) to Asuka? Oddly, Ritsuko does.
  • Ranma (and other characters) claim several times that Evangelion is Ranma's favorite series, he's watched it several times, and he's discussed it extensively with Hiroshi and Daisuke. How is it then that he has missed seeing the episode with Ramiel and doesn't know what happened in the segment he missed?

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