>>1490336Ah yes. Takahashi learned from Urusei Yatsura, where her desiginated love interest for the protagonist was overwhelmingly disregarded by the fans in favour of Lum. Publisher and fan pressure forced her hand.
So, whenever suitor characters for Ranma (other than admitted self-insert Akane) gained too much popularity with the fans, or if it seemed they might, she nipped things in the bud.
Shampoo (who was very popular in Japan) would go full on villainess, and Ukyo would be friend-zoned, to ensure the fans understood who the "real" LI was. Which made for a shitty, predictable romance plot, devoid of any tension or question.
