I appreciate rewatching Ranma later in life. I forgot that Akane is wrestling with her own gender identity.
Ranma is more “I’m a man changing into a woman haha. It’s a joke you see… unless
“
Akane is dealing with “Yes, I’m a woman. I just don’t want to be what you think that means.” She wants to be herself, but she also wants to be seen by Dr. Tofu as trad like her sister Kasumi, since that’s what he likes.
Takahashi wasn’t necessarily writing this with our current discourse in mind. But I love that her approach to the subject is still fun, disarming, and timeless nonetheless.