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I think the more they struggle the better, the more they resist just makes the end product so much more real. Sometimes the authors get to them enjoying the circumstances way too soon and with that its just like seeing any normal girl at that point.

I dunno if I'd say that Ryan/Rachel really struggles or resists. He sort of acts more like a sullen teenager than a defiant one.
Ash, from Misfile, resists.
Meg from Cheeky Angel actually fought... (tho ironically, of these three Meg put up the least resistance on the clothing and appearance front...)

Ryan sort of sulks while doing the bare minimum to fit in as Rachel, but doesn't (IMO anyway) seem to do much towards retaining 'Ryan.' He lets himself get dragged out on a 'girly' trip to the spa, but again is just sort of... there, neither making a real protest nor getting into the moment. Wearing a suit to he funeral was the closest thing I've seen to real resistance.

Ash... is still attracted to girls, yes (I can't say he's a lesbian, but I think we agreed to disagree on the label thing already anyway.) But Ash still tries to maintain his male identity, he still does all the things he'd do as a boy; and when forced to do girl things like shopping for a bra, he tries to do it as boyishly as possible.

Just my interpretation, of course.
(Then there's Cheer!, which is like at the exact opposite end of the spectrum...)

I sort of agree. I almost don't care what I'm reading as long as it involves detailed and realistic character reactions to unusual circumstances. (which is why, when acceptance sets in, they'd better re-hook my attention quickly if they want me to keep reading)

For that reason, the more uncommon the transformation, the better and as such, reversible female-to-male transformations are the best because they're the rarest ("reversible" meaning something that flip-flops like Ranma's curse) and because they give plenty of opportunities to see how other people react... potentially in large numbers.

I also (to a lesser extent because it's less psychologically focused) enjoy stories where scientifically grounded modern society is introduced to magic.



Use the label the El Goonish Forums crowd cooked up. Gynosexual. (Attracted to girls, regardless of what they are)



To me, it's not struggle that matters but realism.

I suppose the simplest way to say it is that there's a sweet spot of "medium-to-high struggle" which corresponds to accurate response for a realistic member of of a given society

...but I also enjoy stories where the person can flip back and forth at will because, if they're well written, then one or more of the following will apply:
- They'll struggle against uncontrollable triggering of the change by making a mountain out of a molehill... and I get to explore why. (eg. "The Virus", a Ranma fanfic where everyone on earth (and people in many different anime series) gets Ranma's curse so it's just an annoyance, but some characters have issues they need to resolve)
- It'll be fun to watch how other people react even if the main character doesn't struggle against the change.



My big reason for hating both of those choices is that they're both flat an un-interesting. No character growth and development in either of your examples. (Makes me think of how people make fun of "Nooooo!" from Star Wars episode 3)



Agreed. I don't like the connotations of abbreviating emotions to "emo" and I observe rather than sympathize, but I'm definitely big on the "grow and develop but stay true" part. Partly because so many people are misogynistic enough to assume that gender roles are somehow genetic and that makes for terrible fiction.

However, I much preferred the Kashimashi anime because I didn't like how dark the threat of fated death makes the manga. The anime has a nice light cheeriness to it. I just excused the lack of explanation for the gender-swap as somehow related to the fact that men have a karyotype of 46,XY and women have 46,XX. (accidentally introduce a bit more symmetry into a male genome and you get a female one)