I might have posted this already, but I did't get it sent back.  I'm
leaning towards the fact that my computer went wacky, so if anyone posted
any comments to this, please repost them again.

	Personally, I do enjoy certain well written serious fics.  But the
crux of the matter is, why do I like Ranma in the first place?  I'm sure
the answer for most people would be the tremendous humor. Think of it this
way.  You yourself comment that most Ranma characters are one dimensional,
etc., but still found yourself captivated by Ranma.  Despite all these
so-called flaws, you still love each and every character (except for
Sasuke).  For all intents and purposes, Ranma 1/2 is a comedy first, and
everything else second.  If my first exposure to Ranma had been the much
lauded fanfic "Autumn," as opposed to "Desperately Seeking Shampoo," I
very much doubt I would have been persuaded to invest in an all
encompassing Ranma library.  I often prefer to laugh rather than cry.
        Granted, I can understand the appeal of the serious fic.  It is
nice to see some drama to balance to overwhelming lunacy.  Perhaps "An
Akane to Remember," is my favorite eps., because of the actual
development (slight as it is) between Ranma and Akane.  But the humor is
still very much there.  I believe Ranma can work as a comedy with dashes
of drama, but not as well if it were drama with dashes of comedy.
        In regards to the question of "expanding" and "changing," an
example of this is say for example Ryoga does decide to make up with
Ranma.  Keep in mind, I don't read alot of fics because I usually prefer
to write them instead.  But for Ryoga to reconcile with Ranma would have
to come from some dramtic event for him, and I mean DRAMATIC.  It isn't
easy for Ryoga to forgive Ranma because of his innate nature and
jealously over Akane.  I find it extemely hard for a writer to convince me
that Ryoga can forgive Ranma.
        And although Autumn is an excusite piece of writing (I went into
the much hyped fic with skepticism, but it really was good), I couldn't
help but feel why Ranma and Akane were sweeter to each other than usual
and found some events sudden.  However, this could be attributed to the
fact I hadn't read the previous installments, but during the scene where
Ranma backs off of Akane after holding her and she called him BAKA and
pulled his arms back around her, I would've wrote it more as "I didn't
want your grubby hands around me in the first place," then some violent
act, or something along those lines.  Sure, it seemed more dramatic the
original way, but would Akane really do that?
        In regards to one dimensional characters, maybe they work better
that way.  I find the single minded devotion of Moussse to Shampoo
perfect. It is an exaggeration of crushes all of us have had at one time
in our lives, and his persistence is something I actually admire.  But I
will admit certain characters being fleshed out would be advantageous.
        A final important note is that I am not saying one form is
necessairly better than the other.  Personally, I write with big plots,
casts, bells and whistles, lots of laughs, a decent amount of drama, a
touch of romance, and shoot out my work at a rapid pace. To write at the
descriptive level of Autumn would have taken me a year to write Ranma/SM.
But the simplicity of the story perectly compliments Autumn's intamacy.  I
guess what I am trying to say is that perhaps the potential of the Ranma
cast to work well as both "Team Ranma vs. Phoenix" and "Autumn" is what
makes it so great.  Amen to that. You know, this editorial is probably
more serious than any of my fanfics will ever be.
Jya Ne
Shiaw Chi "Hokodan"
Chihokodan@aol.com
schi@uci.edu

*Just out of curiousty Mr. Talswapr, have you by any chance read my
Ranma/SM fanfic?  Or is the fact that SM is involved made you avoid it
like the plague?  I really think it was a well-written yet fun read, but
you'd probably like what I'm doing in Prom Night more.