***Otherwise about the lack of time spent on Akane,
and lack of progress with Ranma... I'm in total
agreement with you.

I agree with this one as well. Oddly enough, I find writing for Akane very
difficult, even though I think I understand why she does many of the

things

she does in the manga. I can, therefore, easily understand why the author
might put off handling that part of the story until he himself came to

grips

with Akane's character and her problems. Even so, the story would benefit
from a little more of Akane's view of these events. She has all but
disappeared at this point in the yarn. We should have some understanding

of

what is holding her back at this point in the yarn, but we don't. Her
behavior is perplexing now that things have advanced this far. Her

restraint

was understandable, insofar as avoiding violence in Ranma's presence, but
does she love the guy or not? Is she going to lay claim to him or not? If
so, why hasn't she done something about the competition? What's holding

her

back? Is she afraid that she really is a lesbian and might trigger

something

she cannot control if she shows physical affection for Ranma? Or is her

fear

of gossip what holds her back? I have always thought that this is one of
Akane's deepest fears. She shies away from what she really wants because

she

is afraid of what people might say.

Nabiki knows full well how the Ranma and Akane feel about one another, at
least when judged from her behavior in the manga. She does little things

all

the time to belie their denials throughout the series. Takahashi uses her

as

a kind of Lucifer or Loki, always picking at the uncomfortable truths that
other people don't want to admit. Is that what she is doing in this story?
Is she taunting Akane into taking action, or is she making a move to

secure

her own interests? From what I have read in this story so far, it seems

she

is playing for keeps.

All in all, it has been a very entertaining story and I look forward to
seeing the rest of it soon.

Regards,

Don Granberry.

While I agree with a lot of what you say, I don't think the story would
benefit from more Akane, up to this point at least.  While he hasn't spent a
lot of time on Akane, he has shown that she is uncomfortable with the
current situation, whatever the reason.  If the stroy ends and this hasn't
been more thouroughly addressed, then the story will be lacking, but as of
know, I think it's great.

The question is under the context of the story, how would akane act to show
us why she's keeping her distance.  The answer could be any of the reasons
you gave, or others.  I enjoy the not knowing, and the story doesn't lack
from it in my opinion.

The reason I don't think the story lacks is the blend of a new happenings
along with the old status quo.  Akane and Ranma are shown in the manga to
never look at anything deeply, therefore why should they now?  Ranma is
pre-occupied with his new feelings, and while Akane has been shown in the
manga to try and help him out of a jam, I never remember an instance where
she tried to understand him, or his problems.  Following that train of
thought, why would she be different here?  If someone attacks him, she'd be
there in a second, but otherwise, she'll sit back and wait.  Without
switching to her POV, this is the impression I get from the story.

If he would actually change that, he would loose some of the enjoyment I've
been receiving from this story.  It would equally hurt the story, as it
hurts any story, where charaters are thrown in just to say that they're
there.  If he's just going to through in another akane scene or two just to
reinforce what he's already shown, I definitely say, don't do it.

There's an enjoyment I get out of stories from wondereing what's going on.
What is Akane thinking, is she afraid of the fact she might be a lesbian, is
she just horrified of the thought of being sexually involved with a
woman(even if it is Ranma), is she just purely repressed sexually, what?
And  I don't mind not knowing exactly what's going on in her head right now,
I actually like it that way.  I don't know what Chris has planned, but I
imagine there will be some dramatic scenes as Ranma comes to grips with his
new feeling, or ability to feel.





KP

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