On Thu, 6 Jun 1996, Jon K. Hayashi wrote:
I think that some of the commenters believe that because I advance an
argument, I must agree with it. I attempted to give arguments for and against
I was disagreeing with your argument; I'm sorry if it came off as a
personal grudge. That wasn't my intent.
That which you gave arguments for and against, I had no problems with. I
think *everything* has arguments for and against. However, I disagreed
with your objective statements: that changed tones *must* be explained,
and that staying as accurate as possible to Japanese culture is always
better.
couldn't be done or done effectively. I argued that changing the tone is not
a story in itself; it is a tool that the author uses to effectively tell the
You did put forth the proposition (note my new non-personal tone ^_^) that a
changed tone *must* be explained, that one-parters that changed tone are
"incomplete", missing a necessary part. I disagreed, and I still disagree.
There's a whole bunch of arguments and explanations I could put forth,
but to use a cliche, the proof is in the pudding...the existence of
stories which are both enjoyable (IMHO) and don't explain their changed tone
proves that such things can be done.
The only question that remains in doubt is: would such stories
universally be even better if they explained their changes? I don't
think so. It's my belief that melodrama (the typical device used to
explain such changes) can be less interesting then being left to wonder
"why?" I do have experience with writing melodrama in the form of
"Ranma/Nabiki," so I hope it doesn't seem like an unfair condemnation...
In Ranma/Nabiki, I varied the plot to re-create the tone of the original
series, making it more of a melodrama. What if I hadn't wanted to do
that? What if I wanted to have Ranma in love with Akane, but torn
with desire for Nabiki? Without any explanation?
I did that to the OMG! world in "Lolita," with Keiichi pining for Skuld. I
think "Lolita" is *far* better than "Ranma/Nabiki."
Readers aren't entitled to anything except a bunch of words. What exactly
Hey! "Bunch of words" is *way* different from "interesting read"!!!
adds to the effectiveness of the story? Who's to say that it wouldn't it be
more effective to lay in plot lines and details early so that the reader,
after reading the story through, can go back and say "hey, this guy started
this thread way back in episode 2".
The author?
Details aren't *bad*, they just aren't necessarily *good*. They're a
means to an end (the "interesting read"), and it seemed to me that you were
speaking of them as an end.
Any fanfic that doesn't explicitly state that it does not tie-in, in whole or
in part, is automatically assumed to do so completely because you are using
the original author's characters. And unless it is also specified, the fanfic
will be assumed to occur right after the ending of the series (if at that
point) with no changes to the characters. As "story" time goes on, more
changes can be made to that starting condition because it is believable that
the characters would change over time.
True. It's worth mentioning in your guide. On the other hand, changing
these assumptions is a trivial matter.
Although...I don't assume that all Ranma fanfics take place right after
#38...most stories take place at some generic time between the
introduction of the characters and #38, in the manner of the OAV's...to
tell the truth, such a wide variety of times is common that I don't assume
anything about the time of the fic. I don't expect this to change
anytime soon, as few people are that familiar with the Japanese releases of
Ranma 1/2.
About western reactions - how do you know that the reactions aren't eastern,
as well? There is no emotional generalization that covers the whole of the
A fair question. I don't, really, I just assume that they're different.
If they're the same, well, that just makes it easier on the fanfic
author ^_^.
(about the same as Las Vegas), so you're probably not going to get away with
writing a New England-style winter.
I have no argument with your preference of staying accurate to Japanese
background details. I am saying that some characterization-intense
stories rely on the reader understanding the assumedly-known motivations and
social forces acting on the characters. Unfortunately, without living in
Japan, it is difficult for both author and reader to know and understand the
nuances of Japanese culture. For this reason, some stories must rely on
characterizations and cultural forces that are Western. This is perhaps
unfortunate; at the same time the alternative is worse.
True, with things like New Year's Parties, you can just make things up
based off of cultural guesswork. However, psychology is infinitely more
complex than New Year's Parties, mistakes are less forgiveable, and it's
easier to lose the reader.
author. The "continuation to Angel's Spit" was just an example that it would
be possible to take an existing story and change the tone and the facts as
presented without explaining why, just as some fanfics do. In my
"continuation", it would have been completely consistent with the original -
and just as mysteous in why the characters act the way they do.
Cool!
If it's doable, why not?
Changing the tone is a decision the author has to make. But it shouldn't be
the whole of the fanfic; it should be on the same level as "how do I most
That's a little unfair...I thought there was more to like about "Angel's
Spit" and other such stories than the change in tone.
And I think you *can* make it the whole of the fic, even if "AS"
didn't. "Take Off Your Clothes" was such a fic.
Jeff
****jdrutsch@ucdavis.edu***********************Jeff Rutsch*************
"Ranma's not a boy...he's a girl!"
"Akane is MY fiancee! You TOUCH her, and I'll KILL you!"
"Ranma, change back into a boy while I buy you some time."
"But if I seem to act unkind/it's only me, it's not my mind."
"Ranma [sic],/give your heart to Akane [sic]. /Soon,/right away."
**^_^*****^_^*****^_^*****^_^*****^_^*****^_^*****^_^*****^_^*****^_^**