Subject: Classic Reviews 7 (Warning! Lemon review!)
From: gaffney@iconn.net
Date: 7/6/1996, 10:42 PM
To: fanfic@fanfic.com

OK, for the first six of these, I chose fanfics to review
that I really liked.  Y'know, influential favorites.

But I know that me waxing poetic about these things would
get boring after a while, so I started to look for another
candidate.  I looked for a fanfic that I liked basic things
about, but also gave me a lot of doubts.

One fanfic immediately came to mind.  The only fanfic that 
makes Caroline Seawright see red.  (Sorry 'bout the pun)


Split Personalities (LEMON)
by Roy Rim

If ever there was a fanfic that polarized the community, 
this is it.  However, I'm going to give only my own opinions,
not those of others.  (By the by, please don't forward this
to Kun-chan.  I just joined the Church of Ryouga, and I
don't want to be excommunicated.)

First, let's deal with the good things.  The plot for the
first half is very interesting, with the sort of weird
brother-sister but not really feelings that might be expected.
Everyone appears to be in character, and Roy does a good
job of introducing Ranko as her own person.

Actually, the Ranko/Ukyou relationship is (with one exception
that I'll get to) another very good thing in this work.  It's
handled realistically as possible in a lemon (y'know, Ranko
would like girls, of course, and Ukyou's dressed as a man all
her life, etc.)  I actually think the two of them could form
a lasting relationship.

The other really good thing in here is the development of Ranma.
>From the usual headstrong brat, he turns into someone who
actually thinks about the future, and is (occasionally) concerned
about Akane's feelings.  I really liked the scene where he 
explained to Akane why he left her for three months.


Now:  the bad things.

1) out-of-character lemon scenes.  Kasumi couldn't act more
out of character if you tried.  And I cannot begin to express
my displeasure with the first Ukyou/Ranko sex scene.  I don't 
care how turned on she is, when Ranko is screaming "NO!", Ukyou
would stop.  This turned the scene into a rape, and left a
*very* unpleasant taste in my mouth.  (No, not that one, get
yer mind outta the gutter)

2) pointless plot.  This thing goes on for far longer than it
should.  The whole Herb wedding scene is really pointless, except
to include a few more sex scenes.  And after they all get back 
from their trip, the plot just seems to crawl in a hole and
die.  I hear the whole thing is heading for a fighting 
tournament, which really fills me with dread, as I hate those
things.

3) over-the-top violence.  Ranma characters do not exist in the 
same universe as we do.  Sure, they can be killed, but it's
really hard to injure them.  Hell, Ranma goes flying over Japan
and ends up on his feet.  Therefore, some of the more serious
fights have some really serious violence.  I guess what bothers 
me is the description of the act, which is painful.  I know Roy's
trying to emphasize the martial arts battles, but this is a
fantasy series.

I could go on. I hate the way Ryouga is written, but that's just
personal preference.  I also hate Ryouga falling for Ranko,
especially since he knows she's really Ranma.  Oh, well, Akari's
been introduced, she'll set Ryouga straight. :-)

By the way, I've ignored the Christmas special.  If you're smart,
you will too.

So, about 2 1/2 stars.  The good sorta outweighs the bad, but a
lot of the last few chapters can be skipped.


Next:  back to unrelenting praise, with "Oh My Devil Hunter"

--Sean Gaffney
--"You git!  I thought you were dead!  Git git git!" - Benny, No Future