On Thu, 11 Jul 1996, Kenneth DeSoto wrote:

EXCUSE ME!!!! But doesn't it occur to anyone that this whole debate is a
little uptight? If the great and wonderful RUMIKO (Anime Goddess) TAKAHASHI
has been gracious enough to bestow the gifts of the OAV's upon us, How can
you say they're NOT CANON??? If RT Created it then SHE must have considered
it relevent to the story line. If it bugs you guys so much, TOUGH $#!*  
Now, about this hair colour thing-There's only one thing to say - GET A LIFE!!!

  Brian's argument is a little messy.  Am I the only one who doesn't see
  how Ken derived his statement from this? 

  (Re: OAVs) The OAVs (anime Ranmaverse) can not be considered canon 
  because RT was not behind it's creation.  Besides providing the bases
  of the series (like a rubber stamp with her name on it), and a story
  line from the manga (occasionally) the anime was(and is) done 
  _independant of her_. 

  (Re: Hair color) Saying that it is not a worthwhile discussion on
  a Fanfic ML is really kinda silly. 
  

I agree with wholeheartily about this matter.  Takahashi-sama intended the
storyline to end with Ranma and Akane not resolving or kissing, but at least
finally getting them to admit to the other that they like each other.  
Thus leaving an open ending.  She did the very same thing in Urusei 
Yatsura. 

So with that in mind, these are HER characters, so she "interprets" them as
she sees them in her mind.

  True, but is that the issue?   
 

She wanted a martial-arts comedy, she got it with Ranma 1/2 , she wanted 
a Sci-fi sex comedy, she got it with UY, she wanted a sitcom, and so she got
it with Maison Ikkoku(she ended that, because of pressure to revive the UY
series in case Ranma was a failure).  And of course her Rumic World, and 
Mermaid Series as well.

If she says it's relevant to the storyline, then, like the line Yul Brenner
once spoke: "Let it be written, Let it be done!" applies here.  Sorry, but 
that's the way it goes...

Besides, I met Takahashi-san in Oakland two years ago, and she was wonderful.

Remember, each storyline is open to interpretation, but to try to interpret
her works, is a lost cause.  Take it for what it is, a thing to enjoy.

             ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Don't put too much into it.

The problem is that there is so much more to RT's work, aspects which aren't
explored by RT in the manga; things that aren't spelled out like carving
in stone, absolute, for everyone to agree on.  Which is why discussion of 
these matters is not "a lost cause".  There are many other reasons why this
type of analysis, discussion, and ultimately the creation of fanfiction is
of value.  Personal enjoyment probably first and foremost; it's alot of 
fun- reading, writing, and tossing around ideas- the debates.  I am certain 
that there are other reasons.

The argument made is equivalent to saying that Ranma is "only a comic 
book" (or the famous "only a cartoon")...  We've all had to face this.
I guess the important thing is how one values their comic books, 
or cartoons.  Being on this ML I know that all of us do place _some_
(at least a little) value on our comic books and cartoons  ^_-


====================
Randall D. Catacutan
====================

e-mail: uor726@freenet.mb.ca
home page: http://www.winnipeg.freenet.mb/~uor726/index.html