On Mon, 22 Jul 1996 jeromef@nt.com wrote:
Sebastian wrote:
Sebastian: Oh, yes, thanks for reminding me, Jennnifur. There's
a little problem I have with Shampoo's diction. Shampoo's
"Bimbo speak" is a result of her unfamiliarity with the
language (in dubio pro reo) but Richard often has her use
some expressions and constructions that are pretty
indigenous to the language and not normally known to
beginners like Shampoo. Sometimes her sentences are just
normal sentences with the verb transformed to the infinitive
form. I just thought I'd mention it.
Actually, in most Chinese languages, conjugation of verbs
does not exist, and so it is logical mistake for a Chinese
speaker to make. Mind you, Japanese conjugation is not nearly
as complex as in most European languages, so Shampoo's
mistakes are not translatable. Agreed, though, that she speaks
too fluently here. Besides, she also speaks perfect French,
as all the Manga I've read and eps I've seen seem to prove 8-)
Of course, the mistakes Shampoo makes in the original Japanese are not
readily translatable. The general approach is to make her speak
beginner's english, just like her japanese is not fluent.
It's probably harder to spot the unique phrases in one's own language than
in a foreign tongue. For example, I don't think that Shampoo would ever
use the words "Shampoo have a hard time" doing this and that. The words
are simple enough, but to *know* the phrase at all, you have to know the
language pretty well.
Sebastian: <sniffle> Help! When is this happy ending finally
over?!
Actually, THIS is my main gripe about the last installment.
The author is waiting all this time to let his characters go their
separate ways, and thus we end up with this massive wedding
scene where every cast member puts the final touch to what was
begun sometimes in part 3 (Ukyo). After a while, it really
feels like someone is crossing off a list of names somewhere
in the background, and yelling NEXT! from time to time.
I think, especially, that Shampoo's and Mousse's appearances
are not justified. The resolution and their leaving could
have occured earlier.
Yep, it felt a bit crowded, the way he stuffed *every* resolution into
the second half of the last part. But at least his happy endings are
done with taste.
Don't you just hate those sickly sweet endings, that feel so utterly
fake? Where the author just takes the easy way out and lets a miracle
ocurr, to make everybody completely happy, no matter how unlikely it is?
Well, I think that Richard has circumnavigated all the traps and given us
a given us an ending that we can believe in. An ending where *not*
everything is neatly wrapped up, where the future consists of *more* than
just "they lived happily ever after".
Take for example Shampoo and Mousse - There is trouble waiting for them
at home (We know more about that now, thanks to Richard's latest fic),
but you get the feeling that it *just may work out all right*. The same
goes for Nabiki and Kunou. And for Ranma and Akane. This ending doesn't
say "This is the end, folks!", but it shows us that this is just another
station in their life, most of which still lies before them.
I'm a sucker for endings like that.
Angus: You're a sucker - period.
Sebastian