On Sat, 31 Aug 1996 00:18:41 -0400 Taleswapper said:
: R. Lawson's Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction, Part 2
: I was displeased by Ranma's full and specific explanation of
: his curse's purpose to Kodachi in "Dying of the Rose." The
: great detail seems excessive, ruining the engaging new ambience
: of mystery that Lawson created for the curse in TIL. Moreover,
: the future history of how the curse has directed Ranma's life
: is disappointingly mundane and unimaginative. The story of
: Ranma as a mystically steered troubleshooter does not live up
: to Mousse's grand prediction of a great future for Ranma, and
: it reminds me very much of the plot of the TV series "Quantum
: Leap."
This is where I differ. I *particularly* like the fact that
Ranma's destiny did *not* turn out to be "The Savior of the World"
(Sorry, Richard. :)
In fact I *dreaded* that Richard was going to go that way, when I
first read it in _Thy Inward Love_, and I was tremendously
relieved, when I saw _The Dying of the Rose_. I am very grateful
that Richard chose to keep Ranma's adventures the way they were in
the manga - always on a deeply involved *personal* level. Ranma
never fought for some abstract ideals, and I couldn't imagine him
fighting for "good" against "evil" or something like that. I
cherish the thought that Ranma is a sort of wild card, now, who
turns up in impossible situations, helping where nobody else
could.
I guess it's all down to personal taste in this case. I *do*
agree, though that Ranma's explanation was to direct and detailed.
Richard should have left it more mysterious.
: In reading TIL and the related stories, I sensed an important
: running theme that Lawson has given only incidental attention.
: Forgiveness and redemption are central to several of the
: plotlines in Lawson's stories, yet the author does not take
: advantage of the many opportunities to emphasize their
: importance as virtues, inspirations, spiritual awakenings, or
: what-have-you. Redemption shows up most starkly in the "The
: Right Side of the Ledger," where Nabiki is made to see the evil
: of her ways after a nightmarish vision. She feels a necessity
: to change, and yet articulates no explanation for that
: necessity. In TIL, Akane and Ranma forgive multiple acts of
: violence and violation against them; this superhuman grace
: ought to have been explored and celebrated.
Ah, but one peculiar thing about _Ranma 1/2_ is, that the
characters almost instantly forgive whatever crimes have been
committed against them. This furthers the impression, that deep
down all of the characters know that they don't *really* want to
hurt each other.
Sebastian