Subject: Re: [FFML] [C&C] Why I Don't Often Do C&C
From: "Jorge A. Pratt" <al709382@mordor.ccm.itesm.mx>
Date: 5/7/1997, 7:21 PM
To: Redneck Gaijin
CC: fanfic@fanfic.com



On Wed, 7 May 1997, Redneck Gaijin wrote:

On Wed, 7 May 1997, Redneck Gaijin wrote:

Who's talking about -Ranma's- assumptions? That's -my- view of how Akane is
portrayed here.

["I'm angry. It MUST be Ranma's fault! I'll punish him for existing!"]

 That is how the manga protrays her.  She attacks Ranma at the slightest
assumption.  As for the cooking incident, well, despite the fact that it
turns out toxic all the time, she continues to try and fail.  She never
listens to Ranma, and always assumes that he is making fun of it.  Why did
she try in the first place?  Simple.  She temporarily snapped under the
strain.

Don't buy into it.

Into what? You don't buy that "that's how the manga portrays her" or "she
temporarily snapped under the strain"? Each has different replies, so...

For every occasion in which Akane mallets Ranma, there is an open-hand slap,
a toss-over-shoulder, a splash of cold water, or- *gasp* - nothing. Akane is
*NOT* so mindlessly violent as you portray her.

Yeah, but when she does nothing is when Ranma is hurt the most. Those
cases make him realize that she's so angry that she won't even bother to
hit someone as petty and insignificant as he is. For Ranma, that's the
worst blow she could give him.

 The incident in the dojo?  Explainable.  Akane was angry that this
"fake" Ranma had taken over the body of her fiancee.  Notice how she
treats Ranma no better than Nodoka.  Thus, she was quite likely to
explode at any given time.  Maybe I should put this in?

No, you should get rid of the angle altogether. Leaving aside the fact that
Takahashi already DID this story once, Akane is not such a homicidal maniac
as you seem bent on starting her out as.

Uhm, what story did Takahashi do once? She never played with Ranma
becoming amesiac, if that's what you mean. The closest resemblance is in
the Mirror-copy incident in volume 35, in which Akane retaliates to the
copy's actions by hitting Ranma. Good common sense she has.
As for Akane being a homicidal maniac, maybe you should check DejaNews for
the Bitter End debate staged on RAAF. I -like- Akane, she's one of my
favorite Ranma characters, but I can't see her as an angel of mercy
either and you have to agree that some of the incidents that she blames on
Ranma -are- unjustified.

While I'm on things which don't work, what's with the curse? Suddenly
Ranma's curse is locked into place, with no explanation whatsoever. Within
the framework of the R 1/2 universe, there is zero credibility for this.
Explanation of some sort is required, and fast.

There -is- an explanation. I won't spoil it, but the story already -has-
explained why Ranma can't change back.

<snip>

Oh, and one other thing; the fic has absolutely zero comedic content. That,
above all else, is a fatal flaw in any Ranma fic, IMHO.

<sarcasm>

Oh? Then you're saying that if it has no comedy, it isn't Ranma? Well,
then I guess that volume 28(*), most of volume 24, parts of volume 18 and
a great deal of the final story arc were not written by Takahashi. Why, they
must have been dark, grim doujinshi cleverly disguised as manga :P

</sarcasm>

But seriously, having little or no comedy is NOT a flaw in a Ranma fic.
There are MANY, excellent pieces that don't even try to be funny, and yet
many people regard them as jewels. Besides, there's the fact that the
author himself warned that it was a sadfic of sorts.


*(SPOILER AHEAD!) In volume 28, the infamous Ryuu Kumon storyline, there
are... what? One and a half jokes? OTOH, you get to see someone's life
getting torn to pieces utterly and irrevocably, on such a scale that even
Ryouga would feel sorry for Ryuu, and what's worse no epilogue was given
whatsoever.  How do we know that Ryuu didn't commit suicide right after
his fight with Ranma? As far as dark and gritty goes, the end of the Ryuu
Kumon storyline is the darkest and most depressing I've seen in the manga
canon. And yet, it's one of the finest plots ever assembled by Takahashi.
The way she orchestrates illustrations and panel flow reminds me of
artistic cinema, especially the scenes between Ryuu and Nodoka. We also
get to see much more of Mrs. Saotome's personality, and how deeply she
cares for Ranma. This is one of my favorite story arcs, right after the
Musk Dynasty arc. But that doesn't negate the fact that this was a very
dark story. So dark, in fact, that Takahashi needed to write the "Ranma's
Tears" oneshot right after it to recover some of the series USUAL
lighthearted tone.


The Zephyr
al709382@campus.ccm.itesm.mx