Date:          Sat, 10 May 1997 10:28:41 -0400 (EDT)
From:          TnekG@aol.com
Subject:       Re: [FFML] <FFML><C&C><three ranma stories>
To:            fanfic@fanfic.com

In a message dated 97-05-10 10:25:57 EDT, you write:

On Fri, 9 May 1997, Sean Connor wrote:
 
 > > 2) In chapter three this piece, Akane has the power to make mallets

out

 > > of thin air and then dissolve them. Did you make this up, or is it

from

 > > some of the infinitely many manga I haven't read?
 > 
 > Well, it certainly seems that way some times...
 	As far as I can determine, the first appearance of Akane's mallet 
 is in the Hypnotic Mushroom story, where Kasumi gives it to her for the 
 express purpose of bashing Ranma should he try to take advantage of 
 her... 
 	(And Kasumi was also the one who gave Akane the weight to bean 
 the "burglar" with in the Ryouga story....)
 

Not sure about the manga- first appearance in the Anime is the original
Kodachi story - Kodachi brings one over and leaves it in her room

Yeah - Akane doesn't actually use the mallet there, though -  it just 
gets left in her room.  AFAIK, the mushroom story is the first time 
Akane is seen with a mallet with the intention of using it on Ranma.  
In the later manga, though, Akane often simply grabs a mallet - 
there's no indication of where it actually came from - and whonks 
Ranma with it.

IMHO, the later manga shows somewhat of a lack of imagination in this 
regard.  In the early manga, when Akane whacks Ranma (or tries to)
with something, it's usually something that can be found within 
reaching distance, or something that she's already holding.  In the 
later manga, she usually just snatches a mallet seemingly out of 
nowhere.  

Interesting point about Kasumi, though - I'd never really thought 
about it before.  Maybe, deep down, Akane and Kasumi aren't as 
different as they might seem?

- Sean Connor (connor@meena.cc.uregina.ca)

        "It jams." - Intel TV ad, referring to the Pentium chip.