At 10:26 PM 11/08/97 -0500, Richard Lawson wrote:

Gary Kleppe wrote:

As you can see, we took very different approaches. Though I
enjoyed reading your stories of Kodachi being reformed, I 
don't think I'd want to do something like that myself. To 
me she's cool as is. :)

Heh.  Me, I found Kodachi to be annoying, cloying, and downright
irritating.  She was second to Happosai on my hate list.  Then I
reformed her in "The Dying of the Rose", and suddenly I found her
intriguing.  Even if I still find her interesting in her manga maniacal
form, it's her potential for improvement that's always intrigued me.

But sanity is just so boring...

I do feel a little more strongly about this, however.  I just don't like
Ranma behaving that way, and it makes me dislike him intensely.  My
sympathies swing towards Kodachi, which may not be what you want.

Ok, I have to admit, I'm not feeling _any_ sympathy at all for Ranma
in the story arc so far. It's more from the Ukyou story(He doesn't
bother trying to break up with Ukyou, instead he goes straight to
'be my best man', and then from the story I surmise that he doesn't
try to contact her again in the intervening five years. Now there's
the actions of a best friend...) In the first story, he sends Kunou on a 
Hopeless Quest(tm), not that nice either. In the Kodachi part, Ranma's 
interference feels more unnecessary to me than dishonourable. It didn't
seem to add anything to the scene whatsoever, in fact I felt it detracted. 

It is a good series Gary. Honestly. But right now, personally, I haven't 
got an iota of sympathy for Ranma. If sympathy for him is totally 
unnecessary for the story, fine and good. But if it is, then I, at least,
can't see myself developing any if he continues the way he has for the first
three stories. Since my dislike comes more from the <Ukyou Supporter> 
Ukyou story</Ukyou Supporter>, and Richard's is from Kodachi(he's working 
on a Kodachi story, he's stated he likes her potential a fair bit), and 
since Ranma has done something at least slightly bastardish to every 
character so far, I don't know how many non-Ranma/Akane supporters are going 
to be liking him by the end of the Preludes.


************  
Mark Doherty  -  mdoherty@mailbox.uq.edu.au
My fanfics and the Weekly FFML Synopses Lists are at:
http://www.uq.edu.au/~zzhdoher

"Kawaii must die."