Richard Lawson wrote:
From: Stephen Tsai [mailto:stsai@netcom.com]
Sent: Tuesday, February 17, 1998 10:17 AM
Solid read...and almost entirely in character.
Thanks. :)
The one thing I will say is that you've really backedKazuya into a
corner per say. Either he wins (which would
certainly be non-cliche, but probably earn you some hisses
from the audience), or he's going to probably get
killed or brain-fried. (see below).
I personally don't think Kazuya is *that* nasty,
but I can see how one could interpret him that way.
Gawds, the way he acted in the manga always made me want to throttle
the
little bugger. He abused his powers excessively, in a way I hate the
most - manipulating those around him without their consent. And he
never
shows any remorse, either.
Ahh...manga vs anime again...Kazuya didn't show up as often in the anime
as in the manga; Akane
barely showed up at all. I will say this though as far as how far he
would go; it's quite a jump to go from making Kasuga endure
his dentist pain to attempted murder (Kasuga), rape (Ayukawa),
extortion, etc. Perhaps some exposition (just a little) on what
motivates him, and how he went from pranks to downright
crime.
Note that it wouldn't take much; in my mind, telepathy and
*most particularly* mind control is easily far and away the most
corruptible power I can think of. In my mind, *anyone* (even
Kyosuke) with that power and w/o an effective detection or
deterrent would end up corrupt.
Plus Akane isn't the most upstanding citizen, either, making me
believe
that whole family has a small character flaw.
Their family's powers are mostly mental as opposed to physical.I think
their powers are far more "corruptible" than the Kasuga
kids. Think about it; Akane and Kazuya had the ability to use
their powers with total free reign w/o risk of discovery. Also
as I said above, the ability to coerce someone physically pales
against the ability to be a true voyeur and/or control what someone
thinks, believes, etc.
Even so, the fact that the Kasuga kids grew up to be respectable
citizens speaks volumes of Takashi's ability as a parent (even more,
a single parent w/ literally no way to enforce discipline).
Kazuya could grow up to be like Akane - sometimes abusing his power to
get
the result he wants, but basically nice. Or he could grow up to be a
complete kneebiter. I went with the latter possibility.
Then why (objectively speaking; I read your author afterword
aboutpersonal preferences) ? They both had the same parents. What is
it about
their upbringing that steered them down different paths (perhaps
sibling favortism or rivalry)? This
would be something that would be of interest, if not this
episode, then perhaps in the next one w/ flashbacks...
Since no one knows for certain how ESPer powers
work, your extention of his abilities aren't that
implausible. It might be interesting to know
if anyone else in the Kasuga clan abilities have
changed over the years as well.
I was considering that as well. I was wondering if Akane had obtained
any
telekinesis, or if Kurumi and Manami had learned to teleport. For
now,
I'm keeping the powers fairly static, with the exception of Kazuya.
Kyosuke did comment once, in one of the novels, that his powers grew
as he
got older.
That's fine. But let me toss a couple of brainstorms at you...
Logically, Akane's abilities, even w/o changing, could be used
more creatively. It's been established that her illusion powers
are based on hypnotic suggestion; it wouldn't take much to
extend that beyond visual and audio illusions. For example,
she could injure or kill anyone driving a car by altering what
they see on the road. She could probably make someone experience
"sensations" such as warmth and comfort (and hence trust), or
pain and agony.
Kurumi and Manami can teleport in the anime. I think even
the manga has Kurumi hypnotizing Kasuga in one instance
("Robot Kyosuke"). TK, while not as subtle as Telepathy,
can be used evilly as well (like cheating in roulette, craps
and slot machines).
I know, I saw that too. All I can say is that, throughout the manga,
her
preference was consistent. And "going through a phase" makes me
uncomfortable; it smacks a lot of "homosexuals *choose* to be that
way",
an attitude I find extremely distasteful.
Like I said, I choose to stay clear of it in KOC becauseI'm not trying
to "champion" either opinion.
I've heard from
many sources that sometimes character-driven
storylines can have characters getting away from
their own creators.
Hehehehe, true. It's happened to me.
Me as well, esp in KOC. People write to me and sometimes(but rarely)
say "so-and-so wouldn't do that" (perhaps forgetting
that I created said character).
One thing in particular: Your plot is almost
entirely identical to an upcoming planned KOC
arc involving a new char our ML dubbed "the
evil ESPer".
Interestingly, you're the second person to comment that my plot was
similar to a plot they were developing for a future story.
Well, it's a natural extention of the premise.ESPer powers don't convey
an extra sense of morality; if
anything, they're a temptation to be amoral.
Thanks for the comments, Stephen. :)
Likewise for KOC (I'll have #2V2 ready soon!).
Stephen Tsai
--
Kimagure Productions|Eiji: [Dismissively.] Kyosuke-oniichan a
--present-- |wizard? That scatter-brained, wishy-washy guy
Orange College #34 |couldn't turn cream into cheese!
Sailor Ranma #19 |
*Coming Soon* |Kimagure Orange College #34
|
Orange College V2! |Kimagure Orange College has moved! Go to:
Read it again for |http://www.dhc.net/~stsai/koc
the first time! |
Stephen Tsai |Kimagure Orange College now in Japanese! Go to:
stsai@netcom.com |http://www.dhc.net/~stsai/koc-j
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