I've tried to stay out of the Iris debate... oh, well

Nick Leifker wrote:

Ranma nearly marries a duck, one that he thinks is Akane cursed
permanently.  While this says volumes for Ranma's character, it says none
for Akane's willingness to marry Ranma if he were stuck.

True, which means Akane has evidence if the roles were reversed, he
would stay with her. 
 

On the other hand, there's a remarkable little bit in the Full Body Cat's
Tongue storyline (where Mousse makes his first appearance).  Remember the
watermelon race?  At one point, Akane and Shampoo are lined up in front of
Ranma, and she is asked to choose between them.  Akane reacts badly when
Ranma approaches her, for one simple reason.

They're both girls.

That's not exactly correct.

Akane reacted badly for more reason than he's a girl, that was the
excuse.

First, kissing in public in Japan is NOT socially unacceptible. You just
don't do that for ANY reason.

Second, if Ranma did kiss Akane in public Akane would be labeled a
lesbian, by not just her school (who sort of understands the situation)
but by a beach filled with thousands of strangers (who don't know Ranma
is a guy at heart).

Third, Akane was scared. If Ranma kissed her, her name may as well be
Saotome Akane. She knowns her father and Genma would start setting up
her wedding right then and there.

Also, while going to school with Ranma locked in female form, Akane was
still engaged to him despite having no known cure. Just an implied one
with a price that would mean he'd marry someone else. Akane did not
appear too upset at this and even got called 'pervert girl' by Shampoo
for her appartent lack of care which form Ranma was in.


As for Iris itself, I have little problem with the story itself except
it leaves too much for the reader to try to piece together. I understood
Eva 13 on the first viewing and have caught many of the subtle hints in
that series, but Iris left me feeling I walked into a story half-way
through with very little explaination of what went on before.

Being a little more specific in a couple insitances would've helped, or
an increased time frame. Ranma and crew are known for their stubborness.
I doubt Ranma would've folded in less than a year and a half. If Ranma
spent years searching for a cure without Akane and then returned still
stuck as onna-Ranma, then I have no problem with the story. Akane and
Ranma would've grown apart in that time. Akane more so than Ranma. Even
then I doubt Akane would've stayed home, she'd go with Ranma. 

IMO: The approximate year of searching for a cure without Akane isn't
likely to happen. Akane would go with Ranma whether he liked it or not,
which means they wouldn't have grown apart and Ryoga wouldn't have been
used for emotional support by Akane. And a year with the clues of search
for Cologne or Happosai is too short- even with no leads. Also Nodoka
would have Ranma commit seppuku once he admitted defeat. She was ready
to do it over him wearing women's cloths, so why not when he's admitted
he's a failed to be a man-amongst-men by admitting failure to live up to
family honor and becoming a girl permantently?

Nick is entitled to his own opinions, but for a 1-shot fict, leaving
less of a backstory known than Anno would and tells the reader to guess
is a bit much. Basically what I'm saying is that the fict was too subtle
and vague for anyone that looks at it with an over-critical eye and a
stickler for characterization. The story is great in and of itself, but
I felt like Ryoga looking at a map when I was trying to figure out what
happened. The story itself is not my problem, I have trouble seeing how
it got there- that is my problem since a couple key events such as when
and why Ranma finally admitted defeat in finding a cure were never
referenced or barely hinted at.