From: Stephen Tsai [mailto:stsai@netcom.com]
Sent: Sunday, November 08, 1998 1:00 AM

Took a while to find this...

1) Kazuya boasting his power is greater doesn't necessarily
means it's true.

True, but combine that with the fact the he's preventing Kyosuke from
teleporting (when Kyosuke desperately *wants* to teleport) is a pretty good
sign.

2) OK, even if I did allow that Kazuya is stronger (and
more skillful and experienced) than Kyosuke, that doesn't
make him stronger than *6* other ESPers.

Okay, beat me over the head a few times, I start to get the point.  ^_^
I'll try to rework this.

The dentist story contains the line where Kyosuke calls
Kazuya "a very powerful ESPer".

What Kyosuke's not mentioning is that he's a pretty strong
ESPer as well.  He just rarely thinks of himself in those terms.

I have trouble thinking of him in those terms, too.  :)  I mean, he
teleports, and he does some minor telekinesis, and occasionally transports
himself through time or between universes, but that doesn't make him a
strong ESPer.

Okay, maybe it does.  ^_^  But Kazuya manages to outclass him in every
confrontation he has with Kyosuke.

Those are the manga references I used to paint Kazuya
as being quite strong in the Power.  And keep in mind
he was six years old in the above scene.  I think he
would only get stronger as he grew up.

Why didn't the other ESPers (Manami, Kurumi, Akane) get
stronger as they grew up?

Oh, I think they did.  For example, Kurumi seems to learn the hypnotizing
trick during the course of the manga (at least, she seems surprised when it
works).  But, as you yourself noted, Kazuya would go through the most
dramatic "growth spurt", seeing as how he's the youngest.

For what it's worth, the KOR OVAs (including "Rouge")
have been available from Animeigo for several years.

I know.  I keep meaning to pick them up.  I almost did at last year's Akon.
I'm sort of waiting until  A) they come out on DVD;   B) for me to buy a DVD
player.  ^_^

I also keep hoping to buy them used somewhere.

Hanging around his apartment building at 4am seems a bit
extreme to me.  :)  But that's a matter of interpretation,
I guess.

Are we still talking about the same scene? (the swings).
The mood and dialog between them to me suggests strongly
that the only reasons Madoka really stayed was that Kyosuke
was there.

Right.  Same in the manga.  But hanging around an apartment building in the
hope that someone will show up and talk you out of leaving seems a bit
extreme.  Not necessarily rational, either.  Her pride and fear of getting
close to someone kept her from asking him outright, but she still wanted to
be talked out of leaving, so she sort of stalks Kyosuke, hoping he'll bump
into her.  It's the sort of illogical reasoning that teenagers often use in
situations like this.

<shrug>  Again, just personal interpretation.  The fascinating thing about
Madoka's character is that she behaves in hard-to-fathom ways, with an
underlying consistency that explains both the cold way she treats most
everyone around her (including her family) and the way she takes a shine to
Kyosuke almost immediately.  That's part of why I wrote LSD, to show a
backstory consistent with the manga that explains it.

As a side note, my other KOR story, "When Thou, My Music" is based on the
premise that Kyosuke *didn't* show up that night.

Stephen Tsai

Again, thanks for the comments, Stephen.  I really enjoy debating things
like this.  KOR character debates are much more interesting that Ranma or
Sailor Moon or Evangelion character debates, IMO.

-Richard
-Who will eventually get around to answering everyone else's letters about
LSD