For those of you interested, here are the results as of Monday, March 
29 1824 Bosnia time:

  Question #1: The origin of the _names_ Hiroshi, Daisuke, Yuka, and 
Sayuri.
  Many people informed me that Hiroshi and Daisuke are referred to, by 
name, in the "Ghost Story! Ranma and the Magic Sword" episode, on the 
"Suddenly Sasuke" tape.  Mr. Kleppe stated that they are _not_ named in 
the manga, which was my own conclusion.  Philip Hacker assured me that 
they are all named in the anime, and referred to in the scripts; 
unfortunately, he didn't provide any specific examples thereof.
  Sadly, no-one could find episodes from which the names Yuka and Sayuri 
sprang.  My thanks to Dark Alpha for his (her?) diligence and devotion 
to duty in attempting to track down their appearances; sometimes the 
work is its own reward, I'd say:).  My thanks also to AnChan for 
providing many examples of the two duos' appearances, including: Yuka 
and Sayuri in the background of the 'You and Me' opening song, and in 
the 'Dimsum Darling' episode.  Anybody want to check further?

  Question #2:  Ranma's oft-assumed Jackie Chan fanboyhood.
  Originally I was just trying to find out if this was mentioned in the 
anime, but I guess my _own_ assumptions about Ranma's attitudes shone 
through :).  I was unanimously informed that this is simply writer's 
perogative, not canon, although various reasons were given to justify 
the recurrent use of this bit of character-building:
  Jackie Chan (and, of course, Bruce Lee) is an actual Martial Artist, 
not a snot-nosed squeaky-faced pseudo punk just mouthing computer terms 
he will never come close to understanding.  To those initiated into the 
intricacies and difficulties inherent to the arts, the stunts that Chan 
performs are all the more impressive for their difficulty and 
originality.  Ranma appreciates Jackie as a fellow practitioner, 
performing difficult maneuvers and exactingly choreographed fight 
scenes.
  Or, Jackie Chan, in the Ranmaverse, is as far ahead of Ranma in terms 
of skills and techniques as _our_ Jackie is ahead of a normal 2nd or 3rd 
dan practitioner in _this_ world.  Ki bolts?  Big as you like.  Super 
leaps?  Doesn't need a taxi to cross downtown Hong Kong.
In short, Ranma enjoys Jackie fliks for the same reason we do, chiefly, 
because of the out-there martial arts.  He's just a bit _more_ out there 
in Ranma's world.
  Or, Ranma's looking to pick up new techniques.  To a guy who has 
learned Martial Arts Tea Ceremony, among others, Chan is great 
inspiration.
  An equal number of people told me that they did not make any such 
assumptions about Ranma and Jackie Chan, or that Ranma may in fact find 
kung-fu films boring because of their comparative mundanity.

  Question #'s 3 and 5:  Apparently nobody is reading Ace (too bad, some 
of the artwork is just beautiful, even if you don't read Japanese) 
and/or nobody has read or heard of Joushi Karatebu Plus One.  I'd like 
to suggest it to anybody who enjoys the stylized artwork of Evangelion 
or the romantic moments and combat of Ranma 1/2; it's the story of a 
Tomochi Yamaguchi, high-school junior who tags along when the few girls 
practicing Karate with the boys' club break off into a Girl's Club 
devoted to speed and accurate point-strikes.  The manga-ka is Nishidate 
Naoki, a newcomer as far as I can tell, and it's starting to look like 
this series will be quite a bit grittier than it first appears: the 
attractively-rendered characters engage in some pretty gruesome, 
realistic karate... I love it, and I think other people will too.  Give 
it a try.
  As far as that AnimeFEST ticket, well, it's still pretty early, but 
anyone interested in going that thinks they might be strapped for cash 
around that time, get in touch with me.  _Someone_ should go, if I 
can't... Krista Perry's gonna be there, for Pete's sake! ;)

  If I get any more info, I'll probably update and repost this message.  
Thank you, everyone who replies;  credits at the bottom!
Thank you also for not spamming the list... there's enough good stuff 
flowing through the FFML without taking up space with my curiousity.
  Soredewa, matta au...
Martin

---=< CONTRIBUTOR CREDITS >=---
The Eternal Lost Lurker - Brutal Haiku!
Jed Bidwell - The real question is, can you see him reading Melville?
Steven Cornett - Matthew Broderick kicks ass. _Want_to_play_a_game_?
Matthew Campbell - Reason: Ultima Ratio Regis :)
Mellisa "Melvin Price" - If only you could bottle that...
Chris Davies - Short, sweet, and the Socratic Method.
Angus MacSpon - You win first prize!
Dark Alpha - He did the Job.  Hail the Banana.
Gary Kleppe - Sorry, I just can't get 'Keeple' outta my head ^_^;;
Phillip Hacker - Gimme a script, my people will call your people.
Fabian - I can practically guarantee he knows more than me about it:)
Shunsuke - Got it: Cannon for _target_ practice, _Canon_ for common   
           practice... Kannon does _common_target_ practice?
John Walter Biles - 'Sexy Kunoichi Ranma, Some Twisted Tail'? ;)
Douglas MacDougal - Excellent point, you anticipated me there.
Bert Miller - Pleaded Guilty, but released on his own recognizance.
  and LBNL, 
An-Chan - There's no such thing as too much info ^_^.

--,-@

-Martin L. Metke
-sleet01@balista.com
"I laughed, I cried, I fell down, it changed my life... it was good!"



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