Hey Mark, everyone on the FFML,

This is my take on the final chapter of Doors Best Left Unopened.

==========

I don't know what to say... at first I thought it was the mood I was in
when I read it... but Mr. Flair's commentary more or less confirmed my
thoughts on part 17.

It feels incomplete. The lack of Shampoo/Mousse exposure was noticed by
myself as well. The fact that Mousse truly makes about one appearance in
the battle then is lost (killed, possessed, captured or whatever) is
very... minimalistic. It's like you were trying to avoid letting us get
attached to him before his disappearance. This could be turned around that
when Mousse doesn't return, it's a major shock to all the readers. A build
up (even a little one) will dispel the illusion that you are just getting
rid of him. As it stands, at the end, I felt nothing for Mousse... which is
strange since I like his character in the CALS continuity.

    I would have to disagree - this series has a history of not focusing on
everyone at the same time. The last dozen chapters or so had basically left
Shamps and Duck-boy in the background, and it would have been incongruous to
suddenly elevate them to center stage. Besides, this battle scene was HUGE.
I can't think of any battle, in any other fanfic, that was portrayed so
effectively. Given the staggering number of characters and parties and
sub-struggles, we readers should have gotten lost any number of times. Yet I
never was. Adding more elements to the mix wouldn't have helped things at
all.


    And while it doesn't seem like the good guys won much of a victory -
well, it never seemed to me like they would. Now that the truth of Keisuke's
origins is out, and Veanruth is out, things are free to build to their final
climax. This story arc was about the demons as much as anything else, and
given all the damage that they did or tried to do to everyone, I'd count it
a victory that the good guys survived at all. So Ranma's got some
psychological damage - that doesn't make Akane's spectacular fighting any
less significant. I thought it was handled superbly, and perfectly
demonstrated how this new, more mature Akane is still the same Akane we all
know and love. Sometimes, I think even the Hearts of Ice Akane has grown too
much, and become less Akane-like than is strictly necessary. Mark's Akane
hits the bulls-eye, and it was GREAT to see her take the spotlight.

I was expecting the finale to have SOMETHING that would tip the scales a
bit towards the middle to at least give a light of hope to the heros of
succeeding/surviving.

    Well, we saw how powerful Reiko was. And if Akane can beat one of the
Baenma (more or less), there's a good chance that Ryouga or Ranma should be
able to do the same. From now on, the good guys should know most of the
tricks the demons can pull, and be better prepared.

Yes Akane can fight... but she was totally outclassed by a fairly lesser
underling. The only reason she beat "what's-her-face" was a fluke and
sloppiness on the demonesse' part.

    Yeah, but Akane was under time pressure to rescue Ranma, and she was
taken by surprise at the start of the fight. Let them fight in a smaller
room, where those wings wouldn't help, and she would eventually have won, or
certainly not lost by much. Ranma or Ryouga, at full strength, could smack
these Baenma around (it's all about the Hiryu Shoten Ha), and most of the
others (saving perhaps Ukyou) could put up a good fight. I'm sure we'll see
just that at some future point, and I eagerly await it.

     I can certainly see how this story arc could fall short in providing
closure, and that warm and fuzzy feeling of victory. This series has a long
way to go, though, and every defeat now will only heighten the ending. The
bad guys have been hurt pretty bad, now, and they'll need time to recover.
They'll be stronger, but our heroes will be prepared, and _pissed_.

    Good show, Mark. I'm still enthralled.

    Waiting for more,
Patrick McClanahan