"Might be funny?" That would be a neat trick.
Seriously, though, I don't think that it should deter you just because
someone else has written a version of the Ranma/Crow crossover.
Odds are that you'll approach the story from a very different way.
Here's my advice about handling the Crow crossover, in case you
still want to use it.
Jamie O'Barr's comic is often good, but his writing tends to be rather
hit-and-miss. I have seen the first and second Crow movies - I do believe
there was a third released straight to video, but for some strange
reason I'm not particularly inspired to check it out. The first movie
was a great example of doing just about everything right with the
concept (from a storytelling perspective - whoever handled the stunts
obviously erred rather tragically), while the second movie gave you
a fine example of doing everything wrong.
In the second film, we got all style and no substance. "The first one had
a sort of grunge feel, so the second one will be better if we make it EVEN
GRUNGIER! And the Eric Draven character made all sorts of cool Crow
effigies, so our guy will make them EVEN BIGGER! And there was lots of
hard-industrial music in the first one, so we'll put EVEN MORE in the second!"
And so forth. What was lost in the transition between the first and second
films was the strength of character, imagery, and deep mythological archetype.
The first Crow film was very much like an ancient myth translated straight
into a modern setting. That's why it packed such a punch.
My advice to you with this story is to not get buried too deeply in the
superficial style of the Crow stories - movie or comic. Instead, keep
Akane in mind (if she is to remain your central character). She
experiences an unspeakable tragedy and returns as a sort of
avenging revenant, complete with a spirit guide. Yet she is still
Akane. How would the Akane we know be transfigured by such
a thing? How would she behave? What would she feel, what would
she do? Would she dress in black leather and think of snappy
things to say when she kills somebody? Probably not. In the first
film we got a good sense that Eric Draven was driven to do certain
things that he didn't really understand (like making the crow effigies
and painting his face), but he was still himself, tortured and hurting,
trying to cope with so much suffering. Akane would be going through
the same thing, but given the differences in her life (and her culture -
I agree that mixing in some Japanese folklore would be a good
idea), I think she would make a very different Crow from Eric Draven.
If Akane is still recognizable as herself, in spite of the vast changes
that her transformation has wrought upon her, then I think the story
has a great deal of potential.
Best of luck - looking forward to Jet Moto 10...
Grayson Towler
grayson@rigroup.net
http://www.rigroup.com/~grayson/relentless
-----Original Message-----
From: Jed M Bidwell [SMTP:Jedediah@tri-countynet.net]
Sent: Saturday, February 26, 2000 10:09 AM
To: ffml@fanfic.com
Subject: [FFML] [A BIT O' INFO... I GUESS] A Murder of Crows
Okay. While a lot of people enjoyed the writing (thank you all ^_^),
a number of you said that The Crow's been done and to find something else.
But what?
One has suggested a pillow, to go for an Alfred Hitchcock-style of
subtlety and tension. Also, a vengeful kami has been suggested. Even
Kuei-Jin (eastern vampires).
I don't know if I'll use any of these, but I am going to re-work
Crows into something else. Might be dark, might be funny, I don't know yet.
Who knows, I may even tie it into Crimson Dawn, or another of my fics.
Anyway, that's it for this one. For those who care, chapter ten of
Jet Moto is nearly done, and yes there IS a race in this one (finally ^_^)
If anyone wants to help with Crows, send me a message.
Thanks!
Jed