:> It certainly bores you. But is there any real reason to believe that it
:> bores readers in general, rather than just poking one of your sore
spots?
:Well, let's see... There've been discussions on this on IRC, on the FFML,
and at
:cons.... I've heard many people other than myself complain about fics with
stock
:openings, even quite a few people who've said that they delete any fic on
sight
:if it opens with Ranma and Akane arguing about cooking. Not once have I
heard
:anyone say "Wow, I like this kind of opening! When I read one of these
standard
:fanfic scenes, it makes me intensely curious to know what will happen in
the
:story, oh yes!" Moreover, any decent how-to book on the subject will tell
you
:that a good opening is one that gets to the story's conflict as soon as
:possible.
I personally find this kind of mentality responsible for
the degeneration of Ranma fics in general. I don't know
who started it, but somewhere along the line it seems
people have just about forgotten what Ranma is all about.
Ranma, in both the manga and the anime, is basically just
'chaos in Nerima.' No matter how hard you look at it,
that's basically all it is. You can do in-depth character
analysis, dig up historical background on the plot, and
what not. But in the end, the bottom line is that Ranma
is just chaos in Nerima. His name says it all.
It's sort of like Urusei Yatsura. It's not like Maison
Ikkoku which actually has a coherent story. Ranma basically
doesn't even have a story. Sure, it has a general setting
and story concept, but it doesn't really have much of a plot.
Yeah, call me crazy, but Ranma for me is basically just a
beefed-up version of Urusei Yatsura: a collection of shorts
about some characters in a very funny situation. The manga
has some longish story arcs every now and then, but not much,
certainly not enough to conclude that Ranma is a big thing on
plots.
For the record, I would say that I like the so-called
"stock openings" for Ranma. Especially if the fic is an
original flavor fic. They may be used over and over again
in Ranma fics, but the reason why that happens is
because that IS what Ranma is all about. For me, the fics
which have all these weird stories and concepts are the
'deviants' from the original Ranma flavor. I'm not putting
these different kinds of story down (I happen to like 'em)
but I don't think a fic written with the "original feel" of
the series in mind should be shot down just because it's
deviating from what popular opinion these days says about
writing fics.
I'm not saying plots are stupid or are unnecessary in a
story. Even the "filler episodes" of Ranma (the ones which
don't seem to contribute any story continuity) have some
sort of plot. All I'm saying is that in a Ranma story,
plot often takes a back seat, as the emphasis is often
on the characters. There is often a simple plot, but not
much. So a Ranma fic like Ki no Jozu, which is still
basically just introducing its new character, should be
given allowance for not having much of a plot at first.
While I agree that Ki no Jozu has some basic problems in
its story so far, I think it can be fixed, and Mr. Johnson
says he's already considered toning down Kijo, for starters.
I'm sure the fic will work itself out, and have more
conflict (hopefully centered around Kijo) in its next
revisions.
That's just me, and I know that my way of thinking is
highly unpopular on this list. Well, frankly, I don't
care if I'm ostracized, and I've had this urge to get
this type of rant of my chest. Yeah, I know I'm crazy,
so you can all take potshots at me now. ^_^
Hou da na!
boyu