At 05:47 PM 11/3/2000 -0700, you wrote:

        You know, the thing that really bothers me

about this is the way both Nodoka and Athia are

lying to themselves.

^_^

        I don't know if you intended it, Chris, but in

an odd way, you seem to have done the same thing

Takahashi-san did with the original series.. that is,

you've pointed out the irritation some people feel

when they're fettered by the decaying shackles of a

dying tradition.

Nodoka and Athia, to a lesser degree, are pretty caught up in being a
vampire for vampirism's sake. Nabiki is heading down the same path, while
Kasumi has hit the straight and narrow. While they feel a need to fight the
raveners, they're so caught up in their own little world, that a lot of
opportunity for good is just passing them by. In chapter 23, this is going
to be *painfully* obvious.

        Don't get me wrong.. I love the past, I learn

from the past. But I never forget it's a brake on

progress. A needed brake sometimes, but always a brake.

        Something both Nodoka and Athia should give a

LONG hard thought to.

We'll see if they survive long enough.

        As for Akane.. well, there's not a lot I can

say without falling into a character debate. It seems

to me that she's being very IC.. the trouble with that

is, like always, she wants to take shortcuts. And she's

desperately afraid of not being able to defend herself.

Sounds like I'm doing my job, then. Thanks for the compliment, Edward.

        So, she takes shortcuts. The Super Soba, the Battle

Dogi. And each time, she finds that they come with a price.

And each time she bitches that the price isn't fair.

Part of that price is always having to fight Ranma.



I really like the manga stories and fics where Akane gets a power-up of
some kind, be it a magical artifact, drugs or herbs of some kind or in the
case of 'Thought of the Mongoose', simply a new technique that trumps Ranma's.



What I don't like about some of these stories, however, is the fact that
Akane never has any responsibility to go along with her new power. My motto
for THE CLAN has been, 'Ya gotta burn before you can learn'.

        Guess that's mostly all I have to say, Chris. It's

been a fun ride, and I can't wait to see the big finish,

as well as what happens to the families when the dust

settles.

I've been having fun driving. The climax shouldn't be too far off...



C.

* * *



C. Jones - guilty@furinkan.net

http://www.furinkan.net



Watashi ha ultra-relakusu!