Kyhdin@aol.com wrote:
In a message dated 1/3/01 2:23:31 AM, nausicaa@sprynet.com writes:
Ms Takahashi would have thrown many more obstacles in the way, methinks.
^_^
No doubt. Takahashi is unimitatable. On the other hand, I still maintain that
Ranko solved Ranma's problems so easily because she was the only one who
could do it easily. Still, a few more challenges would seem to be in order.
I think you may be missing the point here. Takahashi *could* have invented a
character to solve Ranma's problems for him. There's a reason why she *didn't*
-- namely, it would be bad drama. Seeing a character struggle through his own
problems is a lot more interesting than having someone else -- someone who
probably has no real emotional involvement with the protagonist's goal and isn't
hampered by the protagonist's character flaws -- come in and straighten it out
for him.
As for my two yen on this fic...
While I agree with the general consensus that the writing is good, I found Ranko
rather uninteresting as a protagonist. The scene that I thought was the best in
the story was one where she wasn't present; the bedroom chat where Ranma
pretended to be Ranko. Though I didn't agree completely with what was said in
the scene (IMO, Ranma dresses up like a girl because it's a useful guise, not
for any deep psychological reason), what made the scene work for me was Ranma
having to struggle through something that was new and *difficult* for him,
namely trying to act like a sensitive female, and the scene managed to convey
how important it was that he succeed.
This is why this story's Ranko doesn't interest me much as a character. She's
good at everything, or at least everything she has to do in this fic. She never
really runs into a situation where she has to stop and say whoa, I'm not sure I
can handle this. Nothing really forces her character to grow because she already
knows how to handle what she faces. Okay, maybe the argument with Nodoka at the
end is an exception, but at least for me it was too little too late. Maybe if
this conflict (Ranky not knowing how to say no to Nodoka) were developed
throughout the fic instead of tacked on at the end, it might help.
Other than that, all I can suggest is to try to put Rankie in a situation that
she doesn't already know how to cope with. What that might be, I'm not too sure.
Having to fight solo against Saffron or Rouge? Being dragged to a stag party by
Hiroshi and Daisuke and having to pretend to be Ranma? I really don't know....
Gary