Hey,
Just a quick bit of C&C....
He put the attache case on the sofa and
snapped it open. The three gasped when they saw the contents: stacks
of hundred-thousand yen bills.
Japan doesn't use hundred-thousand yen bills. It goes (in coins):
1,5,10,50,100 amd 500 yen, and (in bills): 1 000, 2 000 (new and fairly
rare), 5 000 and 10 000 yen.
Michael sat back down. His voice sank almost to a whisper. "You've
heard of Cthuhlu?"
Umm, right. No offense, but this is where I jump off. This isn't a
criticsm of your writing, or even of the plot. What I don't quite see,
however, is why this is set in the Genma's Daughter universe. I'll admit,
I'm not a huge fan of Genma's Daughter, nor its sequel, Equal Halves. I
find the characterization of Ranko vs Ranma to be terribly biased and
unfair; that virtually any dramatic conflict is removed by the
near-perfection of the Ranko character; that the attempt to avoid typical
fanfiction gender cliches is undermined by a near-stereotyping of
gender-role behaviors; and by the reduction of Akane from confused-lover to
mere supportive-sister role. However, I have to give full kudos to the
author for skillfully crafting a Ranma story that is character-driven and
persistant in its emotional analysis and introspection. I may not entirely
like it, but I can't deny that it's a good story--and a character story at
that.
So why set (what appears to be) an action story, replete with such things as
Time Cops and Cthulu, in the Genma's Daughter Universe? Many I'm judging
too quickly, but I don't quite see what either story has to lend to each
other....
Michael looked up at her, and she was frightened by the look in his
eyes. "It wasn't fictional. Cthuhlu was real, thousands of years
ago. And the ... thing we fight now is even worse."
Worse than Cthulu? Gosh, that's pretty bad. Why is it that Ranma and
company always seem to end up fighting eldritch terrors from the realms
beyond? (I guess I shouldn't speak, I'm no better). Thing is, the horror
in these Lovecraftian-type stories is usually in the un-revealed, the
unspoken and darkly hinted-at. When someone blurts out 'Have you ever heard
of Cthulu?' early on in a story like the time cop did, it kinda reduces the
ineffable horror of Mr. Squid-head to that of generic end-boss villain.
Conversation was a bit muddled as first Akane and Ranma, then Nabiki,
began to talk to their friend. "Oh, Sis. I never thought I'd see you
again." "Hey, kiddo. Long time no see. Keeping up with the sparring?"
"You bet. And how are you doing with your violin?" "Great." "Ranko, I
guess it *is* pretty good to see you again." Michael smiled to
himself. Ryouga boggled.
Incidentally, breaking up the dialogue onto its own lines might make that a
little easier to read.
remaining martial arts abilities, her sometime doppelganger were as
doppelganger 'was' as....
I know, more critical than helpful, sorry. By all means, continue the
story--but just ask yourself if you might not be better off building your
own backstory from the ground up....
-Mike Noakes
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