Steven Avery wrote:
My main complaint here is that almost everything you cited that you
liked about Love Hina were things I thought were really not so amazing.
Then, IMO, you are missing what the author was trying to say. I mean if you
take out the central value of what Keitaro stands for, you don't have
anything but a bunch of pratfalls, Mokoto cutting things with her sword and
Koalla Suu shooting big guns that come out of no where.
That sounds about right.
Love hina is about potential... and hard work.. and that's why it appeals to
older manga fans as well as the younger audience who are all about the
action.. it's core theme is about more than just Keitaro tripping and
falling face first into Naru's chest or women in a bath. It's about the
growth that we get out of what we do. You might not see the traits that I
ascribe to Keitaro... but they are the traits that the author put there and
intended to be seen. Me, I'd go back and take a fresh look at the story, you
might be surprised what you see in the character if you take a fresh look at
him. The author hides a lot of Keitaro in the story, you kinda have to read
between the lines with him.
Depends. I liked the manga much more than the anime.
I actually thought the anime was pretty bad after I'd seen the
manga, and I never bothered watching any further than the first episode
of Again.
It seems to me everyone's going to like different aspects, and what you
like may not appeal to soomeone else (say, the author) as much.
ep... totally agree... But at the same time, as I said before, I have no
problem with crossovers, provided the spirit of the original material is not
butchered.
And my point is what you percieve as the true spirit of the original
material may not hold for someone else.
They may derive entirely different values, and base their
storytelling on those values.
Personally, I think that while Keitaro's not offensive as a main
character, he's really just not very spectacular, either.
Totally disagree... Keitaro was a fantastic character, and given that he was
listed as the most popular character in the series both in the Manga and the
Anime by the fans in Japan throughout it's run, I am not alone in saying
that I think you're seriously overlooking the qualities in the character.
Hmm.
I did say "Personally" which goes back to the root of the whole
thing: your judgements are based on perception, and those are going to
differ wildly between each and every reader.
For example: I don't agree with you.
But that doesn't make one of us 'right' and one 'wrong'.
It just means we don't agree.
The key here is to realize that the authors perception is going to
be different, too.
I have a hard time seeing him with all the positive qualities that you've attributed
to him; more to me, it seems he was just the ingedient at hand when it
came time to mix a relatively formulaic episode where the new character
changes a pre-existing dynamic and everyone comes out of it feeling
positive. And if you haven't seen THAT a million times in anime, well....
Again, disagree... to use a cooking analogy, you have to have the RIGHT
ingredient to make the dish. Substituting kumquats for a daikon radish in a
dish just ends up messing up the recipe. Keitaro has certain qualities that
Ranma simply does not have.
Well, that's fine, too.
But at this level, you're saying you expect him to retell Love Hina
word-for-word with Ranma in Keitaro's place.
It seems to me that that wouldn't make for great storytelling
anyway. If we're reading the story, we're probably already familiar
with Love Hina. Why would we want to see it again with no differences,
and in .txt instead of image form?
OTOH, seeing someone who WASN'T Keitaro try and do the same things
... that would be new. THAT could be interesting.
But then ... that's just how it seems to me. If you want more of
the same ... re-read the manga. When that's what I'm in the mood for,
that's what I do.
Take how Ranma would handle the "operation kick out" that the Hinata sou
residents tried on Keitaro, working him dawn to dusk to make him leave. Kei
earned their respect through his toughness, his uncomplaining attitude, and
his unwillingness to quit. Maybe you're unaware of it, but men in Japan have
this blindspot when it comes ot housework, they consider it to be Women's
work, and simply will not do it, considering it humiliation. Ranma would
have just ditched the work and ran away. Earning their respect was key to
the later peaceful cohabitation that was needed to advance the story. I
merely point this out as one among many examples of where the difference in
character mentality would create serious plot stumbling blocks.
Also interesting, except for the fact that this fanfiction appears
to be aimed towards American readers. I'm guessing that if the author
finds this relevant, he'll find a way to tell us.
More to the point, if you feel that the author shouldn't bother
writing it at all (which is what I'm picking up from the gist of your
messages) maybe you should just tell him that and be done with it. If
you think it should be written, and you can't convey how to suggest the
changes he ought to make to it to revise it ... maybe you should write
it yourself.
I imagine this is going to come across as far harsher than I mean
it, so I'm going to say right here, I'm not making these comments to be
rude. I'm just saying that it looks like you won't be happy with the
story the way the author intends to write it ... so there could be a
better way to go about it.