[A Change of Scene, by June Geraci] 93 chapters (continuing). 6.7/10 collegiate Ranmas. Ranma and Akane both decide to off to college after the series ends, trying to get some space. Unfortunately, they both chosse the same college. Once they get there, they must deal with some new friends/enemies (as well as the old ones, who keep popping up again).
This fic is decent, I guess, but it's WAFFy, it's a continuation, and it doesn't have the same comic feel as the original series, so it's not to my taste, and it wears on me after a while of reading. (The part count is misleading, however: each of the chapters is quite short, so the whole is probably less in length thatn any of the Wheel of Time novels. I'm going to see is I can't get a new measure of length.) Another fic that I just don't care for, but someone else might.
[A Duet of Pigtails, by Libby Thomas] 8 parts plus various prologues and side stories (continuing). 6/10 pigtailed people. A Ranma 1/2 / Magical Knights Rayearth crossover. Ranma, pigtailed martial artist, meets Hikaru, pigtailed magical girl. Both have lost (in one way or another) the person they thought they'd spend the rest of their life with. They fall in love and get married. Now, years later, and after the birth of the first children, Hikaru is called back to Cephiro, a place she no longer wants to return to, because of a new enemy's assault. But this new enemy isn't limited to just that world...
This was a fic I wanted very much to either love or hate, but I couldn't manage to bring myself to do either. The problems were many: I feel that the author skipped a more promising subject for a story (the budding Ranma-Hikaru romance) to instead focus on what seems to be your basic action movie plot. The villians seem like rejects from a bad horror movie, and ruin any atmosphere the fic might have. The fight scenes come to dominate what plot there is, to the extent where the fight basically becomes the fic. Everybody and their mother seems to reappear for one reason or another, even those previously declared dead, and most of them are changed well beyond recognition. But... if you don't think of it as a "serious" Ranma or MKR fic, it isn't all that bad. The writing is quite good, even if the subject isn't to my taste, and the author obviously has a story to tell. Even if it isn't one I necessarily want to read.
[A Stitch in Time, by Michael Fetter] (completed). 6/10 mind-split Ranmas. Every time Ranma turns female, part of his spirit is send back in time to inhabit Soun's dead wife.
It's not that I didn't like this story, so much as that it didn't particularly strike me. It also grants Ranma more emotional maturity than he typically possesses, although that's partially to be expected. Probably worth reading, but it's not something that I expect to reread multiple times (unlike, say, Sailor Moon 4200).
[An Eating Guide to the Silver Millennium, by Richard Beaubien] New. 5 parts (complete). 6.3/10 Adams tributes. Sailor Pluto decides to go on a vacation, so she finds someone to serve as a temporary replacement. Of course, it's exactly at this point that the Kargons decide that they should get rid of the nuisance that is Earth and its defenders once and for all. If only they had actually listened to their computer...
This fic tries to be a crossover between Sailor Moon and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, incorporating the Takeuchi's characters and Adams' style and humor but... it fails. Rather miserably. There are moments when it looks like it's going to succeed, but for the most part, the humor comes out seeming forced, and you just feel sorry for the author. We miss you, Douglas Adams.
[Angel's Heart, by Nikholas F. 'Radler' Toledo Zu] 1 part (continuing). 7.3/10 alien creatures. An Iczer/BubblegumCrisis? crossover. Iczer 2 has come to earth, trying to find a purpose, but instead finding a partner. However, she has drawn after her an enemy and a new set of Voids. Meanwhile, the ADP has a new Chief, Genom has a new head, and Sylia is trying to figure out what exactly the new enemy is.
This chapter, though fairly long, is almost entirely setup, with very little in the way of action, interaction, or plot development. As such, I need more info before I can make an adequate informed judgement on this piece. What I've read so far is fairly good, though.
[Beyond Boundaries, by Mad-Hamlet] (completed). 6/10 corpses. Akane, in the hospital, tries to deal with Ranma's death two weeks after their wedding. (Note that Mad-Hamlet's web page, linked above, wasn't available at the time I wrote this. You can still find the fic in the [TASS Ranma archives].)
Too short to really cause me to feel for Akane, and not enough of an experience for me to rate it higher. This fic might strike a chord with some people, but not with me.
[Centaur, by Vince Seifert] 4 parts + 1 sidestory (continuing). 7.5 post-nuptual Ranmas. The sequel to Taming of the Horse. Through Kodachi's machinations, Ranma and Akane are transferred to St. Herebike's School for Girls, where they do gymnastics (of the martial arts variety, of course), make new friends, and try to keep Ranma's curse from being revealed.
This has the same WAFF factor as Taming of the Horse, but also two additional things which I dislike. First, it lacks the quality of being a completed work, which for me is a minus. As somewhat of a corollary, it is structured as an episodic story, with consecutive chapters having continuity of characters and situations but not truly of plot: there is no true ending point being aimed at, and thus less inherent connection between the stories. Still, the writing is very good, and keeps this story as something worth reading.
[China Girl, by Saotome Ranchan] 6 parts (continuing, last 9/10/01). 7/10 Ranmas with a loom. After his first encounter with Jusenkyo, Ranma becomes despondent because he isn't told about the efficacy of hot water and so is stuck as a girl. The Guide takes him to the nearby Amazon village, where he learns that being a girl isn't necessarily about frilly dresses and embroidery.
Not bad, but not spectacular. Ranma does what he's good at, martial arts, and learns a bit about himself in the process. He seems somewhat more powerful here, but that may just be due to his better teachers.
[Choices, by Mike Noakes] 4 parts (continuing, last 6/01). 8.7/10 of Ranma's secrets. Ranma goes to a party with Akane, where they go their separate ways. Ranma has a confrontation with a bully, then starts atlking with the guys and drinking some. Then he a Akane have a big fight, Akane leaves, and Ranma starts drinking a lot, revealing more of himself in the process than he'd perhaps intended. Unfortunately for him, the repercussions of the night's events don't stop with the end of the party, and when the next day certain of the events of the party become exaggerated and/or distorted, Ranma finds himself on the outside, with choices to make regarding what he wants to do with his future.
A general comment first: while some Ranma fics are about Ranma, the MARTIAL ARTIST, others, like this one, are much more about RANMA, the martial artist. This dichotomy is even present in the original manga, although there it evident that Ranma's martial arts are integral (perhaps too much so) to his self-image. This was a very good fic, with only (as I see it) two problems. First, I don't expect to see the end of it before winter 2003, given the rate at which parts have been coming out. (The entire fic is only slated to be 6 parts, but don't let that fool you. Each of the parts is of considerable size. On the other hand, this means chapter releases are more-or-less an annual occurence. Second, I found portions of the fic almost painful to read. Not because they were horrible; quite the opposite, in fact. The problem is that they did the author did a very good job of portraying what Ranma was thinking and feeling when the rumors started flying, that I began seriously empathizing with his character. While getting a reader to identify with a character certainly says volumes about the author's skill, when that character is in emotional pain, the process (for the reader) isn't a pleasant one. For reasons I don't intend to detail here, Ranma's situation struck me especially forcefully, and this tended to produce chunks of the fic which I had to basically force myself to read. On the whole, then, I would definitely recommend this fic, but with a warning attached: if you're looking for sweetness and light, you won't find them here.
[Comes the Cold Dragon, by Don Granberry] 13 parts (continuing). 6.8/10 ice dragons. Ranma's battle with (and defeat of) Saffron has set events in motion. Now the secrets of the Chinese martial artist tribes (the Musk, Joketsuzoku, and inhabitants of Phoenix Mountain) are threatened, and Ranma is beginning to awaken to his heritage as the Cold Dragon.
The reason that it took me so long to finish this work (and thus, to write the review) is that for a while, in parts six and seven, it appeared that the only thing really going on was that Ranma was losing what made him an interesting character; namely, his weaknesses, insecurities, and foibles. This caused me to lose the motivation to read it, and thus I went on to other things. On the other hand, the later parts get better, maybe because the author is finished now is actually dealing with the new, improved?, Ranma as a real character, rather than as something approaching an avatar. It could also be that in the interlude, I've read something that's much worse. I still have some problems with the author choice of names for one of his introduced characters, though: bad puns make bad names (unless I can't speak the language, of course).
[Destiny's Child, by Fire] 26 parts, plus 1 epilogue (completed). 7.5/10 chibi-Sailor Ranmas. This is a Ranma1?/2 / SailorMoon? crossover/fusion, with appearances by characters from Slayers? and 3X3Eyes. Basically, Ranma was born 500 years ago, but was splashed with water from the Spring of Drowned *Young* Girl, so (s)he is cursed to be perpetually 12 while in his female form. Because of this, he survives into the 20th century, having interacted with most of the Ranma regulars, and meets the Sailor Senshi.
I liked this fic by the main, but it had a few problems. To start, the first half of the fic seemed a bit rushed. Also, the end left some issues that hadn't been fully resolved, as if anticipating a sequel (which has at least been started, but since it was by a different author, I haven't read it -- yet). Still, an enjoyable read, and it caused me to lose track of time and miss dinner.
[Dew on the Grass, by Richard E.] (completed). 6.9/10 alternate personalities. Ranma is stuck as Ranks after hitting her head on a rock in the pond. Now Ryouga feels guilty for hitting Ranko, and the two start to fall in love.
My rating of this fic is more-or-less a matter of taste: I just happen to dislike the premise. I just don't see Ranko as being a completely new personality (as in the fic), rather than as a projection of what Ranma thinks girls are like (as in my memories of canon). Beyond that, although Ryouga is certainly love-starved and would fall for the first girl who shows him even a semblance of affection (a fact which Ranma uses to his [her?] advantage multiple times), his devotion/infatuation to Akane would certainly carry through. Plus the fishing rod episode seemes to show that his disgust at seeing Ranma in such an altered state would override his other feelings when he realized that the person in love with him was Ranma. That's just my opinion, though; I could be wrong.
[Earth, by Ken Wolfe] 6 chapters, plus one (lemon) side-story (completed). 9.4/10 demon-gods. A series of vignettes (well, they're a little long for that, but you get the point) covering the events when first Ifurita, then Makoto, then some of their old friends and enemies go to Earth from El Hazard.
It was this work which made me decide to obtain all the El Hazard manga that I could (previously, I had seen exactly one episode of the dub). Suffice it to say, I liked it very much. Hopefully, you will too.
[Fate of Love, by Jason Wong] 2 parts (continuing). 8/10 reincarnated messengers. A Ranma/Sailor? Moon crossover. The cycles turn, and people are reborn once more, and when once true love is found, it, too, is reborn. But what happens when the person reborn has alreay found another, different love?
This fic is either going to be very good, or a huge disappointment. A post-volume 38 Ranma who in his last life loved the princess of Mars is being set up for the choice between Akane and Rei, and right now it appears ambiguous who he will finally choose. It's nice not being able to predict the course of a fic from its first part :). On the other hand, all this promise could all-too-easily dissolve into cliches and stale situations if not done correctly. We shall see; we shall see.
[Here Comes a Candle, by Krista Perry] 3 parts (continuing). 7.3/10 Fairie Gundams. With the veils between worlds thinning on the eve of the solstice, Duo's Gundam draws the attention of the Fairie queen. Then Duo himself does so as well.
3 parts, but really only an introduction of setting, basic plot, and characters. More fleshing out will be necessary before this becomes a true story. A relatively promising beginning, though.
[Honor and Love, by Kevin Hammel] 10 parts (continuing). 6.8/10 moon Senshi. A new enemy is subtly draining the Senshi's powers, so Pluto calls up new Senshi for the largest moons in the solar system who will not be affected by this new attack. Those called include most of the female regulars of the Ranma cast. However, some of the other moons are not entirely pleased by this turn of events and want their own Senshi as well...
This story could have been much better if it wasn't for a few things. First, everybody female and her mother (more or less literally) becomes a Senshi. At this point, much of the glamour and mystique of being a magical warrior of love and justice is lost (which, truth be told, also seems to happen during the last season of the Sailor Moon anime). It also has subtler effects, such as insuring that Sailor introductions take up much of the volume of the fic, leaving little for actual plot development. Also, it gets rather predictable, since its a fairly decent bet that at some point, any given female will become a Senshi: the only question is which one. If the author starts working on the male members of the cast, though, I really want to know what Principal Kuno becomes. Second, in all this new Senshi creation, the orignals seem to get lost in the background. In effect, it changes the fic from a SM/Ranma? crossover to a SM/Ranma? fusion, since the Sailor Moon characters are only really there to provide atmosphere. On the other hand, all this might be worth it if we can get a Sailor 1986U10...
[Kumiko the Demon-Girl, by Ammadeau] 26 parts (continuing). 8.3/10 pieces of soul. Kumiko is sent to earth to devour a mortal's soul in order to give herself the power to continue existing for another 1000 years. Ken Iwakami is chosen, because he is basically a nothing kind of guy, and won't be missed. However, once on earth Kumiko decides that she'd rather rather devour Ken's soul piece by piece over the course of a year, rather than all at once. Now Ken is stuck with a very amorous demon-girl who literally can't be more than a few feet away from him and who is slowing taking away the source of his existence, Plus there's the angel who's gotten herself sent to watch over this whole thing. And the various clubs who are interested in Kumiko for various reasons. And all the other people who get embroiled in the plotting and general chaos.
To begin, two notes: first, this isn't a fanfic proper. Rather, it's an anime-inspired original fic, which basically means it's like reading a fanfic for a series you've never watched, except that less background material is assumed. Second, this is very much a lime fic. This is actually one of the few problems I have with the fic: the author is taking what is basically a lemon idea, and then scrupulously avoiding turning the fic into an actual lemon. Either make it a lemon or avoid the subject, but don't try to straddle the two! This problem does appear to have improved in the later parts, though, with the lime elements gradually disappearing (although there are still warning signs present. The second problem I have is that certain appear to be extraneous, but it appears that this problem is being dealt with by gradually drawing them closer to the center of the plot. Still, if you don't mind the lime elements, a recommended read.
For a different viewpoint, however, see CurtisVinson. Our tastes are not the same. :)
[Lessons of Mastery, by Arthur Hansen] (completed). 8.6/10 foul Colognes. Ranma, fed up with Genma, challenges first him and then Happosai to become a master of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts. While training Akane, he then discovers that not everything that he's been taught is what it appears to be...
A very good fic, which I liked very much. Unfortunately, not long enough to get the bonus point for being an epic, but apparently the author is working on a sequel. I don't want to talk too much about for fear of spoilers, but suffice it to say that you should read it, now!
[Lies, by Jeff Hosmer] (completed). 9.3/10 (spoily) (spoilies). It's now five years since Ranma was killed, and Ukyou sent the insane asylum for the crime, but Ryouga's memories are still haunting him, and he thinks he's seeing Ranma again.
A classic short, darkfic. I especially liked the last line. Read it, but beware: not a fun romp-in-the-park.
[Living Life Anew, by Jared Mitchell] 8 parts (completed). 7.2/10 hidden influences. After their Prom, Ranma decides to break to Akane the news that he's decided to go to a different college from the one she's chosen. She gets very angry (although it's not entirely her fault) and breaks off the engagement, so he decides to head off on a training trip by himself. While on the trip, he meets some people who can shed a little more light on his situation.
I liked a lot of things about this fic, most notably the fact that it is driven by the interactions between the characters, rather than by seemingly irrelevant events, but I found a lot to dislike as well. Mainly, it's because I felt somewhat mislead: I was expecting a Ranma-and-Akane fic, but this is really more of a Ranma, his sensei, and his feelings-and-Akane and her feelings fic. At times I felt that new characters felt too much like excees baggage rather than integral parts of the story. They just don't seem to mesh well with the world yet. Also, the fact that it's listed as completed is also not quite correct: although Living Life Anew is indeed complete, it leaves a good number of issues unresolved. A sequel is in the process of being written, which is a good thing, because the story is at all complete without it.
[Lost Innocence, by Thrythlind] 6 parts (continuing, last 9/14/01). 6.8/10 recovering Ranmas. Drugged by Shampoo, Ranma is set upon and raped by Kuno. Kodachi interferes before he can finish strangling her "to remove the hold of that foul sorcerer, Saotome," but by then irreparable damage has already been done. Now Ranma must learn to deal with himself again, with some help from Nabiki. Warning: dark, but not lemon.
Thrythlind is not the only author to use the 'Ranma is raped' premise for fic, but he doesn't do a bad job of following through. Unfortunately, his work still (in my mind) suffers in comparison to Choices (which I will review in the near future), especially in terms of smoothness of writing. I also feel that the story somewhat suffers because of the intrusion of things and people from outside the Nerima "bubble"--although a certain amount of contact is unavoidable, given the way the author has chosen to frame the backstory, Ranma just doesn't mesh all that well with the outside world. On the other hand, despite a 3-year lag time, this fic will probably also be completed earlier, given the speed at which Choices is being written, and that is a definite plus.
[Love is Bad, by Jon Carp] (completed) 7.1/10 broken hearts. Can someone who is immortal find love? The stars say no, for a multitude of reasons.
An odd fic (not little, though: 200K), but decently entertaining. The fact that its told in a series of vignettes has an interesting effect, but it also means that no real plot develops. The author is telling a story, but no one ever has time to change (or do they have too much time?). Interestingly enough, I couldn't find this fic on the author's web page, only in the Sailor Moon Romance archives. I wonder what that says about it? One note: this fic got about a half to three-quarters of a point extra just because of its ending, which I especially liked. It makes up for a lot of the repetitiveness I noticed earlier in the story.
[Macross 1/2, by Timothy Groves] 18 parts (continuing). 6.9/10 female mecha pilots. A Ranma/Macross? crossover. Ranma, 18, joins UN Spacy behind his father's back. Genma isn't exactly pleased, but accedes, and Ranma goes off to show the world exactly what a aquatransexual martial artist mecha pilot can do (besides wind up engaged to too many people, of course).
My verdict: decent, but not great. I get thet feeling while reading this that I'm missing a good deal due to my inadequate Macross knowledge, since the events from that series appear to be used as much of what occurs offscreen, and things happen that would probably make sense to anyone who has seen Macross, but leave me wondering what just happened and why. Still, not bad, just not exceptional.
[Mirror, Mirror, by Michael Ricketts] 7 parts (continuing, last 5/11/00). 7/10 mirrored Ranmas. Ranma is cursed, but this time, he hears about a possible cure before he leaves China. Therefore, he steals the Phoenix Mirror from the Amazons and performs a ceremony that he thinks should cure him. Unfortunately, instead of being a simple cure, it splits him in two, without a second mind to control the spare body.
Not a bad fic, certainly, but still rather conventional in its handling of the events after the doubled Ranma reaches Nerima. While I don't mind some reliance upon the events of the manga (after all, that's what really makes this fanfiction, rather than original fiction with familiar names plastered onto the characters), I like to be surprised once in a while. Maybe when (if?) it's finished we'll see more changes.
[newRanma, by Chris Jones] 20 parts (complete). 8/10 Ranma-chans. Yet Another Ranma-is-stuck-as-a-girl fic, but still good. It's no Sunrise Chronicles, but then, it doesn't try to be. When Ranma gets hit one-too-many times on the head by Akane, he develops a blood clot in his brain, and must undergo brain surgery to fix it. The surgery succeeds, but he must stay female while he heals, and he must deal with some personality changes at the same time. Warning: lemon scenes, but they matter to the plot. Sort of.
A good read, and very well-written. My only issues were with the characterization -- some of the supporting characters seemed a bit off from what I would expect of them, and Ranma doesn't seem a strong enough character at times. Quite funny in places, though.
[One Month, by Donny Cheng] (completed). 8.4/10 chi vampires. To stop Ms. Hinako's chi-draining activities (and to prevent anyone else from using more drastic measures), Ranma volunteers to administer the pressure point therapy for the month necessary to stop her for good. But is that necessarily the best (or the only) solution?
A good story, even if a bit WAFFy for my tastes. Just long enough to do a good job of conveying the action without being so extended as to induce boredom. Definitely a recommended read.
[Paradise Lost, by Andy Kent] 19 parts (continuing, last ?). 7.3/10 ki-enhanced Evas. A Ranma/Evangelion? crossover/fusion. No Milton, though. Ryouga, as the son of Hibiki Gendo, is recruited to be an Eva pilot after Rei is injured. Luckily, LCL doesn't count as water, so he doen't have to become a porcine pilot. :) Anyway, it appears that the EVAs, while lacking the versitality that Ryouga is used to (and what kind of martial artist would use a gun, anyway?), amplify his ki abilities, which makes for interesting times when he thinks he's killed Akane. And none of this answers the question of why Ryouga can be a pilot in the first place, given that he's 16 and was born two years before the Impact. Or why people seem to be turning up dead in Nerima.
Decent writing, an involving plot, and depression-fueled ki blasts that could require the building of Tokyo-4. Plus Asuka and Ryouga living in the same household. What more could you want? Well, better explanations of some things, for one. (On the other hand, this is an Evangelion series, so I guess you can't expect too much in the way of clarity.) And some times the sideline stories seem to overwhelm what appears to be the main plot. In addition, somehow seeing Gendo as a Hibiki takes away some of the mystique that he had as an Ikari -- I mean, how can you generate a good aura of power and fear when you can't find your way out of a paper bag? Still, not a bad piece of work.
[Paragon, by Robert Haynie] 4 parts (continuing, last ? [can't access FFML mini-archive]). 8/10 epitomes. A Ranma/Sailor? Moon crossover. Ranma is offered a method of controlling his curse, but it entails him becoming a magical girl and helping to save the world. Not a Sailor Scout, though -- that's more fabric than he is allotted. He accepts, but how will the other Jusenkyo victims deal with him once they see he has a curse he can't or won't share? And how will he deal with the other, more fully clothed, magical girls?
I liked this fic, what there is of it, but right now I want to read more of it before I give it a higher (or lower) score. It's refreshing to see that not every magical girl, even in a Sailor Moon crossover, is a Silver Millenium refugee. If you can accept an unfinished work, then, read this.
[Process of Elimination, by Brian Randall] 10 parts plus 2 interludes (continuing). 6.5/10 Reavers. A Ranma/Tenchi? Muyo crossover, with numerous characters from other series who make appearances. Earth is attacked by hideous omnivores (real omnivores -- they'll eat ANYTHING), and Ranma gives his life to defeat one. Well, almost -- he's actually rescued by Washuu, but to save him, she makes him partly a monster himself.
Yes, it's well written. Yes, I'll probably read the chapters as they come out. However, this fic, for me had some serious problems. 1) Hideous aliens attacking with no (yet-)discernable motivation (although there are hints that maybe, maybe, we'll get more backstory later). 2) Characters from other series who cavort around seemingly for the sole purpose of showing that yes, the author has seen this series too. 3) Not enough characterization yet. There are enough characters that none of them has received a full treatment, not even Ranma, even though his changes mean that he probably needs it the most. Part of the problem is that the fights keep getting in the way (althogh at least it's no Sailor Moon AX).
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