Equal
Halves
Deborah Goldsmith
OTHER STUFF BY THIS AUTHOR: Genma’s Daughter, Notes
from Julliard
OVERALL: 7.5
Plot: 7.0
Grammar/Spelling: 9.5
In a Nutshell: ‘Ranko’, of Genma’s Daughter fame, is transported to the average Ranmaverse.
Critique: Missing most of the characterization holes that were present in its predecessor, I recommend reading it first, before you read Genma’s Daughter. If you like Equal Halves, then you might like to keep going.
Sum and Substance: Equal Halves forced me to reconsider Genma’s Daughter. First of all, I read this story before its prequel. I enjoyed it immensely. The Prince rock was absolutely ridiculous, and I appreciated that. Ranko never wept unless the situation was weep-worthy, and she finally seemed to be coming into her own as a character.
This forced me to consider the fact that Goldsmith might have been trying to point out that Ranko needed a great deal of time to recover. Akane wonders if Ranko might ever be all right again plenty of times, but in Genma’s Daughter you don’t see Ranko change, much—not after the initial sweeping changes that occur within the first couple of days. (I am certain the author would disagree; she points out a couple of changes that either aren’t significant or aren’t presented in the way Ranko behaves.)
Equal Halves finds Ranko a new girl. She’s much more confident and assured, and has finally made decisions about her life—well, sort of; she and Ryoga aren’t engaged yet at the start of the story.
Ranko’s violin is once again the most lovely aspect of Goldsmith-san’s writing. Music ties she and Ranma together—and she and Ryoga together, when you get down to it.
The best scenes occur near the middle-end part of the story. It starts when Ranko goes to choose a violin for Ranma’s birthday. When Ranko accidentally bumps into Ryoga and bursts into tears—that was a really good scene that includes my favorite turn of phrase in anything Goldsmith has written: “He didn’t realize that was because the same change had occurred on his own features” or some such. Then, the following scene and the scene with the party continue to be excellent.
The end is quite deus ex machina, but that’s the point. The story has accomplished its purpose and Ranko is sent home.
The only loose end is poor Ryoga. Without a Ranko for himself, he wanders off depressed and alone. Rather typical for him, I guess, but the reader still has a vague question in their minds in regards to Ryoga at the tale’s close.
Overall, this story is a good one, way better than its predecessor; which is much longer, much more angst-filled, and much harder to believe.
Despite the talking rock.
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