Ranma and Akane: A Love Story

The Eternal Lost Lurker

OTHER STUFF BY THIS AUTHOR: A random bit of insanity

OVERALL: 9.2

Plot: 8.7 (nail-biting!)

Grammar/Punctuation: 8.8

In a Nutshell: Um... there’s no way this can fit in a nutshell.

Critique: RAA:ALS is one of those stories that’s awfully hard to explain. If you dislike it, you usually don’t get it. If you do like it, you can’t understand why. It’s still on my required reading list for certain, and on the Top Ten. It’s also one of those rare stories that is really way more than the sum of its parts.

Sum and Substance: RAA:ALS reads like extraordinarily violent Tolkien. Ranma’s character is not Ranma at all; if anything, Akane is a great deal like Ranma, here. She plays the up-and-coming hero, the one who keeps learning more and then reaching yet farther to places she didn’t know were even there.

Ranma, however, plays paragon. Ranma has reached perfection in her level of martial arts; she has reached perfection in the way she handles people; and she has reached parity with her soul, if not peace. This Ranma sings while walking down the street, and one is reminded of a more ancient sort of person, like Galadriel but with blood on her hands. You have the feeling this character would sing in the middle of battle, kill six men, and keep singing.

This is all strangely acceptable, since Ranma isn’t who we’re concerned over. Akane is the main character, although they share the stage more or less evenly. It is for her (and for we, the readers) to puzzle over Ranma’s character more or less from afar, and to gasp at what she does next.

This is interesting in that it is a great spectacle; but the most interesting part is watching Akane grow more and more like Ranma with a mix of joy and despair. Ranma’s obviously a killer, after all, and the story makes that perfectly clear quite a few times.

The weak point of the story is the plot. So far, the story’s more of a character piece that displays Ranma and, secondarily, Akane. Some of the doings of the story give the impression of impending plot, but so far nothing has surfaced as coherent. Still, there have been a good deal of fabulously interesting disjointed adventures, with hints of connection here and there.

The other weakness is the same as Tolkien’s. (He has a weakness?! No! ;) The author tends to babble. Now, you can never tell if the babble is hideously important, or if it’s simply a long, seemingly useless discussion of a nearby rock formation. And because of that, you honestly can’t skip it.

Still, for its sheer beauty it is worth reading. For its unabashed bow to violence, it is worth reading. And it is more than worth reading just to meet the author’s version of Saotome Ranma.

As a side note, for each piece of music somebody sings in the tale, the author includes a music file for you to download. Maids When You’re Young has become a favorite of mine. Listen to the words, as they’re truly hilarious. Listen to the music as you read, too. The author furnished us with a soundtrack for a reason, after all. ;)