I know this isn't exactly fanfiction but it's a report on an opportunity to clear up a few things that have been tossed about on this ML for a few weeks; what is and isn't canon. In any case, it was an Anime/manga opportunity not to be missed.

As both my kids are into cheerleading (my son is an NCA instructor and member of six time national champion coed team and my daughter is an all-American on her local high school squad), I got roped into helping with a local cheerleading camp at the University of Kansas last weekend. As a chaperone, I was assigned a bunch of kids (girls mostly) who represented five different high schools. I also got the rare treat as my group included five Japanese cheerleaders from Nihon University. How they got here would make an interesting story in itself. [Their coach was a former KU cheerleader who now teaches English at Nihon. Somehow, she convinced the mega-university (Nihon is the largest university in Japan), to spring for her and five of her cheerleaders to come to KU for some 'Western' cheerleading instruction.]

[FYI: School colors: Red and White / School Mascot: Phoenix / Considered the undisputed collegiate sports champion in Japan.]

Anyway, on Friday night I and two other chaperones gathered the kids in the common area of the dorm for an 'airing' session (you know: complain about how loud the girls in the next room play their radio, slamming doors, loud voices, why the food sucks, that sort of thing.) For some reason, this group was a pretty mellow crowd and there were no complaints. As usual, the Japanese kids were hanging around the outside of the group, just watching. To get *some kind* of discussion going, I threatened to let (pointing to the Japanese) Ranma and Akane lead the discussion. I got about 50 empty stares and five Japanese cheerleaders on the floor laughing. (Actually, only two spoke any English but when they laughed the others followed along). With that, the ice was broken and a general Ranma/manga/Anime discussion got started. Ranma remained the favorite (I guess because these first and second year Japanese college students had grown up on Ranma). The debate concerning the Ranma ending was most interesting. Mika, an Economics major (and a damn kawaii one at that) insisted that it was all a ploy to milk the whole Ranma thing for all it was worth, while Miyagi, a law student, argued that it was a major mistake because everyone was ready for the big wedding scene and felt cheated when they didn't tie the knot. Considering the argument quickly degenerated into Japanese, everyone, including myself, were left floundering. In the mean time, I'm stuck trying to explain to this bunch of American kids what Anime was all about. Big mistake. I tried 'Akira', 'Dirty Pair', and even 'Speed Racer' and got blank stares from the Americans. When I said 'Robotech' about half smiled and nodded. However, 'Robotech' left the Japanese with blank stares (I guess Carl Macek jokes don't translate well). You have to understand, these were *Kansas* kids from places like: Medicine Lodge and Pratt; not the most cosmopolitan bunch. A few knew about the Saturday Anime on their local cable Sci-Fi channel. A few others recalled other things ('Lensman'(big surprise there), 'Astro Boy'(yack-gag), etc). Some clown insisted 'The Jetsons' was Anime and another thought the whole discussion was immoral because Anime was just 'dirty' cartoons from Japan. (Fortunately, she was set straight by the few Anime fans in the crowd or I could have been in a lot of hot water, morality-wise).

By now, most of the crowd figured out we weren't going to talk about loud stereos and wandered off to play their stereos loudly. What was left, about two dozen Americans, five Japanese (still arguing the Ranma ending) and one crazy otaku sitting in the middle enjoying the hell out of what he had done. Miyagi tried to explain the Ranma story line to the American kids but was having a bit of trouble. You have to understand, while I thought his English was pretty good, I got the feeling he would have trouble explaining the contents of a salt shaker (he was going to be a lawyer, after all) [By the way, he told everyone he was going to become a lawyer so he could move to America and sue someone. He never did figure out why no one laughed.]

Somehow, between the two of us, we conveyed the essentials of the Ranma ½ world and instantly had a bunch of converts. (Wait till they rent the video and have to explain to their parents all the naked people. Hehehe. :-). )

It was close to 9:30 before we started talking about something I thought was really important; manga vs. TV vs. movies. Mika made a strong case for the manga; after all, it was the only thing actually written by Rumiko herself. Miyagi, demonstrating why he will become a dandy lawyer, noted that the TV and movies all clearly state that they were "based on" the manga characters and, therefore, shouldn't be taken as seriously as the manga itself. The general agreement was that the manga was the gospel according to Rumiko Takahashi; the TV was done only for laughs; and the movies were done only for the money. Actually, they went further and compared the Ranma movies to our Star Trek movies (Boy! Did I have to duck and cover on that one as I am *not* a Trekkie.); visually nice but hardly within the story time line set down by the original writer.

We spent most of the rest of the evening talking Ranma and Anime in general. We shared our favorite episodes and stories; told which characters we liked best, and generally socialized in ways we never would have without Anime. Between their English and my apalling Japanese, we were quite able to carry on a reasonable conversation. One caveat came out of this discussion about manga. They doubted that the English translations would be able to catch all the subtle 'inside' jokes that Rumiko is famous for. It was described to me as being like a Tokyo 'subway ' joke that would be great in Tokyo but leave everyone else blinking in incomprehension. Anyhow, when we Americans look to the manga for guidance, we should be very careful about taking too literally the translated versions.

By the way, I was told there really is a person named 'Akane' attending Nihon University and a member of the martial arts club to boot. I enquired about other Ranma character names and was told that 'Akane' was all anyone had ever heard of and besides, the character names are all inside jokes or play on word names strictly done for laughs. No parent in their right mind would name a child 'Ranma' or 'Ryouga' or even 'Nabiki' (yuck! They all agreed.). [Another side note: every time I used the name: 'Nabiki' the girls would start giggling again. Obviously, there's more to this name in Japanese than we imagined.]

Yes, there is a fanfiction network in Japan but most of it is too hentai to be of general interest. The Internet is found mostly through Ministry of Education facilities (colleges, high schools, etc.) and is *very* monitored and regulated. What we do here wouldn't even be attempted in Japan. Non-government Internet connections are rare and *very* expensive. However, companies can get some kind of government tax break for their Internet connections, so personal connection to the Internet through the company has become one of the newest corporate "fringe" benefits.

Just a couple of final notes. On Sunday, my daughter decided it would be funny to let everyone (including the Japanese) know that my birthday was Monday. Monday morning, I was waiting at the dorm front door for the kids. The Japanese, led by Mika and Miyagi, each bowed as they passed and said: "Ohayo, ojiisan" (Good morning, grandpa). Every American kid that followed (had to have been over 200 - about a third of the total camp) each repeated the greeting, bowing as they went. My daughter was the last out carrying a birthday card made from poster board that everyone in my group (plus a few others) had signed. (Kinda got me, right here. [sniff]).

Finally, I sent Mika home with some of the fanfiction I have collected over the last few months (nothing lemon, just the really good stories I personally liked). As I recall, it included the seasons series by Joseph Palmer and some of more rowdy and funny works by various authors that I had in my folder. I don't know if she will ever get around to translating any of them, but if any of you get some strange Email from Japan, you'll at least know why. (However, if you get sued by Miyagi, remember: I don't know a thing.)

Actually, the whole experience was better than an Anime Convention. I got to practice my Japanese and got to talk Anime and manga with Japanese kids who have experienced it first hand (instead of sliced, diced, and Americanized). To top it off, I've got some new pen-pals (or Email pals if they ever get authorization).

Like I said; an opportunity not to be missed.