Ahem. I'm posting this to both lists, so perhaps a separate intro to each
of them would make sense.
To the Urusei Yatsura list:
Remember that holy war we had a month ago? Well, feeling guilty for having
written the post that started it all, I decide to write to Fred, telling him
what we'd been discussing in his absence. His reply follows. Apologies
for dragging this up *again*.
To the Fanfic list:
Mike Smith and Fred Herriot are the writers of the "Classic Urusei Yatsura"
series of fanfics. They have become rather controversial, especially on the
UY list. Both authors being currently offline, I wrote a letter to Fred
detailing the controversy. His reply follows. The reason I post it here is
I think it's an intriguing look into the writing of a series, what part C&C
plays in that, and frustration when none is forthcoming. Misa-chan and Zen
are on the list, but I don't know if the rest of you are.
Keep in mind that Fred's reaction to what happened are based solely on *my*
interpretation of events, which is (of course) different from others. If you
want to scream at someone, therefore, gaffney@iconn.net is the place to write.
Here's my letter that I write to Fred:
Sean Gaffney
877 Marion
Road
Cheshire, CT
06410
Dear Fred:
Recently, Classic Urusei Yatsura #29 arrived on the net. The guy who
posted
it said that we would have to write you in order to share comments. Actually,
this
might have been a bad idea, as there has been a bit of a holy war on the UY
mailing
list about your stories, which I'm afraid I started.
In early September, I had been rereading your series, and I posted a
fairly
long analysis, where I pointed out that despite being extremely well-written,
they
might not be the best stories for a gung ho UY fan to read. I was rather
surprised
to find that most of the people on the list not only agreed with me, but
actually
hated the aforementioned stories.
I thought I would send along my reasons why this is and isn't a good
series
for fans, and then mention some of what other people thought.
Problems:
1) The style appears to be a major stumbling block for a lot of
people.
There are several "anime conventions" which pop up all over the series, i.e.
sneezes,
fainting, explosions, "I'm in orbit!", etc. Several people have stated that
this
is annoying to them, as these don't occur as often in the series. I have no
problem
with it (and will Ryouga's son make cameos in UY 20YL looking for the Kunou
mansion?).
2) Characterization variances and memory. This is a good point,
actually.
Several of the characters, notably Shinobu and Sakura, but all of them to some
degree, go through temporary character revelations. In other words, they wise
up
and start to think differently for the purposes of that story, but in the next
one
they are back to their usual thickheaded selves. This doesn't always happen
(Jariten's development has been excellent), but it gets annoying when you
think
that there will be a change in attitude and then in the next story they're
still
just as stupid. Sakura lost a lot of the characterization from "Class
Reunion"
and Shinobu...well, I'll get to Shinobu later.
The other thing is that characters seem to remember things only when
it
suits them. In one of the stories, the girls are shown the future by Inaba.
They seem to remember and accept it, but carry on for the most part as if
they're
still in total ignorance. Also, they've met and interacted with Ringo before,
but don't remember him in the new story (he stole their underwear, fer
cry-yi-yi!)
3) Shinobu. Big problem here. Shinobu is perhaps the most popular UY
character after Lum. You've treated her like shit. In only two stories have
we
seen a glimmer of the Shinobu we love from the series. In addition, she's the
only one you haven't paired off, which is awkward. She isn't becoming the
Ukyou
of this fanfic, is she? What Price for Love? gave her some excellent scenes,
but she reverted (as above) to a hyper-tempered bitch afterwards. My Darlings
United was a little better. I know things eventually work out, but perhaps
she
can grow up a little sooner, hmmm?
4) Mendou. I've told Mendou fans to give up. Sorry.
5) Your future. According to "Together the Outland", the only ones
still
around are Ataru, Lum, Nassur, Benten, Oyuki, and Koosei. In the
flashforward,
Lum mentions that she doesn't even miss the others. What happened?!? She
lived
a good 20-40 years with them! Surely there'd be a little bit of affection!
And
if not, then you're alienating a *whole* lot of people. You've already burned
a
lot of bridged by intimating that Mendou dies in UY 20YL.
Problems others have (some are silly):
1) Ataru. There are a lot of people who hate your characterization.
I
don't know. Ataru had been showing a lot of the background you've given him
(ninja
family, etc.) in the series. Plus, I had problems with the TV Ataru anyway,
so
seeing him grow up is fine in my book. His treatment of Lum earned you
enemies,
though. I've recommended they start after #17 for comparison of Atarus.
2) This is my favorite. One guy wrote saying he hated your stories
because
you spelled Ran with an L. I responded, "Dear sir: go to your spellchecker.
Replace Lan with Ran. Read the story. Problem solved."
3) Lesbianism and sex. Several people think you have introduced your
lesbian characters (and there are a lot of them, aren't they?) as "hit the
reader
over the head" moralizing. For the most part, I disagree. The character of
Nokoko is very well-written, and the others are OK. The only part of your
work
I thought was over the top was Part 1 of "Asuka's Choice", which was basically
a
long lecture. If you ever decide to rewrite, there's the place to start. But
otherwise, I don't really see a problem. Even making Shinobu and Asuka bi,
daring as that is, was explained adequately in your stories.
4) The title. Admittedly, this was probably a mistake. Classic just
has a connotation. Several people said that they wouldn't have been as
offended
if your series hadn't proclaimed itself "classic". They say that your series
is
as far from the original UY as it is possible to get. I see lots of the
original
in your writing, but I see their point. Ah well.
I did mention your devious, more-complex-than-Babylon-5 plot as a big
bonus, and some agreed. Overall, though, a good 3/4 of the list were against
your stories. Eeep. I don't mention this to depress you, and I'm sure others
may have mentioned it. I think the series is going very well, and especially
enjoyed the "peek into the future" of #29. And your relationship with Ataru
and
Lum has matured very nicely.
But, you're taking a break now, as is Mike. (The letter is to you
because
you've written a good 3/4 of the stories). Good luck with your original
fiction,
and I hope we see some more CUY sometime early next year, maybe? If you ever
get
online again, I'm gaffney@iconn.net.
Sincerely,
Sean Gaffney
And this was Fred's response:
Dear Sean:
I just got your letter today. Thanks for writing me. Glad to see
that you
got story #29. I'm still waiting for Patrick Vera to write me and confirm
that the
story was transmitted out. However, to say that the contents of your letter
did
not particularly thrill me is a bit of an understatement. I'm half-upset and
half-
glad: upset that you launched this little tirade on the UY mailing list and
glad
that you did because it gives me a better idea of what people are after.
Personally, when you sit down and think about it, you cannot make a
perfect
fanfic story. Every person takes to it quite differently beccause each person
naturally has a different viewpoint as to how a series like UY should come to
an
end. Blame Takahashi-sensei for leaving it so up in the air post-"The Final
Chapter". I suppose Mike and I knew when we got into this that we couldn't
please
everyone, nor should we try. However, the fact that a lot of people were
upset
with points in the series and did not mention it to me directly while I was
transmitting the stories on the Net really ticks me off. I prefer that if
people
have a problem, they come to me directly and state what they think is wrong so
that
I can defend myself then and there and try to work out some solution. I did
it
with Dorrie (Shinobu) A.; "What Price for Love?" was the result. I could have
easily done it for others. That people chose to wait until I was sans a Net
connection makes me wonder if Mike and I should not halt the series right now.
Lord knows, I'm sorely tempted!
Whew! Sorry about that, but the fact that people kept their comments
to
themselves and not coming to me about it just galls me in no uncertain terms.
People had loads of chances when I was still in Canada and could be reached
quite
quickly; I was at Brock University a minimum of three times a week, and some
weeks,
there every day! I prefer up forward honesty; it makes me feel that I'm part
of
something, that I can contribute and others can contribute back to me. That
people choose to hold things from me doesn't do much for my faith in anime
fandom.
None the less, I could expect that people would be ticked off with the way our
series is going. Anyone who sets pen to paper or fingers to computer keys in
writing a fanfic story who believes theirs is the perfect story is deluding
themselves.
Gyaa, I'm still upset! Sorry again. I'll try to explain our reasons
for
doing what we did, so as to make the matter clearer. If you wish, re-type
this
and transmit it on the Net; there's no way I'm not going to let people get
away
with assuming things and think that they can make total hash of something Mike
and
I poured a lot of effort, heart, and feeling into, then believe we won't
defend
ourselves. We spent FOUR YEARS working on this series. This is not to put
the
onus on you, Sean; I appreciate you and respect you all the more for making
criticisms and bringing up questions about what we wrote about. That others
had
problems and kept it to themselves until I was away from the Net just nags at
me.
How would you like it if people started talking about you or things you're
working on behind your back?
Anyhow, here are my comments:
1) Anime conventions. Unfortunately, this arose from the different
writing
styles Mike and I possess. As you will notice, Mike is more capable of the
slapstick style humour Takahashi-sensei trademarked in UY. I am not. I like
stories which get to the meat of a character's persona, the who, what, where,
when, and why of each person. However, UY is a comedy, so I do try to make an
effort to keep it as lighthearted as possible. Believe me, the seriousness of
the
subject matter is going to pick up a few degrees in the next few stories, as
we
delve into the past of Dakejinzou Shogai and Nassur, then into the Sagussan
saga
which winds up our series. That we throw in a few sneezing fits, fainting
spells,
explosions and the "I'm in orbit" routine just breaks the tension. Isn't that
what comedy is supposed to be about?
2) Character variances. I'm surprised people complained about this.
You'd
figure that after 200 TV episodes, Ataru would finally learn to stop chasing
girls
who desired no interest in him. There were times when he did wise up for an
episode, then was back at it in the next episode. Ditto with everyone else,
especially Mendou and the guards and their reverence towards Lum. The basic
UY
conflict, I feel, is the clash of change versus stability. Our series handles
more
changes in 40+ stories than in all the television stories...and they are
shocking
changes at that! That people would feel comfortable in reverting to normal
patterns of behaviour is all the more understandable; it's a natural emotional
defense against the unknown.
Our series, after all, is about growing up, realizing that one person,
be
it Lum, Ataru, or any of the others, is not the centre of the universe; that
there
is a big, wide and unforgiving world out there. If I may refer you to
"Nagaiwakai's
Lesson" Part 3, Tomobiki suffers from a version of the Brigadoon syndrome,
which
means that as long as everyone remains within range of Lum, they won't have to
grow
up. Lum's pending departure from Tomobiki after two years there is going to
affect
a lot of people. They naturally are going to feel apprehensive about Lum
leaving
them supposedly forever...and this does not differ if the person is like
Mendou,
or Cherry, or Sakura, or Shinobu. Lum's presence has affected *everyone*, so
naturally her departure is going to affect everyone. Trying to keep things
the
same is just one way people use to protect themselves psychologically from
change
as I stated before. What Mike and I are going to do in the *Endings and
Beginnings*
block of stories ("Dakejinzou's Story", "Nassur's Story", "Be Forever Nassur"
and
"Stage Zero"; stories #34-37 as it stands now) is make everyone confront a
situation
where they just can't hide anymore, that they'll have to face reality. Then,
there'll be some real growing up among a lot of the cast.
As for the supposed lack of memory concerning Sagussa, there is none.
Only
Shinobu has seen Noa-chan in person up to "The End of the Circle". The others
(Sakura, Ryuunosuke, et al) know about what is coming for Ataru, but because
they
can't affect it, they choose not to consider it a problem. I am currently on
my
spare time working on story #32, "Noa", which brings Noa-chan into realspace
for
the first time. Hopefully then, I'll be able to elaborate on how people look
upon
the intermixing of Ataru and Sagussa.
And as for Alex MacIntosh, let me remind you that in "Spirit-War
Tomobiki",
no one got the chance to get a catch on his name; given the hell the *saikoo
jinseijitsu* was unleashing at the time, it's quite easy to forget minor
things.
Besides, while I don't remember the exact lines, I don't think Sakura,
Shinobu, et
al ever heard his name and barely got a clue as to his nickname. Please
correct
me if I'm wrong.
3) Shinobu. Lord, I sometimes think I'll never get away from this
problem.
Anyhow, here goes: Mike and I have somewhat divided the characters between
ourselves, concentrating on the characters we want to deal with. Shinobu,
simply
put, fell into Mike's court. Mike does not wish for Shinobu to learn of
Nassur's
marriage to Benten until "Nassur's Story". Full stop, end statement, no
arguments.
I've respected that although it has put a crimp on Shinobu's own character
development. I've prodded her in some directions in several stories ("What
Price
for Love?" and "My Darlings United" being two), but until Mike sets hands to
keyboard and produces "Nassur's Story", Shinobu will unfortunately stay in a
bit
of a limbo. I will be more than happy to do her growing-up story; it'll be
"Stage Zero". However, be warned; Shinobu is not going to have fun doing it.
4) Mendou. There are actually Mendou fans out there? Forgive me, but
such
seemed so unlikely; the way I look at him, there's *NO* redeeming qualities to
the character whatsoever. The Bodyguards, at least, had some good qualities
to
them, which allowed me to write "The Bodyguards' Denouement". Further, the
growing-up stage for Mendou will be set sometime after our current series
ends.
You'll see the results of that in my first part of UY20YL. As for his
impending
demise, believe me, there's a reason behind it; it also has a lot to do with
Shinobu's development, not to mention Asuka's and a couple of characters from
our Double Zeta UY series (Mendou and Shinobu's son Kooge and daughter
Airashii).
You'll just have to wait and see what this will be.
5) The future. I think you missed a line in "Together the Outland". The
flashforward in Lum's dream occurs *Seventy-Two* years after the time of our
fanfic series. Since Ataru and Lum both possess Sagussan 800-year lifespans
by
this time, Oyuki will live a millenium, and Koosei, Nassur and Benten will
live
500 years, naturally they'll be the only ones left! When I get around to
rewriting and editing these stories, I'll add Shinobu to that list, too, for
reasons I hinted at above.
And as for Lum living in Tomobiki and how she would feel about it, let
this timeline explain it to you:
1981-1984 Lum is a student of Tomobiki HS.
1984-1991 Lum is a university student at Sendai Teacher's
College, now living in Oshika with Ataru.
1991-2002 Lum lives in Tomobiki, working as a cultural advisor
and teacher at Tomobiki HS.
2002-2007 Lum lives on Sagussa helping Ataru overcome a crisis
among the *daishi'cha*.
2007-2017 Lum lives in Tomobiki, working as a cultural advisor
and teacher at Tomobiki HS.
2017-> Lum lives in semi-retirement on Sagussa.
So in the end run, Lum only stays for a total of twenty-four years in
Tomobiki.
Since the dream sequence is set around 2055, thirty-eight years after moving
to
Sagussa full-time, she's naturally going to look upon her first three years in
Tomobiki with some trepidation. Hindsight does a hell of a lot towards making
people look at things in a new light. Further, the *daishi'cha* do NOT like
anyone from Tomobiki ("Noa" will explain why). Naturally, those attitudes are
going to rub off on Lum as the years progress on.
6) Ataru. As I once explained to Dorrie, I'm very sympathetic to Ataru.
The fact that he's had so much shit heaped on him over the past two years is
going to make his reaction towards everyone, Lum included, quite vile. I'm
glad
that you took the same attitude that I did when it came to Ataru in the TV
series.
As for his treatment of Lum, I'll try to explain it as best I can.
First of all, Ataru suffers from a quasi-split personality and the
incursion of the *saikoo jinseijitsu* into his subconscious. After all the
zappings, burnings, hits et al from everyone else, where would you expect his
negative feelings to go but to the Cyborg and the *saikoo jinseijitsu*, both
which would serve as emotional fuel for them to press their own ends. After
he
was tortured on Icarus in "Enter Space-Hybrid Hazel", he felt truly vulnerable
for
the first time. Being around Lum could literally kill him...and this is the
person he's supposed to marry?! So naturally, he was antagonistic towards
Lum,
even during the times the *saikoo jinseijitsu* was not working its influence
on
him. Lum was caught in the wrong place at the wrong time during the Tiger
Saga.
As for the post-Tiger Sage stories, I believe I explained it somewhat
in
"Ataru's First Girlfriend! Arrive Windy-chan!" Part 4. Ataru's move to
Oshika
was very shocking to Lum. After all, as far as she was concerned, he was
abandoning all his "family" and "friends" for some strange location she had no
knowledge of. Further, Ataru did his best to ensure the Tomobiki gang could
not
come after him, which meant that Lum had NOBODY to help her keep an eye on
him.
Being in Oshika made her truly vulnerable for the first time, so she balked at
any attempt by Ataru to get her to move out of Tomobiki. Their resistance to
each other naturally came to blows in "AFG-AWC", with the result being their
choice to live apart until the time they graduate, which will come in story
#33,
"Mie's Story". Besides, I felt that it was time for Lum to get some of what
she dished out to Ataru over the TV series, the movies, the OVAs and the first
five stories of our series.
7) Gender preference and the characters. I am a fan of the works of
several
lesbian writers, namely Jean Stewart (her "Warriors of Isis" can be found at
any
Media Play store). In fact, the situations Jean created in her writing served
as an inspiration for many of the events in "Together the Outland", namely the
handfasting between Nokoko and Mal and the Nendo-kata's natural parthinogenic
reproductive abilities. I apologize for "Asuka's Choice" Part 1, however.
That
was writen to appease my mother (who is also my editor), who had spent the
night
lecturing to me about current sexual mores and where they originated. As for
how
Shinobu and Asuka will turn out, let me explain.
Asuka, as I spent a lot of "Asuka's Choice" working over, is a woman
who
has yet to even discover what she is. She's been sociologically programmed to
be the obedient housewife in her years at the convent. So, when she's able to
overcome her fear of men and look at things with a rational line of thought,
she
would naturally realize that she is just being used by parents who don't know
any
other way of making peace with their rivals. For anyone, even Asuka, that
would
be quite galling, so she would naturally rebel...and Osooko was literally in
the
right place at the right time.
As for Shinobu, given that she's struck out with every person she's
gone
after (Ataru because of Lum, Mendou because of Asuka, Inaba due to his place
of
work, Nassur because of Benten, and [to a lesser extent], Kaeru because of
Naromo), she will naturally gravitiate towards people who do show genuine
friendship towards her, even if they are of the same gender. This will have
an
enormous impact when Shinobu undergoes the events in "Nassur's Story"-"Be
Forever
Nassur"-"Stage Zero", not to mention UY20YL and ZZUY. But to explain more
will
spoil the surprise.
8) The title. Here is something, now that I think about it, which I find
myself agreeing on. Mike and I coined the term *Classic UY* because we are
using
the characters from the "classic" series (Lum, Ataru, et al). It was inspired
by
the fact that people call the 1966-1969 'Star Trek' series *Classic Star
Trek*.
After all, we have sequel series planned for this. However, it is obvious by
now
that the title does not serve the proper purpose of our series. Perhaps
*Urusei
Yatsura: The Senior Year*? It is set while everyone is in their final year of
high school. Please put this proposal to everyone on the Net and see what
they
think about it.
9) My devious, more-complex-than-Babylon-5 plot?! What do you mean?!
Whew! Enough said on that! Actually, now I feel much better. Sorry
if
I came on too strong at the beginning, but I wanted to get some resentment out
of my chest. So, to act as a calming effect, here's the news:
1) Mike is currently working on his "Geisha and the Gaijin" series. He
completed UY story #30, "Onsen Gets the Girl", sometime after I came to Korea.
He has two ideas for story #31, "Shinobu's Story", one of which I put my vote
in for. I'm still awaiting a reply from my last letter to him. the reason,
if
you want to know, that I defer to Mike is because he is the one who introduced
me to UY and set the basic tone for our fanfic series, not to mention UY20YL
and to a lesser extent ZZUY. Hence, he's the captain of the ship, not me.
I'll
send him a photocopy of your letter to garnish his reaction.
2) I'm currently working on "Major Raeburn", which I hope to publish in
the next couple of years. Coming to Korea has given me the mental impedus to
sit down and write it, I have to say. I'm also working on "Noa". I have also
completed a Gall Force fanfic story, "The Day After". I will send it to
Patrick
as soon as I can. I am working on a Patlabor fanfic, "Griffon Times Three".
I
also have a Cityhunter fanfic story in mind, tentatively called "Grand
Finale".
This all, of course, must defer to my teaching, so the stories will come out
at
a far slower rate than the first 28 stories of CUY, when I had nothing very
much to do.
Well, I've now talked myself silly, so I'll cut this short. Thanks
again for the letter; mail is more than appreciated when I don't have a Net
site
and won't get one for some time, if not for the next year or so. Bills to pay
and all that. By all means, feel free to copy this letter and transmit it
over
the net; I don't mind if others get burned up since they really burned me up.
And I better stop before I stick my foot into my mouth...:-)
Yours sincerely,
Frederick Herriot
So: 1) what do y'all think of UY: The Senior Year as a replacemet title?
2) WRITE FRED! Tell him what you think! Here's the address:
Fred Herriot
c/o Tuson Foreign Language Institute
48-15 Myongil-dong, Kangdong-gu
Seoul 134-072, KOREA
And if you want to write Mike, it's:
Mike Smith
Read Road, R.R. #5
Niagara-on-the-Lake
Ontario L0S 1J0 CANADA
3) I'm gonna write Fred again in a few days, letting him know of any
responses, and asking permission to write a story using Reigi.
Anyway, there ya go!
--Sean Gaffney
--this is gonna turn the UY list into a digest, innit?