At 09:41 AM 10/19/97 -0500, Travis Butler wrote:

On 10/18/97 1:04 PM, David Lerman at mdlerma2@gsbpop.uchicago.edu wrote:

At 03:40 AM 10/19/97 +1000, Mark Doherty wrote:

At 09:31 AM 18/10/97 -0500, The Eternal Lost Lurker wrote:

	"Ranko, who are these people?" Ami asked.
	Ranma smirked. "They're an annoyance."

To use the old cliche, "What, is it that time of month?"

This really, really rang false to me. I gritted my teeth when I read it,
it reminded me of UY:TSY, a series I loathe because of the smirky "they're
all pricks, and I'm not" attitude. This wasn't THAT bad, but it really,
really felt similar. That one group-hospital scene destroys the entire

series

for me. But there you go. Just my opinion.

I dunno. His line struck me as off... it was somewhat OOC for Ranma, but 
OTOH, the horde *deserved* something like that. Their antics are 
inexcusable but funny in relatively harmless areas... but in a hospital 
they're unforgivable, and the message needed to be delivered in no 
uncertain terms.

  Certainly, the horde deserved it, but that's a normal occurrence in
Ranma.  But why does Ranma speak up this time?  There is nothing to explain
the differences in Ranma's reaction at this time.  Has Ranma ever publicly
told off Akane or Ukyo?  

 This scene also rang false for me for similar reasons and there is
nothing in the story, so far, that would explain the change in Ranma's
behavior.  I also found Kuno's sudden caution towards the Sailor Senshi not
believable.  Faced with four attractive young women in short skirts,  I
think it more likely that Kuno would add them to his fantasy harem, "Sailor
Mars, I would date with thee".  If anything, their powers and reputation
would make them more attractive to him.  

Possibly. OTOH... there has to be a line *somewhere*, even for Kuno. 
Legendary Sailor Senshi would probably fall on the other side of that 
line, though I don't think he'd express himself so eloquently about it. A 
more probable reaction, IMHO, would be a little voice in his head saying 
that this just might *not* be the right time to push.

  Again, the problem is that Kuno's reaction doesn't seem to follow
naturally from the story. 

  The mood of "Nibun no Senshi Sailormoon" in previous chapters had been
comic, even slightly absurdist, but now, suddenly, there is a shift in
tone.  Sometimes, a sudden change in tone can work as a dramatic device,
but here it doesn't seem to work. 


 dml