There is only one thing that I found disturbing. Mousse has a bit too

much

back-bone in his encounter with Shampoo on the roof. The rest was good...
but that part... bothered me somehow. It didn't feel right.

I would expect him to be more... I don't know... stunned at her words

than

anything else. His ability to direct anger at her for more than a few
seconds just isn't like Mousse. (IMHO) He was certainly stunned when

trying

to digest it all while discussing it with Ukyou.

Well....  isn't this more in keeping with Mr. Mackinnon's take on Mousse?
He's maturing more.  Take the early anime/manga version, Mousse would

never

have (IMO) broken off an engagement to Shampoo.  In v38 though, he did
mention something about not using the egg to make Shampoo love him.
Something about fake love?  Anyway, like I said, he's matured a bit more.

I agree with you on the fake love thing. In fact, anytime Mousse tried to
gain her affection, he NEVER resorted to that kind of trickery. But that
wasn't the point I was trying to make. Even in the OVAs that take place
later on in the series, Mousse is a simp, plain and simple.

Okay, I think I'm seeing that point a bit clearer now.  Feel free to break
out the mallet if I start straying.

Of course, I haven't seen how Mousse is after the Saffron affair... maybe
he's grown up some there.

Well, in v38, there seems to be only a short scene with Mousse after the
Saffron affair (as you put it).  And I can't claim this to be perfectly true
since I don't have a full copy of v38 on hand (yet, c'mon!  ship it
already!).  But, from what I've read in a few translations, he isn't --as--
pathetic as we've seen him once Shampoo says she understands how Mousse
feels and she'll try to get over Ranma.  (not quite sure on that last bit,
but it's how I understood it.  Care to correct it?)  So, I think we see a
bit of advancement there.

As for the demon invasion, he was more or less the least affected, his
development of a backbone seems a *bit* too abrupt.

In the manga, Mousse shows the odd flash of resolve... which melts almost
at once when it comes to Shampoo. I find it hard to believe that he would
stand up to her so... *easily* all of a sudden.

Look at what he's seen happen:  Kodachi killed.  One of the most powerful
martial artists in the world crippled.  I think he's been --forced-- into
this.  He's finally had his illusion of Shampoo loving him slightly cracked.
Which is/was one of his only reasons for continuing to stay in Japan.  (I
like to think that his new friendships count for something)  I can see him
tightning down his resolve.  True, maybe not to this high of a degree, but
it can happen.  And I don't think that this is at all easy for him to do.
Remember his consideration for Shampoo when he was going to meet her or when
he first allowed Xi Fan to dissolve the engagement.

BTW, what's the timeframe between "Heart's" and "Doors?"  I don't
remember....

Reiko is a mysterious new character who's agenda is unknown... although

she

isn't above having fun. I enjoyed there scene where she made Ukyou

jealous.

<evil grin>

C'mon guys!  Wake up and smell the coffee!  You like each other!  (this
should make Ukyou/Ryouga pairing fans happy...)

Uh... I hate to say this, but this *seems* to be leaning more towards a
Ukyou/Mousse pairing. Having Ryouga and Ukyou living under the same roof
will make such a development between Ukyou and Mousse that much more
interesting... especially if Ryouga, wishy-washy as he is when it comes to
girls, gets stuck between visions of Ukyou in that dancing dress and Reiko
flirting with him so outrageously.

Oh yes... that little triangle (square) could be lots of fun. I'm not
saying that Ryouga and Reiko will end up together... just that she'll keep
Ryouga very confused. He won't know *who* to court. ^_~

Ukyou/Mousse?  Then why the sudden bouts of jealousy between the two?  I can
see Mousse beginning to fall for Ukyou since she is paying attention to him
and listening to his problems.  Isn't that the Florence Nightingale affect?
Ukyou is just being her normal, caring self.

Unfortunately, you're right.  Ryouga IS wishy-washy.  Oi.  But this is
something we've seen before with him.  Akane or Akari?  This time, it's
Ukyou or Reiko.

I suspect that the "inner circle" will eventually include her... although
the others will be VERY wary of her since they don't know anything about
her. Keeping her mysterious ought to be fun. As she said herself, she

wants

no part of all this trouble.

Won't it have to?  She knows a LOT of magic.  (or so I am led to believe.)
If she reveals herself to Kuno as who she is, then hopefully, at the very
least, she'll reinforce the wards surrounding the compound.

She may be willing to reinforce the wards anyway. That doesn't give her a
free  pass into the inner circle though. Kunou is VERY protective of his
duty. For someone like Kunou, having such a job is very ego inflating. I
suspect that one of the reasons he doesn't want to share is for personal
gratification. On the other hand... he's trying to fight off personal
madness... so now that one person has joined his little disaster, it may be
easier to introduce another.

Wasn't the priest a part of the 'Circle?  And therefore, by inheritance,
that position would fall to her.  If that's not the path this is going to
follow, by dealing with Kuno, she has to deal with Nabiki.  And even though
Nabiki isn't fluent in the supernatural as everyone else seems to be, she's
very good at putting two and two together and managing to find a way to get
people to do what she wants.  Meaning (as I see it), Reiko will reinforce
the wards.  This is just how I see it happening, at any rate since it's been
pointed out that she just wants a peek and then to get out.


-Tom
....  I think it's time for me to go back and read through every volume....