At 03:00 PM 1/11/99 GMT, Gary Kleppe wrote:

Nicholas Leifker <nightelf@thekeep.org> wrote:

The multiple-fiancee thing is canon - in the anime.  If I count correctly,
there are at least four Genma-made engagements shown in the anime - two in
the Kaori episode alone - with more implied.  

Hate to break it to you, but most people don't have the combination of
time, money, resources, and education to get and use all 38 tanks.  To
them, the anime IS canon, and the characterizations formed by such should
at least be respected.  That might be depressing to you, but it's the

truth.  

Depressing? No. I happen to *prefer* the manga as a much more consistent
source, but if people insist on using the anime, that's up to them.

Okay, so if this is anime continuity, we're up to four instances. Still
not the hordes and hordes that you sometimes see in fanfic, and it was
only really a "pattern" as a joke at the end of one episode, but yes,
it's more than two.

Now, Deedo can use whatever characterizations she wants. But it's
legitimate for me as a reader to ask whether the ones she's chosen work
in the story. In this case, I thought it didn't; it wasn't funny to me
because I'd seen it too many times before in fanfics.

Maybe you felt differently. Maybe you were rolling on the floor during
that scene. If so, you have a perfect right to say so. But kindly don't
try to tell me what I can and can't say.

Gary?

To quote:

As for the story, frankly, it didn't really grab me. It wasn't that
funny, and it was extremely heavy with fanfic cliches. Like the idea
that Genma arranged hundreds of fiancees for Ranma as a child. Read
the manga. He actually only did that TWICE -- and the second time, it
was Ukyo's father's idea; Genma had to be talked into it.

As demonstrated in earlier posts, the multiple fiancees thing is more than
a 'fanfic cliche'.  As such, I called you on it, in much the same way you
called on her mistakes.  It's one thing to call something overused; it's
another to imply that something has no backing in continuity.  I can't
challenge your 'overused' argument, nor do I care to.  For one, I agree
with it to an extent; for another, it is a matter of pure opinion.  The
lack of backing, on the other hand, was another matter entirely.

BTW, Deedo, no, I didn't comment on your story; rather, I commented on his
critique to your story.  I hope to do that in private e-mail later tonight.  

Gary

-- Nick