H. Bernard Walker wrote:
<Delurk>
Good. The list can never have too many people actively participating.
Interesting comments below, I just felt I had to bu^H^Hchime in...
At 11:56 AM 2/8/2000 +0100, you wrote:
Well, negative though my comments below might sound, I still enjoy
this series.
One general problem that I want to point out that I have
with it is that it often feels perhaps a bit too expository in the
way it presents aspects of alien culture and whatnot. Snore snore.
I want to experience a story, not read a fact blurb about some race
or costum or whatnot. (no, I'm not much for hard SF, how'd you
guess? ^_^)
Well, I grew up on Asimov, so I didn't really notice, but you do have a
point there. I just chalked it up to 'texture' for the story.
Yep. It's pretty much the style intended for the story. Curiously, I've
never been terribly interested in Asimov, though I've only read the
original Foundation trilogy by him. Generally I go for much lighter SF
fare.
This insistance at taking her share - and particularly the serious
way in which it is presented, felt un-Mihoshi enough for me to comment
on it even though I hadn't been planning to C&C this in the first place.
Well, this is supposed to be OVA Mihoshi, who has been
semi-consistently(biggest exception is the Mihoshi "Washuu can't use a gas
grill... uh-HUH" special) portrayed as gung-ho in her own way. In a
situation like this, I can believe that she would decide to share the load
with Tenchi and insist on pulling her own weight. Bullheadedness is one
of the ways she gets into trouble, after all...
I attribute it more to well-meaning screwups than anything else, myself.
"It was bigger than anything I ever had before. I was so proud of
myself. I
managed to swallow the whole nine inches on the first try."
Not to be rude, but really, this innuendo feels just too *CRUDE* to
be at all amusing. Yes, it offends me; not because of vulgarity, with
which I have no problem, but because it feels like an insult to my
intellect that I'm supposed to find this funny - it's on a level much
lower than the rest of the fic. (for comparison, I *did* grin at, for
example, the bit on the speeder bike)
I guess the humor here was a matter of "yeah, it's a double entendre, but
they aren't going to go over the.... oh wait, we PASSED the line 60 miles
ago" humor.
Ya' got that right. ^_^
YMMV, to coin a cliche.
YMMV? Not familiar with that one.
"I suppose that was around the time her performance rating started to
drop.
In the beginning, she was a fine officer, though I had only encountered
her
at a handful of award ceremonies. I heard odd stories about her in the
I have to note that the (cliche) idea of Mihoshi *really* having been
good
once but later turned into the clumsy naive self we know is one I don't
care much for. IMO, she's always been the way that it is, and her very
special brand of competence gives good results, but in ways that causes
most people to complain and talk behind her back.
Well, that could give a person screaming flashbacks to such creative works
as "Hong Kong Phooey" and "Inspector Gadget," so you're cliche either way
if you don't put some english on the concept.
I think Ronny means there have been a number of TM! fics that portray
Mihoshi as having been a highly competent officer before some unnamed
trauma sent her into this downward spiral of ineptitude. Personally, I lean
more towards a middle ground in that she was mostly the way we know her but
didn't screw up as much, but since then something has affected her enough
to the point of where she is now, and is generally avoided or looked at
with dread by the rest of the GP.
And ooh. That Hong Kong Phooey comparison works horribly well when compared
to Mihoshi in some ways. ^_^
For example, I'm getting the impression that Mihoshi may have been
disturbingly casual about procedure and normal logic since the beginning,
but the 'breakdown' only started when she developed her tendency to PANIC
when things go wrong. Possibly a pattern like: Mihoshi screws up ->
Mihoshi vows not to do that again
->Mihoshi has unescapable feeling things are going irreparably wrong ->
Mihoshi panics -> Mihoshi screws up ->Lather, rinse, repeat.
Heh. It's another interesting viewpoint.
I don't know whether this matches your view of Mihoshi, Sommer's view, or
anything sane, but it does reconcile OVA characterization and backstory
for
Mihoshi. But again, YMMV.
One of the things about the Tenchi universe, especially the OVAs, is a lack
of definitive material on background, especially Mihoshi's; all we get are
hints. There's a lot of possibilities to work with in the limited amount of
information given. Just about anything can fit, though my own preference is
for her to have been mostly like she is now, except for not fouling up
quite as often or as large.
But that's just me.
"I was surprised by my composure. There was no fear anymore, just a calm
feeling of control. I reacted just like a professional I was. I made it
look like a mugging that went bad and immediately headed off planet. I
was
terrified for weeks that someone would find out what I had done and
arrest
me for murder, but no one ever did. The crime was listed as unsolvable,
and
everyone forgot that little waste of oxygen ever existed." Funuyaki
rubbed
her temple and smiled. It was the first time she had ever told the whole
story to anyone. In an odd way, it felt good to get it off her chest.
I feel like Funuyaki's opening up too much. Sure, she's telling the
story, but would she go deeply into how she felt about it? Especially,
for example, the first few sentences in the paragraph I quoted - not
only is it very cliche, it's also something I can't really see her
bothering to say in front of this bunch who's mostly already hardened
killers.
Well, given that the exposition-fest has already started, and that she's
telling this so Malgaunt won't, I suppose Funuyaki might have just gone
into high gear while telling the story just to vent.
Yep. You got it right on the nose.
Indeed, generally, I have to say that the entire storytelling thing
feels to out-of-place and unmotivated. They're telling their stories
for the sake of the reader, not for each other, and it's too obvious.
Maybe, but at this point it's either that or just sit there and brood at
each other.
Oh, as long as Ariana was alive, there was always the possibility of
playing 'Pin the Vibro-Blade on Funuyaki'. ^_^
Still, I'll look it over and see if I can't work the revelations in a
little better. Hopefully moving Ariana's story helps relieve that feeling
of it being forced.
Thanks for the additional comments.
D.B. Sommer