I received this as a private email, but since Arthur has indicated he
meant it to go to the list, here it is.

--- Arthur Hansen <arthur@kindred.net> wrote:

Motoko doesn't use air pressure attacks. In the manga she
specifically says she uses her ki, and I can't recall any mention
of
air pressure. Unless there's a reference I'm missing, of course.
^_^

[In Ranma-terms, weird air presure attacks *are* ki attacks. Rumiko
Takahashi just went into a little more detail than "it's a ki
attack."

Love Hina goes into detail on this, also. Motoko explicitly states
she uses her mind/will to power her attacks. Her signature attack
(learned later in the manga) can pass through someone to cut the
bonds holding him and split the boulder he's tied to without harming
him. It can also rip a demon from someone without harming them or
seal a demon away. That's mind force, not air pressure. 

Yeah, even at the beginning of the manga, Motoko's attacks are
orders
of magnitude more powerful than Kuno ever gets. Would Ranma mistake
a
ki wave for a pressure wave? Assuming that Motoko's sword attacks
have transit time, of course (not saying this is a problem, since
it
isn't clear). 

[I don't know about "orders" of more powerful, but Kuno never
really gets the cool attacks that Ranma and Ryoga get later on. The
ki attacks that Ranma already knows by this time are much more
powerful, IMO. Ranma's at a higher level, as far as I can tell.
She's a challenge, but that's all.]

Ranma is certainly at a higher level of control and finesse at this
stage than Motoko. He wouldn't have much trouble taking her in a
match. As for raw power, though, it's hard to say. We don't see more
of that until Volume 7 or so. It's an open question whether the
techniques she uses in those chapters are ones she brought to the
Hinata or learned there. 

As for comparing her with Kuno, though, how many blows would it take
him to split a basalt boulder 8ft tall and 6ft across at the base?
Motoko did it with a single one-handed swing without ever touching
the thing. I don't think "orders of magnitude" was exaggerating at
all.

[snip]

Ki attacks are weaker in the Ranma universe perhaps, but he's lucky
Motoko was holding back. She split an 8ft tall boulder in Ch 5 with
a
ranged ki attack.

[Ryoga made a 30' wide crater (already) and Ranma's use of the HSH
has caused mountains to quake. I think you might be a little
backwards on which series ki attacks are more powerful.]

Eh? I think you misunderstood me. I was replying to the following
passage:

"He'd forgotten how much Ki attacks hurt. They did less physical
damage then regular attacks, but since they attacked the spirit
directly he actually felt them a lot more." 

I was only pointing out that even if ki attacks in the Ranma universe
do less physical damage than regular attacks and are aimed primarily
at the spirit (which I don't really buy - hence my use of "perhaps"),
that doesn't hold true at all for the Love Hina universe. LH ki
attacks do physical damage by default unless directed otherwise. At
this point, Motoko doesn't have the skill to do other than physical
damage. 

My basic point through all of this wasn't to suggest that Motoko is
on Ranma's level. I was only dispelling the persistent falacy that
Motoko's abilities are enhanced Kuno-esque abilities. They're
something else entirely.

Brian Welch

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