Stephan Sokolow's Blog

Title: Comes The Cold Dragon
URL: @ IAmNotA.net
Author: Don Granberry
Source: Ranma 1/2
Rating: 6/6
Type: Continuation, Epic
Length: 18 Chapters in 33 files (roughly 120K per file)(Incomplete)

Very well written and I love the humor. Especially the parts which are written in a similar fashion to The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy. To put it bluntly, “chapter two is fricken hilarious!”. There are also bits of humor scattered throughout the storyline. For example, “You and your dad must have fit in around there like socks on a rooster.” …and later on in the story, there are some hilarious malapropisms. (I probably wouldn’t have remembered that word if the author hadn’t used it himself)

I also love the parts focusing on many of the secondary characters from China, especially prince Herb. They really add depth to the characters. I also have to compliment the author on the quality of the original characters.

Anyway, the basic plotline is “What if, shortly after the end of the Ranma manga, Ranma is showing all the classic symptoms of combat fatigue, and a strange new ability?” The story focuses on both Ranma (and a newfound ability of his) and all of the usual craziness surrounding him. This is my second time reading the story and I think it definitely deserves a 6/6.

The first time I read this, it had only been written up to the end of chapter 8 and I considered it very well written. Now that I’ve read it even further, I can honestly say that the author has infused the story with not only a great deal of humor, but a great deal of knowledge too. As with any good fanfic, there’s a gradual change so the beginning feels like a completely different story from the end but you never notice the actual change in progress.

Modifiers:
+1 Writing a story that has prince Herb as more than a minor character
+1 Providing an original (and quite nice) origin story for Jusenkyo
-0.5 Uses fanon Nabiki but does it well

Title: Second Chances
URL: @ Lord Archives Homepage
Author: Lord Archive
Source: Ranma 1/2, Oh My Goddess
Rating: 6/6
Type: Combined Continuation and Alternate Universe, Crossover
Length: 22 Chapters in 3 Volumes, Incomplete.

How about a story where Ranma dies and Akane gets sent back to the start of the series? (de-aged, of course)

This is definitely an interesting case because, as far as I can see, Ranma and Akane are perfectly in character and yet, this could be mistaken for hard-core out-of-character fanfiction. The important thing to remember is *why* Akane and Ranma acted the way they did in Canon. I don’t really think that the story’s version of Nabiki is possible, but I don’t mind it too much.

I’d give it a 2 out of 3 on the originality scale and a 6/6 on the main scale, partly because I re-read it several times but mostly because it would be a 5/6 or 5.5/6 otherwise. There are a few cases of mixing tenses and other grammatical errors, but not enough to really be much of a problem. Considering that the writing is better than the grammatical errors would normally suggest, I’d assume that one of the two cases apply:
* Lord Archive forgot to proofread or didn’t proofread thoroughly enough
* English is not Lord Archive’s native language (but there has been lots of practise)

I like how it manages to keep so many of the old plot points without feeling stale. That’s quite an achievement when you consider how many fanfics I’ve read.

As with “Rejected”, there are some really good lessons for anime/manga/fanfiction fans to be found in the author’s notes.

Title: Rejected
URL: @ Lord Archive’s Website
Author: Lord Archive
Source: Ranma 1/2
Rating: 6/6
Type: Alternate Universe, Dark
Length: 10 Episodes, Complete

What if Nodoka hadn’t accepted Ranma as a man among men? What if she called him on the Seppuku pledge? The idea is an easy one to conceive, but a difficult one to write. It would be completely out of character… but Lord Archive gave it a shot. I’m fairly good at accepting out-of-character characters as long as they are well written and I consider Rejected to be the best of this little-attempted plot. It has a few flaws, but it did something right. I’ve re-read it at least twice in the last year or so.

Modifiers:
+2 Interesting writing style. First-person with a different character narrating each episode.
-1 The writing occasionally feels lacking but I’m not sure exactly how. I do think it could use a little more descriptive padding around the dialog (in some places, it feels like a script)
-1+1 Characters are sometimes out of character but, in some places, it can be quite a laugh.

Oh, and the author’s notes contain some very good lessons for anime/manga/fanfiction fans.

Title: Chronophobia
URL: Fanfic.net RAAC Mirror
Author: Ukyou Kuonji
Source: Ranma 1/2
Rating: 5.5/6
Type: Could be a continuation or an AU. It doesn’t matter.
Length: Really short one-shot

I’m giving this one a 5.5/6. It may be short, but it packs a hell of a punch. The title is a good hint but, since it’s about two screenfulls of text, I’ll just let you read it.