I've been rereading some of my Ranma 1/2 manga.  I think I wouldn't have
been as into the series if I wasn't able to buy the first 30 volumes at
once.  Ranma 1/2 has its ups and downs, and some volumes just aren't that
exciting.  It's okay when you're reading 30 volumes in a row because you can
just read the next one (or even skip the boring ones), but if you've to wait
2, 3, or even 6 months before the next one?  I noticed Inuyasha's sales
seemed to decline considerably when it was mysteriously delayed for about 6
months in the Chinese bookstores.  Takahashi's manga is usually episodic in
nature, and this I think can be a problem when you're waiting 2-3 months for
a new volume only to find a lousy episode.  Most manga that have a story, at
least you know it'd resolve whatever that got you interested in the manga.
Yugioh #23 (the next Pokemon!) isn't exactly that good, but I want to know
what The Wing Dragon of Ro is going to be like, and of course the Kaiba
versus Yugi duel (prediction:  Malik's going to lose to some noname on the
first round and lose The Wing Dragon of Ro.)  HXH #10 wasn't too exciting
either, but you know the action's coming up when Kurapika finally plans out
his revenge.  Ranma 1/2 doesn't seem to have that.  You don't have an
ongoing story you're looking forward to (unless you've heard about it
somewhere else before).  The overall quality isn't bad, of course, but a bad
volume here and there can seriously stop you from buying.

    Granted, it's not a big problem in Japan where volumes come out
consistently (weekly if you're on the weeklies), but there are some pretty
hefty delays for the Chinese version, and of course the English version is
SLOW.  I stopped buying Kare Kano because it's turning very episodic, or at
least volume 10 is.  I mean, finish up Arima's arc already... resolve his
imaginery evil twin already!

    In other news, I've actually made a lot of progress on my story I was
planning a while ago.  Now I just have to fill in some details... oh wait,
all my stories are like that.  :)  Sarah turned out to be more like a good
friend to Ranma (and Akane) then whatever she was supposed to be.  For once,
my character managed to stay alive through halfway of the story.  The first
part is over, and the second part will focus on how Ranma can finally beat
the proud Princess of the Winds, who have enough power to be a generic
self-insertion demigod.  Well, maybe not that powerful.  My model for her is
just like one of those people you may know in high
school/college/work/whatever that just seems to be so good at everything.
And no, I don't think it'll be martial arts.  I'm thinking about video games
(Ranma beat Hinako in one of the later stories in Street Fighter 2!  Not
that this means much), and of course it's not like he'll ever train at
something and become better than she.  Maybe one of those virtual reality
sims where he can apply some of his martial arts skill?  Yes I've said she
is better than he in martial arts as well, but she might not have considered
that possibility.  I'm open to suggestions.  I'd like to write about Ranma
doing something other than either on some martial arts training/fighting or
some kind of relationship problem/progress.  Of course, Ranma is only good
at martial arts and getting into nasty relationship situations, but that's
why I want to write about something else.  Obviously it still has to be
something reasonable within his character (no computer programming, for
example).

    Rant - Most online message boards suck, and the more public something
is, the more it sucks.  The board I usually hang out, tOWS, got shut down
temporarily when it's free hosting expired, so I've been hunting around for
another message board.  Since this year has been kind for Megaman (X5
earlier this year, EXE in summer, Soul Eraser later in summer, X6 the end of
the year), I've been looking for fellow Megaman fans to share the greatness
that is to come.  Little would I know how hard it is to find good Megaman
fans!  The Net is populated by the anti-Zero brigade, which still refuses to
acknowledge that Zero is the selling point of the series (why else would he
be the main character in X4/X5 even though the game's still called Megaman?)
Any reasonable Megaman fans I've talked to can instantly recognize that Iris
has the passion and kindness of the original Megaman, but apparently a lot
of morons thinks that because she's got a purple outfit she can't possibly
be related to the Blue Bomber in anyway.  Megaman needs to be make a return
in the X series, and unless he gets miraclously resurrected (Megaman X is
not the same as Megaman) the only reploid that resembles him,
personality-wise, is Iris (she even has that naiveness down, not to mention
Megaman always sounded like a girl).  I guess Megaman does have this
perception of being a series that's all about the engine and nothing else,
but Megaman has come a long way from where you slap 8 new bosses with some
random attack pattern and call it a new game.  No matter how good the
original system is you just can't expect to keep a loyal population by doing
a palette swap every year or so.  X series shows considerable planning on
the story, as the part that didn't make any sense in X2 (Sigma's comment on
Zero) is actually explained by X4/X5 which came about 5 years later!  The
ending thoughts of X in X2 is essentially the Elysium project of X5, which
in term is a reality in Megaman Legends 2.

    Oh yeah, and then there's the fact that Capcom finally realized that the
male-dominated Megaman population wants to see cute female reploids, and
Iris is cute.  :)

    I think X6 should end with one of the possible fights between Megaman,
X, and Zero.  Unless Megaman's been living in a cave for however long the X
series lasted, I think Iris is the only one who has inherited his soul.  Of
course, knowing Capcom, they'll probably flash a picture of Iris (like X5),
bring Sigma back, and then promise that everything will be resolved in X7.
:(

    Well, it is confirmed that she'll be back in Soul Eraser.  That's good
enough reason for me to get a Gameboy Advance (and Super Dodge Ball would be
cool, I think).

Don
"You were a piece of a star, that fell from the sky..."
Radical Dreamers, the Unstealable Gem