Things you really don't care for in fan-fiction

[LawOhki]

When reading a fic I, in general, know what to expect form the characters and situations. When you start mixing two different continuities together I loose that ability.

If I read a Tenchi story that has both Tsunami and Kiyone in it I no longer know ANYTHING about the setting. The point of fanfiction is tweaking canon. Seeing what has changed, while leaving enough the same that it's recognizable. If nothing's recognizable, I might as well be reading original fiction.

Pretty much this and it often shows a completely lack of knowledge on the characters/events of the series.

One Ranma cliche I don't care for is when Ranma is a girl for a long time, for ANY reason, and always has to go "full" girl. Why does Ranma ALWAYS have to start using makeup and wearing skirts? Can someone please show me the law of reality that says those are requirements for being a human female?

Agreed, although cultural expectations would have to play a role, and it's not like Ranma hasn't worn skirts/dresses of his own free will before. But making an outright switch to only those things would require a huge change.



One that I've been thinking about as I write some stuff about an altered version of the Phoenix, is that people refer to Saffron as a god and Ranma is super special for doing it that puts him well above others.

[Spica75]

The point of fanfiction is tweaking canon. Seeing what has changed, while leaving enough the same that it's recognizable. If nothing's recognizable, I might as well be reading original fiction.

You are assuming that there must be a rather high minimum level of canon used.
If even a single character, setting or event is used, it´s still fanfiction.

And no, the point of fanfiction is USING canon. Of course if nothing is recognisable beyond names, then sure, then it has passed beyond fanfics. The only ones doing that completely tends to be the horde of lousy pairing/"highschool" fics though(and some of those latter ones, just how can anyone even get the idea of writing them? most sucks horribly).

One Ranma cliche I don't care for is when Ranma is a girl for a long time, for ANY reason, and always has to go "full" girl. Why does Ranma ALWAYS have to start using makeup and wearing skirts? Can someone please show me the law of reality that says those are requirements for being a human female?

Nope. Some of it is simple fanboyism, some is wishful thinking of the writer and the rest is sexism. I might have missed something but those probably take up the most of that very annoying kliche.

[Noy Telinú]

One that I've been thinking about as I write some stuff about an altered version of the Phoenix, is that people refer to Saffron as a god and Ranma is super special for doing it that puts him well above others.

Agree SOOO much.

THIS is where I blame fanscantrons manga. ARGGGG!!!

And supergirly Ranma is ridiculous!

there are 7 types of teenaged girls in the Ranma 1/2 universe that we can see easily.

There's the motherly Kasumi. Happy and feminine, but mature.
Nabiki the businesswoman. Selfish, opportunistic, manipulative.
Akane, the tomboy sports martial arts girl. Short fused temper, athletic, not good at feminine tings but desires to be so.
Ukyo, the Bifauxnen self reliant businessowner chef who can pass as a boy one minute, then win a swimsuit contest the next.
Kodachi, the gymnast that's a bit insane, controlling, and narrow minded as well as very VERY agile.
Shampoo is the warrior woman who is in a new country and has different laws and customs. And a culture that has girly meaning highly destructive while being incredibly attractive and vain.
And lastly, Asusa, the obsessive girly girl incarnate who acts half her age and insanely adores cuteness.

Kasumi, Akane, and Asusa consistently wear skirts and dresses.
Kodachi and Shampoo do so regularly but more often seen wearing other feminine things instead. (leotards, waitress apron pants thing...)
Nabiki wears conservative clothing most of the time and they are pants. EXCEPT when on dates, the beach, or otherwise conning someone.
Ukyo rarely wears any feminine clothing at all. Wears male uniforms mostly, and doesn't even wear bras.

When Ranma goes insanely OOC girly, its usually a mix of Kasumi and Asusa in diabetes level cute and feminine. However, 4 girls regularly don't wear or act like that and another girl does dress like a girl, but still acts like a tomboy.

To have Ranma being forced to or suddenly desiring to do things like that mix of Kasumi and Asusa is not only completely stupid, but sexist. These fics constantly say "Act like a girl" like there is only one way to do it. :/

Yeah, you're surrounded by girls who all act and dress differently, sure you don't want to rephrase that?

Ranma in canon as a girl is a mix of Nabiki, Akane, and Ukyo, with Asusa as a mask to get stuff. Normal just wears the same clothes as male and can even pass as a guy if pressed. uses skirts and dresses and such for devious means, but is comfortable enough to do wile she acts like a guy in a girl's body.

all that variation, canon context, and its ignored.

What?

[Ellen Kuhfeld]

If I read a Tenchi story that has both Tsunami and Kiyone in it I no longer know ANYTHING about the setting. The point of fanfiction is tweaking canon. Seeing what has changed, while leaving enough the same that it's recognizable. If nothing's recognizable, I might as well be reading original fiction.

A Tenchi story with both Tsunami and Kiyone is canon. True, it's because somebody stubborn named Tenchi's mother 'Kiyone', but it's possible. In any case - if necessary, I'd be glad to mix Tenchi Muyo Ryo-oh-ki and Tenchi Universe. Just don't throw Tenchi in Tokyo into the brew, and avoid the movies. I'm not a strict constructionist.

One Ranma cliche I don't care for is when Ranma is a girl for a long time, for ANY reason, and always has to go "full" girl. Why does Ranma ALWAYS have to start using makeup and wearing skirts? Can someone please show me the law of reality that says those are requirements for being a human female?

These stories tell me more about the authors than, perhaps, they would like to have known. When I had Ranma doing it, she was deliberately honking off Genma. In other parts of the story, she was mostly wearing Amazon battle garb, or the Furinkan uniform.

In any case -- it's not an 'always'. It's more of an 'often'. And sometimes it's a job requirement, as in Presence After Christmas.

[Gnudist]

Pretty much what Noy said about supergirly ranma. I find myself scratching my head that so many ranma alleged-fan fics make a big deal over "gurl ranma OMG" where she's expected/thinks she has to to entirely change who she is to conform to a standard that doesn't actually exist in canon.

Every time I read anything along the lines of "You're a gurl so you must wear this frilly pink nightmare" I'm like "huh?"

Also, indie band/song name #455,354,545: (this) frilly pink nightmare

[Drawde]

What I was trying to say about mixing continuities is that in fanfiction you have a general idea of parts of the story. Unless deliberately changed (or a bad idea of canon) you know how a character will act and who's related to who. You know how things tend to work in the setting.

But when you mix continuities you loose all that. If Tsunami is in the story and Mihoshi has a partner named Kiyone, what is Washu's past? Is Aeka an Action Girl pretending to be a Yamato Nadeshiko or is she a spoiled brat? If I can no longer tell how things are in the story until they are deliberately stated, why am I reading fanfiction?

[Noy Telinú]

Yeah, you just want consistency. Which is fine, really. In Ranma 1/2, the differences are mostly superficial or character portrayal.

But things are mostly intact and in order for the most part. When you have 5 different canons though, then things get complicated.

[Spokavriel]

More if you add in all the spinoffs like the multiple variations on Pretty Sammy.

[Noy Telinú]

Those people just wanted to piss fans off, didn't they?

[LawOhki]

Yeah, you just want consistency. Which is fine, really. In Ranma 1/2, the differences are mostly superficial or character portrayal.

But things are mostly intact and in order for the most part. When you have 5 different canons though, then things get complicated.

The differences are not superficial. Character portrayal is drastically simplified in the anime. The timeline is screwed up. One that immediately springs to mind is that Shampoo's arrives after Kodachi instead of after Azusa/Mikado. (Wasn't this due to it not being very popular) Even specific arcs happen very different. The recent ova serves as a very good example. What was a short story with just a few characters turned into this big thing where everyone got involved. Obviously some stories are similar enough but those are only the very big ones. IIRC most of the anime is their own created filler and after the first season starts to drift heavily away from the source. They did only get up to halfway through the manga and stop with Nodoka's introduction.

I suppose a more simpler way to put it would be that they took an occasionally serious comedy manga and flanderized with bad fanfic level filler. Which there is no doubt in my mind led to a lot of the garbage fanon that still infests the fandom.

[Spokavriel]

No they wanted to make money, and they did, lots of it. Just have Sassami in it and give her magic and no matter how ridiculous they make the scenario or different the reality is from Tenchi people still buy it and all the products they make going along with it.

[Noy Telinú]

Shampoo was brought in SOONER before the skating due to her being very popular.

And yeah, filler messes with stuff, damm people unused to reruns...

But things still happened. It's not like there were 5 different timelines...

For characters, the anime makes everyone BUT Akane look better and the manga makes Akane look better.

Yes, they're differences, but it's not like people were killed or something really different.

[TerraEpon]

Shampoo was brought in SOONER before the skating due to her being very popular.

In fact there's a flashback to one of the skating episodes in a season 1 episode. It's only a few seconds, but it's there as it was supposed to be shown first.

Yes, they're differences, but it's not like people were killed or something really different.

Yeah. While there are certainly some differences, there's nothing even close to the level of difference as, say, Sailor Moon anime vs Manga, or the aformentioned Tenchi OVA vs Tenchi TV. Sure some characters are slightly different, and there's stuff like Shampoo and Ukyo not knowing of each others' existence in the manga until that race thing or the end of the cat's tongue arc being in different locations -- but over all they are similar enough that I really can't see how one can complain about mixing them.

[Noy Telinú]

What I don't really care for in fanfics is making Nodoka be arrogant and snobby in her ways.

Like one which insisted in Ranma turn back immediately when splashed with cold water.

Nodoka's the pollyiana, the glass is half full mother.

Sure, she thinks seppeku is a good idea, but her goal to restore honor is noble.

And this might be because I don't know of any good mothers in real life...

[Gnudist]

Just found a fic that serves up Akane the spoiled princess with an extra helping of "I don't love ranma but he was given to me so no one else can have him"

*sigh*