Fanfiction Links
So what we have here are links to my favorite authors and stories on the
web, and a bit of my own reviewing to go with it. Links were updated April 3, 2005.
Susan Doenime and Mike Loader
I lump these two together simply because several of my favorite fanfics
are collaborative works between Susan and Mike. The link above goes to the home
page for "Transpacific Fanfiction," and contains more-or-less functioning links
to all their works. My favorites are:
Ill Met By Starlight
By Susan Doenime and Mike Loader
 This is the Psycho Ranma story. It takes the story of Ranma from the beginning,
except the boy who arrives as Akane's groom-to-be is quiet, calculating, and
dangerously insane. The mood is very intense, the tension remains high up to
the ending, and the writing is consistently excellent throughout the whole story.
Susan and Mike re-imagine the Ranma world as being edgier and more dangerous
than Takahashi's, but I love that it is still quite recognizable as the Ranma
universe. Best of all... it's finished! An unfortunate number of my favorite
fics are, alas, unfinished epics.
Curiously, there is an odd parallel to something that happens in Relentless
involving Akane's training. What's more, these pieces were written independently,
yet at more or less exactly the same time. Weird but true.
Star Wars - A Faint Hope
By Susan Doenime and Mike Loader
A "crossover" of sorts,
with the Ranma cast as characters who are working off-screen in Star Wars,
having an adventure parallel to the one in the movie. I laughed my ass off reading
this. The most brilliant part is the casting - rather than go for the easy parallels,
Susan and Mike made some really inspired choices for which character would play
which role. Happosai as the R2 droid? Dr. Tofu as the Dark Lord of the Sith? Really
great stuff.
Last One Standing
By Mike Loader
A mysterious challenge
letter arrives at the Tendou Dojo... for Akane? An adventure rich in mythology
and superb characterization. Mike Loader does an unparalleled job at teasing
out the inner depths of the Ranma characters, keeping true to the source while
taking them to the next degree of realism. Unfortunately, this story stalled
out only a few chapters into it, and I don't think Mike will be coming back to
finish it. So be warned.
Pastpresent
By Susan Doenime
This is a prequel to
Ranma 1/2, following the younger years of Saotome Genma and Tendou
Soun. Susan does a fine job of capturing the spirit of Takahashi-san's
manga, while not falling into the trap fo just recycling stories and inserting
the parents into their childrens' roles. Unfortunately, this one is also
unfinished.
Bubblegum Crisis - The Tesla Agenda
By Mike Loader, John Biles, Travis Butler, and Nick Leifker
This is by far the worst Bubblegum Crisis fanfic I've ever read... but
that's okay. That's because it is really one of the most entertaining Ranma
fanfics ever written. The idea is that the Ranma cast get together to
collaboratively write a Bubblegum Crisis fanfic. Of course, they cannot
help taking out all their own petty rivalries on the page, and end up making
an inconsistent, ridiculous, and truly hilarious fanfic.
I include this here because it's hosted on the Transpacific page, though it
is a collaborative effort. Being a collaboration, it's a bit up and down
(and what the hell was with the Robert Jordan references? I could've lived
without that), but on the whole, it's a great read.
Gary Kleppe
Gary Kleppe has been a mainstay of the fanfic community for longer than
I even know. On the FFML
(Fan Fiction Mailing List), Gary conistently provides quality
feedback for writers new and old. Everything on Gary's page is worth
reading, but here are my favorites:
Hearts and Minds
This is Gary's longest, most ambitious fic. The preludes alone (of which
there are ten, each following the growth of a different cast member
after the end of the Ranma manga) constitute a kind of mini-fic.
A more mature take on the Ranmaverse, with the characters older and
more responsible (but still very much themselves). While the Ukyou
sidestory drags a bit, the overall action with the main cast is top-notch.
For a Dying Friend
An unexpected side-effect to the Jusenkyou curses begin to arise,
trapping the victims in their cursed states. Of all the "Ranma
gets stuck as a girl" stories, this one is by far my favorite.
Told from Akane's perspective, it is incredibly moving,
deeply insightful, and unforgettable. Gary has a lot of good
stories to his name, but for my money, this one is the best.
Luca Signorelli
Red Tower, Black Tower, Grey Slabs
To my knowledge, this is the only fanfic by Luca Signorelli, but it's
one of the most beautiful Ranma stories I've ever read. Years after the end
of the series, Ryouga and Ukyou try to overcome their old pain by
facing the most grueling challenge offered by nature - the ascent of
the K-2 mountain. The story contains some of the most thoughtful
insights into the lives of the characters surrounding Ranma and Akane -
their hopes and dreams, their pain and sorrow, their triumphs and
defeats.
Rod M.
An excellent, versitile writer who is probably best known for his
humor fics, but who can also do drama with the best of them. He has
some terrific fics of Bubblegum Crisis and Oh! My Goddess.
lurking down there on his page, and has collaborated with other
authors for some very good stuff. Unfortunately, it looks like his
page has not seen an update for many a moon, so his unfinished fics
are likely to stay that way. Still, enjoy what's there, including:
The More Things Change
The quintessential Ryouga/Ukyou fic, in which Ranma takes himself
out of the center of the whirlwind of lunacy surrounding Nerima,
leaving the unsuspecting Ryouga suddenly the center of uncomfortable
attention, unwanted affection, and savage violence. Includes the
use of one of the best original characters I've ever read.
The Pursuit of Happiness
Continuing the trials and travails of Ryouga and Ukyou from
"The More Things Change." The first portion of the story is
worthwhile, but not as readable as the "The More Things Change."
But it really picks up when it hits the giant "King of Nerima"
story arc, featuring an immense martial arts tournament with
characters from all throughout the Ranmaverse. The third part
is, unfortunately, unfinished.
Nerima's Other Passion
By Grayson Towler
Hey look... this one is by me! This sidestory for "The Pursuit
of Happiness" is actually the first fanfic I ever wrote. I refer
to it indirectly in Chapter 8 of "Relentless." It answers the
question of just who the heck fixes all the damage done by
the martial artists in their rampages through Nerima.
Stefan "Twoflower" Gagne
Twoflower was one of the defining authors for Slayers fanfiction,
and has a large body of other work to his name as well. I haven't
read everything he's written, but I have also rarely been disappointed
by any of his stories. He has an excellent web page for linking to
all his stories, which include:
The Slayers Trilogy
Three substantial stories - "Slayers: Reflect," "Slayers: Chaos," and
"Slayers: Rebirth" - combine to make a single cohesive epic about
Lina Inverse and company. Even with some rough spots, Twoflower does a
fine job of capturing that mix of silliness and grandeur that makes
Slayers entertaining.
Slayers: Demiurge
Another Slayers story, independent from the Trilogy, that
adds some very interesting elements to the mythology of the series.
This one is more polished than "Trilogy," and focuses more on
a dramatic angle.
MTCFF Ultra
Moderator: Stefan "Twoflower" Gagne
Ultra is a huge, sprawling collaborative crossover. It's what's
known as an "improfanfic," meaning that the idea is that a different
author contributes each new chapter of the story, at a rate of
(ideally) once per week. The basic premise is an ongoing, televised
tournament featuring characters from multiple series (mostly anime/manga
and video games), as well as the dramas and antics surrounding the
show. Which can often include the end of the world, the replacement
of God... that sort of thing. Twoflower moderated this story, and
wrote the climactic finishes of each "season."
This is not everyone's cup of tea. Ultra both succeeds and fails -
and does each in a spectacular fashion.
When it's bad, there were usually one or more factors at play. Since
it was written on a tight schedule, most segments are pretty rough
and could use editing (this very much includes the ones I wrote).
Since there are multiple authors, styles don't always match, and
sometimes you get authors doing the fanboy thing and either overhyping
their favorite characters, or (even worse) grinding their own personal
axes against whatever characters they don't happen to like. Ultra
also draws its basic structure from pro-wrestling, and sometimes falls
into inherent stupidity which infects that particular spectacle (overuse
of jargon, cardboard-cutout characters who flip personalities for no
reason, tedious levels of trash-talking, and so forth).
When Ultra is good, however, it is really a thrill ride. Authors,
inspired by each others' work, take the story along all sorts of
cool twists and turns. The action and fight sequences can be
gripping. There are moments of shoot-coffee-out-your-nose humor
not to be missed. And it addresses the basic, guilty pleasure of
almost all fans, which makes us wonder things like: "What would
happen if Lina Inverse fought Sephiroth?"
So that's Ultra. Since this is my page, here are some links and
summaries to the segments which I wrote, or to which I contributed:
Ultra #66: Close Calls and Phone Calls
In which
M. Bison plots behind the scene to take over Ultra, Sephiroth
begins to show signs of multiple personality disorder, an
Evangelion battles a Gundam, and Pantyhose Tarou begins a
dangerous quest. The Lina Inverse vs. Battle Angel's
Gally (Alita, to U.S. fans) was the most controversial fight.
This one also introduced the awesome power of... the Ring
of Superiority!
Ultra #67: Reboot 3.0
By Kristen Smirnov
A very
enjoyable episode by Kristen, who asked me to write the
match between Shinji of Evangelion and Gally. This is
a race between Eva Unit 01 and a super-cyborg across the
lethal furnace of Death Valley. I rather like how it came out.
Ultra #75: Going Undercover
In which
Sephiroth shakes things up with a power play for the control of
God, Team Rocket of Pokemon demonstrates a very unique
way of mourning, Mousse teams up with Fushigi Yuugi's
Tasuki for a tag-team match, and Akane goes in disguise to prove
herself in battle. I introduced Tekken's Lei Wulong to the
series, in a somewhat successful plotline for Ultra's only
Who-Done-It, with Mortal Kombat's perennial loser Johnny
Cage as the victim.
Ultra #83: UltraRage Theta
An end
of season episode written by Twoflower and a bunch of other
authors, including me. Since I started the "Who Killed Johnny
Cage" story, I got to finish it as well. I wrote the fight
between Lei Wulong, Gunsmith Cats' Bean Bandit, Street
Fighter's Sakura, and Darkstalkers' B.B. Hood in
the style of a Jackie Chan movie, and it came out pretty cool.
Ultra #88: The Beginning of the End
With Zach Grafton
Twoflower had
decided to end the Ultra series with a great, final tournament. I
got to write the first installment of this last chapter, along with
a very talented fellow named Zach Grafton. In spite of the fact that
it could've used some editing, I liked the chapter a lot. However,
I think a lot of the other authors who came after (or who were chosen
to come after) did not. Ultra has now been waiting for years for its
final chapter, and I get the feeling that my last installment may have
had something to do with the story petering out. Read it if you dare,
and come to your own conclusions.
Krista Perry
Krista has written quite a lot of fanfics from all sorts of
different series, including InuYasha, Ruruoni Kenshin and
Gundam. All her stories are very character-driven and
have a great deal of soul. The most famous one, though, is
probably her Ranma epic:
Hearts of Ice
Shampoo and Cologne make a desperate bid to get rid Akane - and
end up sending her into the realm of the gods. A story heavy on
mythology, romance, with a lot of action to boot. This is a
story that has seemed to be on the verge of being finished for
a long time, but somehow still keeps going. Since Krista now
seems to be rewriting parts of it, I'm not sure how much longer
the world will have to wait for the true final chapter... but
even without it, the story is one of the all-time greats of
Ranma fanfiction.
Kagami
I really have to get around to reading more of Kagami's
work. I first spotted him as one of the guys who always
offered up consistent, high-quality feedback on the
FFML,
but I was completely hooked when I began to read:
An Awakening of Demons
The idea of this story was to write a continuation of
Ranma, using the storytelling style of InuYasha.
Since I think Takahashi-san's style improved dramatically
between the two series, it was awesome to find someone who
managed to capture the essence of her writing and apply
it in such an entertaining fashion. Contains my favorite
portrayal of Kodachi in all of fanfiction.
Alan Harnum
The last of the Transpacific Fanfic group, Alan Harnum is an
extremely talented writer, who has a gift for drawing you into
the story and making you want more. One of the things I find
very admirable about Alan's work is the way he will engage
deeply with any character, whether he casts them as a hero
or villain, and apply himself to making you understand that
character as a complete person. I haven't read all of Alan's
stuff, but here are my favorites:
Waters Under Earth
On the page for this story, Alan spends plenty of time
pointing out the tale's weaknesses. In spite of those
shortcomings, it is one of the grand epics of fanfiction,
and includes all the best aspects of Alan's writing. And
what's more, it's a complete story. If you want to read
it, prepare to spend some time... but it's worth it.
What I Once Was
I include this because it's one of the better Mousse
stories I've read, and Mousse is kind of a difficult
character. I've always found him to be the weakest personality
of the main Ranma cast - that's not to say I dislike the character,
but there doesn't seem to be much to sink your teeth into from
the original story. That's when it's good to have someone like
Alan around, who can tease out an interesting character from
pretty much any source.
Jed Bidwell
While a lot of people are probably not familiar with
Jed's work, I have enjoyed everything I've read from
him. In fact, there were a few things that I signed on
as prereader for which aren't on his page... this could
partially be do to the fact that I was a very negligent
prereader. Anyway, here are some you can read:
Downward Spiral
A very well written darkfic in which Ryouga commits suicide,
and Ranma is left to try to figure out why. Jed gives me
more credit for this story than I deserve - I just gave him
a few suggestions to help him avoid some fanfic cliches.
Jet Moto
The idea of a crossover fic between Ranma and the
futuristic Playstation racing game, Jet Moto seemed
pretty far-fetched to me too. And yet, incredibly, Jed makes
it work out. This is a seriously alternate universe - but a
highly readable one.
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