The FFML Synopses List
======================
To the readers:
Because a few people mistook who reviewed what story, we'll just
add this quick note for you: where a review has a name above it
in parentheses {}, that is the reviewer. If you have any comments
or questions about a review, please direct it to that person. (Our
e-mail addresses are included below.)
Also, the stories not reviewed from the first week under this new
crew have been done and included at the end of this list. Apologies
to the authors for the wait, unfamiliarity with some series and a
big backlog of reading (about 1MB each) slowed us down; now that
we're up to speed and our respective ISP problems are solved, there
should be no more delays.
You reviewers,
Paul arezina@acad1.stvincent.edu
Helen Helen@eiw-ca.com
Shunsuke shunsuke@mailcity.com
Now, on with the list....
For the week of: June 20 - June 26, 1998
Moderator on Duty: Florencio B. de la Merced, Jr.
Synopses Submitted: 15
This is the text version of the FFML Synopses List. If any of these
fics are of any interest to you, please e-mail the author for
procurement of the said fics. As stated quite emphatically in the FFML
FAQ, _DO NOT SEND FANFIC REQUESTS TO THE FFML_.
This list is sorted by series, and within each series, ordered
alphabetically, according to last names. The synopses here
represent whatever has been sent to us, from Saturday to Friday.
* * * * *
[Ah! Megamisama! / Urusei Yatsura]
- - - - -
Title: "Urusei Megamisama!", Chapter Eleven: "Nightmares and Villains"
Series: Ah! Megamisama! and Urusei Yatsura
Genre: Romantic Comedy (Epic Tragedy?)
Author: Henry J. Cobb
Email: hcobb@slip.net
Homepage: http://www.io.com/~hcobb/anime/fanfic/chaos.html
Date Sent to FFML: June 24, 1998
Size: 15 Kb
Summary:
Trapped in hell and reduced to a dream,
the fate of a goddess hangs on a thread.
Then an old friend drops in.
{Paul}
I get the feeling Kotatsuneko was channeling the spirit of Obi-Wan
Kenobi and/or Yoda throughout the bulk of the fic... then again, he
may simply be haunting the series as is his wont. The whole story has
a sort of clipped feel to it, as though it's a summary of a larger
work. This probably works for those who know both series well, as
Mr. Cobb no doubt does. It's an interesting work, and is currently
emphatically denying being a fusion...but the seemingly forced
brevity of this installment drops it to 13 or 14 of 20.
{Helen}
I haven't seen all of UY to know how far the storyline goes...
limited exposure to the Takahashi manga. However, I can recognize
that the divergence of the two series (AMS and UY) is probably
coming to a-head here. Simply because Lum has arrived! And since
it's 11 of 12, I'd bet that 12 will be a 'shocking' end *zap!*
{Shunsuke}
This was almost as surreal as the second UY movie. (If you've
seen it, you'll know what I'm talking about.) It's hard to
tell the reality from the nightmare, the author captured it so
well. I am curious, though, as to why he brought in the new/old
character at the end...guess we'll have to wait and see whether
Ataru can resist temptation and/or survive mallet and electrical
attacks.
* * * * *
[Bubblegum Crisis]
- - - - -
Title: The Knights of the Saber, Chapter One
Series: Bubblegum Crisis
Genre: Alternate Universe(fantasy world), not completely serious
Author: Mark Doherty
Email: mdoherty@uq.net.au
Homepage: http://www.tass.org/~mdoherty/index.html
Date Sent to FFML: June 17, 1998
Size: 35 Kb
Summary:
Finally continued from the prologue released six months ago, TKotS
details the adventures of four young women; the rejected bard, the lowly
dancer, the mage-thief, and the merchant who gathered them together.
Thrills, chills, angelic choirs, and an answer to the question: is
working in a female garment's store really a punishment for Mackie?
(Reading the prologue first adds to the understanding and enjoyment of
the story.)
{Helen}
This story is turning out to be pretty interesting -- somehow I'm
reminded of the opening story that appears in John Biles' Dance of
Shiva. The story could turn out to more than just a transposition
of the KS into a different time zone. Certainly, I'll be looking
forward to the next chapter.
{Shunsuke}
The author says he isn't going to take this seriously; that's a shame,
this would really work well as a dramatic fic. (But, I admit I was
truly laughing and repulsed at how he came up with the acronym for
GENOM. My, that was bad...) The joke characterizations (eg. Mackie)
are over the top, but they still fit.
The story makes sense so far, although there really hasn't been any
action to speak of, it's all just set-up for now. I'm curious as
to how things will develop and how the enemy will be engaged. Will
Mason be a wizard, and later Largo a lich? Will the boomers be
replaced by golems, zombies, or simulacrums? And...will Linna be the
prison warden in the sequel, dealing in stocks and bondage? ^_^
* * * * *
[Original]
- - - - -
Title: The Dragon's Tower - Part 1
Series: Original
Genre: Original - Anime Feel
Author: Andy Skuse
Email: askuse@execulink.com
Homepage: http://www.execulink.com/~askuse
Date Sent to FFML: June 25, 1998
Size: 10 Kb
Summary:
An original story with an anime feel. Part 1 - A young man sets out
on a quest, believing strongly that it is his destiny to rescue a
princess from a mystical tower. A dragon intercepts the young traveller
before he can enter the tower, but instead of killing him, they make a
deal: if the boy rescues the princess he is free to go. If he doesn't,
he's the dragon's next meal...
I hope to have the chapter posted to my website this week.
{Paul}
This is chock full of juicy bits of description. Budding authors,
take note: THIS is what you do to introduce new characters and/or
situations. "Ranma" conjures up certain images in the mind... an
original series must build these conceptions from scratch. And this
one does a fine job... I feel as though I am there. It's a bit too
early to pass judgment on the plot of the story yet, but I can
honestly say I am hooked. A well-painted world, but a plot which
has become something of a cliche. It's too early to say whether the
cliche will be carried out, though. 9 of 10 on the "what happens
next" scale, 16 or 17 of 20 overall.
{Shunsuke}
First thing that came to mind as I read this was the Connery/Quaid
movie "Dragonheart". I don't know if this tale can really be said
to have an anime-feel, but then beyond Arislan, RoLW (one tape), and
The Slayers, I haven't seen too much fantasy style anime.
The story started well and built, plus I like the author's
descriptions of scenes and events (I'll bet he's read some Anne
MacAffrey in his time O_-). It has a promising storyline, now we
wait to see if the author can pull it off. Two questions: is the
girl already dead, and what is the dragon _really_ after?
* * * * *
[Ranma 1/2]
- - - - -
Title: Alternatives -- Chapter 5
Series: Ranma 1/2
Author: Mike Allen
Email: allenmk@gte.net
Date Sent to FFML: June 24, 1998
Size: 26 Kb
Summary:
Mousse is displeased with the choices Ranma is making. Ranma
announces his plans.
{Paul}
This is your first fight scene? Doesn't look it. Well, I got the
feeling you were trying to show off your knowledge of attack names,
but other than that...
It doesn't have the flavor of the original series fight scenes.
That is to say, people end up hurt and in hospitals and the police
get called in. Then again, this series took a hard right from the
canon about the first or second chapter... and Mousse would probably
lose it if he thought he would lose Shampoo as well. Ranma playing
Mr. Exposition in the second half of this chapter is also a
deviation from established continuity... but quite in character for
the way you've portrayed him. Interesting dress on the fiancees
(and fiance) who come to call... it doesn't seem to flow with the
rest of the story, but clothing descriptions seldom do. The whole
thing seems just a tad awkward, as though too much is happening at
once, but that doesn't prevent it from gettting 16 or 17 of 20.
{Shunsuke}
How to let someone down easy...your fight scene was well done!
Err...beyond that, *please* get a pre-reader, you need one.
There's very little flow to the sentences or the story, making
for difficult reading.
Also, I have to question why no one is considering the feelings
of the extra Ranmas that will be created. If these new people
have the same mind and personality of the original, will the
females want to be so? Will the alternate males want to marry
Shampoo and Ukyo? Won't they all still love Akane? Unless the
author has this in mind so the tale can become a tragedy, I
can't understand where this is going.
- - - - -
Title: The Seven Martial Artist
Series: Ranma
Genre: A Seven Samurais Fusion
Author: Florencio B. de la Merced, Jr.
Email: fmerced@pworld.net.ph
Homepage: http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Temple/3641/index.html
Date Sent to FFML: June 27, 1998
Size: 17 Kb
Summary:
In the theme of Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurais, A poor farming village
is being terrorized by a band of brigands, and the villagers asks the
Tendo's to help them find Martial Artist that would protect them. So
Soun goes out looking for hungry and desperate and willing martial
artist...and guess who he stumbles upon.
{Paul}
Gee. I dunno. Could it be... the Saotomes? To tell the truth, this
seems to be rather like a Ranma-flavored retelling of the movie,
rather than a straight fusion. But then, I've never seen the movie,
so what do I know?
All I can say it that it seems like you're following a script and
enforcing certain situations upon the Ranma cast. But that's not
unheard of as far as fusions go. All in all, a clean if somewhat
dry read. 15 or 16 of 20.
{Shunsuke}
This YAAH tale has a promising start with an interesting take on the
events leading up to the engagement, with differences in character
behaviour seeming to be quite reasonable (i.e., Ranma having an
interest in women).
Two things did bother me, though: the writer could use a prereader,
there are many redundancies throughout the story that slow the pace.
Also, the language of the characters should better reflect the era;
I'm not saying "go read Shogun ten times", I'm simply suggesting a
more formal way of speaking by the characters to reflect the feudal
era the story takes place in.
- - - - -
Title: Sword and Sorcery, chapter 17
Series: Ranma 1/2
Genre: Fantasy/Alternate
Author: D.Fire
Email: phongb9@idt.net
Homepage: http://idt.net/~phongb9/
Date Sent to FFML: June 21, 1998
Size: 35 Kb
Summary:
With some new information in hand, Raeni tests her skills against the
enemy. And discovers someone unexpected...
{Shunsuke}
As good as the previous part, the story starts fast and keeps up
the pace. The battle squence was a little long, but interesting.
However, I would have liked a cut-away to what's happening to
Uerris in the meantime. Otherwise, it gives good reason to keep
reading.
- - - -
Title: _The Rose and the Worm_, pt. 1.
Series: Ranma 1/2
Genre: Alternate Universe
Author: David Homerick
Email: dhomeric@jps.net
Date Sent to FFML: June 26, 1998
Size: 10 Kb
Summary:
Kodachi, just released from a mental institution with a prescription of
antipsychotics, arrives at Furinkan shortly before Ranma does.
{Paul}
Kodachi gone sane. Lawson's run with it to good effect, as has
Matthew Trotter (forgive me if I've misspoken). However, I've never
seen her go sane this early in the series. ("You're not going
insane! You're going SANE in a CRAZY WORLD!" --The Tick, making
sense. Maybe.) Her own thoughts and feelings have the air of one
who is constantly examining her own sanity...and, by extrapolation,
the sanity of the remainder of the world. I particularly like her
thoughts in the confrontation with Nabiki...for all her
eccentricity in the canon, Kodachi has demonstrated that she has
a wonderfully supple mind and can use it to good effect. 10 of 10
on the "what happens next" scale... 18 or 19 of 20 overall.
{Shunsuke}
Sans pills, this is a nice treatment of her to see what effect she
would have on the situation. However, I personally don't see Nabiki
being as vindictive as the author is portraying her.
Not much occurs in this part other than to set the scene for future
chapters, but it's a decent start, and good enough to give further
parts a chance.
- - - - -
Title: A Different Viewpoint pt 30
Series: Ranma
Genre: Contiuation/SI
Author: Christopher J. Olsen
Email: tagan1@pacbell.net
Homepage: http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Dojo/1449/
Date Sent to FFML: June 22, 1998
Size: 32 Kb
Summary:
Johnathon asks Shampoo for a favor. Ranma gets a kitten.
Johnathon's mother calls up. Ranma starts trying to teach Akane the
Chestnut fist, and things get a bit out of hand. Nuf said.
{Paul}
Hmm. Couple grammar harfs, but nothing that made me stop, back up
my brain, and say "what the *(&)^*$ was THAT supposed to mean?"
Buncha little problems with sentence structure and quoting that a
careful read will find, but a casual one will gloss right over.
As for the plot itself... what plot? This chapter is probably
intended as a "slice of life", marking time in this oddly changed
world. The annoying new character is neither new nor annoying,
again, and is just another cast member... well, in this story, at
least. Although one wonders exactly which wrinkled old martial
artist was training Ranma, considering how he "motivates" Akane...
Polished but unspectacular, 14 or 15 of 20 overall.
- - - - -
Title:A Different Viewpoint pt 31
Series:Ranma/SM
Genre:Continuation/Crossover
Author:Christopher J. Olsen
Email: tagan1@pacbell.net
Homepage: http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Dojo/1449
Date Sent to FFML: June 26, 1998
Size:36 Kb
Summary:
Kasumi spends some "quality" time with the new kitten. Soun
finds out what has happened to his eldest daughter. Genma does something
intellegent? The Sailor Senshi invite Ranma to the Hikawa shrine.
Usagi gets the better of Ranma?
{Paul}
First off, something that was bugging me throughout the whole
chapter...it's "MizuNO", not "Mizumi". The latter may have made
a nice assumed name, but it's not her real one. On with the
actual review...
The crossover flares up in earnest here. No one remarks anything
about the similarities between Ami and Akane, which surprised me.
And you'd think Ranma would at least suspect the existence of
real-life magical girls with all the other weird things that have
happened to him. And I half expected Ranma to discover Usagi had
secretly been trained in Eight Drunken Fairies Martial Arts. Though
the Sympathy for SI also rears its ugly head (once you've seen it
in the hands of Gonterman, you can never look at it the same again)
it's a bit more subdued... and isn't that what SI's are all about?
That and the SI taking charge and coming up with obvious ideas no
one's ever thought of... ah well, it's to be expected, and it only
feels blatant in a few places. Again, 14 or 15 of 20... a solid
work, but nothing that would make me drop chapter 21 of HoI or
chapter 9 of Nekophobia to read.
- - - - -
Title: TUYODT!
Series: Ranma
Genre: Parody (Surprise, surprise.)
Author: Ryoucilo
Email: bogue@negia.net
Date: June 20, 1998
Size: 5 Kb
Summary:
Ranma and Akane live happily ever after while all
the other characters die like the heathen dogs they are.
{Paul}
Ryoucilo shortfic. What more do you need to know? He artfully
parodies just about every "Ranma and Akane get together" fic I've
ever had the distinct pleasure of reading. Even "TIL" is not immune
to the parallels that can be drawn. Oh, who am I kidding, it's
another shockfic/stupidfic/spamfic by the master of all three. 8 of
10 on the short scale because I can't give a perfect rating to a
story that made me want to hurl, even if that was its intent.
{Shunsuke}
O...kay. DOOM meets Freddie Krueger meets Alice Cooper. Very
strange, but a quick laugh. Not much meat on it (no pun) but
good for a five minute read.
- - - - -
Title: Coming to America Prologue
Series: Ranma 1/2
Genre: Comedy
Author: Ryoucilo
Email: bogue@negia.net
Date:June 24, 1998
Size: 5 Kb
Summary:
No one is raped, killed or driven to insanity, but an ABBA song is
played so it could logically be called a sick fic. The only Ranma
characters in this fic are Herb, Mint and Lime insuring that no one will
read it.
{Paul}
Almost no one will read it. I did. I laughed. I laughed HARD. I
found myself wondering what would happen if Mint and Lime passed
by a newsstand with _Cosmopolitan_ for prominent sale. I laughed
some more. I wondered if Ryoucilo should be committed. I laughed
some more. 9 of 10 on the short scale.
{Shunsuke}
Never mind a long trip, it's going to be a long series. The author
didn't specify which Rod Stewart he's deriding, the 1970's RS (if
that's who he means, kill the writer!) or the 1980's/1990's RS
(cheers!). ^_^
I'm not too familiar with Her, Mint, and Lime, so I don't know what
to expect, but something tells me this will be a long series filled
with bad humour and dumb fight scenes. It will be an acquired taste.
What's worse is with that title, "Coming To America", I get the
feeling that awful Neil Diamond song will be included somewhere
along the way. <shudder>
- - - - -
Title: Lost and Forgotten Chapter 11
Series: Ranma 1/2
Genre: Original flavor/SI
Author: Jeremy Thompson
Email: jthompson@badlands.4eyes.net
Homepage:
http://www.geocities.com/~azatlan/Special-Series/lost-and-forgotten.html
Date Sent to FFML: June 14, 1998 (Reposted June 16, 1998)
Size: 21 Kb
Summary:
Jude and Ryoga enroll in school and a weakness (Or quirk) is
revealed resulting from Jude's head injury.
{Shunsuke}
Not your typical SI fic, it reads like an RPG game's events which
I think it's supposed to be. This part doesn't involve any of the
switching between reality and the Ranma-verse like the earlier
chapters, though I still find that part a little disconcerting.
The new character is certainly more interesting than the typical
SI avatar, but I get the feeling the mold and prototype of him is
Arthur Dent of _Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy_.
* * * * *
[Rurouni Kenshin]
- - - - -
Title: A Few Thoughts on a Line
Series: Rurouni Kenshin
Genre: Short but serious
Author: Matthew "Maybeso" Lewis
Email: maybeso@ican.net
Date Sent: June 24, 1998
Size: 10 Kb
Summary:
The title says it all, really. The author's musings on
a line Kenshin once said. On the darkish side.
{Shunsuke}
Not being familiar with _Rurouni Kenshin_ (none of we
reviewers are, I believe) forgive me if I'm not entirely
accurate in my assumptions.
This was quite brutal, and hard to tell if it's a dream
or reality, or somewhere in between. Clearly the people
know each other well which makes events even more
upsetting.
One thing about this fic that didn't work for me was the
author's attempts to convey symbolism as a means of slowing
time, to let the effects of a scene linger; it was a good
try, but it didn't quite work, you haven't quite got the
words right.
* * * * *
[Sailormoon]
- - - - -
Title: Terrible Things to Waste: Part 3 (revised)
Series: SM NA ver.
Genre: Action/Suspense
Author: Bastion
Email: bastion@ix.netcom.com
Homepage: http://solo.abac.com/moonromance/b.htm
Date Sent to FFML: June 26, 1998
Size: 26 Kb
Summary:
Someone is attacking homeless shelters around Tokyo and
the Sailor Scouts go to confront the aggressor.
{Paul}
Haven't we been here before? Second verse, same as the first.
Check last week's review for the plot and such... the grammar has
improved slightly, so that I don't stumble over every other
paragraph like I used to, but there are still a few flaws. Upped
to 14 or 15 of 20.
{Helen}
Hmmm... this story was released a while back with the
same name to the various SM archives. For some reason, I
can't seem to find the drawing point for the story. The
story seems rushed and with no direction...I dunno, I was
expecting something 'more' from this 'revised' version...
but didn't get it.
* * * * *
[Slayers]
- - - - -
Title: The Ultimate Spell
Series: Slayers
Genre: Humor/Shortfic
Author: Mike Allen
Email: allenmk@gte.net
Date Sent to FFML: June 26, 1998
Size: 7 Kb
Summary:
Lina and Gourry face a demon worse than Shabranigdo. Lina is
forced to use her ultimate spell.
{Paul}
I have to go for a continuity streak here and say that anything
capable of absorbing the raw fury of Shabranigdo and the Lord of
Nightmares is no ordinary demon. And that, to truly keep in
character, Lina should use this "most powerful spell" to get some
minor public functionary out of their way. Say, the man who
controls the issuing of bandit hunting licenses. As it is, the
battle was almost pedantic, the descriptions free of all the dark
urgency of a fight for the fate of the universe... *sigh* Gagne
has spoiled me. Ah well, I laughed a bit... 6 of 10, though,
because the whole fight scene was treated as nothing more than a
setup.
{Shunsuke}
An amusing idea, this is about the right length for this one-joke
story. The author certainly caught the slapstick stupidity of our
two bumbling heroes. On the negative side, I would suggest the
author work on his sentence construction, some segments just didn't
work together. I'm not referring to grammar, he has that, I'm
talking about flow and readability, things that grab your attention.
Anyway, I always knew those damn toys were filled with evil.
* * * * *
[Iczer / Teknoman]
- - - - -
Title: Operation: Lightsphere
Series: Iczer/Teknoman
Genre: Action/Drama
Author: Andrew Dynon
Email: adyn1@students.latrobe.edu.au
Date Sent to FFML: June 13, 1998
Summary:
"When I Descend...", Part 1 of 2: The final phase of the Rhadam's
invasion of Earth begins, and Blade, Nagisa and the rest head to
the moon to fight Darkon himself.
{Shunsuke}
I once tried to watch Iczer 1 and was bored out of my skull, the
plot thin and the story slow. Clearly the author has some idea
of what he's doing because this fic is interesting. He knows
just when to cut from scene to scene and leave you hanging, and
well captures a real anime feel. (I'm totally unfamiliar with
Teknoman, so I'm working blind with regard to that series.)
This makes me want to give the anime a second chance.
* * * * *
[Magic Knight Rayearth]
- - - - -
Title: Reunions and Tragedies Chapter 4: An Archangel's Wrath
Series: Magic Knight Rayearth
Genre: Continuation
Author: Nikholas "elf" F. Toledo
Email: niftol@i-manila.com.ph
Homepage: http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Flats/3145/reunions.html
Date Sent to FFML: June 8, 1998
Size: 45 Kb
Summary:
Gryff unleashes his anger on Lantis, and four on the NSX take
positions to spring. What is the reason for Gryff's vendetta, and
will the magical knights be able to stop them before the sinister
plot unfolds?
{Shunsuke}
The author is trying to write an A-ko-type comedy, but just
fails to reach it. The story has humour, but the weak telling
at certain times (almost reading like a synopsis or outline
than a story) interrupts the flow; he's on the right track,
though.
* * * * *
[Original]
- - - - -
Title: Macho Caballo Chapter 25 - Dog Daze Afternoon
Series: Macho Caballo
Genre: Humor/Drama/Original
Author: James Eades (James and the Bluejay)
Email: jeeades@ix.netcom.com
Homepage: http://www2.netcom.com/~jeeades/macho.htm
Date Sent to FFML: June 7, 1998
Size: 37 Kb
Summary:
While Ramon is in camp happily getting acquainted with his
sister, his friends are in town having adventures of their own.
{Shunsuke}
I'm not normally one for westerns, (I've only read _Shane_
and never even touched a Louis Lamour book) but the setting
and characterization are really well done. The author
understands what he's trying to accomplish and knows how to
get there. Plus, he's *quite* a dab hand with the English
language, one of the better writers I've seen in a while.
It makes me wonder why I haven't read this series before...
oh, right, I told you earlier. ^_^
* * * * *
[Ranma 1/2 / Chronicles of Amber]
- - - - -
Title: Lost Boy of Amber part3:Excursions and Voyeurs
Series: Ranma 1/2 & Chronicles of Amber
Author: C.J.
Email: cj@stny.lrun.com
Date Sent to FFML: June 7, 1998
Size: 11.3 Kb
Summary:
Ryoga finds out more about his Amber heritage, and people lurk in
the background. Plus, a cameo by Chris Angel, God of Moments.
{Shunsuke}
This story is all over the place, literally and figuratively.
I'm not sure what it is supposed to be, and I'm kind of afraid
the author doesn't either.
Certainly it offers a plausible explanation of why Ryouga is
as he is, and the settings seem interesting and appropriate
enough for the plot. But is the cross-series jumping necessary
for later events in the series, or just a whim of the author?
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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