The other debate I've noticed concerns the deathcount: Ukyou,
Shamps, not the Hibikis, etc.  Shamps didn't bother me, gruesome as it
was, since it did display to Akane something important.  The method of
removing Mariko, as someone else suggested, did come across as fake --
c'mon, she _did_ fall down a mineshaft; if you needed her out of the 

way,

a less contrived method could've worked.  And I don't understand any
argument against Akane suggesting she was a murderer in that fight -- 

all

the Tendo did was defend herself; she had no idea a hole was there.

OK, I think I need to explain myself, here.  (I knew this was gonna 
happen... My fault for wording it poorly.)

I am not saying that Akane would have been a murderer.  I do think that 
if Mariko had really died, however, that _Akane_ would have viewed 
herself that way--or at least bearing much of the responsibility for 
Mariko's death.  We, the readers, might feel differently, but we're not 
the ones there.  Her thoughts as she was looking for Ranma after the 
fight indicate her mind-set pretty well.  She _felt_ responsible.  
Without a lot of very good counseling, she would have either consumed 
herself with guilt, or overreacted in the other direction by forcibly 
squelching much of her conscience.

I do feel that Akane, as an enabler and a passive reacter in this drama, 
ultimately contributed to the final body count.  Was she the only person 
bearing that blame?  No.  But she should receive her fair share of it.  
I guess the reason I pushed it so hard in my original argument was 
because of all the folks blaming the Hibikis for practically everything.

Someone said that Akane and Ukyou were trying to help, and that those 
intentions should count for something.  Well, the same argument should 
apply to the Hibikis.  Remember, they firmly believed that Ranma 
_would_--not might or could, but would--kill Akane when he tired of her.  
Now, from the Epilogues, we know they got it at least half-right:  He 
was planning on killing her.  They were wrong about his motive, though.  
>From his POV, _anyone_ capable of causing him to be the least little bit 
out of control of his own heart was a threat.  That means Nabiki (who 
made him angry) and Akane (who made him happy).

So who deserves more blame?  The two who understood Ranma's motives, but 
failed to realize how far he would go, or the two who didn't give a damn 
about why, they just knew how dangerous he was?

Just leaving him alone would not have been an option--and that's just 
what A&U wanted everyone to do.

OTOH, Mike, I think you missed one major point about the tape:  Nabiki 
gave a very accurate description, not only of the fact that she was 
going to die, but that it was going to look like an accident.  Remember, 
too, that Akane had to witness Shampoo's brutal murder to fully accept 
what Ranma was.

Anyway, I think I'm not gonna talk about this on the list any more, but 
I will respond to further messages off the board.

--Freemage


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