Well, Matt, so far, these stories have been simply great.  Not
your typical Ranma fanfiction by any means.  As you've said in your
'infamous' preludes, the reasoning behind some characterization
is frighteningly plausible.

What do I see?  A number of things.  I see Cologne and Happosai
becoming the polarized sides of one of the oldest philosophical
debates in history:  the conflict between spirituality and
physicality, whether it is better to indulge oneself in the
joys and sorrows and pains of mortal life, or to abstain in the 
hope of some sort of apotheosis, an enlightened state where the
spirit becomes free from the chains of the so-called "corrupt" 
body.

I see Ranma as a pawn between these two old masters, but by the
end, at least, of 'Thesis', pawn has become king.  And I see, I
think, the great danger of becoming too much of any one thing;
the need, as I have always seen it, is one of balance, not of
polarization.

The oppositional forces of the fire and ice are old as human
history, mirrored by dozens of other symbols of conflict; the
Yin and the Yang, the darkness and the light, the heavens and the
earth, etc, etc, etc...

To some extent, this is a theme that I have tried to deal with 
(among many others) throughout Waters Under Earth.  Soul of Ice,
however, cuts straight to the bone with this theme, shortly and
sharply.  In 'Thesis', Ranma becomes 'perfect' from the
perspective of some philosophies; he is free of all human
compunctions of love, guilt, fear, morality, ethics or otherwise.
And perfect as he may be, he is also a monster of sorts; in his
quest for the purity of soul, perhaps he has lost his own along
the way.

I am very anxious to see what else you do with this concept, Matt.  
Excellent work.

Ciao,
-Alan Harnum

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