(As usual, I make no claims that my information is 100 percent accurate,
and use of this information is strictly at your discretion. The intent here
is not to criticize, but to inform and assist...and hopefully ward off a
lot of wincing, flinching, and grimacing at weird guesswork in fanfics.)


During the recent return of the "Ranma special techniques" thread, I
noticed some...unique attempts at spelling the Japanese names of the
techniques. This has always been a pet peeve of mine...differences in
romanization styles notwithstanding, there are things which work, and
things which do not work...and far too often someone comes up with
something that's completely off the wall.

The techniques themselves have already been described to hell and back. I
won't go into that. I'm just here to provide the correct spelling to
everyone who desires (and everyone who needs) it.

(NOTE: I am not reflecting the 'oo' and 'oh' variants of the elongated 'o'
vowel below. Keep in mind that wherever you see the 'ou' vowel, these can
be applied as well.)

1. The "Breaking Point" technique.

Correct spellings:

Bakusai Tenketsu

*This technique has ONLY ONE correct spelling. Anything other than the
above spelling is incorrect.
*The spelling 'Baski Tenkin' is *especially* incorrect, and should be
considered a criminal offense.

2. The "Flying Dragon Ascension" (or your favorite bastard translation)

Correct spellings:

Hiryuu Shouten Ha
Hiryuu Shoten Ha
Hiryuushoutenha
Hiryuushotenha

*The spelling "Hiryu" is largely incorrect. The elongated vowel sound in
'ryuu' is not as open to debate as the elongated vowel in 'shouten'. This
isn't to say it can't be spelled this way; it can, but it's not completely
accurate.

3. "Roaring Lion Bullet"

Correct spellings:

Shishi Houkoudan
Shishi Hokodan

*Please note that 'Hokudan' and 'Hokodon' are very much incorrect
spellings. So is 'Hakudan'.
*Also note that you CAN elongate either/or of the vowels in Houkoudan...but
keep in mind that you generally want to pick a romanization style (long o
or no o) and stick with it.

4. "Fierce Tiger Domineering"

Correct spellings:

Moukou Takabisha
Moko Takabisha

*Note: 'Takabishi', 'Takabishya', and the surname of the manga artist who
created Ranma 1/2 are NOT correct spellings of this technique.

5. "Sweet Chestnut Fist" (or "Chestnuts Roasting" etc.)

Correct spellings:

Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken
Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken
Tenshin Amaguriken

*Note: 'Kachu' is listed because there doesn't seem to be any reason for it
to be considered wrong, elongated vowel notwithstanding.


---------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Eternal Lost Lurker
Insane evil fanfic writer type nutcase otaku
White Knight of the Knightly Order of Mihoshi Enthusiasts
My bowl runneth over
eternallostlurker@worldnet.att.net
http://www.geocities.com/~etlostlurker
ICQ# 22559724