Ranma 1/2: One Page Per Volume, Part 37
Dec. 15th, 2018 09:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rainsometimesThe last two volumes of Ranma ½ are devoted to its final and longest arc, the Phoenix Saga, which takes the characters* back to where it all started for the first and only time not counting flashbacks: Jusenkyo, the Valley of Sorrows, and its surroundings like the Ho'o Mountain where the Phoenix Tribe live, ruled by the super-powered Saffron.
Art reads from left to right.
A photo of Akane winds up serving an important part of the plot: because Ryoga at the start of this story still can't let go of his feelings for her, he buys the photo from Nabiki and keeps it in his wallet together with a photo of his girlfriend Akari. A few pages before this one, the wallet is ripped in two with Ranma holding one half (he didn't try to claim it, he was attempting to keep Ryoga from falling down a chasm in the mountain they’re in, but they all fall down in the end).
Of course, it's the half with Akane's picture that stays with Ranma, and as he wakes up from unconsciousness a little later in caved-in near-darkness, he thinks for a moment that he can see her from far off. It makes him wish he was back home, fighting with her. ♥ It's a very nice little moment, unusually thoughtful for him and for the series in general, and I nearly picked the page it's on for this post.
Then he realises it's a photo and the fact that he can see it means there's light coming in, where it turns out the others are, too. And then there's this page, which I ended up picking for the composition and the grandeur of it.
Ranma's expression here, astounded but in a more serious way than usual, help us remind us of the quiet moment just two pages back, letting the sombreness linger. The lines of the well buckets leading upwards to the opening, and the light coming in from there, help give an impression of hopeful struggle: there are serious enemies here, but things can improve, our guys can handle this. This is underlined by Ryoga's unusually positive attitude, where he doesn’t bemoan his bad luck or turn the whole thing into a challenge or even beat himself up: no, for once he looks on the bright side and makes a point of giving the credit to his two crush objects in the bargain. His logic is shaky, but as long as things are looking up…
And they do need all the breaks they can get, to be sure...
*Well, the characters as in the Jusenkyo victims of the regular cast, plus Akane who gets kidnapped there later. I've always wished Ukyo could have played a part in the last adventure, but I can see why she couldn't - she doesn'st know about Ryoga's, and it might have taken too much finagling to keep her from finding out.
Art reads from left to right.
A photo of Akane winds up serving an important part of the plot: because Ryoga at the start of this story still can't let go of his feelings for her, he buys the photo from Nabiki and keeps it in his wallet together with a photo of his girlfriend Akari. A few pages before this one, the wallet is ripped in two with Ranma holding one half (he didn't try to claim it, he was attempting to keep Ryoga from falling down a chasm in the mountain they’re in, but they all fall down in the end).
Of course, it's the half with Akane's picture that stays with Ranma, and as he wakes up from unconsciousness a little later in caved-in near-darkness, he thinks for a moment that he can see her from far off. It makes him wish he was back home, fighting with her. ♥ It's a very nice little moment, unusually thoughtful for him and for the series in general, and I nearly picked the page it's on for this post.
Then he realises it's a photo and the fact that he can see it means there's light coming in, where it turns out the others are, too. And then there's this page, which I ended up picking for the composition and the grandeur of it.
Ranma's expression here, astounded but in a more serious way than usual, help us remind us of the quiet moment just two pages back, letting the sombreness linger. The lines of the well buckets leading upwards to the opening, and the light coming in from there, help give an impression of hopeful struggle: there are serious enemies here, but things can improve, our guys can handle this. This is underlined by Ryoga's unusually positive attitude, where he doesn’t bemoan his bad luck or turn the whole thing into a challenge or even beat himself up: no, for once he looks on the bright side and makes a point of giving the credit to his two crush objects in the bargain. His logic is shaky, but as long as things are looking up…
And they do need all the breaks they can get, to be sure...
*Well, the characters as in the Jusenkyo victims of the regular cast, plus Akane who gets kidnapped there later. I've always wished Ukyo could have played a part in the last adventure, but I can see why she couldn't - she doesn'st know about Ryoga's, and it might have taken too much finagling to keep her from finding out.