Fan art gift (not One Piece)

[rainsometimes]

This is a gift for ayiekie, but he's already seen it and okayed it being posted here. Another return to Ranma 1/2, it's in honour of one of the most deliciously cracky mock summaries of fusions-never-to-be-written I've ever read (I reeeeally wish it was posted on the net so I could link to it here). EDIT:You can now read the thing (the mock summary, that is) here! Again uses one-shot character Mariko Konjo the Cheerleader (and also Akane, less prominently).

EDIT: There are now HUGE spoilers for Revolutionary Girl Utena and Sailor Moon in the comments, so avoid if you haven't seen Season 5 of SM and the entirety of Utena! I MEAN IT. Especially wrt Utena.





While I'm feeling Rumic, here's a tentative sketch of Nami drawn in my imitation of Rumiko Takahashi's style, plus an even looser, more tentative sketch of Robin (face only) as the same.



Although Nami's legs look horrible - my fault, of course; Taakhashi draws legs just fine - and the waist should probably be a little thinner to fit the style, I still think the body proportions look slightly more realistic this way from Oda-style. Her face gets even more stylised, though. (Note that the hair looks grey rather than white: Takahashi wouldn't render orange hair as white in b&w. 'White' hair in b&w = actually blond or white hair in her art.)


aside: I must say, I find the little fake "products" you can see on the left in Photobucket now, featuring your image as printed on a cup, cards, t-shirt or as a cellphone background rather creepy.

Comments

[aqua-karen.livejournal.com]

Ha ha, they're so cute! (I think Revolutionary Girl Akane is my favorite. A drop of sanity in a sea of madness.)

... I can't believe Good King Wenceslas has a parody song. XD;

[serrende.livejournal.com]

Yeah, she's very reluctant about the whole deal. ^_^ Also, she's holding the Baton of Dios, which Mariko normally uses as upholstery. Mariko is a very cheerful Rose Bride. You don't want to know who was playing Akio's part.

The parody song is from Pogo, in the same vein as "Deck us all with Boston Charlie". Reading old Pogo strips is how I found out about the original song in the first place! (Many English carols have become well-known here, but not all of them.)

[aqua-karen.livejournal.com]

I've done a few Utena insane crossover ideas, but that's pretty great. I can't even imagine Akio.

Ah, I knew the one parody but not the other! It's pretty rare here too, most people don't know it as well as other older songs. I was really startled to hear it on the radio once this year even though two local stations (plus the classical station) were all playing nothing but carols and Christmas songs for a couple weeks.

[serrende.livejournal.com]

I can't even imagine Akio.

That may be for the best. It's not like I could do a Hawai'ian accent, anyway...

It's pretty rare here too, most people don't know it as well as other older songs. I was really startled to hear it on the radio once this year even though two local stations (plus the classical station) were all playing nothing but carols and Christmas songs for a couple weeks.

That's rather sad - I mean, if it was played as often as "jingle Bells" maybe it would get worn out a bit for you so you wouldn't like it as much (?), but you'd think there could be a happy middle ground. Radio is often like that, though, with pop/rock as well - even when they play old songs, it's always the same old songs over and over. At least it's like that over here.

[aqua-karen.livejournal.com]

... I swear I was almost going to say "the principal" and then thought "If I can't think of his name, other than being the Kuno dad, I shouldn't try."

Yeah, I think the rareness is part of why I like GKW, but a little more wouldn't hurt, it's also a good song. Even "modern" songs that aren't so modern, like "Jingle Bell Rock" or Elvis's "Blue Christmas" were played pretty frequently. I guess the stations were focusing on comfort music, so they stuck to songs that were recognizable to most people in just a few bars... even the 'classical' music station was just playing orchestral versions of fairly common songs. Meh.

[serrende.livejournal.com]

AFAIK, his canon name is simply "Principal Kuno".

[aqua-karen.livejournal.com]

... That'd explain why I couldn't think of a name.

I went "Who controls the most people in Ranma? The parents? Oooh, the principal controls a school, but... naaaah."

[serrende.livejournal.com]

And he's evil! Or at least quite insane which also works. ;)

I really do wish aiyekie would post the outline even if he never intends to actually write it. It's hard to paraphrase from memory...

I forgot to ask you: what were your insane Utena crossover ideas?

[aqua-karen.livejournal.com]

Oh, pretty much any series I like for a while, I eventually try to figure out who would be the Rose Bride, Utena or Akio at least. The series really lends itself to taking apart other series, thanks to the iconic obsessions of the characters.

One Piece is actually pretty even-handed for this, so aside from Usopp versus Luffy reminding me of Wakaba versus Utena (stand up, secondary characters, in the name of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern!) it's hard to figure out who'd be whom. Houshin Engi, Sailor Moon, Danny Phantom and other more unbalanced series work better.

[serrende.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, Wakaba vs Utena felt just a mite Water 7-ish in tone, even though Wakaba was manipulated.

Sailor Moon is the only one of those others I know decently. What did you come up with there?

(Now that you say it, I think ayiekie and me had a discussion on that point, too... no, wait, it was the other way around, with Utena characters playing Sailor Senshi. )

[aqua-karen.livejournal.com]

Even Wakaba's fight song was different from the rest of the Black Rose duellists, the "Saionji jealousy" story seemed to fade into the background of the real struggle. Like Usopp's fight with Luffy (which was about Merry, except it was more than that) it's both one of those moments that make me wince and make me applaud. Great stuff.

Wow, it was so long ago, but I've had a rather strong Sailor Stars revival in the last few years, so I suppose that'll have to do. I don't always agree even with myself rereading, and I generally more figure who would make sense in what roles. Writing whole fanfics would be hard (and nobody reads anything labeled "Sailor Moon crossover," even I don't.)

The last, off the top of my mind...
Utena: Seiya/Sailor StarFighter (female/male role switching, sports fanatic, main character mojo yet not the real designated Prince)

Akio: Endymion (I'm sorry, Mamoru! It's complicated! Endymion and Mamoru are both obviously too old for their romantic counterparts, even without Akio/Anthy's incestuous aspects. Endymion in particular plays the role of the Prince, yet he does not really seem to protect Serenity so much as be protected, ultimately; his power is too weak compared to hers. Without the Silver Moon Crystal's influence, his own power is pretty much "Dress up funny and be older and more mature than others." Yet it can't be said in the end that he has ultimate control in any sense, he's more often controlled, so this is rather shaky, I admit; if the Silver Moon Crystal were a character instead of a power source I might just slap it here instead. Still, his existence keeps Usagi from existing as an individual rather than an obsessed magical girl [she may be called a Princess in the series, but she reminds me more of...])

Anthy: Usagi/Serenity (She's also trapped in a role and so can't be a 'normal' girl, but really, taking this role is her own decision; does Seiya have any right to challenge that? Serenity can make others more powerful, but she also seems to conquer or control others in her own way, leading to obsessive possession fixations from her enemies and allies both.)

Dios: "Silver Moon Crystal" (Those who don't just want Serenity want her ability to access the crystal, but how this works is never really clear. It does seem to be the greatest force of power, and others state this to be a "good" power or bright, but isn't it just stronger? Is that good? It once ruled a solar system-wide empire.)

Touga: Michiru/Sailor Neptune. (Sees the truth and reality closely thanks to the mirror, and is partners with the runner up for the prize, but the lack of romantic interest in Seiya beyond one flirting scene makes this a bit shaky... all the duellists are a bit shaky, really.)

Saionji: Haruka/Sailor Uranus. (Forgive me, Haruka! Physically rougher, interested in Usagi but destined to always be a runner-up in that race, partners with Michiru.)

Juri/Julie/etc.: Setsuna/Sailor Pluto. (More graceful than anyone, more mysterious than anyone, more trapped than anyone. Her trap is a place/idea and not a person, but still. Oddly perkier as the series goes on.)

Miki: I have absolutely no idea, I'm sorry. Ami? I can't think of anyone with his control issues or his sibling issues...

Nanami: Yaten/Sailor StarHealer. (Controlling, obsessive, fashion-oriented beyond the point of sense, has a ton of followers she/he abuses if not outright ignoring them, willing to be absolutely cold-hearted only to regret it greatly later. No equivalent for the Touga relationship, but most of the sibling relationships in Utena can't be replicated easily.)

Mikage: Hotaru/Sailor Saturn. (A dangerous outside power that nobody even mentions until that plot wanders along, could possibly lead to the replacement of Usagi/Sailor Moon, also mysterious and kinda death-powered.)

"Mamiya": Chibi-Usa/Chibi(Mini)-Moon. (Cute and little and a plausible replacement for Usagi, except... yeah.)

Wakaba: Minako/Sailor Venus. (Everybody's pal, perky and likes guys, but actually, her star as Sailor V was set and if she's angry, she has a right to be.)

It's also probably obvious I like the later characters in Sailor Moon more than the core group. ^_^;

[serrende.livejournal.com]

Wow - ! That's amazingly deep, thoughtful reasoning. I confess, while I've pondered a lot on various fusion/crossover scenarios for different series, it's always been on a much more shallow level, going by broad character traits, looks or backstories. And quite often just by what I think would be funny, frequently through the incongruity of it all.

But Usagi as Anthy is both very unsettling and interesting. I think it warrants at least a shortfic - maybe one of those "idea fics" that never gets followed up on? It feels so odd to picture Usagi as a victim/witch rather than as the hero(ine), but it's true that her very princessy archetype does seem to hem her in, in a Utena setting. Hmmm.

On the other hand, an Usagi who feels forced to step into the shoes of the Prince role in order to do good could be interesting too (if someone else is Anthy, that is).

I agree that Seiya does seem the one closest to Utena's character in terms of personality, and probably archetype as well. And Mamoru, alas, seem almost preordained to be a "false prince" of some kind - he's too obviously Prince-like for the more subversive Utena world. But I could see him in Touga's role too - or even Saionji's.

Sailor Chibi-Moon as Mamiya is brilliant! And Mikage as Sailor Saturn seems to work very well, too.

It's also probably obvious I like the later characters in Sailor Moon more than the core group. ^_^;

Yah, I noticed. ;) But Venus as Wakaba seems like a good choice. And you don't have to fit *everybody* in.

Ami as Miki just seems to impulsively work, character-wise, even if there isn't any plausible Kozue around for her. But maybe I'm just led by shallow traits again... ;)

Utena spoilers and Sailor Moon spoilers ^_^;

[aqua-karen.livejournal.com]

Well, I won't deny I also sometimes like really light comparisons, especially for Sailor Moon. Making up Sailors is fun.

Still, Utena seems to invite itself to heavier stuff as a tool to examine other series and the dynamics behind the actual surface. Usagi doesn't even need a self, only the powers within herself, and others fall down before that. Usagi really seems to lose herself when "Serenity" takes over.

I like Seiya as Utena not just for the gender alterations but also as Seiya first seems to be trying to fit into an already-taken role but in further examination, if taken at his/her best, likes Usagi rather than Serenity despite initial Princess/Prince cliche ideals (and unlike an interest in the miraculous power of the witch or the Rose Bride) and who could be an escape route from Crystal Tokyo and an eternity living out Serenity's life, Usagi as an individual different from Serenity almost totally thrown aside. (The live action Sailor Moon series explored this, but only extremely lightly, meh.)

The other hand is that Usagi accepts her Serenity side and Seiya remains blissfully unaware of all the parts of life Usagi has already accepted as pre-written for herself, yet Seiya seems to love her. Kakyuu would almost be more like Dios here in the sense of Seiya liking someone because he/she is reminded of someone else, at first... and that the Silver Moon Crystal may have been what powered Seiya's infatuation, an aspect Seiya didn't realize. Both of them, like Utena and Anthy, were ultimately dishonest with each other and themselves trying to live two lives. (Though Seiya at least tried to tell, in multiple episodes, like Utena he/she wasn't trying to listen quite so much, and Usagi or Anthy never really tried to tell the gory details.)

I wonder if the left-over "inner" sailors could be called the -ko equivalents, either Nanami's or the Shadowplay girls, honestly a bit shallow and living only to admire or reflect upon the Prince and Princess dynamics, their own lives absolutely insignificant in the end and vanishing quickly (how many two or three episode max appearance boyfriends were there?!)

I think seeing it as Usagi the Heroine versus Akio (I don't know who'd play this role now... still Endymion? But abandoning Usagi/Serenity's dynamic means Endymion/Mamoru seems to fit the role poorly...) and some female, perhaps Galaxia, who needs Usagi's friendship, is probably more accurate towards the intent of Sailor Moon. But even in these cases, it's more an issue of Princess/Sailor versus Princess/Sailor, and Serenity's Silver Moon Crystal is just so shiny and amazing others are won over. This still feels like the witch's power to me, the way others obsess over Anthy even without clear reason and despite their hate of her. Ah, it's complicated! ^_^; Like the 'noble sword' that smashes against the seal, Utena's power isn't her nobility or princeliness despite Akio and Anthy's confusion, it's who she is beyond all of those ideals, and I'm not sure Usagi ever reaches a level beyond "Princess" or "Girl who will be Princess again" or "Future Queen." Her power comes from her idealized feminine forms, even her nobility or kindness. I really liked the end of Stars but it still lacked the same impact as Utena's, for me.

Akio really is hard to pin down. Maybe, to be really thorough, we should admit that he's a male director or writer who keeps putting the females into set roles, or even makes a "revolutionary" female who is at heart the same Princess and has a dress & flowered coffin reserved for her, rather than letting her escape into a world where she isn't a prince, a princess, a witch, a knight, but just a person. And yet 'Akio' cannot exist without the consent of other women who want to have princes and to be the princess.

I've heard a lot of comparisons for the castle, especially the Utena movie version--I think it looks like the Disney castle, but I've also heard people say it looks like Crystal Tokyo's castle or other fairytale-style castles. It doesn't help that the director was a Sailor Moon director first, and seemed to want to break away from that intensely. XD;

Re: Utena spoilers and Sailor Moon spoilers ^_^;

[aqua-karen.livejournal.com]

Er, upon rereading, assume everything that's a wild assertation has a big "IMHO" in front of it? XD;

I got a little carried away, plus I ran out of characters (for LJ comments.) ^_^;

Re: Utena spoilers and Sailor Moon spoilers ^_^;

[serrende.livejournal.com]

I remain impressed by your analysis here, for the record. And good idea to warn about spoilers in the subject line, eh heh heh. *will edit original post to reflect this*

Utena's power isn't her nobility or princeliness despite Akio and Anthy's confusion, it's who she is beyond all of those ideals,

Yes, I definitely agree with that! In the end, even Utena isn't a 'true prince', because 'true princes' don't really exist. She becomes more than the archetype, not less.

and I'm not sure Usagi ever reaches a level beyond "Princess" or "Girl who will be Princess again" or "Future Queen." Her power comes from her idealized feminine forms, even her nobility or kindness. I really liked the end of Stars but it still lacked the same impact as Utena's, for me.

I'd agree with that (with the aside that very, very few shows had the same degree of impact as the end of Utena did for me. (Haibane Renmei did; possibly Fullmetal Alchemist, too.)) I could see Usagi being in a sense a prisoner of her archetype persona, and so, perhaps, share similarity as to what she truly is with Anthy.

At the same time, though, their differences seem profound as well. I can't imagine in-series Anthy being able to reach out to someone like Sailor Galaxia, and to save her. Anthy would have used the Sword of Light for sure - assuming she ever got that far, which I rather doubt. She doesn't believe in people ´(not that that isn't understandable!). It's hard for me to picture Anthy palling around with a group of friends who all honestly like her and who she honestly likes back, too.

Usagi/Serenity for me seems to me to embody the very Princess archetype that in-series Anthy probably still dreams she could be, though in the same way she also represents all those Princesses that keep Anthy locked and tortured within the Witch archetype.

Not that I'm saying there should be a one-to-one correspondence to these kinds of things, of course! It's often the differences as well as the similarities that make it interesting.

I like the identification with Akio as a male director/writer.

I wonder if the left-over "inner" sailors could be called the -ko equivalents, either Nanami's or the Shadowplay girls, honestly a bit shallow and living only to admire or reflect upon the Prince and Princess dynamics, their own lives absolutely insignificant in the end and vanishing quickly (how many two or three episode max appearance boyfriends were there?!)

That's kind of harsh. Even if you're right, I don't like to think of Rei that way... *sentimental* :(

The castle always looked like the Disney palace turned upside-down to me.

...random thought but, you know, I always wanted to see Anthy in armour at some point in the series, like in that one moment in the opening. She looked great like that.

Utena TV Spoilers, Sailor Moon Spoilers

[aqua-karen.livejournal.com]

I had to give this a lot of thought before responding!

I do think there's something to the fact that Sailor Moon (something between "Usagi" and "Serenity") heals, acts that Anthy or even the Rose Bride don't seem to do. At best, Anthy seems to stay close to her brother, healing him in a sense by taking away the power of Dios.

It's a little hard to compare after a certain point, since the story gets all symbol-y and so deciding what symbolizes what (did the world really have only one guy to protect girls? What's with the swords? Does Dios exist at all?) is hard. If we go with the idea that Anthy in a sense could control the healing or rescuing power of Dios yet couldn't rescue (or be rescued) herself I think the comparison to Sailor Moon stands. Usagi/Serenity can make the path of someone like Galaxia or Nehelenia change, but can't change her own path.

Leaving out the idea that there never was a real Dios (though even Akio does suggest it in the last episodes, with his points about the castle being a fantasy as well) Anthy's ability to heal still is questionable. Anthy has a powerful influence on others as well as what happens to others, and it may be less inability and more a lack of will to help others. Anthy is aware of her role as the world's scapegoat and sacrifice, something Usagi seems to ignore, and seems malicious as a result. It also raises the question of whether Anthy was the witch before she 'sealed Dios'; if Dios was the only prince, that'd make his sister also unique as the only real princess, but also the only person with no one else to save her. If the Silver Moon Crystal is in Usagi/Serenity, she can use it to save others, but the mad lust others have for that power seems to imply it could also be used for less pleasant means, and if Serenity started going around controlling or harming others they might well call her the witch instead. Akio claims Anthy is happier as the witch. I wonder if Usagi could someday feel the same, especially if she ever had to quit saving people only to get cursed and hurt by those she had helped protect.

The other question is whether Sailor Moon actually saves people. Sailor Moon is surrounded by friends, but is Usagi? Increasingly, Usagi's acquaintances are all people Serenity knew. The time she spends around other friends, like Naru, decreases. Even when something or someone new comes along (as Seiya seemed to) they have to be cleared by everyone else in her group first to even get in and generally vanish soon. Usagi's school life, like Anthy's school life, is a joke--Usagi knows her future and doing well in school is more to stay near the other sailors in school than to actually succeed, because one day she'll be Queen. Even Usagi's Earth parents are soon near invisible, aside from accepting in strange Sailors who brainwash them.

Anthy's main power over others seems to be the power of manipulation, emotional and slightly supernatural. This is Serenity's ultimate power, too. Anthy doesn't fight with swords, that's what princes do, and I don't think she'd have used ChibiChibi's sword (edit: unless Galaxia turned around and made a really inviting target with no fight needed ^^;.) Anthy portrays herself as and possibly even makes herself a victim at school, gradually luring in Utena for her brother to take the sword. But if she portrayed herself as a goddess of light, like Serenity, would she be much different? Dios descends in a halo of light and possessed others. This is the power Anthy has pushed away and rejected, only to want back. Serenity warmly extends a hand to Galaxia to save her, and Galaxia is won over, but is that all? Forgiving her seems gentle, but it's also what stops her, when force is useless. Is it the light flipside of Anthy's manipulations of, say, Mikage? Or Utena herself?

I do feel bad for Rei. I think she had more personality than the rest, but ultimately, she too was more in orbit to Usagi/Serenity than anything else. Just as Ohtori seems to circle around Akio and Anthy even when people are unaware of it, Usagi/Serenity's world gradually settles into Serenity's path.

[serrende.livejournal.com]

ayiekie has put the mock-summary up now: you can read it here (http://ayiekie.livejournal.com/2048.html) if you're curious.

(Again, it's pure crack.)

[ayiekie.livejournal.com]

Tell you what - if you still HAVE a copy of the Rev. Girl Akane summary, mail it to me and I'll put it up on my neglected blog. :)

(Which you might want to correct the spelling in your links to. ;p)

[serrende.livejournal.com]

Ack! I've corrected it in the entry now, but unfortunately I can't correct the comments any more... sorry.

I DO have that copy, as it happens... mailed to you now! \o/

[pigtailedgirl.livejournal.com]

Hello, I found your journal via google. Love the artwork. Well done on the ruffles in Mariko's skirt!

I kinda browsed through your back entries featuring Ranma. Big Ranma 1/2 fan myself and just love to hear others talk about it. Your fic was wonderful, and esp. loved the idea of a kindness competition between Ryoga and Ranma.

[serrende.livejournal.com]

Why, thank you very much! I may be more into One Piece these days but judging from how easily I let myself talk on the subject, the old fandom still has its grip on me. :) But the problem with Ranma 1/2 and fanfiction is that it seems sometimes pretty much all the ideas have been taken. It's too bad there doesn't seem to be a drabble/ficlet community for the fandom, as that might lower the threshold some - possibly.

[pigtailedgirl.livejournal.com]

But the problem with Ranma 1/2 and fanfiction is that it seems sometimes pretty much all the ideas have been taken. It's too bad there doesn't seem to be a drabble/ficlet community for the fandom, as that might lower the threshold some - possibly. It would at least get more Ranma 1/2 stuff out into the more findable spaces, although I would fear there wouldn't be enough posts to make a comm survive. Something like a yearly collector posting or sticky in the Rumiko and Ranma comms and message boards would have a chance I think.

I would certainly join anything to give me a chance for seeing more fic.