[Ranma 1/2] Darkness and Light

[Brian]

Adrian Wong wrote a fair bit of fanfiction back in the day, and is one of those authors who just mysteriously vanished from the net, taking a handful of incomplete fics with him.

But he left behind this fic.

The grammar is readable, with a few spots that may make readers blink, but there aren't so many they detract from the quality of the fic.  On the other hand ... this is one of those fics that didn't age so well, so not everyone may enjoy the characterizations employed.  More on that later.

The premise of the story is that Genma is a bad man.  A very, very, very bad man.  Ranma's so forgiving because he's forgetful (too many blows to the head, you see).  As it turns out, the Joketsuzoku have techniques for aiding memory loss!  Er.  Restoration!  So Ranma begins to remember how Genma used him for money as a child....

The entire cast (more or less) ends up accidentally eavesdropping on Ranma's explanation of what did happen when he's engaged in a ... discussion ... and there, things fall apart.  This isn't a very long fic, and some events move very quickly.  But reading some classic Wong, this is among his best writing; he explains in his notes that Darkness and Light is a rewrite of a much shorter fic he wanted to flesh out.

In the end, the story works, though the ending feels a little odd, simply because the dynamic that Ranma ends up in after leaving Genma is so swiftly set aside with so little justification....  It feels like Mr. Wong accidentally left a few loose threads.  In its day, I would have rated this story a strong 8 of 10.  Now, I think it rates between a 5 and a 6.

Not a waste of time if you've nothing better to do, but not a landmark of fanfiction.

[Edward]

I thought the fic was fairly well done, though it could use some proofreading in spots.  Genma is not protrayed in the best light, though that was neccessary for the story.