Reflections, volume 4

Review

Continuing the story from Reflections, volumes 1,2,3. This volume takes a complicated story and adds even more layers of complication.

The story is becoming so complex and so far removed from the world of normal Ranko events that it's becoming almost boring. The splitting of people into different personalities continues to the point of absurdity. Any trace of humor is gone. Mousse becomes a traitor. Too many people and too many forces are being thrown into the story which is trying to become an epic tale of some kind.

I knew I was beginning to really dislike the story when I found myself putting off reading the story, doing other things in preference. It has become a forced task to continue reading the fiction, and that is not a good sign at all.

Synopsis

Part 1

In the Amazon village, Ranma is considered an honorary woman.

Akane beats up on Ranma, and Fa Shen talks to her about her cooking and that she should taste it herself before trying to get someone else to eat it.

Ranma is much more like the “original” Ranma in personality now. Fa Shen had to declare Ukyo an ally of the tribe to avoid any trouble over her fighting someone and defeating them.

Ranma and Fa Shen plan to go into the mirror world, leaving Ranko outside, all three engaged in various forms of experimentation.

Part 2

Ranko, Fa Shen and Ranma go to a valley to train. Ranma has begun to pick up some of the hidden techniques that Mousse uses. Meanwhile, in the village, Akane raises so much havoc with her cooking techniques that Shampoo uses a sword to chase her out of the village.

Akane enters the training valley, to warn Ranko about some training Mousse is doing, takes the compact away from Ranko, taps it, and out falls Fa Shen and Ranma who are in the middle of having sex.

Akane loses her temper (again), beats up on all three, then gets captured by the Amazon guards and taken back to the village.

Fa Shen will fight Akane to get the compact mirror back.

Part 3

Ranma and Fa Shen seem to have found a way to change their sex without having to have sex with each other. Ranko, meanwhile, is still a virgin and has a hard time handling sexual arousal.

Ryoga has a talk with Ranko. Ryoga bathes in the stream and changes to girl form due to the cold water. Ryoga still wants Ranko, but is willing to give her all the space she needs.

When the two girls get back to the village they find out that, once again, Akane has lost her temper and hit Ranma. She thinks Ranma and Fa Shen have been having sex with Ranko.

Part 4

Ranko gets hit by hot water and changes into male form. He then runs into Ukyo who thinks he is Ranma, and she starts yelling at him.

Later Ranko tries to talk to Akane, but she thinks he's Ranma and ends up hitting Ranko.

Ranko, Fa Shen, Ranma and Ryoga then have a talk, and Ranma reveals that he needs to keep the curse (to change into a girl a times) to have any chance with Akane.

Part 5

Fa Shen, Ranko, Ranma-chan and Ryoga talk about Akane. Ranko and Ranma-chan feel that Akane gets angry because she's never learned to stop herself from getting emotionally hurt by their arguments.

Cologne and Nodoka are having a discussion about Nodoka's father and the curse he got. Cologne has officially adopted Nodoka, so Ranko is now Cologne's great-grandaughter.

Anyhow, they bring Ranko into their conversation. Apparently Nodoka's father had been cursed by the Musk to become a female and was the one who gave birth to Nodoka. She then escaped, unlocked the curse, and returned to being male.

Akane is thinking and being angry, again. She lets loose a chi attack into the air, but it falls back down and hits her, changing her back into the male form she had for a little while.

Part 6

We find out that Kasumi had told Nodoka about the cat-fist training, so when Shampoo slips in the kitchen, reverts to cat form when splashed, and Fa Shen runs screaming away, Nodoka at least knows what is going on.

Fa Shen (in female form) goes to take a bath. Shampoo is there and comes on to her. Fa Shen changes into male form. Meanwhile, Ranma-chan and Ryoga are out in the forest and an accident happens with water they are carrying, causing Ranma-chan to begin to change her personality. (It's quite confusing, really.)

Fa Shen finds Ranma-chan battling a group of twenty Amazon males. What she doesn't know is that the battle is a form of training exercise. Anyhow, Ranma-chan escapes, unharmed.

Now there apparently is a male Fa Shen, a female Fa Shen (formerly Ranma-chan), plus Ranko. And no Ranma.

Part 7

Cologne, Nodoka and the Council Elders have a meeting with Akane present. Cologne is trying to talk sense into Akane, but Akane's temper still gets the best of her. She explains again about the shared soul, etc, and notes that the three (Ranma, Fa-Shen and Ranko) collectively possess the power of a god.

Another elder, named Po Shen, thinks she might be able to return Akane back to a female.

After another rather complicated portion of the story, Ranma-chan is now inhabited by Ranma's personality, and that personality is in love with Ryoga. Ranko has run away for the moment, followed by Fa Shen. Ranma-chan even talks about marrying Ryoga and their having a kid in the future.

Part 8

Po Shen has a mixture which can split Akane into a male and female form, but before she can use it Ranko enters, picks the stuff up and uses it, thinking it's normal water, and is split into two forms.

(It seems that the three individuals, Ranko, Ranma/Ranma-chan, and Fa Shen, are not exactly individuals, if I understand things correctly. They are really the same person but with three personalities, sort of a multiple-personality disorder type of thing, and they can change personalities even though they don't necessarily change physical bodies.)

Mousse and Shampoo discuss what is going on. Shampoo comes to the conclusion that Ryoga and Ranma are married, and Fa Shen and her are married.

Apparently Akane has used the rest of the water to split into two as her male part and Ranma are arguing.

Part 9

Ranma and Ryoga are getting into a very nasty verbal argument when Ukyo shows up. Then there's more explanation of what has been going on.

Ranma reveals she's a girl as much as she's a boy, and she has strong feelings for Ryoga. Ranko gave Ryoga to her, to take herself (Ranko) out of the fight for Ryoga. Ranma says that if people start treating someone as a guy or a girl, that person will start to think of themselves as a guy or a girl, despite what their original sex was.

Ranma-chan admits to Ukyo that she's chosen Ryoga.

Back in the village, there is now a male version of Ranko and a female version of Ranko. The two seem to adapt to that quickly and well.

They also seem to be planning to have sex when the opportunity to be alone arises.

Mousse is talking to Herb. (Although the story says it's technically not treason, as far as I care it is treason; to the tribe and to everyone from Nerima. I have absolutely no sympathy for this Mousse at all; he's a very negative, almost evil character.)

Part 10

A Musk is entering a cave to confront yet another dragon. Spice, the name of the guy, knows about Nodoka and that she is the daughter of Saotome Kenshin.

Ranma and Nodoka come to an agreement where Ranma-chan will be her daughter. Akane loses her temper yet again, hitting Fa Shen. This time, the other Amazons will not tolerate this, and Fa Shen (in female form) has to give the kiss of marriage to Akane (in male form.)

Herb meets the dragon, whose name is Cinnamon, and who looks much like Ranma-chan. It also appears she has a considerable interest in Fa Shen. She also happens to be a he, but has a curse that turns her female.

Chapter 11

Herb has Mousse changed into duck form and puts him in a cage to get him out of the way, then he makes his way to the Amazon village.

Ukyo complains about the way she's treated and Ranko gives an angry reply.

Nodoka and Cinnamon talk, Cinnamon wanting to find out if Nodoka is really related to her. Cinnamon talks about her past, Prince Ergot, Lo Shen, and so on.

Chapter 12

The chapter starts out with Herb basically attacking Ranko and the others, including Akane and Shampoo.

(At this point it's getting hard to continue reading this story. Herb is basically insane. He has no honor. He is a threat to nearly everyone. What seems to be happening is more a war than an actual fight. In something this extreme, I don't see why the group doesn't use a tranquilizer dart or something to put Herb out of it, take him hostage, and negotiate an end to the hostilities. They might be able to find a way to neutralize Herb's powers while he is their hostage, which would prevent future problems.

From the viewpoint of story writing, what you have is an almost all-powerful villain, sort of a Darth Vader type, really. It's going to take something quite extreme to get him under control. Killing him from a distance with a sniper gun or something would not be acceptable, but knocking him out for a while would.)

Nodoka and Cinnamon talk and the topic of phoenixes comes up, and it appears that Nodoka is Pa Shen. Cinnamon then uses telepathy to get Fa Shen to talk with her and Nodoka.

It's revealed that Nodoka is a phoenix, thus not really human at all. Fa Shen was born parthogenetically, meaning there was no male involved, and she is basically a clone of Nodoka, in a way.

Mousse, still in duck form, uses his abilities to revert to human form, but in doing so he becomes a she, possibly permanently. She returns to the Amazon village to apologize and help defeat Herb. Cologne sees her and says she is the sister of Mousse, and her name is Mirror. Mousse, if in male form, would probably be taken and executed. If Mirror's real identity is outed by Ranko or any of the others, she could still be killed.

Chapter 13

Ukyo is ready to use the magic water to turn herself into a male and, if necessary, to fight Herb.

Ryoga-chan tries to get Ranma to have sex with her. Cinnamon declares that she's interested in Ranko as a mate. Ranko-male form and Ranko-female form are having sex. Cinnamon and Fa Shen try to stop them, but it seems that all four physical bodies end up being merged into one female Ranko body.

Chapter 14

Herb's father basically tells him to kill Akane, Ukyo and all the others except Ranko.

Herb challenges Ranko. Cinnamon tries to get him to back off, but Ranko gets angry and leaves.

Ranko and Herb fight. Herb, being without honor, stabs Ranko and she is dying from the wound.

Chapter 15

Herb ends up locked in female form when some of the magical water is thrown on him. Akane and the others are willing to fight him, and Mirror (formerly Mousse) wants to kill him.

Herb explains that Ranko is really a matriarch, technically, and Amazon marriage laws do not apply to her. Cinnamon takes Ranko and Herb back to the Musk village for healing. Cinnamon is still planning to challenge Ranko, or perhaps take both Ranko and the female Herb as mates.

Apparently Ranko is a phoenix, and if she would have really used all her power in the fight with Herb, Herb would have been killed and a sizable portion of the area would have been totally destroyed. She would have survived, being reborn as a baby.

Herb reveals to Ranko that she/he now actually loves her, and realizes that Ranko may know what sex is, but she doesn't really know what love is.

The Amazon council of elders declares Ranko an honorary matriarch. Ryoga no longer turns into a girl, though he still has his pig curse. Ukyo is back to being a girl who dresses like a guy. Mousse is still a girl. Akane, as far as I can understand, still turns into a guy.


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