Kick the Night Off Ranma ½ Fanzine

Download a copy of the zine here.

Toward the end of summer in 2020, a friend that I had worked alongside of in the Stay Home With Sonic zine alerted me to another project that seemed similarly up my alley: Another zine, but this one focusing on the cast of Ranma ½. I had thoroughly enjoyed participating in SHWS and was eager for another opportunity like it, but I’ll admit, this one made me hesitate. Although I love Ranma ½, it’d probably been at least a decade since I’d actually read or watched it, let alone interacted with it.

But then, maybe that could be part of the challenge. This was an opportunity to test my ability to hit the ground running in less familiar territory, with a side bonus of prompting me to reignite an old flame. I decided to audition, and wouldn’t ya know I it, I made it in!

The Lost Son Son

Whenever the topic of parenting comes up in Dragon Ball Z, there are a few talking points that can always be counted upon to surface: Piccolo is the best father, Vegeta probably spoils Bra, it’s weird that Krillin named his daughter after a shitty ex-girlfriend, aaand most commonly of all, Goku is a horrible parent, particularly to Gohan. He regularly abandons him, puts his life in danger, assumes his willingness without asking, and never, ever considers that his methods might be harmful. Goku doesn’t hurt him intentionally, but it doesn’t change the fact that he is doing damage, and the fandom rightfully calls him out on it.

The Son family in general is a dysfunctional mess, largely thanks to Goku’s haphazard and aloof attitude toward his wife and children. Although heartwarming and tender moments do happen, they’re disappointingly scarce. Even the most diehard GoChi fans readily admit that there are some very serious and deep-seeded problems; Goku and Chi Chi never seem to be on the same page, which not only sabotages their marriage, but also results in wildly different parenting styles. This creates an inconsistent home environment, which is always rough on children. But hey, at least there was that seven year gap following the Cell Games when Goku stayed dead! That means the Son household became more stable since there was only one parenting philosophy in action, right?

Well, maybe not. While I do agree that Goku’s absence probably meant fewer problems overall, it also quietly created another huge one – and this time, Goku’s not the culprit, and Gohan’s not the victim. I’ve always been surprised (and kind of disturbed) that no one ever seems to notice that Goten probably has a paper-thin relationship with his mother.

Dragon Ball Z: ResurrectionFFFF– (contains spoilers)

Dragon Ball Z is not, shall we say, succinct in its storytelling. The “sagas,” as they’re known, can take so long to make progress that in many cases it’s prevented new viewers from ever getting into the series at all. The series so well-known for its long, sluggishly drawn-out battles that Dragon Ball Z Kai and DBZ Abridged even exist to force the series to get to the point and move forward faster.

Luckily, no one has to slog through the 291 episodes of DBZ in order to get a good story out of this fighting anime. As of this writing, the series has an impressive 15 associated movies – 20, actually, if you also count the TV specials, OAVs, and that god-awful live-action trainwreck. (And that number’s just limited to the Z series; there are even more movies for the original Dragon Ball, and another TV special for Dragon Ball GT!) For the most part these movies came out long before DBZ was popular in the United States, meaning we got them years after the fact just like the rest of the series. However, by the time Battle of Gods kicked off a new era of DBZ movies, the franchise had spread to worldwide cult status, meaning that it would see theatrical releases in more than just Japan. The same happened with the latest film, Resurrection F – and I’m pleased to say that I’m one of the lucky few that’s gotten to see it during its limited showing!

I am not, however, pleased with how it ended.

The Prince and the Pauper: Vegeta’s Secret Struggle

Something I think people often misunderstand about Vegeta is that he lives more in a state of perpetual frustration than he does anger. I would venture that no one has a work ethic like he does, and yet for all of his unwavering effort, he never seems to get rewarded – not in the way he’s looking for, anyway. He achieves things unfathomable to the average person, but he just can’t ever seem to get there first. He literally spends ALL of his free time working his body so relentlessly that he frequently injures himself, and yet he’s always, always, always a few steps behind Goku. It’s no wonder Vegeta’s rarely in a good mood; he puts in far more effort than anyone else, and yet Goku – who not only devotes less time and attention to his craft, but is also a good 5-10 years younger than him – just breezes right by like it’s no big deal. Because for Goku, it really isn’t, and no amount of Vegeta exhausting himself will ever change that.

Which necessarily begs the question, why does he keep doing it? Why does Vegeta need to be the absolute best? What makes him so willing to sink the vast majority of his life into chasing a goal he’ll seemingly never attain?

The answer may surprise you.