The biggest new edit to the book is this new section added to Chapter 32. I wanted to point out a detail that went unmentioned anywhere else in the book, that Mylene wasn't just an idol but also a courageous, effective fighter pilot. Basically I wanted to heap more praise on her in an organic way:
"Are there any variable fighters I could pilot, like, by unlocking after some quest?" Mylene asked hopefully, lacking the direct superpowers of her compatriots.
"Unfortunately this is a fantasy game." Aoba replied. "But for the pilot inclined there is magitek armor."
"Magitek armor!" Lots of powerless girls exclaimed excitedly, suddenly seeing a path forward.
I also added 'Venus Vacation' to 'Dead or Alive' so people unfamiliar with the series can get the gist of what the game must be about. Clarity is always a reader's friend.
I also added a line (the one bolded to show what's changed) in Chapter 46, which focuses on Wendy: 'Tenri was only 1 year old, which meant recently I'd delightedly made love to Wendy 24 times. Some of those times she'd given me the honor of embracing her pink haired, pink eyed, white winged Dragon Force mode.'
Because there can never be enough veneration of Wendy.
One child's name was changed. Mio from Nichijou was taken out in favor of Ryza from Atelier Ryza. Ryza is overflowing with virtues on top of her beautiful body. She's considerate, courageous and creative. Every episode I learn more about her and like her more than the ep before. I approve of every decision she makes, her mistakes are all understandable and forgivable. By no means is she perfect, but her imperfections are not black marks on the soul, they're cute foibles that make you like her even more. Mio stands no chance against such a woman -- she would lose on looks alone, Ryza's character design is so fantastic. But Mio has other weaknesses -- she's from an overall worse series, she's not a particularly inspiring figure morally speaking, and her name is shared with too many other children in the book, making her hard to remember. Ryza on the other hand is a unique name.
I found the name gallery this time to be perfect with this one little adjustment. Of course it could still be improved upon if, theoretically, lots of great new characters were introduced into the world in the future, but it isn't necessary. With the characters I have listed now I'm content, they would already qualify for any order of knighthood. They're outstanding members of the fictional character hall of fame.
Other than that, the remaining edits were all wars against the words 'even' and 'just.' Sometimes I could delete the word and the sentence would still read as legibly. Other times I had to rephrase the entire sentence in order to abolish the menaces. But all the way through to Chapter 57, I found more and more of these evil words to delete. Strangely, I found nothing to edit in my two new chapters, 58 and 59 were pristine. I thought they would be the focus of my edits this time around and instead it was the exact opposite.
But never mind 'dozens,' I must have deleted 'scores' of evens and justs by the time I was done. I was editing almost every page. After such a thorough and exhaustive cleansing, I feel pretty confident there are no further edits necessary. I must have caught every single problem this time around.
Since I don't know what happens in the final volume of Eromanga Sensei, I'm not sure whether Elf ends up in a happy romantic relationship with Masamune or not. To be on the safe side I changed Elf out for Nadeko when listing a bunch of unrequited loves in Chapter 49. Elf's love may not actually be unrequited, depending on what happened in that final volume. One more reason I hate not being able to read the last volume of this series.
When I read this book for the 38th time, I suspect I won't have to change anything. And as a result of not having to stop/start/stop/start as I read the book, I suspect it will be my favorite time reading this book of them all. But this time around it was business before pleasure.
For people lucky enough that they aren't required to edit the book as they go along, now is the chance to dive into the newly perfected masterpiece:
That isn't to say I didn't enjoy rereading the book this time. I loved reading it. It's the best book ever written, and the most alluring book ever written. Chapter 13 is the best sex scene ever written, but the others are all exciting too. The most terrifying aspect is sometimes a sex scene that only lasts a paragraph long can be as effective. It turns out when you embed intimacy within loving dialogue and romantic dates it hits a hundred times as hard as the dry mechanical description of physical events.
The philosophical crests at Chapters 44, 52 and 59 are impossible to improve upon. I feel like you could just drop the mic and walk away after them, they're irrefutable and the last word on the subject. But of course those aren't the only chapters with important philosophical messages, the book is pervaded by them, you learn something important every chapter.
As mentioned before, the lists of 1,000 children's names are also fun to read because every name harkens back to some amazing character from some amazing story and makes you nostalgic about them. The fictional character hall of fame is so good that even a dry list of names is good literature.
This book entertains in so many different ways, from the most physical and id based, to the most intellectual and didactic, to a genuine spiritual connection with God. It's the 'all-book,' as I've described it before. It works upon every aspect of your sensations, thoughts and feelings, and transforms them all. And generally speaking, it interweaves these differing modes of communication so you're never exhausted by overstimulation upon a single front. The moment you think one style of communication is too overbearing it switches to another and then everything feels fresh again. Rather than an agenda-less novel with no axes to grind, it has so many agendas, so many axes to grind, that none of them are pedantic or lecturing, things move along so swiftly you don't have time to get offended or bored.
I guess that's another thing I love about this book, it's the all-book, it covers everything you might ever think or feel about anything, and yet it's much shorter than books that don't cover much of anything. Naked Empire by Terry Goodkind is 163,000 words long, and yet with all those words all it managed to say is 'self-defense isn't morally blameworthy.' My book is 194,650 words long and it managed to say everything there is to say about life, and even the afterlife while I was at it.
In Naked Empire it takes a page for Richard to open a door. In a page of '100 Waifus' Christopher has sex with 5 different girls. I don't waste time on trivial dross. I keep things moving. I move the plot along. I say what I wanted to say and then stop saying it, because it's now been said, and it's time to say something else.
It's apparently an unprecedented style of writing. Such a low-lying fruit to pick, and such an easy way to become the best book ever, as proven by the fact that I could enjoy it even after reading it for the 37th time. I bet no one could say that about Naked Empire. . .
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