I expect I won't be getting many more fans at this site due to the nature of how the site works -- only newly posted chapters appear on the front page and older completed series get lost in the shuffle. It's a shame because it appears that if only people were given a chance to learn about this series they'd fall in love with it, just like these 4 anonymous readers have. The potential number of fans, let's say it's 1 for every 1,000 who read it like it -- well in a population of 7.7 billion worldwide that would be 77 million fans. Take future intergalactic populations into account and it would be trillions of fans. But none of them can enjoy my book if they don't know about it, and there's no good way to spread publicity so perhaps 4 will be all I get.
Even if the number stays at 4 in principle I've already won. I have proof that I'm a great writer (5 stars is the highest possible rating) who can earn the respect of a great many people (at least 1 in every 1,000.) Does this amount to a losing record compared to the millions of other series that have more readers and more fans? Not really. Those series were supported by the sanction of society by repeating the narrative society wants people to hear. They were given advertising and publishing opportunities I wasn't because their 'safe' messages were approved by the powers that be. Because my story says everything they don't want people to hear, it's shuffled into the shadows and quickly forgotten.
If my book were made into an anime and given all sorts of positive buzz and endorsements it would have tens of millions of fans just like any other supported work. The innate quality is actually higher than all these successful shows but innate quality isn't what creates buzz -- advertising, money and endorsements do. Oprah Winfrey isn't going to introduce this to her book club.
In principle though, whoever I do reach, they end up giving it the highest possible rating they can, which means I really reached their souls. That shows the power of this story. It isn't just me who's entranced by it. Isn't it what I said all along? The book is mesmerizing.
Now to counter another dumb argument levied against '100 Waifus.' 'Christopher is a Mary Sue so the story is bad.' First off, Mary Sue is an extremely poorly defined term that basically just means "a character I disapprove of." So it becomes a tautology.
But let's at least try to understand the argument. The idea goes that a character who is too powerful, can decide everything himself, is liked by everyone else, and has everything go his way, makes for a bad story. I don't even see why this would be the case. In fact I feel it's the opposite -- if a character isn't powerful enough to make any decisions then there is no story because nothing happens and nothing ever can happen.
I suppose you could argue that a character's power needs to be just enough to overcome his challenges in a close scrape -- but isn't it a little tiresome to keep seeing the same story over and over, of tenacious individuals using their guts to barely prevail over their equally matched opponents? Isn't there room for at least one story that deviates from this plot?
By giving Christopher the power to create society as he pleased the setting became a more interesting environment than it otherwise would have been. We got to see a glimpse of life in utopia. There are plenty of other stories where weak people barely overcame some stalwart foe -- so why not have just one story where the character achieves his dream and then really dig deep and see what that dream looks like? Isn't that way more original and interesting? Utopia can't be achieved by a powerless protagonist, to reach extremes like perfection or paradise you need an equally extreme power that can reach it. What's wrong with giving the main character the tools he needs to achieve his dreams? What's the point of a story where the main character tries hard and fails to accomplish anything? What a complete waste of time. Should every book be 'Jude the Obscure'?
Another Mary Sue characteristic is the protagonist is too perfect. However, that hardly applies to Christopher. He makes plenty of mistakes, and is constantly changing his mind and correcting his course after taking the advice of those who disagree with him. He's weaker than 3/4 of the people around him who could, if they wished, blow his head off whenever they wanted. Which means every one of them has a veto power over his decisions. Heck, if they were determined enough, even the other 25 waifus could assassinate him in bed while he's asleep. There would be nothing to it.
He has no special skills and isn't even good at romance -- he's a self-admitted loser at life who never achieved anything before God's intervention. This is about as far from a Mary Sue as you can get.
The entire first half of the book he's continuously struggling with his own poor memory which gives him all sorts of trouble. Would a Mary Sue have to worry about these things?
Fine, he might have physical and mental weaknesses, but, you say, he's too morally perfect, he should have some moral flaws to make him more interesting. Are you kidding? He's a polygamist incestuous pedophile who will stoop to brainwashing to get girls. Isn't that morally complicated and compromised enough for anyone? Does he have to be a serial killer to make the cut?
There isn't enough hardship in his life -- actually there was so much hardship that he was ground into dust, and God apologized to him for giving him way more misfortune than his fair share. The story just happens to begin at the end of his hardships -- it's not like he hasn't suffered any. In fact, as the book progresses, you learn that he's known plenty of suffering throughout his earthly existence. Plus, he faces some serious hardships on Eden too, not that I want to spoil anything so I'll leave it at that.
People fawn over him too much -- well that's the power of God for you. She can grant any wish, even that people fawn over you when you don't deserve it. There's nothing internally inconsistent about this. It would be strange without the power of God, but it's simple with it.
Plus, I explain within the book itself why the girls stick with him -- because he in fact does earn their affection through his own behavior bit by bit. Chapter 46 is all about that.
It's hard to counter the charge that Christopher is a Mary Sue because no one can even say what makes a Mary Sue in the first place, but whatever the definition may be, Christopher isn't anything like that.
Yes, this is a story with one fulcrum and 100 spokes. If your argument is all good stories require multiple main characters at odds with each other constantly interfering with each other's goals so no one person gets their way I plain disagree. There's no inherent rule like that. Certainly Amagami SS isn't like that. In Amagami SS, Junichi is the sole protagonist and all events and all other characters revolve around him and his decisions. If he doesn't choose the heroine in question, they automatically relegate back to background characters with little influence, if he does choose them, they automatically fall for his charms and quite swiftly too. And yet Amagami SS is a well beloved romance series no one has any complaints with. So what's wrong with 'Junichi' charming 100 girls instead of 6? Is there some rule like Junichi becomes a Mary Sue the moment he romances a 7th woman in a story? Total nonsense.
I'll tell you what Christopher is -- the best man to ever live, who created the best world there ever was, and lived the best life ever lived. He is the moral paragon all men should model themselves after and all women should want to wed. And why? Because he valued the right things. That's all it ever took. If you value the right things, you can prioritize the right things, and if you prioritize the right things, life flourishes naturally. Because it was always easy. Life was always easy, happiness was always easy, there are no natural obstacles in our way. It was always artificial, man-made mistakes that ever created any hardships in the first place. Sweep them away and start over on a sound foundation and Paradise has always been within reach. Christopher's tale is a living explanation of that truth.
At least four people seem to now get it. If my one life was enough to positively influence these four, well then that's already a life well lived.
Meanwhile, I finished rewatching Bleach. I can't wait for the new season to come out. It was the #1 anime on my wishlist and now it's the #1 most eagerly anticipated anime that's been announced. I wish a Bleach Kai would come out that could edit out all the wasted time and filler scenes, but even as is the anime was great.
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