'100 Waifus' is always looking to improve its fictional character hall of fame, so a few renovations I've been holding off on were all implemented today.
First off, Pretty Cure with repetitive names like Karen and Makoto were replaced with Pretty Cure with unique names, Laura and Manatsu, from the new Tropical Rouge season. Though technically I guess Laura is a fairy not a Pretty Cure. This is something I've been meaning to do for a while, but I first wanted to make sure they were the best options from Tropical, which meant I had to at least meet all the main characters before I pulled the trigger. I'm confident these two are indeed the best options from the series now that I've watched the latest episode and met the final Pretty Cure, Asuka.
Manatsu is endearingly energetic but not pushy. If people say they want to do their own thing, she lets them do it. If people say they don't know what they want to do, she pushes them to do something fun and exciting. It's a good leadership style. Combine that with the beautiful Cure Summer transformed state and I have no objections. Actually, every pink Pretty Cure from every season is in '100 Waifus' so it would be weird for only Manatsu to be left out.
Laura is cunning but also wise, giving good advice to people in such a way that it also advantages her. She has the amazing voice of Rina Hidaka and the beautiful form of a mermaid, so it's hard to go wrong. I think Laura is the distinctive gem of this season. Usually Pretty Cure are likable characters, but it's rare for the fairy to be attractive in their own right.
The third name change is more interesting. I had to kick out Sakura now that Idoly Pride wasn't ranked anymore, but it was unclear who to replace her with. I'm playing Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and at first glance I thought Pyra was the way to go, but she has too much baggage. For one thing, her name isn't really Pyra, it's Homura. The English Localization shifted it for no reason. And then for another, is she really Homura, or is she perhaps Hikari? (Mythra in English) She has a split personality, so which one do I use? I decided it was too much trouble -- four different names! -- and went with the much simpler Nia.
Nia is a beautiful cat girl whose design doesn't lose to Homura's at all. She has cute cat-like mannerisms and rides around on a white tiger (Byakko) She even sleeps on her tiger at night. She's so cute in how well she gets along with her Blade. But she's also a more complicated figure than 'cute, cute.' A member of an evil terrorist organization, she finds her thoughts and feelings in conflict when she's actually requested to help in a massacre. It turns out she didn't really want to live like that, and now she's trying to find out what she really wants. A hero against her own better judgment, she turns on her comrades to protect total strangers. Then she tries to show them the ropes and help them escape at the price of her own capture because she feels responsible for getting them into trouble in the first place. Such a conflicted, turbulent soul! There's depth to her characterization to go along with that wonderful cat-girl surface.
I'm not very far into Xenoblade 2. It may be that Homura will warm on me (she is a firemancer after all), or some entirely different character will appear. But I already know I love Nia and that's final. She's a worthy addition to the pantheon.
My fictional character hall of fame was already pretty solid before these changes, but this is a big improvement. Now all I need is Tales of Arise to come out so I can replace the weakest Tales characters like I have with the Pretty Cure. Then I could stop editing the book for good.
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