Since my previous post I only made one additional edit, cutting an unnecessary sentence in Chapter 53. Everything looks fine, or at least as good as I can make it. The two new chapters, 58 and 59, shone. They didn't fall behind the previous segments in any way, shape or form. The beginning of 58 especially felt like some of the finest writing I'd ever done. This 36th edition of the book is indeed leaps and bounds better than the 35 that came before. It really does help when you add over a chapter of material to the mix.
I feel like I could praise Orihime endlessly if I wanted to, but the point of the new section is to stress the unique praiseworthy attributes of Orihime compared to the other 99 waifus, and I think the subjects I stressed are the correct ones given that condition. The true benefit of 100 waifus is what each of them uniquely brings to the table that the others lack, otherwise you could spend your time with 99 waifus and be just as well off. So it's important to differentiate them from each other when given the chance.
Reviewing the book as a whole, I still find it extremely erotic, oftentimes a few sentences hitting as hard as entire sex scenes, and those 'few sentences' tend to be scattered throughout the book so you can never really be safe. This is a harem book that delights in the delights of a harem.
The fictional character hall of fame is full of commendable people, but it could still be improved, it all depends on if any additional good art comes out in the world. Oshi no Ko shows Japan still isn't out of good ideas, so hopefully my hall of fame can continue to improve in the years ahead. It's fun when reading the children's names thinking how they relate to their mothers, what traits are shared that make the pairing make sense. For instance, Silica, a dragon tamer, is the mother of Alear, a dragon child. It's such a beautiful little Easter egg, seeing and understanding little things like that. Not every Mother-child pairing makes sense, but most of them do.
There aren't any pointless or repetitive portions to the novel. Once the book has accomplished one goal it moves on to another -- at first you're trying to build a city out of the wilderness, then you're trying to seduce 100 girls, then you're suddenly trying to raise children, then you're talking directly to God, creating a new law code, squelching discontents, falling deeper in love with girls who already love you, making love for half a millennia, and then you're summing up the entire history of the world that led to this present and people's plans for the future. If something has been sufficiently explained or handled, it doesn't bore you with details about how exactly it all happened, it just skips ahead to something that hasn't yet been sufficiently explained or handled. It's the exact opposite of the Venom movie's fight scenes, in that sense. It's a long book but unlike other long series it stays fresh throughout. (Obviously it helps to have over 100 main characters, that tends to keep things fresh for a very long time.)
This is a book I can enjoy reading for the 36th time. Of course it's the best book ever written. For those of you who have yet to read it even for the first time, here's your chance:
In other news, I also finished reading the finished translation of 12 Kingdoms. Silver Ruins, Black Moon is long in the repetitive and boring sense, belaboring details that could have been skipped to no one's detriment. I'm glad it's finally over and I don't have to think about it anymore. In the last chapter it seems like even the author is tired of writing the series, as it just skips over the final battle for control of Tai and announces the heroes won in a couple sentences. I guess that's one way to finish a series. But what's important is this marks the ending to another great franchise I've been following for decades. I love it when that happens.
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