I've reached the pivotal Chapter 15 again in my 41st re-read of '100 Waifus.' The new Levy content was spectacular and fit in perfectly, like it had always been there and had always needed to be there from the beginning. The main benefit of rereading the book was to see that section in context, as part of a seamless flow, and I've already gained it. But I still intend to reread the rest and once and for all prove the book doesn't need any more editing, that it can be read and read only.
The book doesn't require any edits, but the fictional character hall of fame does. In the book, Hakuya is Kobeni's fiance and thus it's required for him to be included in the story, but no such requirement extends to a pure merit-based hall of fame. Between Hakuya and Stark (from Sousou no Frieren), Stark is clearly superior.
Hakuya is a nice, reliable guy who takes care of his fiance and little sister. He's risked his life to save Kobeni. He does get high marks. But compare that to Stark -- He's extremely handsome, slays demons and dragons for a living, helpful to all and thus beloved by all, has learned princely etiquette, and has a pliable, easygoing attitude that means he's always part of the solution and never the problem in the party. He also occasionally has pearls of wisdom to share. His personable nature is far superior to Hakuya's silent standoffishness.
While I'm at it, I may as well add Mashiro (Known as Fiona in the English release) and Miyabi to my hall of fame. These two heroines from Xenoblade 3 left lasting, emotional impressions on me (much like the game as a whole.) They may have been minor side characters, but that didn't stop Lapis from getting in, so it shouldn't stop these two. They're beautiful, artistic, caring, brave, self-sacrificial and well-voiced heroes no one should forget and everyone should be inspired by.
To make room I think I'll remove two underperforming characters who are mainly in '100 Waifus' because it makes sense in the plot, not because they're such admirable people. Hakuya's little sister Mashiro can be upgraded into the flagbearing leader of Colony Mu Mashiro without upping the Mashiro count. Imouto Mashiro is certainly cute and friendly. She does a good job getting Hakuya and Kobeni to get along, but ultimately she is a little girl with tunnel vision, silly hobbies and prickly around people she doesn't acknowledge. She may have infiltrated the high school but she isn't mature beyond her years like, say, Nanoha is in Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha. Mashiro is Kobeni's daughter mainly because they're family, not because she independently merited inclusion.
Meanwhile Youhei is a well known screwup who exists in Clannad as comic relief and as a foil to Okazaki. Everytime Youhei does something wrong and Okazaki instead does the smoother, suaver move everyone compares the two and thinks oh wow Okazaki is so cool. That doesn't leave much respect left over for Youhei. He does have some good points -- he's good looking, athletic, his heart is in the right place -- but not nearly as many good points as Miyabi. In contrast Miyabi helped to save the world, is absolutely beautiful, is a talented flutist, sacrificed her life to save people lower ranking than her, but she saw the potential in them that others didn't, the potential which eventually flourished into the heroes of Xenoblade 3, so her judgment of character was also right on. That combination of wisdom and courage is rarely to be found anywhere. In addition she has a lovely personality outside of battle, eagerly becoming a good cook just so she can make others happy. Both Mashiro, who wields a flag, and Miyabi, who wields twin fans, look more like dancers on the battlefield than warriors. They're graceful on top of everything else.
In '100 Waifus' I can't exchange a boy for a girl, because I want to keep the boy to girl ratio sane, and because Youhei was conceived at a time when the parents couldn't control the sex of the child so it was out of their hands. But in a merit focused universe those things don't matter. Youhei can be transformed into Miyabi freely. This is the sort of liberating advantage a permapost outside my book has over the book.
The new Starship launch succeeded on its way up but failed on its way down. I'd call that yet another failure. They've been developing this rocket for years and it still feels like it will take years more before it can safely put astronauts in orbit and then back onto the ground. One wonders if we'll ever get to the Moon or Mars at this rate.
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