Discussion Characters / The100GirlfriendsWhoReallyReallyReallyReallyReallyLoveYou21To30

So, about this entry for Deconstructed Character Archetype that was added for Shiina:

• She also demonstrates why Self-Insert characters are not well liked. She worms her way into Rentarou's Family without having actually met Rentarou before, and chimes in with her own meaningless comments after the girlfriends give their own lines, something that they find disturbing but can't quite determine why. Thus, some fans didn't like her in her debut since she seemed to have no real character. It is only after she reveals her backstory, thereby showing character and avoiding the common pitfall that newbie fanfiction writers make where their Original Character is basically a blank slate that the fans began to like her. Rentarou even tells her she can only join the family if they have a proper zing (meaning she truly loves him), meaning she must have a reason to join the story, unlike most Sailor Earth examples in fanfiction.

...Isn't this kind of a stretch? She definitely is meant to evoke a self-insert kind of thing for the readers, being a character who watched the family from afar and wanted to join them. But she didn't strike me as some sort of satire of self-insert characters. Rather, she feels like a loving reference to the fans. Mentioning that "some fans initially didn't like her" seems irrelevant and tbh feels like Fan Myopia.