For anyone who saw the now not there Vraie quote, I asked the OP to remove it because it was taken out of context from a conversation about why I didn't use Noike in my fanfic and after discussion it was felt better that it wasn't included here in case it caused a misunderstanding.
The plugging of my fanfic is something I do much appreciate however (even if I'm not sure 100% if it is deserved.) I wondered why my Tenchi hits kept going up on FFnet - guess now I know
In all honesty I would say I didn't sideline Tenchi in my fanfiction. At least, I never went into any of it with that in mind. My aim was always to utilise as many of the characters as I could in as good a way as I could because all of them had great potential to be tweaked, tortured and pushed into pretty dresses for the right occasion. Tenchi plays his part. I think he plays a fairly big part, to be honest. But he isn't the central character in every story I write. I did write a lot about Washu (that was sort of odd, really), Ryouko and Ayeka (past and present) and I know I did the same for Sasami and Tsunami. I also poked at side characters like Seiryo Tennan and Tokimi (yeah, they kind of go together for me, sorry about that).
So it's not about sidelining Tenchi for me. It's about involving the whole cast and getting them all into the spotlight. To be blunt, it's how the plots worked out. If a character doesn't fit a plot, they shouldn't be there just because. (See below regarding Noike). That's sort of how I write. (For example I wrote 700,000 words about a Fushigi Yuugi character who was only even mentioned by name in the very end of a couple of the gaiden novels. Go figure). If you write about the GXP, obviously you use MihoKiyo. If you write about Jurai, then Ayeka and Sasami are likely to play a part. Common sense, ne...? Tenchi can't be everywhere at once. (Nor do I think he ever gives the impression of wanting to be. He's a hometown lad when all is said and done.)
But my fanfic is only expanding on the T.U continuity, with everything else brought in for kicks. It's not setting the groundwork. I guess that'd be a whole different thing completely.
On to other things.
My dislike of Noike is pretty much because of the reasons the OP uses to defend her. It's because she debuts in a crappy series. Because she's poorly developed. Because she's basically 'unecessary' to the plot in every way.
I love writing and always have, though my attempts are only that of an amateur and not of someone with published experience. I therefore expect to make mistakes or have things which aren't 100% according to plan.
However in something that's a paid for, produced work, those things should not happen. Especially with a show with so many positives going into the third round. This series is NOT a loser series. The characters AREN'T weak. Therefore the tragedy of the OVA 3 is in its poor layout, development and plot.
And because she exists only in that spectrum, Noike is what sums up the OVA 3 in every regard. She is the failure. She is the predictability. She is the character created to stop discussion about Kiyone Makibi coming into the OVA series. Yet she is a character created by the original writer who cannot even hope to compete with Kiyone Makibi in terms of characterisation or plot development. Noike has lost before she has even begun.
Yet despite all of this, it is Noike's existence, Noike's development and Noike's barely credulous plot twists that in effect marginalise the rest of the series main cast. Because she has to have a reason to be there, and a past, present and future, the rest of the characters no longer have so many things to do. Even given that the whole structure is weak, to introduce a brand new character which is then foisted into the spotlight in place of the original popular characters is essentially the death nell of any series, whether anime, storybook or even television drama.
In short, I dislike Noike not for who she is, but for what she does to the structure of the Tenchi world.
In essence, what OVA 3 does is introduce an "OC" to the Tenchi continuity. The weakness of the plot and the character in question only add to the fact that the "professional" series is being portrayed in the style of an "amateur" fanfic writer who can't even bother to check up on continuity or balance their characterisation before formulating the plot. Even as a fanfic writer doing it for kicks, you have to respect the intelligence of the reader and at least bother to give your best if you expect a good reception. If you're doing something on a professional level, there's no excuse not to give it your best. I don't feel, given OVA 1 and 2, Tenchi Universe, even Shin Tenchi Muyou...that this was their best. Not by a long shot.
As a Ryouko fan, I do at least take comfort in the fact she existed in the OVA 3 and had a noteable role on a couple of occasions. If I had been Ayeka's biggest fan, I would have been twice as disgusted. I was disgusted FOR Ayeka's fans as to how much she was cut out of the picture.
There's a good reason to hate Noike, after all. Noike epitomises the deathnell of Tenchi Muyou. There's no coming back from that.
Vraie