[I think I got every named character who is still alive as of the end of 
Act II.  If I missed anything, let me know.]

Dramatis Personae And Their Allegiances as of Act II:

<snip>

Thanks for the score card, but Benten, Oyuki, Serenity, Pluto, and the
Tenchi characters are *still* the only ones I've ever heard of, they're
outnumbered 2:1 by the other, author-created characters, and they other
characters are the ones with the storyline that the reader is supposed to
follow.  Making it *really* difficult for me to follow it (and I suspect
I'm not the only one)

I had a similar problem with the Akane story - Akane may have been
narrating, but the story revolved around a bunch of people I knew nothing
about (being author creations) and have nothing invested in and no interest
in. I spent lots of time skimming, waiting for someone I knew to show up,
before I finally gave that story up completely.

I guess I think maybe this storyline is getting way out of hand.....

[And I beg to differ.......  
 The first story I read of Chris was one with Priss as the central 
 character at a time when I had no idea just who the heck she was.  
 And guess what, I still found it intriquing, not because it was Priss of
 BGC, but it was Priss the character portrayed by Chris Davies.  

 Maybe you (and the FFML in general) need to view this story for 
 what it fundamentally is to get into it.  It's a story of war and esponage, 
 with a lot of players involved, each one fulfilling a role in the overall
 tug of war for power and control.  Or, in more metaphorical jargin,
 view each character as if they were a puzzle and let them reveal the 
 picture of this story to you.  
 
 In conclusion, it really doesn't matter whether you know who these people
 are from previous knowledge, what does matter is what's *happening.*
 It's how do the character interact with the personalities they have, not 
 whether they were featured in manga or long running series on Japanese
 TV.  And it is because of that, in my opinion, is why I put this story in 
 such high regard.

 Now if you will excuse me, I'm afraid of heights and I'm beginning to
 get dizzy on this soapbox.]

Bastion