Okay, there's something that's been going on too much on the web. It concerns an overreaction to something that's generally bad. Until just very recently, I didn't know a phrase to describe what I had been seeing. Thanks to a Troper Tales page, I can rant about this now.
Mary Sue Witch Hunting.
What is Mary Sue Witch Hunting? Basically, it's when you falsely accuse a fictional character of being a Mary Sue kind of character. Okay, let's go over my two definitions of Mary Sue again.
A Mary Sue is a character that possesses either no negative qualities, or almost no negative qualities, only positive qualities. Also, if they are not the main character, they will have a substantial amount of focus in the main storyline, even if it makes no sense for them to be of that much focus.
However, as I wrote in 2008, there is a such thing as good Mary Sues. However, those are very rare. The problem usually comes from the fact that characters with no negative traits often breed no conflict. No conflict often does not drive plots forward. Also, when a Mary Sue who isn't the main protagonist takes center stage, they often leave other characters less fleshed out. I can understand this.
However, also keep in mind, there are different degrees of Mary Sues. There are a few who are likable. (Oh, Nausicaa from the last volume of Nausicaa. She may as well be a goddess, and I'd have no complaints.) There are some who are dislikable, but not hateable. And then are those who really deserve to burn.
A Mary Sue I don't like, but don't outright hate, would be Misa Amane from Death Note. Why do I feel she's an MS? Well, she has a Death Note, just like Light, but has Shinigami eyes, unlike him. She has a tragic past, and declares Light her "Bishie." She's a model, actress, and singer, and has an adoring fanbase. Also, she has a Shinigami who is most loyal to her. About her only negative trait is her willingness to kill innocent people for Light. At first, she proved an interesting obstacle for Light and L, but then episodes began to mainly focus on her, and she irritated the hell out of me with her immature fangirling. It was almost like she was the star of an OC fanfic set in Death Note. However, the later episodes round her out more as a character, and she loses her MS status to me after a while. (And unlike most fans, I liked that scene between her and Kiyomi.) However, some people genuinely like Misa Misa, so your mileage may vary.
An MS I outright hate is Chris Thorndyke from Sonic X. Here's a hint: Sonic X's real title is The Adventures Of Chris, Guest Starring The Sonic Animals! Chris may not be impossibly beautiful, but he comes from extreme wealth, is often the Hero That Saves The Day (I read summaries on Wikipedia; I wish I hadn't), he literally can do no wrong, even though SONIC X IS SUPPOSED TO BE ABOUT SONIC, BUT THAT'S NOT THE CASE AFTER THE FIRST EPISODE! Also, Chris's friends and family sometimes get more airtime than Sonic and friends. He completely ruined an entire series. (Even before 4Kids got its hands on it. Ba-dum-dish!)
But why is Mary Sue Witch Hunting so bad? Often times, people (more often fanboys) erroneously label a character an MS is he/she/it possesses one common trait for Mary Sues, and claim said character "ruined it for me." I saw this a lot on the Nuklearpower forums (surprised?) and I'm starting to see it more often elsewhere. Okay, first of all, like I said, not all Mary Sues are bad. Some become improved overtime in a lengthy series. (See Azmaria from Chrono Crusade for a recent example I re-lived.) Others could be seen as people who do impossibly cool things. Another example, the main hero of Fist of the North Star (my latest guilty pleasure) is a Marty Stu to the max, but it's just so darn entertaining to see Kenshiro take down the scum of the earth. The fun comes not from whether he'll live (because he always wins), but rather, the fun comes from how he disposes of his foes. How can you not like that!? Even if a character is flawless, in the hands of a capable writer, they can still provide entertainment.
I think the problem is in that last sentence; a Mary Sue archetype is easy to write, but there's many examples (particularly in fanfic) that are not done right. I think that's why we're seeing an increase in Mary Sue witch hunting. I say cool your jets, and analyze the story a little more closely before you go flinging out such a phrase.
