At 06:47 PM 7/27/1998 -0500, you wrote:

2) A majority of characters shouldn't be too obscure.
  
  How many anime out there are 'universally' known?
  Yes, a greatever variety of picks could have been
  used, but if we do not use any series that was used
  from the first season, it would really kill out
  a lot of potential audience.  I've never seen
  Ghost Sweeper whasis and I know Phantom Quest Corps,
  a series I love, is not terribly poular.  A-ko,
  a classic, isn't quite as well known as I'd wish
  it to be.

Also, A-ko is set further in the future, and would require a time machine.
In my opinion, as a fan of Ghost Sweeper Mikami who is aware of Yuugen
Kaisha, Ayaka is a drunken innumerate slacker based on Mikami.   Both of
them are well proportioned long-haired redheads with a penchant for
strapless dresses who use what is essentially an extending short staff as
one of their primary tools.  Mikami [Who predates Ayaka] has a necklace and
earrings that when removed and thrown act as some form of spiritual high
explosive, while Ayaka's earrings when thrown have been shown to act as
flares.  Mikami is fiscally very competent, where Ayaka is not, however
Ayaka is shown as being more friendly and outgoing, even to the point of
excess.  [It seems to me that the running joke of her waking up with a
hangover after a late night of karaoke grew stale with the second use.]