So, yeah, there's this question I've been wondering about these past few days. With all the competitive fandom over Azusa and Mio, what if... Azusa has her role switched with Mio, such that she first appears in the first episode, and Mio first appears in the eighth? Would the fanboys have liked Mio as much as they do today, but in terms of her personality rather than her moeness (which would not be emphasized as much if she was to appear later in the series, like Azusa)?
I guess Mio is moe no matter how much that is covered up. It's her personality, after all, and through character development (irregardless of how little there is), her moeness would shine through in a matter of time. It's just ironic that with Azusa, lesser screentime in the first season meant more character development for her in the second (due to the writers wanting to show more of Azusa to make up for her lack of screentime), so that might ring true if Mio was in her position, not having as much screentime as well?
Of course, I guess you could always think about what this means to Azusa, too... if you want. I just care about what would happen to Mio.
Azusa being Ritsu's bestfriend would've probably mean less pain for the former's head, though. Heh.