I'm a 80s and 90s anime guy and being old I think everything new sucks. Except unlike previous gen, this is with cause.
isekai is the fucking worst, no real conflict, op protagonist, just an endless parade of success, like watching someone play video game with game genie on.
I assume given its popularity that isekai is fulfilling something missing in modern japanese society and youths in general and they're getting some kind of satisfaction or even a dopamine hit of seeing someone else living a fantasy life on easy mode.
As for MC being a doofus? That's always a thing, worse now, I don't have an answer (to anything ever) but if I were to make a guess, dumb loser MCs are easier to write for anime mills, and identification, makes the readers relate or even feel they're better than the MC in some ways.
In general, it is harder to write a smart character than a dumb character, because a smart character has to be capable of solving problems in smart ways. If you aren't careful and skilled, it's very easy to either end up with a "smart" character that's actually kind of dumb because he misses solutions and clues and details he should figure out (ex: many episodes of Doctor Who), or a "smart" character that's really just magic (ex: many versions of Sherlock Holmes, basically every scientist in superhero fiction. Also many episodes of Doctor Who).
To a certain degree. That said, there are ways you can fake it; the writer has hours or weeks to solve a problem and can then have a character divine that same solution in a few seconds, for example. You can use a computer to do complex calculations, then have the character perform them mentally. You can consult and research with people that are smarter or more knowledgeable than you, then have you character use their knowledge.
I'm a 80s and 90s anime guy and being old I think everything new sucks. Except unlike previous gen, this is with cause.
isekai is the fucking worst, no real conflict, op protagonist, just an endless parade of success, like watching someone play video game with game genie on.
I assume given its popularity that isekai is fulfilling something missing in modern japanese society and youths in general and they're getting some kind of satisfaction or even a dopamine hit of seeing someone else living a fantasy life on easy mode.
As for MC being a doofus? That's always a thing, worse now, I don't have an answer (to anything ever) but if I were to make a guess, dumb loser MCs are easier to write for anime mills, and identification, makes the readers relate or even feel they're better than the MC in some ways.
In general, it is harder to write a smart character than a dumb character, because a smart character has to be capable of solving problems in smart ways. If you aren't careful and skilled, it's very easy to either end up with a "smart" character that's actually kind of dumb because he misses solutions and clues and details he should figure out (ex: many episodes of Doctor Who), or a "smart" character that's really just magic (ex: many versions of Sherlock Holmes, basically every scientist in superhero fiction. Also many episodes of Doctor Who).
To a certain degree. That said, there are ways you can fake it; the writer has hours or weeks to solve a problem and can then have a character divine that same solution in a few seconds, for example. You can use a computer to do complex calculations, then have the character perform them mentally. You can consult and research with people that are smarter or more knowledgeable than you, then have you character use their knowledge.