(Screenshot of Eren Jaeger from Attack on Titan)

In recent times, perhaps the last decade or so, we've seen an influx of weak-willed, spineless male characters. The concept of 'alpha' and 'beta' come to mind, but even the man who coined the terms later said it was in error, so we'll go with other terms. Terms aside, it's clear that the likes of Shinji Ikari of Evangelion, Shu Ouma of Guilty Crown, and others were meant more to be the best friend of actual protagonists. There are others who would fit into this trope: feckless guys who get awkward around girls, especially if he didn't invite their attention, but they make up for it in raw character traits. Rito Yuuki of ToLove-Ru, Hayate Ayasaki of Hayate the Combat Butler and so on find courage in the face of danger to step up as a protagonist we could actually cheer for. I can already here fans of Evangelion shout that Shinji fought aliens in a giant mech, but he was more psychotic than heroic, whereas Rito fights against the odds because he genuinely cares about his friends/girlfriends/harem candidates and not because he was ordered to by an amoral father.

(Image of Rito Yuuki and Lala Deviluke from ToLove-Ru)

In harem series such as the above, the male protagonist is either oblivious to the feelings of the girls around him or just completely flustered. There are a number of better ways to deal with it. They could be like Fudo Nomura from Busou Shoujo Machiavellanism and actually warrant that attention. They could also just choose their waifu and ignore the harem as seen in Sword Art Online. Or the usual situation of a harem forming and there being no choice of partner and things just end like that. Harem series that end in actual harem situations are far and few between. Highschool DxD, the aforementioned ToLove-Ru, Tenchi Muyo! and Campione! seem to be exceptions to this, much to fans' delight. Though this is unusual given how popular male protagonists who lack general direction or a backbone are.

                                                                                                                 (Image of the main cast of Tenchi Muyo!)

The prevailing theory is that main male characters are developed to be normal guys who can't handle the strange and unusual that invade their normal, routine lives are so normal Japanese guys can identify with them and see themselves in place of the main character. Normal, average guys who work regular mid-wage jobs could be like this if the stereotype is to be believed. What people who watch anime need is the escapism, to see things in a better light. They need to watch the anime of the 80's or 90's, watching Yusuke Urameshi of Yu Yu Hakusho fame punch a giant demon in the face, and watch Son Goku of Dragon Ball Z fame launch a giant ki beam and save the world from some alien menace. Or just enjoy a guy find his harem and live happily ever after surrounded by a dozen or so hot women.

What do you think on this matter? Do we need more tough guys who know what their doing like Trinity Seven's Arata Kasuga or more like Izuku Midoriya of My Hero Academia who still act awkward but pull through in a punch? Let us know in the comments below.