That’s the thing, most anime viewers aren’t anime nerds. They just watch Solo Leveling or Frieren or whatever the latest, most hype things is and call it a day. That’s why a show whose main character barely has a personality took “Best Character” in the Crunchyroll Awards last year, even against what should’ve been stiff competition. A significant number of viewers didn’t watch any of the shows with good characters. Just Solo Leveling and maybe some isekai slop.