@Tfmonkey re- anime harem protagonist conversion: You disagree with the male protagonist being a self-insert of the male author who created the character. How can it not be a self insert, when the author and viewers (average guys) would sacrifice anything to be in that situation.
@DoubleD @theFlow @Tfmonkey an inverse example of this takes place in the Twilight books/movies. Bella the main character is bland, and it makes it so that the female audience can insert themselves as her character and fulfill their romance fantasy.
It clearly worked there too, as the Twilight series was clearly quite popular. Yes, it was a bad story, but popularity often does not align with quality.