Well, thats the point. Isnt it? Every regression has personality. Mc isnt pushover, though yes, he lets people walk over him sometimes but He is just emotionally mature kind and forgiving with zero toxic masculinity or arrogance. He isnt genius or strong. Also, he wasnt trying to be adored by others, he just try to fit in without taking attention. And honestly, people admiring and mesmerized by his kindness is far more realistic than other stories characters loving mcs for no reason. Most people wont care about you, if you arent useful or did something for them. Thats what makes mc beautiful for others. Kind male character like him is very rare in stories.
yes i agree, i was just trying to make conclusion what kind of story this is in my eyes.
It depends on people's taste if they like this kind of story or not. aside that it's actually well written.
i just cant help but to make a comparison if it's a shounen story because isekai is kind of universal but it's interesting how they can take different direction according to the demographic (i mean in narrow sense)
btw i wasn't saying the mc did it deliberately to be adored, i know he is always genuine. i was just saying someone like that bound to be adored. his character is also made to be adored by readers, but not meant to be made relatable -- at least to me.
Yeah, there are many different types of mc. Personally, i love it specifically because ow rare to see geniuely empathic male main character. About being relatable, i mean yeah he didnt have 'tragic life' so in that way, he can be less relatable. Though, i think people can relate to him thirdwheeling to others story, maybe. For me, i prioritize emotional intelligence over other qualities. So it was very refreshing to see mc who actually has high eq. Though, i also love drama a lot so i kinda wish that this couldve more yknow drama or some serious stuff. Then it would be epic.
i love characters with high EQ too, personaly tho, i dont think jesse is all rounder high EQ, he is emphatic towards others yes but he isn't so kind to himself imo. i mean he has no healthy boundary from what I've seen, it's only fortunate that people who clung to him are good people.
i mean high EQ characters should be charming to readers too, not just be adorable, I mean like Cale from Louth of the Count. Although this is debatable because I haven't read far
He is charming though. He just doesnt have overly high IQ. And having healthy boundaries is more related to emotional maturity and healthy mental state. Emotional intelligence is being able to read the room and emotions. This is why you confuse his actions with naiveness. He is not naive. He knows he can get away from stuff or get what 'he' wants if he acts certain way. Thats Emotional intelligence.
Not every person with high eq become social manipulators. Some do it silently and they can even be people pleasure. He is a character who understands kindness, emotions and pain. He is self aware of how he can forgive or bad and evil but he still choose kindness. He is not one of those 'kind but idiot' characters.
I think you are kinda frustrated of him being 'people pleasure' but you forget that because he acts that way, he survives. If that kind of 'act' didnt affect how others view him, he would use another way. Remember, he is in a fantasy world in, enemy place, with no friends. He has no strength or psychical power. He CANT fight back. 'Trying to fit in' is also survival tactic a lot of people seem to forget. And yes, as bonus he chooses kindness over agression.
'Naive kind' character are usually are lot more ignorant or gets agressive when things went unexpected. 'Idiot kind' characters have simple, direct mindset. Those kind of characters hardly can have empathy for villains because they dont understand pain or complexity of emotions and how it affect around them. Kindness in emotional intelligence is understanding that 'even if you are kind, it might be disavantage or unfair but choosing it anyway because you understand their pain'.
So i completely disagree with you. Mc is very charming in emotional intelligence and kind way. He just doesnt overly shadow the majority or show it off. I wish more people understand about characters like him.
And btw, Cale from lord of court doesnt have emotional intelligence. He has high iq and social intelligence. He read situations in social value or advantage-disavantage way. He doesnt read or cant read others emotions or emotional state well enough. He thinks he does, like every average eq person but he doesnt.
Readers unfortunately find 'intelligent character who gets what they want in cool way' charming. Even though that character doesnt use 'charm' as skill much. Charm is a skill of affecting and manipulating others. In a way you try to make people love or adore you.
Oh btw yes i think Cale is kind too. Because he is unreliable narrator. He thinks he doesnt care but he does. But again he doesnt have high eq. He thinks he understand people but he doesnt.
Its ironic, isnt it? People somehow find characters with high iq more charming than characters with actually high eq. Its confused with being cool.
I wrote it wrong. Not high iq but street smart, thats the thing about Cale, my street estp boy. Its funny how much he is different from this angelish jesse (infj), lol.
oh man did i miss your text. i forget to reply.
charming should be relative. you find him charming but i don't. we have different taste. you're on point tho I find him frustrating for being a people pleaser. however depends on the story, i can find such characters good too.
i'll just summary my thoughts. i think jesse's character is a bit off/unclear. at first he didn't want to get involved, he tried to be people pleaser to survive, then he genuinely think of them as friend. actually it sounds like a good development... but the story imo unable to showthe change in jesse's naturally... i can't tell when he did change his mind or whether he actually changed his mind... he never showmuch opinion about him being hostage and being restricted.
on another side the prince and the female lead is waay to clingy and acted like jesse should take responsibility for them because he has charmed them. i think their behaviour are the one who muddled the story a bit... jesse being hostage isn't their fault tho. so i realized i was being too harsh on them. however i don't agree with their behaviour which only treat jesse being hostage to their country as a good thing... yes jesse was neglected and possibly facing assassination problem in his own home country but he also has blood relative who seem to still care about him, on the other side they never bring up issue that jesse's freedom is so restricted in their own country and treat it as a matter of course... it's like putting him in golden cage because he's safer there. it feel twisted and don't sit well with me. it's even made to be fluff or comedy here.
and jesse just accepting it EITHER he doesnt realize the fact, or he still acting passive because he still doesn't want to get involved, or he actually feel it's a lost cause, I don't know because he almost never mentioned it.... but seeing he live his life with his clingy friends happily feel like a dissonance.
i'm actually ok with jesse characters, i'm ok with hostage story, i'm ok with clingy friends, but all of them combined?? is just feel off like this story. actually if the friends' clinginess and possessiveness toned down a bit it'll be ok.
your other point are great tho, it's just i feel it's off topic a bit, but I'll read them carefully
I understand your point. I think Jesse isolate himself mentally. He prefers to consider all of these as unreal. His 'charming' isnt johan liebert level but he is the type of person you will feel safe with because of his gentle and nurturing nature. Thats his charm.
Its not something i just see. On other hand, characters like Cale is more 'cool' type. Cool characters are usually a lot popular but they always have bad eq lol. They act like they got everything under control while high eq characters are always cautious and seem passive. People with high eq are generally charming because they understand your feelings, they mesmerize you. Cool characters are fun to watch because its exciting to see how they do it.
Btw, especially prince andfl s are called out a lot because they act like selfish brat, so story forces them to grow and respect jesse s feelings and boundaries more, especially prince lol.
This story heaviely focus on slice of life-comedy type. Wish author explore characters deep side more.
I thought the mc is a pushover then the red girl voiced my thoughts, and his answer was so mature. well he is still too kind imo
if i need to be this kind to be adored by characters (if i got isekai), i kinda rather not. it is exhausting and i wont be genuine
beside, ik it's normal for isekai story to have passive mc who has no main goal, but this was frustrating. finally after 60+ mc began to be a bit more active. ik he wants to go home, but does he ever move with this goal in mind? it was pretty much slice of life bits with sprinkle of action. sometimes story for girls/women are like this.
if this was a shounen or action story, mc would have tried to seek and collect those unique items that can grant wishes in order to go home. he could secretly went to information guild (very commom plot point), finding way to get doppleganger to move around etc, which is cliche
i didnt's say which one is better, but tbh having some sort of direction that mc explicitly declared would be good. at first it was great when mc tried to read books and mags but those info and knowkledge arent as useful as expected, he didnt even know the value of money after all that reading.
overall this is friendship and fluff first kind of story