It can be interesting to analyze the themes used in anime and manga. In many series, the stories are built around generic male “Joe Everyman” main characters who have no outstanding or unique features, the better for Japanese fans to identify with them. The theme is common in eroge / visual novels of the type J-List sells, and some games go even further by not drawing the eyes of the main character, leaving his features obfuscated so players can enter his world vicariously. Another meme that comes up often is the “main character who can’t decide what he wants to do with his life,” who is usually in trouble with his teacher for not handing in his shinro chosa-hyo or future career survey form in. I guess this is done because much of the target audience of anime in Japan is aimed at fans who haven’t yet decided what they want to do in the future.
Main characters in anime are often generic “everyman” types.
