If by flawed you mean the author is a bad writter then yes.

You need your character to have a reason for his actions and have consequences in and out. Like if he starts killing lizards then cats and dogs and that kind of thing and slowly works his way up to killing a person then becoming a cerial killer all the while having the psychological effects of that thats good writting.

If your character lives and was born and raised in a eye for an eye bloody world then yes thats also normal.

If your character is some guy in a normal world kills then whatever doesn't see any consequences then goes back to normal your writing is shit.

Consistency and character development are more important than OP vs weak... which rarely means much because plot usually dictates what happens to a character, not the other way around. (And being OP doesn't mean a character isn't flawed.)

I never understood labeling every male lead who doesn't have physical relations with nearly every female entity a beta. 😒 What kind of Freudian mentality is that?
In my opinion, a Gary Stu is terrible, but some people want to escape reality through the eyes of your characters, and... that is predominantly what sells here... But most will agree that a flawed character is an interesting character, which makes for good writing. So ask yourself: Who are you writing for? Why do you write?
Then look at your reviews. Is it descriptive, constructive feedback or is it a genre hater? Are they why you write?
Maybe leave an author's note at the end of the latest chapter to ask for feedback in the comments. Anyone who has read that far is hooked for some reason or another and a couple should be able to articulate some feedback.

I always like a good OP MC. Unless it’s very badly written, I usually enjoy them. That doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate a flawed MC. That leaves room for improvement and character development. As long as they don’t stay trash, it’ll be good. I’m not so good with drama though and as if their flaws aren’t extremely glaring, I would enjoy it. I never like stupid MCs though.

Just providing another viewpoint.

    Depends on what you mean by weak. I have no problem with an MC who lacks strength and struggles to get stronger, it's more interesting than a Gary Stu who instantly crushes everything in front of him, but I am not a fan of whiny or cowardly MCs unless they grow out of it.

      I've never had anyone take major issue with the flaws on my MCs. In fact, I've even gotten a positive review because of said flaws for one of them.

      For myself as a reader, I have a bit of a guilty pleasure for beta MCs. At least I don't think it's all that popular given comments I've seen across many mediums. For me, I guess I just like to see a guy being a little weak and insecure, and somehow work past it.

        Flawed characters are not an issue if there's character growth planned. I don't like anti-heros permanently flawed, especially if I can't relate to these flaws (an addict, a very stupid MC, a dense MC that has no awareness/desire for the opposite sex ect..)

        The only flaws I can't deal with at all are author flaws: Basically when a character do very stupid things he/she shouldn't do under the premise that he/she is supposed to be smart. It's bad writing. When many readers can spot obvious mistakes like that there's an issue.

        If a character acts out of character (for example a shy guy that suddenly acts bold, or a bad guy suddenly being nice, an aloof cold virgin girl falling in love with the MC at first sight (almost every harem) ect.. ), it's bad writing too.

        Now, I think every author even the best writers do mistakes like this once in a while. As long as they're able to take the criticisms to improve it's fine. After all, all the original novels here are first draft.

          Arkinslize

          Had this recently happen to myself. Had a reader comment about dropping my book because they felt he was being too much of a cuck, when in fact the situation I wrote him into forced him to compromise. My failure in that instance was not clearly defining the situation, though to myself I think the setup that a gang of thugs has the mc's friends and loved ones under sword and outnumbered him like ten to one pretty much implies a smart mc shouldn't risk their lives.

          What I didn't write was the massive physical difference between the races involved, my mc is a kobold, a special one to be sure but at that point of my book that specialty makes him about as strong as a normal human. His foes at the time were big beefy orcs. I often take for granted that my reader base is more knowledgeable than they probably are in D&D racial hierarchies and stereotypes.

              CacackleLasson

              Yes. I am 100% sure that readers like OP MC without any weakness. They don't like realistic or flaw MCs.

              Those books with OP MCs always have alot of collections. And the story will become a face slapping because the OP MCs can do all sorts of unrealistic things and readers will call it realistic and logical.

              But when you write a realistic MC with a logical plot, many of the readers will comment that it is not logical. Stupid, dense, naive, all sorts of crazy words are used.

              I have experienced it myself:X

                  Darth_Xiane.

                  If it's just one reader you can probably ignore him/her, especially if the other comments are rather positive.

                  However, always remember that only 1-10% of a reader base is active in the comment section. For one comment like this there's 10-100 readers that share the same view. If you can improve this scene to make it clearer don't hesitate. Yet, you can't satisfy everyone. If that's the fact that the MC is not the perfect OP alpha male he/she was looking for, there's not much you can do.

                  I think most fantasy webnovel readers know the difference between goblins, kobolds and orcs, but it is still better to redefine them and have your own take about this to refresh the concept. In some anime/novels, orcs look like fallen elves with dark skin and bestial attributes(Lord of the Rings) , while in some others they look like pigs(japanese animes mostly), or grotesque bipedal monster. Same for goblins. They're generally small, green and ugly with pointy ears, but you can find stories where goblins can actually look handsome and beautiful, barely smaller than a normal human with similar physical traits except for the greenish skin.

                  So, if you haven't clearly explained these differences from the start, it is indeed advised to do it.

                      Avidfan :( that seems sad and its kinda discouraging to write a good character now adays, no wonder most isekai protagonists are very forgettable.

                          CacackleLasson

                          Yes:( Somehow japanese like MCs are looked down upon while Dragonball MCs are look up upon.

                          It is very difficult to write a MC with personality and personality will mean having a weakness or quirky traits.

                          Many of the readers have a 8 year old mentality and trying to escape from reality.

                              Kinda, but if the MC's flaws are justified then I think having him that way is justifiable.

                                I like a relatable MC. But I hate books with short chapters or way too many.

                                  I think it depends on the flaw or weakness and how it's used. There are other factors as well though. I think what's important is that you like your story while having a general idea of what you are doing and why. A lot of people who dislike flawed characters, dislike them because of inconsistencies. For example, one of my pet peeves is reading a story where a character dies with regret related to the girl he loved, then he ends up getting reborn or going back in time and goes full harem with almost no concern for the girl he supposedly loves. That's not an MC flaw, that's an author flaw. But there are lots of stories where there will be a flaw that the author selectively uses and ignores when he wants to make a specific action work. Basically, they don't build a character, they just write down an MC name and use a setting that generally draws an audience, then they make the situation work regardless of the actual story.

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