Are "Unlikable" Protags really an objective criticism?
I've seen so many times were people will discredit an entire piece of media for having an "unlikable" protagonist, or even "unlikable" characters. I just wanted to ask people who understand this point of view, is this really an objective criticism that should be said alongside things like how deep or complex a character is?
For me personally, I'm not a fan of main characters that are perfect, morally amazing, responsible hero people, because I think they're boring and unrealistic. A lot of people seem the other way around, not liking characters because their whiny or unconfident. This doesn't mean anything objectively, its all based on personal ability to sympathize with certain people and not others.
So imo, I think we should stop throwing this term around, and keep criticism on characters centered around actual topics like depth and complexity.