Different anon. Yes, which is why I find all harem main characters suspicious whether they're male or female. Someone who writes about this one person getting so much romantic attention from the opposite sex (Haruhi, Miaka, Keitaro, Tenchi) must have weird issues about the opposite sex. They're not Sues or Stus in the classic sense (not impossibly perfect, for a start), but that may only mean their writers are smart enough not to fall into the trap.
Anyway, with the stigma now attached to Sues and Stus, many writers have become subtle so they'll pass under the radar. It's a matter of taste, but to me one of the things that sets off my Sue/Stu alarm going is the premise of the harem: a single character receiving too much romantic attention. That smacks of frustrated teenager "I WANT BOYS/GIRLS TO PAY ATTENTION TO MEEEEEEEE" mind-set. Particularly for the male harem leads, you'd understand if they were the kind of guys who'd be heartthrobs - but no, you've got Keitaro from Love Hina as the poster boy/archetype. Haruhi's indifference towards gender I see as something the writer tossed in to make her look "cool" - "yeah, I'm getting so much attention from the guys but I don't particularly care, really, and I don't even bother to doll myself up even though I'd be one hell of a looker if I cared to, which makes me so cool". Taken separately, that not-dolling-myself-up and that indifference to the opposite sex and romance in general is fine. But if that's under a harem series, which such a premise behind it, that makes it suspicious for me.
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Anyway, with the stigma now attached to Sues and Stus, many writers have become subtle so they'll pass under the radar. It's a matter of taste, but to me one of the things that sets off my Sue/Stu alarm going is the premise of the harem: a single character receiving too much romantic attention. That smacks of frustrated teenager "I WANT BOYS/GIRLS TO PAY ATTENTION TO MEEEEEEEE" mind-set. Particularly for the male harem leads, you'd understand if they were the kind of guys who'd be heartthrobs - but no, you've got Keitaro from Love Hina as the poster boy/archetype. Haruhi's indifference towards gender I see as something the writer tossed in to make her look "cool" - "yeah, I'm getting so much attention from the guys but I don't particularly care, really, and I don't even bother to doll myself up even though I'd be one hell of a looker if I cared to, which makes me so cool". Taken separately, that not-dolling-myself-up and that indifference to the opposite sex and romance in general is fine. But if that's under a harem series, which such a premise behind it, that makes it suspicious for me.