I would have to disagree with your opinion. I wouldn't say the characters are flat, I feel like there was a lot of originality in their design.

You don't realize this in English, but in Japanese the names "Sora" and "Shiro" somehow form together to form the word blank. At first I thought the fact they had blank tags in the game they played was just some type of ominous and mysterious thing, I never realized the poetic aspect of it.

Sora means sky. Shiro means white. In one episode, there is a flashback to Shiro describing Sora as empty.They say that together they form blank. Blank and empty have similar meanings. White is also associated with blankness or emptiness.

So they weren't just stock names given to the characters. There really is a lot of thought put into their names. Even Steph's name is a reference to modern culture, if you look on Urban Dictionary.

As for the The "foolish king", I think he's a beautifully designed character, and an excellent foil to Sora. The reason why is a spoiler:


I also like the NEET aspect of both of the MCs. It provides an interesting narrative as to why they dislike the real world, where there is no clear goal in mind. I also like the intellectual games that happen throughout the show, that require lots of thought to fully comprehend


As for the excessive fanservice, that is a valid critique that comes down to opinion. It certainly makes the show far to akward to watch with friends. However, I do feel like they do it in a way that they seperate it from the plot, or at least tie it into the plot in a reasonable way.