what about the power of drugs?
Breaks suspension of disbelief.
I actually love weak protagonists because of the tension involved in any combat situation they’re in, and how exciting it is when they actually do something cool. And because they’re so weak they’re forced to rely on side characters for help, more times than not developing and making those side characters memorable. And the protagonist won’t usually get through their problems with brute force and instead have to use their head which I get pretty hyped about. I wonder what you guys think about them?
As other people said, strategy and teamwork are just another type of strength. I
do like that method, seeing people be clever is always fun. Although... Sometimes it feels weird that the Protagonist just suddenly turns into a genius chestmaster because they don't have any 'gimmick' they can rely on. Frankly, I'd rather see them lose than channel the spirit of Sherlock for a second of plot armor.
A genuinely weak protagonist, with no redeeming qualities, is only possible if you make them a 'side character' in another character's story. They are the sidekick of the hero, the narrator in a story with a different Protagonist. It's not a terrible gimmick, but it's probably really hard to pull off. Until the last second, Madoka Magica does that pretty well. Actually, I guess it's common in a lot of YA novels, just because the characters are usually children getting saved by their parents/guardians.
