>>55145621>5000 normal, nice characters, all fine choices but without much to make them stand out individually>Attention gets split between them>1 plot important schizo with a unique relationship to the MC, likely with more thought put into their character>Lightning rodIt's all very simple. Like a matter of supply and demand.
Let's use otome games as an example.
We have Amnesia: Memories. You get 3 normal dudes, and then this guy who locks you in a cage and in one route even impulsively attempts to kill the MC in a fit of anger. Cage man is by far the most popular and remembered character.
Yet we have Diabolik Lovers, a game specifically made for masochists. There's 4 dudes who abuse the MC in various ways, be it physically, mentally, or sexually, and then you get these two other dudes, a tsundere and a lazy/depressed dude. Every time they run a popularity poll, the tsundere and lazy dude are at the top. To go even further, when they added more characters in the second game, the boring dude who does nothing and barely even has a personality also became very popular.