The truth you don't want to accept is... COE33 succeeded because it doesn't have anime on the cover and isn't tied down by tired old Japanese tropes/whatever passes for humor over there. People see anime on the cover of a game and that shit straight doesn't exist to them. Doesn't even register.
Expedition 33 is literally the first RPG in decades that actually treats the average, everyman player with a shred of respect by dropping the anime shit, deleting the Japanese cringe "humor", and giving them something that looks more like a high quality TV series than generic, disposable, seasonal anime.