>>96759060
>all "mature" stuff is just edgewank and degeneracy
Go looking for actually mature things then.
The best spot check I find is 'Has the protagonist actually got responsibility for someone/something, including the parts of it they don't like.'
Black Chronicles gives a perfect example of the difference.
Croaker is a mature protagonist, he takes responsibility for an entire group of people, their lives and liveylhoods in the face of navigating a rather dangerous existence, there are times he does things he isn't personally happy with in order to look after them.
Raven meanwhile is a tosser who only gives a shit about Darling and fuck everyone else, fuck things he doesn't like doing too, fuck his parents, ect.
Another good check is 'Does the character acknowledge their own flaws rather than being informed of them by others and merrily ignoring them'
You could hand Elric a piece of sandpaper and he'd scrape his balls clean off while whining about how it hurts and woe is him the brutality that fate has set upon him, but if you asked him to put down the sandpaper you'd get a blank look.
