meh, I like it when both males and females shine, bland cardboard characters only bring down the story for me.
Hmmm I agree that if the male is not at least tolerable it can bring the story down.
As long as the male character is not the focal point of the story but a vehicle to show the girls then I think it's good.
Stritcly speaking about the harem genre.
A bad harem makes you not like any of the girls.
A mediocre harem makes you like all the girls.
A good harem anime makes you root for one girl to stay with the MC.