other than being an orphan/thief, vaan is just your average teenager, and that's how he's meant to be portrayed. IMO, seeing the story from his perspective was a nice breather from the likes of VII-X, as it gave room to focus on developing everyone and not just 'the main character'. obviously not everyone is going to like that approach, but pleasing everyone was never something square-enix was concerned with if the past few years are anything to go by.