That's fair. More dialogue isn't always more fun.
I kinda went to opposite way. Started Sky 1, not very engaged with the story, even main characters. Fast forward to chapter 4/5, I'm talking to random NPCs and loving it. Still not exhausting dialogue cause I have places do be.

They never look at the camera when you want them to.

I can't remember at the top of my head (and I'm to lazy to check), but I'm pretty sure one of your videos made me watch Ancient Magus Bride.
I was very weirded out by the premise, but you mentioned it in a good light, I tried and ended up loving it.

Temmie Boss Enrage

Pretty much the same here. I was a copywriter for 10 years. It as the job that allowed me to live on my own for some time and to move in with my now wife.
Today, it's all dried up. I already felt depressed about my work, but now it's not even there anymore. And I have nothing to show for it.

Although, L5R is also very guilty of restricting the possibility space for no reason. So, tread carefully :v

So, a deceiving character may want to use Courtesy Air/Water all the time, but maybe your dealing with e cleaver diplomat that is very hard to fool. But if you try Reason, they will be more open to your request.

One more pointer about L5R that adds to social interaction: Demeanors.
An NPC has a Demeanos, like Gruff or Naive, that modifies the difficulty of social checks against them, depending or your approach. It can be anything from a -2 to a +2.

Just 52,5 hours to go. Keep it up!

Not only you didn't need to flex so hard, I'm sure you could flex harder if you wanted XD

I like games with unique mechanics.
I don't mind learning new and unconventional rules, as long as they make the core idea of the game stronger.

I like stories with no clear villain.
Don't get me wrong, a real bad guy is satisfying to run. But I enjoy when their motivations are a bit more complex. Or when the threat it a force of nature that can't be held accountable.

I don't like "cozy".
Seems contradictory, but hear me out. A slice of life game can have lots of conflict and purpose, but the stakes are personal and/or local. Cozy tends to have no stakes at all. I don't think I can survive on shenanigans alone.

I like "slice of fantasy/sci-fi"
By that I mean: games about the mundane aspect of a fantastical world. No world level threat needed.

I don't like when one player hogs the spotlight, even on accident.
That happens sometimes. One player does all the interaction while everybody just watches. My biggest pet peeve is the D&D rogue that goes invisible to scout for a full 4 hours session.

I like SOME player character conflict.
I don't think cooperation should be assumed for every game. That is a point I bring up in session zero. And even then, some friction between characters is fun, as long as all players are ok with that.