I have my own opinion about "whether a work is rubbish or not does not affect most people's liking for it". Popularity can't prove anything, and even it is often the three customs that will catch fire. Therefore, slag work does not affect many people's love for it, but many people like it and it does not affect the fact that it is slag work.
Regarding the value of the work, I pay more attention to "what I want to express" and "how to express it" First of all, I personally think that a work with "what to express" is valuable, so I don't agree with a work that simply pieced together various elements for kitsch's sake. A work with a theme to express is the soul of a work, and a work that abandons the soul is just an empty shell. With the theme I want to express, the second is "how to express it". I prefer works with wonderful plots, close to the theme, in-depth excavation and appeal.
Finally, regarding the issue of Natsume's Friends Account and Insect Master, I have read both works, and my feeling is that although the styles of these two works are similar, they actually express two completely different themes with different forms of expression. "Natsume Friends Account" is more about the protagonist personally, about feeling the warmth of life, about finding happiness in life, and the protagonist of Insect Master is more of a witness, about the discovery of beauty in nature and human nature. Although the account of Natsume's friends is a later work, it has its own characteristics, expresses its own theme well and embodies the progress of the times, and its value is definitely not less than that of Insect Master.