bruno is clearly intended to feel like a potential protagonist, but he's in the wrong genre of story for it. that's why he died like 15 episodes ago. the gang would not have made it through without the cold, analytical help of a boy who doesn't care if people see him as the hero; who believes he can be a villain who shields good people from the REAL bad guys.
Yall are literally missing the very obvious subtext. Giorno leads the group from behind and elevates them above what they would otherwise be able to accomplish. They are good, noble people, but they are also lost souls who ended up in the gang because society cast them out and they felt they had nowhere to go. from the very start of giorno joining, he had a dream. he had a vision for where he would take the gang, and immediately he catapulted them into a larger arena with the killing of polpo.
Its fine if you don't like him, but don't pretend the narrative crux of the entire part turned out that way by accident.
He is my absolute favorite jojo to date. I don't need a character to be the only one who matters in order for me to like them, its weird that that's being used as an argument.