Complexity for the sake of complexity has badly tarnished the Java ecosystem's reputation. I feel like the community has countered that phase by creating new, smaller tools, more modular tools, similar to what exist in other ecosystems, but the foothold of bloated, overly complicated crap is still strong in the enterprise world.
A simple rule of thumb is just don't use anything with the word "Spring" in it, and you're well on your way.
A simple rule of thumb is just don't use anything with the word "Spring" in it, and you're well on your way.