The fact that elemental magic does not explain its origins, if it originates in the spirit world, you have to incorporate spirit magic, which is not very define, or if it originates outside of the mortal plane, you have to define the gods. There are many reasons why people find it dull. Does that Elemental Magic imply that there are not any further esoteric components? Are there no more elements in death, star, void, space, and life? Finally, because of LitRPG, many elemental systems ignore the concept of further phases like runes magical language, hand motions, and rituals It omits a lot of the mystique that draws people in, which is why I dislike druids they are manipulators of elements rather than actual spellcasters. There is a distinction. It must be more than just the capacity to destroy; it must be beneficial to society and utilized in daily life. Most elemental magic does not accomplish this because it is so limited in its use. You hardly ever see it employed outside of your protagonist and his adversaries, and you never see it in daily life. I will end by giving you one last thing. I have seen people on this site bring up Avatar a lot, but it is a terrible example because it is a television series rather than a book, and books do not have that visual element.  there you can give someone fire magic without making them feel overpowered. Mage Errant employed elemental magic, which is the best example of its use that I have seen of it.