I hear you. I avoided Squad Leader and ASL when I first learned of them, partly because I was led to believe they were very complex, unnecessarily so. However later as an adult I took a closer look, especially after MMP won the license and produced the Starter Kit series. And I was amazed at how simple the rules were, the core of them, the main spine. So many common patterns and elements that made it easier to understand and make predictions.
Most of the apparent complexity only comes from the fact that there are lots of exceptional situations, edge cases, special predicaments, where ASL does have some rule that lets it be handled and reflected within the mechanics in a way that makes sense in terms of strategic impact. So many things turn into simple D6 or 2D6 roll +/- modifiers, or table column shifts. And when you roll you always want to roll low, the lower the better. And even then the gameplay might seem highly ordered and turn-based, at first glance, it's truly all about trying to simulate the messy real-time, interleaved, fog-of-war nature of real battle. Many rules and elements are about injecting the chrome of war, of history, the superficial feel, but in reality it very often chooses to bias on the side of making it a more fun game, a simple game.
I think the Starter Kit series was a brilliant move because it helped to introduce players to that stripped down, central core, the heart of the full rules set. Buy and try SK1, and play a scenario and you won't be disappointed, likely hooked instead. Then you can incrementally widen your rules set and play elements by trying SK2, SK3, etc. and then the full rules binder and modules.
I've never seen a WW2 era game with as much modularity and infinite replayability as modern ASL. It's a bit like the LEGO of WW2 games. No gamer should miss getting a taste.
I hear you about Magic Realm too!