This is not a Javascript problem, this is a Javascript ecosystem problem. A standard web page will load megabytes of JS code that was packaged from hundreds of dependancies for the reason that "this is how everyone does it".
I just finished a UI that requires a few HTTP requests to the API and a bit of dynamic behavior (but not a ton), and it's done inline with ES6, with no transpilers or minifiers, using ArrowJS. It does the job, and it rips.
