Mushoku Tensei: Japanese Fans React to "Too Creepy" SNS Backlash — "Then Just Don't Watch It"

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Japanese fan reactions (excerpted from 94)

• That grossness is part of what Mushoku Tensei even is.

  あのキモさを含めての無職転生なんだよな

  — @user-wisteria2408732 likes

• What everyone actually wants to say: t-h-e-n d-o-n-'-t w-a-t-c-h i-t.

  みんなが言いたいこと: じ　ゃ　あ　見　る　な

  — @gnktti_gnkiswtr76 likes

• Seriously, this. I dropped it after episode 1 myself, no complaints — just go watch a different anime instead.

  ほんとにそれな 俺はちゃんと1話でやめた 別に批判せずに別のアニメに行きゃいい話

  — @Ragu097 likes

• If you criticize something without watching it, that criticism means nothing — the point is these people watched it and THEN criticized it.

  見ないで批判したらその批判には価値ないじゃん、見た上で批判してるからいいんだろ

  — @ぐっさん-s3k3 likes

• Don't criticize it at all is the point — if you're going to complain, don't watch it in the first place.

  そもそも批判するな 批判するぐらいなら見るなってことでしょ

  — @ハヤッジャjダイア5 likes

• What are you even expecting from a late-night isekai anime in the first place, honestly.

  そもそもこういう転生系深夜アニメに何求めてんだよまじで

  — @mausomania22 likes

• Chainsmoker Cat just caught some stray shrapnel here, lol.

  飛び火食らったヤニねこw

  — @user-ki4vq2op2v52 likes

• Knowing her, she'd light a cigarette off the stray sparks, lol.

  飛び火でタバコに火つけてそうw

  — @sickly-momo-ch3 likes

• I'm not denying Rudeus is gross, but that's been true since Episode 1 of Season 1 — what exactly have you been watching this whole time? You probably just watched because everyone said it was good, vibed off the atmosphere, and none of the actual content sank in. I get it, I get it — I was like that as a toddler too.

  ルーデウスがきしょいのは否定しないんだが、それは1期1話からだろう 今まで何を見てきたんだ どうせ皆が面白いって言うからなんとなく観て雰囲気だけ楽しんで内容なんて微塵も頭に入ってなかったんだろうなぁ わかるわかる、俺も幼児の頃はそんな感じやったわ

  — @タキ-v8h5 likes

• Well, the source material wrapped up in 2015 — back then a slightly gross protagonist was just the genre default.

  そりゃあ2015年最終回の作品だからな 主人公はキショいのがデフォの時代だったから

  — @pH-kc6mg4 likes

• Loudly announcing "I refuse to watch this" is exactly what starts these arguments — why do people even do that?

  「私はこれを観ません」を大々的に言うから論争が起きるのになんでこんなこと言うんだろ

  — @user-wg9gm9di8b9 likes

• I mean, there hasn't been a single part since Season 1 Episode 1 that wasn't gross — it's fun precisely because of that, not despite it.

  いや、1期の1話からずっとキショくなかった部分ないでしょ それ込みで面白いんだって。

  — @longcelery3 likes

• Rudeus looks cool, is gross on the inside — that's the whole show in one sentence.

  ルーデウスはカッコいい、中身はキモいこれに尽きる

  — @するめ-q2p3 likes

• Sure, there's plenty here you can't really defend, but if you don't want to watch it, just don't.

  色々と否定できないのは事実だが、 見たくないなら見なければいいと思う。

  — @マックスレンコン3 likes

• Cut him some slack for being a little gross. A 34-year-old NEET grew this much — Rudy's putting in the work too.

  ちょっときしょいくらい許したれよ。34歳の穀潰しがここまで成長したんだぞ。ルディだって頑張ってるんだ

  — @こじい-x2c2 likes

• Not denying the gross parts. But everything else about it is just too good.

  キショい事は否定しやん。 だが、それ以外の要素がオモロすぎる

  — @浪速ベジタブル1 likes

• Chainsmoker Cat is too unhinged to even be a fair comparison here.

  ヤニ猫はやばすぎて比べちゃあかんやろ

  — @ratto-h2v10 likes

• I get moments watching anime where I go "what is this" and want to complain too, but that show has fans who want to see it get a sequel, so I hold off on criticizing until it either finishes or gets officially cancelled. And honestly, criticizing something you haven't even finished watching just feels irresponsible to me.

  俺だってアニメでなんじゃこれってなる時あるから文句だって言いたくなるけど、そのアニメにもファンがいるし、そいつらはそのアニメの続編が出て欲しいと思ってるだろうかろ、完結か打ち切り情報が入るまで批判はしないようにしてるのと、あとは全部見てない作品の批判なんか無責任に人としてしたくないとは思っている

  — @Nikonitarou3 likes

• Rudeus is gross...? You've been watching since Season 1 and you're only realizing this now, lol?

  ルーデウスがきしょい・・・？1期から見ててまだわかってなかったんか？ｗ

  — @eisenpercemaker8212 likes

• The protagonist's second life makes him too much of a hero to relate to normally, so the sexual quirks are actually what deepens the relatability. It's a deliberate device, and the sexual bits also pile on the gag-comedy element. Honestly I think that's clever writing, but...

  主人公の今世が英雄になりすぎて普通だったら共感できないところを性的嗜好で共感を深めてる。 そういう工夫でもあり、性的描写でギャグ要素を盛っている。 普通に作者の工夫すごいと思うけど、

  — @シエル-z4e1 likes

• Cutting yourself off from a genuine masterpiece over "is it gross or not" feels really pitiful.

  キショいキショくない程度の理由で自分から名作を拒絶して見れなくなるの哀れすぎる

  — @スマブラ霊夢参戦待ち3 likes

• What's good about Mushoku Tensei is... I love basically everything about it... but a lot of it is first-person narration, so it's easy to project yourself into and just fun to read.

  無職転生の良いところは...なにもかも好きだけど...一人称してんがほとんどだから感情移入がしやすくて読んでて楽しいんだよね。

  — @ロキシー師匠3 likes

• Yeah, Rudy does have his gross moments, but he's also got a ton of good qualities. I wish people would focus on the good parts too.

  ルディに気持ち悪いところがあるのはそうだと思うけど、いいところもたくさんある。 ルディのいいところに目を向けてあげてほしい。

  — @じゅぴたあ-i8g1 likes

• The gross part is exactly what's good about it — not being able to enjoy it as entertainment because of that is honestly just self-hatred at that point.

  きしょいのがいいのにエンタメとして見れないのはまじで同族嫌悪

  — @月月-x5g3 likes

• I know — let's neutralize the grossness with a beast-character crossover with Chainsmoker Cat (unhinged logic).

  そうだ、獣人枠でヤニねことコラボしてキモさを中和しよう(錯乱)

  — @dreamersweat9501 likes

• The fact that he builds a harem and then actually gets seriously lectured by his little sister and friends is what separates this from every other harem show, and I love that.

  ハーレムして妹や友達にガチ説教されるのが他と違くてええんよ

  — @むーむー-w8s1 likes

• Yeah, I get the grossness complaints, honestly, lol.

  キモさは確かに分かるな笑

  — @乃理能里駕りNORI1 likes

• It's good precisely because gross and cool coexist in the same character.

  キショいとカッコいいが共存共生出来てるから良いんだよ

  — @tosaayu13 likes

• He's only been with three women his whole life? That makes him incredibly upstanding!!

  生涯で３人しか関係してないんだぞ？ メチャメチャ真面目人間じゃん！！

  — @zenmay44931 likes

• Mushoku Tensei literally doesn't work if Rudeus isn't gross! Who would even want to watch a squeaky-clean version of him!

  ルーデウスがキショくないと無職転生が始まらんやろ！ むしろ綺麗なルーデウスなんて誰が見たいんや！

  — @マキ-h3e1 likes

Why are Japanese fans debating Mushoku Tensei's protagonist?

A social media post calling protagonist Rudeus "too creepy to watch" was picked up by a reaction-compilation channel, and the comment section split between viewers defending the character and viewers telling critics to simply stop watching.

What's the main defense fans give for Rudeus?

Multiple commenters argued the character's gross traits have been present since Season 1 Episode 1, so nothing about him actually changed — and one highlighted comment argued the flaws are a deliberate writing device that makes an otherwise too-heroic protagonist feel human and relatable.

How did Chainsmoker Cat come up in the discussion?

A commenter joked that Chainsmoker Cat — the subject of a separate viral anime — got caught in the "stray fire" of the debate, with another replying that she'd probably light a cigarette off the sparks, referencing the character's chain-smoking gimmick.

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