How to Write a Good Bad Man - Mushoku Tensei and Chainsaw Man
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- Опубліковано 14 січ 2024
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Bad Boi protagonists are all the rage these days, but why are some series able to pull them off while others fumble the ball? Here's an examination of Mushoku Tensei and how it could work to present its protagonist in a way that is more palatable without sacrificing its commitment to characterization.
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Browsing through the comments I kinda think its funny that EP only hearts or comments on stuff that agrees with his point and only does the equivalent of a "comment high five"
Every youtuber does that, every person on any and all social media does that, YOU DO THAT
Nice pin btw👍
@@crushersbutlessedgynowHe is 100% allowed to do that no one is arguing that, but it feels... Idk how to word it (maybe sad or ignorant?) that a person who is presenting information on a show is ignoring any that contradicts his own ideas (which some are valid but a good few are really stretching)
Also idk why it was pinned I thought it was weird
@@Ddarku2 hes not obligated to boost or legitimize other peoples arguements? Especially when alot of them are terrible + fairy certain he pinned your comment bc he found it funny like i did
@@crushersbutlessedgynow i specifically said he is free to do that it just seems weird to do so. Like everyone can say or do whatever they want but they are still able to be judged because of it. I think he did the equivalent of what death battle does with their videos and you're free to agree or disagree with me
But at least you're having an actual discussion about your opinions so my opinion of you is high and my opinion of EP in this regard is low
@@Ddarku2 no you made it pretty clear that you found him not doing so ignorant, inconsistent and/or irresponsible, either pick one side or the other you can't play both
Denji's sexual obsession is presented as him being a child who doesn't really understand what he wants. Rudy's sexual obsession is presented as him being an adult who understands *exactly* what he wants.
Except he isn't an adult who knows exactly what he wants. He thinks he is and does, but he's a stunted man child without conception of empathy or mutual enjoyment or even reality.
His excitement about his maybe first time is framed as being with a "tsundere loli". He is conceptualising it in anime labels, he literally isn't thinking of her as a person.
This doesn't actually make it better. But it's a different kind of fucked up.
Oh fr.
First impression of denji was that he was an ordinary teenage boy caught in a bad situation
Rudus's was one of a sexual predator getting a chance to enact his fantasies.
I just hope that as Rudy grows up, and his brain changes, that he becomes.... more well adjusted.
@@narutony1916 he never do. In fact he is rewarded for his bad behaviour
@@mistral9950 Welp shiet. I assume he never told Sylphie, Roxy, or Eris exactly how old he was when he reincarnated? Because that would deeeeeefinitely recontextualize stuff for them
I feel like its also remiss not to mention that denji is an abused, neglected teenage boy being groomed by an older woman with authority over him and Chainsaw Man leans into that more and more as the series goes on. Himeno explicitly acknowledges after that she would have been committing a crime against Denji and its not played for exploitation, and everything about Makima's hold over Denji is ultimately manipulative and very very wrong
Denji is also WEIRDLY consensual considering that all of his interactions are dubious at best, except when it came to Power. Power was paralyzed, damseld and had promised boobs. How many other protagonists wouldn’t have just gone for it right then.
Dude literally forgets about until Power offers boobs again, ON HER TERMS, WHICH DENJI STRAIGHT UP ADHERES TO!!! (I am so jaded from anime) no “oops i fell into your boobs completely on accident five times, gotta try again!” , no “you didn’t specify how long a boob grab is so im gonna keep going until you have to say no”
He just asks for permission and respects her boundaries. Rude rat would never
One of the most interesting parts of chainsaw man is that, IMO, its most central theme is adults manipulating children esp. for the first part. Denji has been taken advantage of by shitty adults since he was born, and the act of loving Pochita, Power, and Aki, and BEING chansaw man, is an act of radical defiance, honesty, and freedom from a system built on deception and abuse.
The funny thing is that the types of people who watch MT and don't have any issue with the crimes Rudeus commits also watch CSM and have no issue with the crimes Makima commits. People don't get that the entire point of Makima is that she is disgusting, abusive, and manipulative and that Denji is a child who never had a real childhood being manipulated and taken advantage of, despite the fact everything from the OP to her introduction and more is literally screaming out that she is manipulative and abusive.
@@untitleduntitled6257yea this is true. chainsaw man made the brave decision to be the first anime to be aware of consent. fujimoto might possibly even be the first japanese man to be aware that consent exists tbh
@eduntitled6257 it's not even just consent... Denji has been carrying his father's debt for the majority of his living memory. every time he's ever earned something, all but the bare minimum was always promised to someone else first, before any of it was ever his. Denji was trained to expect that nothing of value would ever be held by him. anything good that he ever got his hands on would eventually be taken away, and Denji himself was less than worthless. he was eventually such dead weight, despite his best efforts, that they tried to kill him.
so when Denji wants something, he thinks he has to pay some sort of price before he can expect it. he couldn't just ask Power for consent... he also had to offer to save Meowy, to make it worth her while. Makima offers Denji sex, but only if he'll kill the gun devil, and Denji thinks that's normal. Himeno eventually reveals that she wants to get with Aki, and if Denji can help her with that, then she'll help him get close to Makima. the catch is, Himeno will probably only feel safe acting on her feelings for Aki if she can extract him from public service devil hunting. it's almost like she wants to sacrifice Denji by putting him in Makima's clutches, as a way to get Aki out.
and throughout everything, Denji has trouble believing that anyone would just want to be around him because they like him. he's internalized a feeling of worthlessness, and now he feels like he has to put forth something extra before a person's involvement with him makes sense.
I think the biggest reason why Denji works so well is because he isn’t a pervert, he’s just horny. Like sure he’ll risk his life fighting a bat devil to cope a feel, but he’ll then wait for Power to wake up and ask if he can touch her chest now rather than just grouping her while she was unconscious “since she already agreed to it after all”. Knowing you still have to ask for permission for that even if a girl previously agreed to let you do that is genuinely a better understanding of consent than I’d expect from an average 16 year old boy.
Ding ding ding!
Denji is the horny man all horny men should aspire to be.
@@Alexis-vv5bklast chance to look at me Hector
He's not even that horny imo, I think he's more confused, he craves the care and attention he was neglected due to his socio-economic status making him a sub-human pariah in the eyes of society. He seeks the things that he understands to be things that fully-realised humans do and have filtered through the media and ideology of his society, having a bath, eating a normal breakfast, and sure touching boobs, but not because he's horny, even though he is, but more because that's the only way he's been exposed to the idea of intimacy. It's going to sound weird but don't get me wrong, I don't think the idea of the scene with Power is even about the consent, it is more about being wanted, that's why the contrast with the Makima scene and his development with Power later on work so well. They really explore the fuck out of this in Part 2 so my judgment might be coloured by it but I remember thinking this when comparing the later arcs of Part 1 with the first few seeing how his motivation evolves while still being basically the same.
Precisely
If a show can make people say “The erectile dysfunction arc is peak fiction” it is truly something special.
And they aren't exactly wrong, either. That arc hit me hard in very personal places that have nothing to do with erectile dysfunction.
Nah, that would be DoggeNingen with "School Shooter Arc". Now that is real peak fiction and DN in general is topiest peakest Peak.
I think it means *they* are special and need to experience literally any other fiction ever
@@ExplanationPointAnime ... How did you fail to notice that Rudy's Japanese body looks like Ugly Bastard from Hentai but with changes made to dodge copyright?
The entire point of the show is that Rudy was a 30 year old man child warped by the worst aspects of Japanese society; it is saying that he was more immoral than the world he went to because of the disgusting shit that exists in Japanese media. You claim that Mushoku Tensei is the most abhorrent thing to come out of Japan, but that is very incorrect. I'm not going to labor over the LONG fucking list of shows that have literal 8 year olds getting r@ped and playing it off as though it's a positive encounter because I'd prefer that the people who made them die of starvation. In fact, there is a show coming out RIGHT NOW that is FAR FUCKING WORSE than everything that happens in Mushoku Tensei, and it is only 2 episodes in.
The show is saying that this 30 year old man child IS THE SAME as a child. It is saying that you NEED to live your best life or else you'll devolve into this disgusting thing of a man. The entire plot line of Eris, for example, is about Rudy destroying his most nurturing relationship because he couldn't control himself; he demonstrated to Eris that he was a child in both body and mentality by constantly thirsting over her. That is the actual reason she left him: because this CHILD was far better than her at everything and it made her feel fucking terrible... But the only reason he was far better than her, as disgusting as he was, was because of his past life.
I personally call it the "Espresso Depresso arc"
I think one other thing that's important in the denji comparison: Boy's a fucking victim
“you’re a freak who likes to watch analysis videos of shows you know nothing about”
It’s only January and already I have been called a freak by a UA-camr, it’s not even a Friday.
Dudeeee sameeee
It seems we are kindred spirits.
UA-cam recommended me this channel I didn't know about and first video I see it attacks me personally like that. I am deeply offended. Subscribed.
It seems I'm not the only one.
genuinely, I think Denji takes the typical anime pervert trope and dismantles it handily, because the first thing we see him talk about with Pochita, is spending an afternoon/evening playing video games with a girl, and then maybe they'd kiss. but then he laments that his inescapable poverty makes him undesirable. and truly, Denji feels alienated from other kids his age, who are in school, and have families, and get regularly fed and bathed. how are other kids supposed to relate to any of his experiences? Denji has spent his childhood being abused in the world of adults, and belonging nowhere.
and when it comes to his pursuit of sexual gratification... normally, a person would gain that sort of physical relationship with another person after emotional intimacy is established. but for Denji, that idea is foreign. it feels unattainable to him, because no one is ever nice to him. what Denji knows, is that if he wants something, he has to work for it, or pay for it somehow. when the guy in the first episode asks him to eat a cigarette for money, he pretends to be happy to do it, because he knows he'll have enough money for dinner in the end. this is frequently how he is treated. so when it comes to Power, he intends to pay for the experience of touching her chest by getting Meowy back. and _she_ is the one who tells him that she'd consider this to be a fair barter. but neither of these two idiots has a proper set of standards by which to gauge any of this as normal.
in the same way, when Makima straight up offers Denji sex... the condition is that he first has to kill the gun devil. and this is horrible for Denji's expectations. Denji is once again being set up to see sex as something transactional, and the price is now set to something VERY steep. Denji goes along with it, because he's used to being exploited in ways that feel so much worse in the moment. these days, he gets to eat well, sleep in a bed, and bathe... bare essentials that he was barred from prior to this. Denji's standards are absolutely fucked, and Makima benefits from keeping him that way.
and the runoff effect, is that Denji can't believe he'd ever achieve intimacy just by being himself. there always has to be a catch, or a payment. someone's always gotta be trying to screw him over, or they probably have more to gain than he does. it's always gotta cost an arm and a leg.
on the surface, it seems like he gets closer with Himeno. she decides, without any special effort on Denji's part, to be flirtatious and pursue things with him. the problem is that Himeno uses sex as a vice. she's using it, much like smoking and drinking, to soothe her stress and anxiety, which comes from caring for Aki while he's constantly in danger as a devil hunter. and she can only use sex as a vice if it is devoid of emotional attachment. that way the emotional component won't come back and cause her grief later. so, very specifically, Himeno is propositioning Denji because she doesn't care if he lives or dies. she even thinks that Denji might be crazy enough to succeed at this job, like Kishibe said good devil hunters should be. and she'd be happy to let Denji defeat the gun devil if it meant that Aki wouldn't have to. in other words... she'd think it was ideal if she could take Aki out of danger, by putting Denji there instead.
and while Himeno is going through those motions based on her own criteria, Denji is still not experiencing a normal progression from liking a person, to figuring out that it's mutual, to becoming closer, to gaining intimacy. just because Denji will say aloud that he wants to touch boobs, that doesn't mean he's actually willing to violate a person's stated boundaries in order to achieve that result. in fact, Denji is the one who has to assert his own boundaries in the face of Himeno's advances, because _he_ is uncomfortable.
if anything, Denji is used to the idea that he has to pay through the nose for even the barest minimum acknowledgement. and it's scary, because this makes 16 year old Denji _very_ manipulable. he barely even bats an eye when Makima says she'll hunt him down and kill him if he tries to leave public service, because that was the status quo between him and the yakuza since his dad died. Denji has horrible expectations for the world, and standards for how he should be treated. and the fact that his default is to accept poor treatment, is what makes people feel like he should be protected from that exploitation.
Damn, This is such a excellent breakdown. Heres hoping he achieves true connection in part 2.
@@justafan-tn4ny I hope he gets closer... but I also think it'll be a rocky road, if it's written well. I trust Tatsuki Fujimoto to be the kind of writer that'll do a good job, so Denji probably has a long way to go. ^^;
I don't usually expect to find such excellent analysis in a youtube comments section, but this is a great examination of Denji's character. Thanks for writing it.
@@FlashroomStudios no problem! honestly, Denji is a phenomenally well written character... there are so many aspects of him that function really well within the themes of the story. like, even just his fight with the tomato devil in the first scene highlights how, when humans lack money, they can get paid for hunting devils... and if devils lack people who fear them, they can gain notoriety by hunting humans. so Denji and the tomato devil are both basically impoverished members of their own species, pitted against each other because they're the most weak and vulnerable.
going forward, Denji is the perfect character to get us to ask questions about who has power in the narrative, what kind of power they have, and how they're using it. like, both Makima and the Yakuza use fear tactics to try and intimidate each other, which is an interesting ploy, given how devils work. the existence of poverty in general is probably directly linked to the power of several devils. and it's also interesting to note that the things devils ask for when they form contracts are similar to the body parts that Denji sold when he was trying to get out of debt. it's all systems of exploitation. Denji might not be a very smart person, but he's a very intelligently written character.
@@kamuyking551 lol I'm not gone lie broski, you could do a video essay on the characters fr. Would love to hear your overall thoughts on makima as a villain. Idk where I have her ranked as anime villains but she up there.
Denji’s a literal working class kid that is manipulated through the promise of being treated like a normal person in exchange for being a child soldier. His whole character progression is climbing up Mazlow’s Hierarcy of Needs and finding that his initial desires won’t make him truly happy. He’s one of the most perfect representations of teenage boys going through life and believing that all of his problems will be solved with sex and good food, only to be tormented by losing the family he slowly built up. Best boy.
Furthermore, the audience is primed to realize that Denji is being taken advantage of by the actual adults around him. When Denji acts inappropriately in most situations an actual adult would step in to correct the situation and yell at Denji for his bad behavior. But no adult does, and the adults around him: Himeno and Makima specifically take advantage of his sexuality for their own goals. Denji is not the most sexually predatory character in the show’s cast.
Yeah I was gonna say the scene with himeno is uncomfortable but it doesn’t alienate you from Denji because he’s the minor in that situation and ultimately is able to pull himself together enough to realise this is a bad idea.
It may make you feel very unfavourably about Himeno but it takes a little of the edge off that when she comments that it’s a good thing it didn’t happen, and you realise she was so blackout drunk she can’t remember what happened. What she did is still bad but you don’t proceed feeling like she is a threat to Denji’s safety, at least as long as they’re not near alcohol.
The scene where he touches Power’s boobs(with her consent which is great)and realizes that it wasn’t the life changing experience he built it up to be is one of the most compelling character moments I have seen in an anime. This show made a teenager touching boobs into a legitimately compelling and emotional moment.
I feel like Rudeus is a similarly very real look at a much grosser reality for a lot of people. Not to defend his or anyone else's actions but can you really say they seem unrealistic given the world/character? Instead of having no experience and finding his instinctual wants unfulfilling Rudeus has 40+ years of repressed desires. He does the same thing as Denji but instead of recognizing what's wrong he repeatedly misunderstands, embarrasses himself, and by season 3 has fully shutdown from cognitive dissonance.
For the people who weren't uncomfortable the series indulges them and then shows those actions as unfulfilling, pathetic, and foolish.
@Blewlongmun My issue there is that these instances don't change his behavior. He reflects on some of these instances, yeah, but nothing changes about his behavior. He keeps doing the same terrible things and then sometimes feeling bad about himself (note: himself, not the people he's victimizing), but nothing changes. What am I supposed to take from that other than this show being unwatchable?
Denji also like... Asks for consent? He's a 16 year old kid with much less life experience than rat boy and even then he's a much better person. He's just a bit confused due to being so deprived of genuine human connections at the start of the series.
Denji is a good kid without experience
Rat boy is a bad person who crosses multiple lines multiple times
"Rat boy" spent 25 years locked in his room. What life experience?
@@mariokarter13 a middle aged man knows that lusting after a nine year old is irredeemably fucked up and a middle aged man also knows that consent is fucking important
That is a child
And that is a middle aged man
There is no situation that makes this okay
@@mariokarter13 So, you admit he's at least had over 17 years as a 'normal' person, right? Because he had to BECOME a 'shut in', and wasn't BORN one. Because it doesn't take you until you're 17 to figure out that 'adult with kid' isn't good.
MT fans claim not molesting a kid is “character development”
but rat boy learns
For anyone curious:
Denudation basically means "to strip bare" in this context.
Shouldn't that be "nudation"?
@@marcoasturias8520 is maybe like inflammation but flammable
@@marcoasturias8520
I believe it is because in latin, nudus (from which nudity derives) is the act of being naked, while de in latin is a prefix that can mean various things, like from or to. So probably de nudus was used to indicate "to (became/make) nude".
But I just studied latin in high school, so take everything with a grain of salt.
@@BertockLeg I think you are right, knowing that the verb that means "to strip bare" in spanish is Desnudar.
@@marcoasturias8520
No. That word could also work, but it's not the one he said.
Denji has a really good defining moment from chapter 2 that the anime skipped, where he finds a little girl who ran away with her own pet devil. He was ordered by Makima to kill the devil, but instead offers to help her run away, even at risk to himself. Despite how horny he is, he starts the story as someone who cares about others more than he cares about his lust for Makima, and even his own personal safety.
Aw man they cut that? I thought it was a really interesting chapter
@@archivist_13 Scheduling is a bitch and in fairness, everything else is given perfect pacing and plenty of love. The Eternity Devil arc especially is well done, so it's still worth the sacrifice
@@markmolayal9402 eh fair enough, I should really get around to sitting down and watching the whole thing
Also not for nothing, but after Shinji did…that, he says “I’m so fucked up” which kinda demonstrates what Anno wanted us to get out of the scene
I would add to that by referencing that earlier in the series, he nearly SA’d her by kissing her in her sleep, but stops and leaves the room when Asuka quietly says “Mama…” in her sleep. It makes him consider her personhood outside of giving him angry boners.
By the time of EoE, he know every child in his life has been reduced to objects to be used by his father, and experienced disturbing/traumatic S-ual situations himself, including Misato’s grooming, Kaji’s workplace behaviour, exposure to Asuka’s “mind [r-word]”, and watching the Rei clone tank dismemberment. He may have started off with an average moral compass, but his experiences have made a previously unthinkable act into an impulse. Combine that with complete hopelessness and wanting to self-terminate, and he no longer *has* the impulse control that he had previously.
It’s *literally* sick behaviour. Shinji immediately demonstrates that he knows this is not an excuse.
This is pretty hard to catch on a first watch, but also, Asuka gets to respond to this directly. Not just in One More Final, but in the train sequence of Instrumentality. She kabedons Shinji on the train, commanding him to use her for self-pleasure, and implicitly asking the rhetorical question: why is he only able to express attraction to her when she cannot consent?
NGE contains a lot of imagery of Asuka, and it’s not always necessaryn. The balance is tipped *way* in favour of “worth it” by scenes like these.
10:00 babies are incapable of being aroused by boobs. toddlers are incapable of being aroused by panties. rudy's character and his actions don't align with how actual cognitive development works. the author isn't selling the whole, "rudy has a child's brain" aspect very well.
yeah and that's such an obvious thing. the author had the choice between taking his child body stuff into account or to choose to not be realistic about this, and it chose to halfass bullshit it incoherently, making it VERY CLEAR that it is or isn't the case depending on which is more convenient in a given situation; when he's a baby we don't take it seriously so that he can touch boobs and steal panties and take advantage of women sexually without their knowledge because it's funny/relatable (?), when he's a teenager we take it seriously so that he can be sexually attracted to a teen. i think i'm seeing a logic to what "convenient" means here...
The fact of the matter is, he isn’t aroused. It’s just habitual, through 20 years of isolation without human contact he has developed maladaptive tendencies to cope and distract from his loneliness and depression. A porn addiction is one of them, so his behavior as a baby is not driven by arousal, but instead by deeply ingrained ideas of how such a situation should make him feel. He gets psychological pleasure but not physical pleasure. Him treating this new world like a video game is proof of this, as he doesn’t not feel actual arousal, until he becomes a pre-teen/teenager.
he doesnt have a child brain. the author never said that
@@jason-qc5lr He literally did.
@@doodlegame8704 when?
We love to see a 30 minute expoint video dropped directly at midnight
The “erotic” scenes were very much uncanny valley. Paced and written like unimportant indulgent anime schlock but also too sober and in line with the rest of the world’s intricate world-building to ignore. I got the impression that the anime expected me to enjoy those scenes- to be a person like Rudeus- without any self awareness of how insulting that is.
Considering later things, I dunno...I could buy it means to give the option, insult included.
I think the anime really expects its core audience to identify with him, which makes me incredibly uncomfortable because I would not want to be alone in a room with someone like Rudy.
I can buy, at least partially, the argument that a bit of the stuff Mushoku Tensei does is in service of actually trying to tell a story about a very broken person given a chance to improve trying his best to take it, that shoving a lot of horny in his face all the time is possibly for the sake of emphasizing how warped the lens he views reality with is. But even setting aside genre conventions that have created the expectation of “haha, horny” in Isekai as a given, the way things are presented in Mushoku Tensei alone don’t make me expect them to be important most of the time, because they’re presented like fanservice. The comparison to Chainsaw Man in the video was a really good choice in this regard because Denji actually does a fair number of things that *would* be fanservice in any other series, but that Chainsaw Man turns into disorienting, overwhelming, sometimes even scary experiences. The letdown with Power, Makima slowly and gently forcing Denji to feel different parts of her face and hands, Himeno absentmindedly barfing in his mouth during a kiss, and that’s just the stuff shown in the first season of the anime, I could go on if I went into stuff about Reze (the girl in the end of Episode 12), or even more things after {Manga Spoilers Manga Spoilers Manga Spoilers} in the recent-ish chapters. Denji wants some of this stuff even before it happens to him, but the experience of getting it is foreign to him, and he’s never prepared for it, so the act of it initially scares him as much as the idea of it excites him. Mushoku Tensei doesn’t utilize its presentation like that, doesn’t present the characters that Rudias pervs on (or sometimes assaults) as people doing their thing and then Rudias comes in unexpected and uninvited, it presents them to emphasize the traits that Rudias then comments on, and then he comments on them. When Rudias is given the Mega Punch for being the A Perv, blood is not drawn, balls are not kicked, arms are not twisted, heads are not locked, he does not experience more than a momentary pain as punishment. He is not given any reason to remember particularly the thing he did wrong, and neither are we, because that Mega Punch ending is how the “haha, horny” gag (both in the comedy sense and the “I want to gag” sense) ends, and then the viewer always moves onto the next thing where it’s never brought up again. We aren’t made to feel properly the horror of what Rudias does to people, and neither is he, so Rudias not really changing himself never comes into our minds when we see him keep doing those things to people but now everyone’s older. It’s all mostly presented as a joke. To summarize, it’s this: Chainsaw Man turns fanservice into horror. Mushoku Tensei turns horror into fanservice.
I think that's the point, Rudy doesn't actually enjoy most of the stupid stuff he does, it is presented in a somber manner because he is acting "his fantasies" but getting nothing out of it, he is a child, his hormones are not there and he is forcing it. And while he is thinking all this stupid stuff his real life is occurring to him, the reason WHY the panties are special is because they were a gift, he could still panties from his mother or cleaning lady at any time, and probably tried, but he only cares about the gift someone give him because it reflects on his humanity. I find it fascinating, because Rudy thinks he wants something, but that doesn't give him pleasure, while other stuff totally outside his expectations is what makes him happy. The show is telling his viewers: being a functional member of society is actually the way to get happiness, not your horny stuff. It may be too slow on this and Rudy (a shut in without social experience) may take too long to learn this, but the way is presented is what I really likes.
@@Puerco-Potter the panties were stolen/forgotten by Roxy when she left Rudy's home, Rudy cherishes them because they belonged to the person that freed him from his fear of the outside world, from his condition of shut-in. It's got nothing to do with them being a gift.
I was going to write about Rudy, but realized that would turn into an essay. So instead, I’ll just note that one thing that’s always been weird to me about this discourse is that I never really see anyone talking about Roxy herself as highly problematic. Like, she spies on Rudy’s parents having sex and masturbates to them at a point in time when they’re like early 20’s and she’s in her 40’s. Not that it would be okay in any age configuration, but she’s essentially the same age as Rudy (pre+post reincarnation years) when she’s doing this. The show also seems to be implying that she has a romantic interest in Rudy and is just waiting for him to come of age. From her perspective, she met him as a small child, not a reincarnated adult. Like, let’s be real, she’s grooming him here, arguably even more so than you can (justifiably) argue that he’s grooming Sylphie, as Roxy maintains contact with him for years after he and Sylphie have been separated.
Damn right! She's just as bad as he is!
Exactly
I have an explanation.
That’s on purpose.
Every good guy in the series has massive issues with their sexuality and how they express it. It’s part of the philosophical idea of the story. Which is that despite having a high number in age it doesn’t mean that one is mature and grown up.
The way characters deal with their sexuality is used as a prime example of that.
They all have some unhealthy ways of expressing it. They don’t get shamed for their sexuality but their issues with dealing them in a healthy manner is used to symbolize that they have a lot of growing up to do. So once they found a way to live their sexuality in an healthy manner, they are portrayed as mature and grown up
You can find this idea in almost every major character in the series, even Rudy’s love interests aren’t excluded.
Paul is a womanizer that almost ruins his marriage through infidelity.
The Maid breaks the bro code and gets with the man of her best friend.
Rudeus has 22 volumes of those issues
Roxy secretly spies on people having sex and puts herself in danger to live out a sexual fantasy.
Sylphy wants to have sex and get messed up in bed so much that she drugs Rudeus (even with consent getting someone drunk and then drugging them to have sex with you is messed up)
Elisaine goes from man to man, afraid of committing to anyone, out of fear that her high libido and slutty lifestyle would scare everyone off.
There are more but you get my point
@@frankwest5388
Elisaine has plot reasons to be slutty now though the novels explain she was just as promiscuous before she actually had to be.
@@frankwest5388 That's a fantastic analysis of something I am highly skeptical the author actually thought of.
As a woman who also grew up with anime and its tropes, this video is very cathartic.
"And speaking of DISRESPECTING WOME--"
God, that sponsor transition knocked me the fuck out
Gamer supps marketing is actually quite sexist if you take a second to think about it.
@@icravedeath.1200because of the sexualized cup designs advertised or is it something else?
@@arikaaa69 that and their whole 'gamer dude bro' branding and marketing, I wouldn't be surprised if their founder turns out to be a creep or a sex offender.
@@icravedeath.1200 that probably wouldn't be very surprising.
4,000 hours of Ck2 & 3 has taught me that Rudeus is every bit as bad as people think, yet also the least fucked up guy in the feudal apparatus
He is a traumatized man-child whose only social experience comes from fan service manga, the portrait is real and he is supposed to be gross to be a mirror of the audience, the problem people have is that the series actually takle how a person like this really is and don't condemn them in the first episode but actually give them a realistic time frame to improve, if you think as a metaphor for therapy is kind of awesome.
*YIKES"
@@Puerco-Potter I read up to volume 16 of the light novel, and I can confirm that Rudeus is still a weirdo. I am all for redemption arcs, but how much time do you think someone like that deserves. I do not want to spoil it for non-readers, but I think that he has had enough time. The whole reason I continued was because I was interested in how someone like him would find redemption, but I was tired of reading the same slop over and over again.
@@fancyolioil5174 dunno what kind of redemption you're expecting, by volume 16 he's pretty well adjusted for a young sexually active man. Is getting it on bad or something?
@@fancyolioil5174 It's not a redemption "arc." It's a redemption STORY. He isn't redeemed until it's over.
That was the most incredible lead-in to an ad read I think I've ever heard. I screamed (positive).
And they even said they weren't going to sue me for it!
I really appreciate the brief aside on how protagonists don’t have to be good people, you can have a story with a vile or villainous lead where they don’t get “better” if you use their nasty traits to highlight why their story goes the way it does. It feels like outside of anime there’s a worrying trend of treating depictions of something as endorsement (see: The Coffin of Andy and LeyLey getting shit for an optional ending the game warns you is a bad idea containing a premonition of incest that one of the duo finds revolting, despite the entire game concept basically being an abusive sibling dynamic that steadily destroys them and people around them as collateral damage)
But of course anime isn’t entirely immune to it given the Made in Abyss vs Kpop… fans? Haters? Nonsense where celebrities get harassed for liking a show that’s, let’s be clear, is not the worst or most exploitative handling of sensitive subject matter. Rather it feels like if something is well written enough to be capable of nuance it then gets to be known enough to face way more flak than a show that’s gross for cheap wish fulfilment.
I've always felt that anything can be written and is okay to write about, so long as it's well written. I don't need to relate to the MC, I don't need to agree with them, I just need to enjoy seeing them on screen and everything else that is going on. Death Note and Overlord showcase this well.
Right, the problem with Mushoku Tensei isn't that it's depicted, it's **how** it's depicted and how tone deaf it is. That's what so many people who defend the show seemingly don't understand.
Something like Andy and LeyLey is very much aware of what it is, and the tone and writing reflect that. There's none of this "condemn with one hand, indulge with the other with zero self-awareness" crap that Mushoku pulls.
@@jmiller6066 That's because it's from Rudy's perspective and he doesn't see anything wrong with his actions.
You don't need to be told why the bad guy is killing a village, you just know it's wrong. Same here. It's to show how twisted Rudy is.
@@upg5147 The problem is that requires me to trust that the writers are self-aware about what they're doing. And nothing in Mushoku Tensei supports that.
As noted in the video, it's not just Rudeus. Sexual harassment and related is treated as a lighthearted joke all over the place, and character designs are overtly sexualized and objectifying (or even pedophillic e.g. Kirishika) in ways that have nothing to do with Rudeus' gaze (and sometimes Rudeus isn't even in the scene).
@@jmiller6066 That's true. The only defense I can think of is A. It's a medieval like world so sexual harassment is expected. No one cares when Game of Thrones did it. B. It's anime and girls wearing near nothing is also expected.
I can understand how seeing both that and then Rudy's in the same show can ruin it for you. I personally saw them as two separate "issues".
I'm not a LN reader so I'm only going off the anime but he does stop being so terrible. He stops treating the world and people like a video game and starts thinking of this as his real life which consequences and relationships he has to work to keep.
It also just bugs me that, considering people talk about how much he improves, that he ends up married to two of the women he decided to groom when they were kids. I kinda feel like redemption has to involve doing right by the people you've wronged and this feels like he's having his cake and eating it too
I think you're mixing up "improvement" and "redemption" here. Does he improve? Yes. Does he get redeemed? More than likely not, since I have yet to read the light novels, and only watch the anime. You don't need to be redeemed to improve yourself, and Rudy has improved since the beginning, even if he is just a slightly better person. It doesn't excuse his actions, or what he's done, but he is BETTER than he was at the beginning of the series.
@@alekzynot1678 You haven't really understood my point. While I also think he doesn't even improve that much - the children he was trying to molest just grow up - the point I'm making is that Rudeus, at his universally agreed upon absolute worst, decides he wants to turn Eris and Sylphie into his future wives... And then gets exactly what he wants.
The series ends with him allowed to live his fantasy when he was at his most misogynist and retrograde, and with the very same women he groomed into liking him. Actually becoming a better person, I think, has to involve righting wrongs you've done, and frankly the only way to right the wrong he did Sylphie and Eris is to give up on pursuing a relationship with them.
Having a slightly more agreeable personality isn't a very interesting arc
@@greywulfos7480 you know what? You're right. I blocked all of the grooming he did to instead pay attention to the story. I also didn't understand until now what you're point was, and I argued from a point of view that didn't remember any of the grooming he did, and probably plenty of other things that he's done. I like the story, I like the character growth, but I don't defend his actions. I only partially rewatched the beginning of the series and compared it to where the anime currently is, and was blinded by the comparison from beginning to current. It was just my bias talking.
What I mean by bias is the rest of the story outside of Rudeus that's pretty good. I think.
@@alekzynot1678 Yeah I understand; there's a lot of stuff i think MT has going for it - the aesthetic is nice and it's actually kind of rare to find an isekai or even fantasy story which doesn't crib video game mechanics atm
I guess I just find that there are other stories that do it better without the kinda sleazy underlying misogyny.
I feel like one of the most important differences is that although Denji has his perverted desires, he never (through season 1 of the anime, i haven't read the manga) acts on them without consent. With his deal with Power, although he fulfilled his end of the bargain he assumed that her doublecross meant that the deal wasn't valid. With this he doesn't find her and pressure her to let him grope her chest because "she said she would," he's bummed about not having the opportunity because he assumed she withdrew her consent.
Personally CSM is probably the greatest manga ive read in the action genre when it comes to women, relationships and consent. Furthermore the author fujimoto has a backlog of other works handling relationships (of a variety of kinds) in just as if not more sincere fashion.
Rudy is literally the 'flirting vs. sexual harassment meme.
Thank you honestly for talking about this. After a certain youtuber recommended this series as ”for people just getting into anime” as an example of a great isekai series most people can enjoy, I have felt like I’m taking crazy pills. I watched the scene where Rudeus sees sleeping Eris and proceeds to lower her underwear with no hesitation or shame and only regrets it after getting caught and I just couldn’t get over it. The unfeeling and callous way the series treats women and their autonomy (and frankly, intelligence) just manages to rattle me despite my rather good level of fan-service-tolerance. So again, thank you for addressing this. I just feel like these things get so easily overlooked because ”hey the rest of it is good!”
Yeah, while I still like the story more than I dislike it, I can't really recommend it to people, much less as a first watch. It might a better first watch than a random isekai due to the world-building and animation, there are at least 100 anime I would recommend before it.
Yeah, as someone who loves this show because I view it like a character study, the person who recommends it to people just starting anime needs to be checked into an Asylum. Wtf?
Yeah this is just as much an anime for introducing someone to the genre as Texhnolyze or Shin Sekai Yori: it's an anime that you tentatively profer to someone who has watched 500 anime and wants to be challenged by the media they consume and is fine with being at odds with the thing they're watching. Whoever said that is someone who can no longer see the forest for the trees, who has lost all frame of reference to what gets someone into a medium. A good analogy would be someone saying, "They don't make music like they used to," and the contrary evidence being bladee or some pornogrind.
bro whoever recommended Mushoku Tensei as a starter friendly either didn't watch the series or they knew what they were doing...
Re:Zero is what people should recommend when people are recommending great isekai, it is everything the Mushoku Tensei fandom claims it is, an actual redemption story about a guy getting a second chance in life
Always worth remembering that the anime had to tone down Rudy from the get-go, because in the original web-novel, he wasn't pleasuring himself to regular porn while his parents funeral was happening, it was to a picture of his extremely young niece.
As someone on one of the many ANN threads about this series said: 'The issue isn't that Rudy is terrible, it's that the world is set up to indulge his worst traits.'
Oddly, the web novel doesn't have the barn sexual assault that was added in the light novel version
It was WHAT
@theghostcreator776 the differences from web novel( amateur fiction/fan fiction) and publisher produced light novels are always interesting since they have editors requesting changes in addition to the writer taking a second look at how their work could be refined. In Mushoku there are several small changes i can recall, that barn scene was added, the minor descriptions of things like the red orb/jewel above the city that may have been related to the cause of the teleportation disaster, how detailed some descriptions are, and i think a scene experimenting with new ways to use spells was taken out in the LN?
The differences between webnovel Sword Art Online and light novel are similarly interesting.
Nah it was worse. Rudy set up a camera in the bathroom 💀
You know for a second I really thought you were saying his editor told him to add that scene in the LN for some reason lol
the worst defense of mushoku is "rudius gets better! It's supposed to be about redemption!" while all his degenerate actions were always treated as fun and goofy.
I dunno, im pretty certain he directly or indirectly suffers the ramifications of his own behavior quite a bit. Nearly dies from them several times. And his dad too. Literally the only reason both are still alive is that they are pretty strong. That's it.
He also just does not get better. His grooming victim just grows up and the story just stops addressing it. I wanted to like it so bad but as I read ahead I realize the story never actually addresses his crimes and immorality
I noped out when they were, like, playing the slapstick music over him molesting a middle schooler. Again. That's not Rudeus being a pedophile, that's the director being a pedophile and assuming you're one too.
Defo why I hate it.
I’m not asking for a divine act of retribution but at least have the other characters react more to it than just a “oh look how endearing this guy is when he sexually assaults children!! How quirky!”
ehh, i wouldnt say they were treated as fun and goofy, but rather the show is being told from his narrow perspective, with most of the other characters not realizing what hes really like, and the few that do try to ignore it for reasons that dont revolve around him specifically, so its kind of hard to directly show how bad his actions are, aside from him personally realizing how bad they are and trying to stop and change
im a big fan of your editing, especially when you layer images on top of each other for like a solid minute like at 24:27
It's a minute and a half!
@@collinbeal Solid minute, less solid two minutes lol
@@GamingWithHajimemes touché, maybe even threeché.
Denji's behavior comes from being a normal teenager who grew up in an abnormal environment, being exploited his entire life and taken advantage of constantly, and yet he's able to integrate in society and sees women as people, he understands early on it's not only sex he is after but rather a real connection and is wholly capable of having normal relationships with girls his age, be it platonic (Power) or romantic (Reze, Asa). He's a properly written character. Him having grown up surrounded by crime and never being taught morals could've totally been used to excuse him being a creep, but Fujimoto is more interested in exploring the complexities of grooming and abuse rather than just make cheap soft porn.
Literally thank you, I’m so glad there is at least one person who nails for what it is. it feels like you’re going crazy when all anyone ever says it’s “yea it’s fine/amazing”
As someone who would prob recommend the story if asked, I totally forgot that he was a perv after finishing the novel.
@@ryanw531is it overplayed in the anime, then? Or does the anime play out pretty close to the text? (genuinely curious)
Yes this exactly. I already left my own comment but just wanted to say that you definitely aren’t alone feeling crazy when others seem to like it and I’m just here like ”… are we just completely going to skip over the fact that he plans to molest and groom multiple small girls?”
@@VultureSkins From what I hear it's just the girls he has in his harem just grow up so it isn't as indefensible. He still basically groomed them though
As someone that likes Mushoki Tensei, even I don't get the people that try and defend Rudy's actions. The interesting part about Rudeus is seeing this morally bankrupt character try and figure himself out in a world filled with death and mystery around every corner. I even think fans of the series miss the point with the whole "Rudeus gets better argument." The story's not about Rudeus becoming a better person. It's about him overcoming his trauma and trying to figure out his place in the world. Haven't read the light novels, so I don't know if he does actually become a better person, so maybe I'm missing something the anime didn't cover.
9:41 that's an amazing way to refer to the plot point without any spoilers
I was proud of it, yeah.
Ayy, spoil me please, never gonna give this turd of a show a second chance anyway.
What is the plot point? I'm kind of curious and I don't want to watch the show.
I can spoil it for you@@Narlaw1199
Alright so basically there's another person who was isekai'd, but in a slightly different way. The masked girl is actually the person the Rat Man saved from the truck. Where Rudeus got isekai'd via reincarnation, masked girl got teleported. Where Rudeus grew up in a body native to this magic world, and thus has access to magic, masked girl has her old body in a sort of eternal-youth stasis and no access to magic. Also she accidentally caused this great teleportation disaster thing in an attempt to teleport back to Japan. They also have different perspectives and motivations when it comes to their old lives. Rudeus' old life was shit, so he wants to stay in fantasy-land, while masked girl is desperately trying to find a way to go back to her old life, which she rather liked.
@@rebeccaberliner9687 Thanks for the reply. It's interesting, usually isekai never end up doing anything with their concept and you end up asking why wasn't it just a regular fantasy in the first place.
100% with you that the way Mushoku-Tensei deals with sexual content and Rudeus in particular at times holds it back. To me it's felt very case by case, some scenes (which as you mentioned present internal tension) feel very well done, others (I'm looking at you season 2 school arc, or like any of the panty stuff) feel either meaningless or played for laughs and are therefore just gross.
It has been a weird experience for me coming from the books first. Some of the issues you discuss aren't nearly as much of a problem, while others are definitely still there. One legitimate difference is that writing (from a first person perspective) by its nature is going to be more internally focused than a show which would have more of an external focus. I was able to read through the novels mostly fine, but actually seeing what was happening had a lot more of an impact and made it rough to watch. It did not help that the show has Rudy's internal monologue acted by an adult male voice. I think it would have also been weird with a young voice, but definitely less icky since it's a constant reminder of his age. In addition, being in Rudy's head (and without cutting a lot of the internal monologue) gives the reader this internal tension in a lot of places where the show is missing it. We have a much closer look into his early way of thinking. It's very clear he doesn't see the people around him as real people and on top of being a man-child, self identifies as a bad person. His internal monologue for a lot of the early scenes are a combination of him trying to gamify everything around him and him saying "oh well, what do you expect from a sleezy person like me". The character development early in the series then isn't "Rudy becomes a good person", but "Rudy recognizes that people are real and that acting this way hurts the people he cares about" (a lot of the heavy lifting for this comes immediately following the worst Eris scene in season 1). It also includes "Rudy tries to shift his self-identity" especially when it comes to if he characterizes himself as the person from his last life, or the person from his new one. Add in a bit of "I need to revaluate my goals" a la post Eris running away and some of the Sarah stuff. In my opinion, the actual issue with the writing here is that a lot of his character development sometimes only applies to "people Rudy cares about". As the season 2 scenes show, he often doesn't make the jump from "I shouldn't do this to people I like" to "I shouldn't do this". This straight up contradicts the development made to see other people as real and to stop identifying himself as a bad person and it is at this point it really starts to bug me, since it feels pointless at best and played for laughs at worst. The whole man-child aspect never properly gets challenged, even if it mostly disappears by the end, and that hurts the story significantly. Yes, he is a naturally impulsive person. No that doesn't make it better. I also think some of the erectile dysfunction arc is weird, as much as I really like it. It's framed as "I need to fix this physical problem which requires an emotional solution" rather than "I need to deal with this emotional problem". It makes sense the way Rudy's mind works, but it kind of undercuts the whole lesson from Eris.
Another positive change is that the shift in his personality actually feels smooth since we get to see how impulsive he is and how many of his "good" behaviors aren't motivated properly early on. The whole "defend the weak" thing with Paul, he doesn't believe himself to be a good person so he doesn't care. Saving the beast person village, he was about to let the smugglers go to avoid a difficult fight before the Holy Beast attacked (Gallus assumed Rudy was behind it). The point is, at least for me, it's a lot easier to go through all these events when I'm hearing about how Rudy feels about it rather than being forced to watch it. Fundamentally, there are still problems, but a few that you mentioned are not quite as bad. Watching the show has definitely forced me to qualify a lot of my positive feelings about the series and revisit my opinions (though I'd still call myself a fan overall).
You hit the nail on the head. Mushoku Tensei tries to have it's cake and fuck it too.
It tries to pass itself off as a redemption story but a big undeniably part of the story is about a 30-year-old man grooming children. Every argument that Rudy get's better is invalidated by that fact he ends up marrying said child waifus he groomed and keeps the goddamn panty shrine all the way into adulthood. The author geniunely believes that Rudy's main character flaw is being a shut-in not a pedophile and his idea of growth has nothing to do with not being a goddamn pedophile.
literally, none of the characters get groomed... Do you even know what that word actually means? Rudeus deliberately gets moved away from Sylphiette so she can grow by herself and not become reliant on him. Not to mention making the panty shrine an example of him not changing is so funny as you miss the entire point of it (it wasn't sexual). Out of all the issues that are perfectly valid you choose the only two that make no sense
@@swordyshield
A 40 year old man having any sort of romantic relationship with someone he knew when they were a child is grooming.
It does not matter that Sylph moved away it's still a super gross power dynamic. That influence an adult has on a prepubescent child does not go away. Besides when they meet up again guess what? Sylph is still fucking underage. So it doesn't even matter. Let's also not forget the numerous overtly sexual advances he made against Eris who was a child.
The only moral thing Rudy could do in this situation is keep these relationships platonic. That would have shown genuine growth from sexual depravity. But no the author had have his waifus which means Rudy's growth couldn't touch the fact he is a pedophile.
Finally in regards to the Panty Shrine not being sexual. Bullshit. They are fucking panties. The author and Rudy could have chosen any other memento but he deliberately chose panties. No matter how much Rudy grows and changes in the story he is still trapped as the same pedophile who worships stolen underwear.
@@malfeasance3815 "A 40 year old man having any sort of romantic relationship with someone he knew when they were a child is grooming."
I mean first off no that's literally not what grooming is. If a 40-year-old man knows a child and doesn't do anything which actually grooms them, then leaves and doesn't talk to them for a long time so they develop and grow by themselves once they become an adult they can go do whatever they want with that person who was 40, that's not grooming.
"It does not matter that Sylph moved away it's still a super gross power dynamic. That influence an adult has on a prepubescent child does not go away"
Literally all he has done up until this point is be a nice person to her. Stop some bullies from bullying her and then become her friend. There is nothing which makes that a "super gross power dynamic" It's not even like he is acting like an adult during that time he is literally just running around and having fun just like any other child.
"Besides when they meet up again guess what? Sylph is still fucking underage" No she is an adult by then. Sure she's only 16 but in their world 15 is an adult and it makes sense for people to mature faster in their world. She isn't acting like a child when he meets her that's for sure.
"The only moral thing Rudy could do in this situation is keep these relationships platonic. That would have shown genuine growth from sexual depravity. But no the author had have his waifus which means Rudy's growth couldn't touch the fact he is a pedophile."
Name a single time he does anything pedophilic once he has grown up. It literally does not happen so clearly you are just wrong?
"Finally in regards to the Panty Shrine not being sexual. Bullshit. They are fucking panties. The author and Rudy could have chosen any other memento but he deliberately chose panties. No matter how much Rudy grows and changes in the story he is still trapped as the same pedophile who worships stolen underwear."
Except he literally could not have chosen any other memento as he doesn't receive another item from roxy..? Also, panties are not sexual by themselves I'm not sure why you think that. Whenever he is praying to them etc it's very clearly not a sexual thing.
I'm starting to think that people who call rudeus a pedo (later in the story) don't know what a pedo is. It's pretty obvious he isn't a pedo later in the story and if you claim he still is you are just straight-up delusional. You can say that he wasn't properly punished for the things he did earlier (sexual harassment etc) and those are all perfectly valid. Saying he is still a pedo is just not true at all though. Sure he is still perverted (a lot less) but he isn't harassing anyone when he grows up either, and your example of the panty shrine literally makes no sense as it's painfully obviously not a sexual thing.
@@swordyshield
I'm not going to argue with you any further than this because it's painfully clear you have some skewed ideas on sex.
If you can't see what's wrong with a 40 year old man striking up a relationship with an underage child then I can't help you. It doesn't matter that it's period accurate it's still fucked up. The author chose to write that period and setting where Rudy's crimes against minors would have no punishment.
Rudy is a grown ass man from the start of the show and chooses to assault children and try to mold Slyph and Roxy into an "ideal wife". That can't be anything other then pedophilia and grooming. I have nothing against characters with negative traits but if you want a show about redemption enabling them to the point of marriage is in poor taste.
You can enjoy the characters, themes, and setting of Mushoku Tensei while also pointing out it's flaws. You don't have to defend the pedophilia to like the show. Is this really the hill you want to die on?
loved that his name is Denji Chainsawman
since he has no last name yet
unless you headcanon hayakawa
This video was honestly so cathartic. I felt really disgusted by some of Rudy's actions, and the fact that people either didn't seem to mind it or could just "look past it" was mind blowing to me. So to see someone explain why it's an issue better than I ever could is greatly appreciated.
Right? Like the whole sex scene Eris just left me thinking this doesn't need to exist
@@caliveil1627 The thing with Eris was the final straw for me, and I only got that far because people kept insisting it got better. If someone still defends the show after that, it genuinely makes me question the integrity of their moral compass. It's not like the show's problems are limited to Rudeus either, the framing is incredibly tone-deaf throughout almost everything that happens.
@@jmiller6066 I feel comfortable watching a show where the protagonist is a perverted piece of shit because that’s not the end-all-be-all of the show.
@@jmiller6066 the sex scene with eris was probably the least bad action done by rudy. Really not sure why that would make you question people's moral compass compared to the plethora of things he did before
@@swordyshield isn't rudy is mid 30s dude inside a child's body and eris is his cousin or something💀
You don't know vindicated I feel when I see my favorite anime youtubers say this show is a masterpiece and you put out this video pointing out all the flaws. I watched all of Season 2 and I just couldn't ignore all of the problems with Rudeus' character and it baffled me to see this show get such unending praise.
I think you can praise a work about a horrible person. Lolita is a classic example of this: Nabokov's prose is some of the best in literature, it's just in the context of Humbert drooling over a child.
MT has gorgeous art, a world that feels lived in, voice acting with real passion, an engaging plot, and has interesting magic systems. It also features Rudy the Child Molester.
Where the two works differ is that in Lolita, it is made clear to the reader that Humbert is delusional. He waxes poetic about Lolita's "playful toes" and "coquettish nature", but the reader can see that she is a dirty smelly child who hates the sight of Humbert. In MT, Rudy the Child Molester's victims actually love him! They forgive him, and even marry him, so the molesting was totally fine, right???
@@jackdixon6681 I really don't mind works that have MCs that have questionable morals or maybe just don't understand right from wrong, but you have to be careful with it. It can easily become really annoying or difficult to connect with a character if they are constantly doing terrible things and nobody questions them and that could possibly make you think the author condones those ideals or behaviors.
It can be really interesting to see an author break down or question certain morals or just deconstruct why certain behaviors are acceptable in the first place, but MT just... does none of that, it went the most boring route of we'll have him question it every once in a while, but never have him actually do anything about it to improve his behavior. Like the author knows the behavior is bad, but doesn't seemingly care enough to fully address it, the best he can do is leave a footnote at the bottom of the page saying "Don't be like Rudeus".
The worst part is the frequency of the terrible behaviors, you can't just try to power through it to get to the good parts because there's just so much of it where it becomes impossible to ignore if you are bothered by it.
@@murderman8578 Kind of? He's still a despicable person, but at least his targets aren't kids anymore.
@@MimicAraiun I fully agree with your critique. I think the anime suffers from this worse than the novels because the lecherous scenes are never cut, so they happen much more frequently, while the scenes where Rudy does reflect tend to be cut much shorter.
People defend Rudy's actions by saying that he improves. Yes, I will admit, Rudeus does eventually improve. The reason he improves isn't because he suddenly decides to respect women or realise that boundaries exist, but rather that he stops seeing the world he's in as fictional. The lens through which he views the world for most of the series is: as a fantasy game. And when you view the world around you as "not real", it's hard to treat people with the respect they deserve. Let he who has not quick-saved in Skyrim cast the first stone.
Still, I think this is still a bit weak as a defense. The problem of Rudy basically never suffering a consequence for being lecherous is still present. Yeah he's hit, but it's slapstick comedy. Nobody ever develops trauma from his actions, or becomes his enemy after he molests them. The scene with Eris is the closest the series gets to this, but even then it ends with her saying "I still wanna bone in a few years though"
Attack on Titan gets praised and Eren does much worse things than Rudeus. Joker is literally a movie about a psychotic murderer who starts an uprising and that's very well praised. The only difference is that Rudeus is a bad person in a different way. His bad qualities are gross to watch, but that's the point. He's supposed to be gross and you're supposed to think he's gross.
If offered sex
Denji would ask consent again
This dude wouldnt even let you get through the sentence
you know if rudy just started remembering his memories slowly that would mean many of these scenes wouldn't be as effed up.
like having his memories up to age 10 when he is in fact age 10
now ı feel like writing an isekai. end me.
True enough, but it would've definitely hurt the show overall since the show's plot is about how fucked up of a person Rudy is and his (very) slow healing. The correct way to look at Mushoku Tensei is to understand that Rudy is a monster, he may be the MC, but he is FAR from a good person. He is an Anti-Hero, not a hero.
@@Ryanowning you can have that.
just make rudy reflect on his actions even after he becomes an adult.
Imo It's not a great solution, but If you want to fix the story you have to kinda make massive structural changes, and I'm not planning on rewriting whole story just because. not like it's gonna matter at all :(
@@phagesuffersatgaming.3797 He does reflect on his actions in season 2.
but then he wouldn't be able to reflect on his old actions and see the perspective of those he's effect in both of his lives. you can't expect a character to grow as a person if they have no recollection of the experiences they're growing from. if not, rudeus would just fall into the same mistakes he did before, without understanding why.
At what point in his previous life would he know how to have healthy interactions with other people? Was it the 25 years locked in his room?
22:25 I thought I'd add this as a novel reader.
He protects sylphie from bullies because he dislikes bullies due to his past.
He wants to improve Rujerd's rep because he wants to give back and (my personal interpretation here) show that he has worth so Rujerd doesn't abandon or kill him because he was still cautious of him at the time.
He saves the beast kids mainly just because Rujerd would've hated him if he hadn't. The rest was spot on. spoilers for the rest.
Personally, I've seen his lecherous nature as a residual element to his past as in his past life he viewed himself as unable to ever get a relationship due to his lifestyle and personality, so he secluded himself into porn and fantasies, sex was an internal thing, something that was only sought for personal pleasure and nothing more, so eventually due to this prolonged environment he could view anything as sexual, didn't matter gender or age. This is why he was unsure as to whether he was bi or gay when he was attracted to Fitz in season 2, someone would probably know their sexual identity by 50(if you wanted to include his past age). once he started seeing relationships and sex as mutual events, with both participants wanting said interaction, he only wanted adult women. this is shown with Julie actually as he never lays a hand on her throughout the series, even during an awkward situation with Julie, later in the series, goes to get an adult woman to explain and clean up the situation to Julie because he doesn't know how to handle it. he treats her as more of a surgent daughter or student. this behaviour extents to his children in the future, as he acts as a goofy dad more than any form of predator.
should clarify I'm not being hostile. I'm sure people will know that but in this day and age of anime discussion, I can never be sure.
EXACTLY
though its hard to get to that point sometimes as he his amgic obsession means that downtime is utilized for study rather than to take a step back and ponder what he has done
espically the fritz bit , this was a big flag that he should take a moment to think his life and evaluate soon instead its sidelined for a while which may not be long but its jarring nonethe less
espically since it doesnt seem like he is avoiding it but rather that it skips his mind and so when he is confronted again he freezes as afirst reaction
Still a predator. Point invalid.
@kyuokuo forgot this comment existed, lol. Well, I mean, that's fine for you to believe that. Everyone has different interpretations of works of fiction, and we all have different tastes(ex: I've never liked Star Wars). As long as you aren't violent, I don't see a reason why I should dislike your view of MT, I'm sure you have your reasons, just let me enjoy the series. That's all I'm really saying here.
As I stated in my original, I'm not being hostile here✌️.
From what I remember of the loght novels, Rudeus's regret over trying to take advantage of Eris is a lot more immediate and explicit. I don't have the book anymore, so I can't check that though.
yuuuup
and its somewhat similar in the manga
Does he ever try to not be a pedophile rapist in the manga?
With Chainsaw man it helps that Denji that he is usually in the position with less power than the women he hits on compared to Rudy which is the inverse.
I think people are missing the point about Rudeus “being bad on purpose”. They say he’s supposed to be unlikable but get better. The thing is, as ExPoint says, the scenes of his sexual assault are not only bad morally, they’re also bad because they’re uninteresting.
You can make a character unlikable, but also engaging to watch. You shouldn’t feel like you’re forcing yourself to get through a scene.
Like, let’s ignore Rudeus entirely for a moment. Think about the people who generally are supposed to be unlikable, the villains. Imagine if in Star Wars, rather than just showing off his violent side with force choking sparingly, there were numerous minute long scenes where he force chokes his soldiers in anger, and that’s all that’s happening. Sure, it shows him being evil, and you can say it makes his redemption more impactful afterwards, but it doesn’t actually make the movie better. Nothing interesting is happening. We already know he’s violent, and nothing else is happening. It’s only enjoyable if you like seeing people getting choked.
The same applies to Rudeus. SO MUCH TIME is spent just watching him be a pervert and predator, while nothing interesting happens. We don’t learn anything more about him from these scenes, because it’s just showing something about him that we already know. You could cut 80% of them out, and it wouldn’t change the story.
As a psychologist, I find Rudy's characterization fascinating. I want to see how he justifies his actions as a pervert. As a viewer, though, Jesus ...... I really hope he gets better.
Mushoku Tensei was one of my first animes. Safe to say I took a very long break from anime after that ☺️
Yikers... WHAT an introduction... in the worst way possible. My condolences. But seems that you found something that is more morally digestible and came back to the artform. :)
Oh my gosh that's such a terrible introduction. Please watch Fullmetal alchemist brotherhood. It has SEVERELY less anime bullshit and bonus,! No molestation
WOAH, that sure is a start, mushoku tensei is the kind of anime you have to tell someone who's about to watch it "are you sure?" and then give the proper warnings
Holy fucking shit.... I've watched anime for more than 25 years, and it's the first one that actively offends and disgusts me. Uhhh, I guess you saw how anime can visually be great...?
I have no opinion on Mushoku Tensei,so I can't fairly criticise it, but I feel really bad that this was your first intro to anime. I think the first episodes made my friends who watched it feel like they were supposed to be on some kind of list because it's just THAT weird.
GET'CHYA GAMER SUPPS HERE: gamersupps.gg/pointsupps
Also, to everyone wondering why this video was released at midnight and taken down, it wasn't supposed to be released at midnight, so I took it down! Simple as that. Hope you 1.5k people enjoyed your sneak preview!
holy hell
Bru I thought is was gone and I’m thinking damn I really like where he was goin
Wtf? Bizarre copy pasta is bizarre.
@@bryanmcclure2220 Please delete like twenty of these comments so I don't have to do it myself, thanks
"A new pleasure! A new pleasure!" we squawk as we descend on the new video like party guests on a fresh bottle of liquor in a flying, never-ending cocktail party.
being early sucks bro i cant scroll through comments to help me form my opinions and also entertain me while watching
That’s so real for no reason. Why are you me?
I absolutely agree. I always appreciated the themes that Mushoku Tensei was TRYING to tackle, but the real problem is that the series executes on those sensitive themes in the ickiest ways imaginable with the grace of a kick to the nuts. A lot of people compare Rudy to Subaru and it's not hard to see why. They're both male isekai protagonists that start the series with low self esteem that need to work on their warped view of women and craft a better life for themselves. However, Subaru executes on this idea so much better than Rudy. For one, Subaru's worst transgression was that he acted cringe. It's actually impressive the lengths Re Zero goes to in NOT presenting Subaru as horny. He's a simp because he idolizes Emilia and puts her on a pedestal, not because he wants to bang her. Now, Mushoku Tensei can present that warped horniness in an interesting, meaningful way, but it has more problems.
The second and third points are both that you presented in the video, and it's tension and consequences. A character can absolutely make horrible decisions, but it makes it so much better if the character is actively battling their more moral judgement in the moment and actually faces consequences for their actions afterwards. Regarding Subaru, his cringe outburst in the capital results from him wanting to protect Emilia from discrimination, which in a vacuum is morally commendable. The issue with his outburst wasn't with where his heart was, but the issue was in how he completely ignored the social etiquette of the world he was in and in how he broke his earlier promise with Emilia. There's also a tragic irony in his later argument with Emilia, because Emilia doesn't understand why he idolizes her so much when the Emilia that Subaru idolizes was someone he met during his very first loop that never came to exist again outside of his own memories. Regarding consequences, I'm sure that's self explanatory with Re Zero. The story spends the entire second half of season 1 putting Subaru through the wringer for every character flaw he sees in himself. As a story of growth, it really feels like Subaru truly earns his redemption with Emilia at the end of the season, since he had to gruelingly introspect and chisel away at his flaws until he genuinely became a better person who genuinely regretted his past actions.
Now look at Rudy. You covered the lack of tension in his decision making, but there's an equally important mismatch in Mushoku Tensei's storytelling in the lack of immediate consequences for Rudeus' actions. Rudy essentially gets a slap on the wrist at worst for his most heinous decisions and he regularly repeats said decisions. A big reason why this is the case is due to just how that type of behavior is seen culturally in the world of Mushoku Tensei. Re Zero's world almost seems custom designed to brutally punish Subaru's character flaws, and I think Mushoku Tensei could've benefitted from a similar approach. Wouldn't it be interesting if Rudy was transported to a fantasy world with a rigid, Puritanical view on intimacy? That by itself would create an interesting dynamic between the character's worst flaws and their setting, and a Puritanical society would certainly be a potential option for showing a possible and realistic medieval European society. Anyways, that's my diatribe.
I think what you are describing is too far from what the story is. It's no longer a critique but a proposal for a fanfic.
The point has always been that Rudy is fucked up and is using this new life to live out his fantasies. He doesn't reflect on anything because he doesn't care or see the problem. It's not till later in season 1 and season 2 where he begins to understand this is his new life and that if he doesn't want to ruin that, he needs to act like a human being. This doesn't excuse what he did earlier in the series and you can still argue the author failed to make you like Rudy but I believe his plan was always to show Rudy was not a good person and is very very flawed. In that sense, he wrote him perfectly.
No I agree actually. The point I'm making is moreso that for Rudeus' character arc to resonate with more people, the author would need to write in more conflict either with Rudeus and himself or with Rudeus and his surroundings. Either changing the way Rudeus views himself and his actions or the way the world around him views his actions would be fundamental rewrites to the story, and I'm not arguing against that. My point is moreso that one or the other or both would need to be reworked for the core character arc of Rudy to resonate with more people. He can still have the opportunity to live out his perfect fantasy life in a world full of magic and wonder, while being portrayed as a deeply flawed person.
@@VJ-Vice Oh yeah then I totally agree.
thats why subaru will always be the better isekai protagonist. he even directly calls out his own behavior and is aware of what he was wrong.
and most shockingly, he starts to treat the women in his life like…. people and not objects. and while subaru was fairly perverted early on, he stops being a freak fairly quickly
@@demifolk8940 He too dense and passive for me to enjoy as much as Rudy who is much more capable and even more introspective.
Rudeus' actions are literally the only reason I don't watch Mushoku Tensei and I likely never will. More power to the people who can stomach Rudeus' actions or just pushes ahead despite not being able to stomach his actions I personally can't.
As someone who doesn't make any attempt to stomach Rudy's actions (and massively enjoyed the show): more power to you for not wanting to watch it. Frankly, I don't think it would be possible to prime a person to be able to watch this because it requires watching the show as if you're watching a character study and I don't think many people are capable of that. I love shows that delve into the darker aspects of the human condition, that realistically simulates a human psyche, and display real change. I know that I am not most people, however.
Honestly it feels like Rudeus "redemption" is that he is no longer just a recluse living inside of his house who does nothing that contributes to society, rather than being a molester and being into kids. If he is productive, then its fine if he is a garbage can of a human being.
Me too, I don't care if Mushoku Tensei is the best isekai ever, I just ain't rooting for a pedo
@@mike.n.n.7723 You don't want Rudeus to change from his circumstances? I thought the point was for him to break way from his trauma that kept him at an immature state of mind even into his 40s.
@@taodivinity1556 As I said, I don't care. I don't care if he changes, the fact that the main character is a pedo and a pervert (who remains one for most of the series) is enough for me to not want read the story and root for him.
That is just my line in the sand
Holy fuck I thought I was taking crazy pills, it's so cathartic to hear Explanation Point say exactly what I was thinking about this show. I love fantasy, so of course I got recommended Mushoku Tensei, but I was so put off by the first few episodes that I dropped it and never looked back, despite everybody telling me that it's a masterpiece of worldbuilding and that it gets better or whatever.
I couldn't believe how many people seemed to talk it up, especially big creators. It blows my mind that Gigguk, who introduced me to one of my favorite fantasy manga (Frieren) gave Mushoku Tensei his 2022 Anime of the Year over fucking Odd Taxi. Can't believe it's been so highly regarded for so long
Gigguk always had bad taste, he's just good at impressing people who are new to anime/manga.
early on the main story and ecchi of it is pretty interwind so it pretty annoying that you can't really just skip part of it, after a while though it become, what, sectioned? honestly i sometimes think the "im from the future" shit they pull for easy shock value later on is like a fuck you to anyone who hate the ecchi part
Just because something isn't sanitised enough to appeal to you doesn't mean it's bad.
@@aminulhussain2277Just because something is edgy and disgusting doesn't mean it's good.
@@Chaoskoch You can't comment on the quality of something you don't watch.
Thank god this exists. Felt like I was in a twilight zone with the way anitubers were unashamedly promoting this anime, including ones I respected like Geoff.
You know what really gets me? Time and time again, the story hints that rudy will get better and he changes. Time and time again, he self reflects to change. But he doesn't. Not at his core. I think this is one of the reason i felt betrayed while reading the series. They say that he will and does change, but I don't see it. He goes against his promises to be better. AND THE CHARACTERS JUST GO ALONG WITH IT. Why? Bevause the author liked his characters to be perverted. Literally made pervertedness rudy's personality trait. I'm not even kidding.
I loved the story. I can't in good faith say that I still do. Not when I've come to absolutely hate Rudy. This series has become one of the greatest disappointments. It was so frustrating to continue the story because I wanted to keep loving it so much.
are you violently walking around while ranting because whenever I turn this video on I hear steps and it's making me absolutely paranoid
This video gave me a lot to think about. I have sexual trauma from childhood and I hate mushoko tensei. However I loved made in abyss, for its depiction of how awfull people abuse children, sometimes while believing they're good parents (looking at you Bondrew).
And when you said that mushoko tensei was "boring" that hit like a truck. I also loved Lolita, for the same reasons as made in abyss, it shows how "good" people can be awful abusers, and still try to manipulate everyone into thinking they're not bad. And yeah, that novel was interesting as fuck. Made in abyss is fun as fuck.
Mushoko Tensei pedo angle just feels gratuituos and without any reason to be in. You hit the nail in there, its not that its problematic per se, its just boring, and handled with all the care and subetly of an hydraulic hammer.
"I watch the dub, I always watch the dub."
Honestly more controversial than anything else in the video.
I honestly never get tired of your video essays. Keep it up bro.
"The most morally abhorrent thing to come out of japan"
Redo of healer " allow me to introduce myself"
I can totally understand someone being skeeved by like the 1% of Mushoku Tensei that they complain about. But yeah, it's not even in the top 10% of the fucked up stuff coming out of Japan. Redo of Healer, Berserk, Made in Abyss (not, EP doesn't get to be a hypocrite on this one), Usagi Drop, Corpse Party, etc. Like people will go and watch Death Note, where man is just mass murdering people and that's water under the bridge. Fricken OVERLORD does some pretty heinous stuff. But anything to do with sex and they lose their minds. Like they went after Goblin Slayer lol. The double standards regarding life, murder, violence, torture, etc vs sex is crazy.
There's a showing airing right now that actually bests Redo; it's about molesting Magical Girls who are 14 years old.
@@Ralathar44 I've always thought this, especially when it comes to villains. A typical villain will torture and kill thousands while laughing but the minute they try to do anything sexual to another character, they aren't a "good character" anymore.
@@Ralathar44 I think a lot of it is because sexual crimes are seen as some of the worst things you can do to a person. That and also as far as fiction goes, people aren't going to come across murder or torture in the average life so its easier to separate how bad you should feel about it compared to sex crimes which can happen to anyone and is unfortunately incredibly common (most women especially have at least one experience of arrestment and/or assault).
The difference is, Redo of Healer knows what it is; it’s basically Hentai. Mushoku Tensei is a lot more pernicious.
I know people are tired of talking about this but "consent" is also a big difference between Denji and Rudy. Sure Denji literally did a heroic speech about wanting to touch a boob, but he never expressed an interest in groping someone who didn't want to be touched. Denji wouldn't even steal jam for his toast. Chainsaw Man is all about deals and exchange. So violating consent doesn't even fit than narrative.
Whereas Jobless Reincarnation is fundamentally built on the foundation of a 40 year old man having a young boy's excuses to violate concent. Even just having the access to younger relationships because he has a young body is a form of consent violation. I love the show, I really do.. but honestly? it is.. inherently.. well.. kinda grapey..
And Rudeus is punished every time he violates consent, does he not? That’s the point of the show: the world is beating into Rudeus a proper understanding of what consent is and why you shouldn’t break it.
@@Boris99999 Honestly? No, not really. Again, I love the show and I'm not saying it's bad, but.. No he wasn't punished at all as a baby or as a child. If anything he's being rewarded. He was given another chance at life where he's ungodly powerful and he's still behaving poorly. I haven't seen the second season and I hear he gets erectile dysfunction. So yes, that's a punishment I guess. But pretty small in comparison.
Like, "Hey I'm going extend your life, make you the most powerful wizard on a new fantasy planet, and you can be as lecherous as you want because of the social structure.. However you will have to deal with a few hardships, that you can overcome with your magic, and you'll feel bad about what you've done for a little bit."
No, this isn't punishment. Or at least not adequate punishment. I'm an absolute degenerate. I love degenerate power fantasy anime. I'm currently watching Gushing Over Magical Girls. But I'm honest about what I watch. This show is a power fantasy, and part of the fantasy is getting away with it.
@@VagabondTE
He wasn’t punished as a baby, but as soon as he grew up a bit the consequences of his actions were getting more severe:
When he peeped or stole panties - he was admonished, when he mistook Sylphy for a guy and then didn’t take “no” for an answer - he and his father had a talk, when he assaulted Eriss - she beat him up, when he peeped at Eris and beast girls - he was threatened by one of the girls’ father.
I don’t think that mere physical punishment would work better - talking to the person and making him think on what he was doing and analyze his own actions is a lot better strategy!
Think about the time Rudeus actually started changing his ways: the end of 7-th episode (The morning after Eriss’ birthday) he heard a story of how Paul had assaulted Ghyslaine that night (there was also a story of Paul assaulting Lilia in the past), now Rudeus was in the similar situation with Eriss, his immediate instinct was to do it but then he stopped! Why? Do you really believe the ring that Ghyslaine gave to Eriss worked? No - he saw Eriss holding his magic wand tight, she was his student, she admired his abilities in magic - thus he decided not to tarnish those feelings and actually for the first time understood he was doing something wrong!
That’s a subtle moment, but its there. You just don’t want to see it…
@@Boris99999 Oh, I see it. I just don't think it's adequate. "she pummeled him for it" has been an excuse in anime since it was just black and white manga in the rubble of WW2.
-Most of the examples you gave weren't punishments or even condemnations
-No, a subtle moment of self-reflection is not good enough to condem his lecherous behavior.
-No, I wasn't implying that he only needs to be physically punished.
-Yes, talking to a person can be adequate for an anime to condemn the action. IF THEY ACTUALLY LEARN.
These are all just throwaway condolences that the viewer can use to justify the the power fantasy. Which is exactly what you're doing. This is like watching a hero in a story kill hundreds of monsters, say "violence is bad" in a speech, and then kill the main villain. It doesn't matter if the villain and the monsters needed to be killed in the lore. The lore was constructed to feed you all of the violence that you want and then give you a throwaway line about how violence is bad so you can feel good about it.
Again I'm not trying to "cancel" the show. I love the show. I'm just honest about it being pretty rapey. I like it when a guy grabs a boob and then gets punched in the face. And I'm not going to delude myself into thinking that that's some sort of moral lesson.
@@VagabondTE Her beating him up is even less of an adequate consequence when she ends up promising to have sex with him when she turns 15 anyways. Obviously from her perspective she isn't getting groomed, but that's what it really is. Doesn't help that he was planning to groom Sylphy a few episodes beforehand.
I dont think you could change mushoku tensei to the point where it would be palatable to the people that truly hate it and still be fundementaly the same show. Personally I like the story, I'll defend its merits, but I'll never insult anyone who can't tolerate it for the reasons you outlined.
To me, the show adequately portrayed Rudy as a piece of ****-with world views shaped almost entirely by his escapist consumption of hentai and anime. And when he gets himself reincarnated, he does so in a world that doesn't punish those preconceptions, but instead one that further reinforces them. I thought that was a pretty bold choice considering it means all change needs to come from himself, rather than the new world teaching conveniently teaching him our ethics. That makes it so much harder and take so much longer for him to change himself. (too long for a lot of viewers) Honestly though, I think he never actually does change 'that' much, at least to the point I'm caught up to-and certainly not as much as ardent defenders would claim. I still wouldn't want to meet or hang out with him, knowing what he's actually like. I do think he makes for a compelling protagonist though, because for all his very blatant flaws, nobody loaths the old Rudy more than he loathes himself and he does work incredibly hard to become what he consideres 'a better person'. The fact that his idea of a better person realisticaly get influenced by this new world (for both better and worse), that his idea remains notably different to my own and that the story giving me the leeway to decide this for myself, rather than beating me over the head with it are parts I appreciated.
The problem is that the series largely shows the downfalls of his behavior and how he is punished for it and normally beats himself up about it even when other characters drop the issue. And, as was pointed out, the same can not be said for the more divisive elements. He consequences are delayed or absent entirely. I was really hoping the ED arc would focus in on that stuff more, as Rudy self-examines. But it does not.
@@akamesama The narrative does not directly condemn his behaviour, but it did more than enough to make sure that I-as the viewer-would. (and very much did.) The women involved in those scenes are all far better people then Rudeus. In fact, from what I recall, the entire story tends to portrait its women in a more favourable light then men. (as in their quality of character as individuals, not the position they find themselves in of course). In contrast, Rudeus and other men like his father, always accurately came across as being in the wrong during those scenes. While it would certainly be cathartic to see him narratively punished, it is not something I need or demand the show do. I know his behaviour is reprehensible, I dont need it to teach me that, nor do I need it to present me the all-to-compelling idea that all sins will be punished or that people always overcome their flaws. Intentional or not, I feel the show somehow hit me harder this way by giving me this as-of-yet unresolved and uncomfortably depressing yet realistic scenario of a person who is at the same time admirable and detestable.
Not to mention everytime I see somebody on the internet actually defend his behaviour, it reminds me this isn't just some fantastical set-up, but a real issue. Ultimately, I think the story sparks far more debate this way, and I think that's overal a net positive. (as much as I hate how internet debates tend to go, but thats a whole different issue...) Honestly, I wouldn't want every story to do this, nor should they!-but mushoku tensei did, and I'm ok with that.
@@jarrenraves I appreciate your existence, sir. Nuance and multi-threaded moral understandings don't often seem to occur to people. There are few people who could truly understand the idea of "admirable and detestable."
For that same reason, I would say that I prefer if this show would actually use its narrative and world to frame Rudy's behavior in a less ambiguous manner. Because the majority of its audience does not at all understand that someone can both have good and bad qualities, or that having bad qualities doesn't wipe away the good ones or vice versa.
...Though honestly that would be quite sad, if we had to dumb down a show like that. I wish there was an acknowledged mental stage between "teenagers" and "understands nuance" that we'd be able to explicitly market to (or above, if a piece of media had more nuance than the average person understands).
@@Chameleonred5 I can respect that thought but in my mind that's expecting a show to do something unreasonable. There is no show configuration that will force it's audience to understand something it doesn't already or more accurately does not want to. As it is I think the show does a pretty good job in expressing complex moralities and some people just stubbornly refuse to acknowledge them in more than simple terms. That's a viewer flaw. At least in this case.
@@jarrenraves I didn't think it portrayed women favorably. It portrayed women as alway being able to offer the other cheek and deal with the transgressions of men in their lives, but never instituting real change because of those transgressions. Basically, they are pushovers that offer surface level resistance to anything that they find offensive, but then always have the grace to be "better."
That was legitimately the funniest and most enjoyable sponsorship segment I've seen in years. Thank you.
My issue with Rudy as a character is that a lot of his change doesn't feel earned. At least when it comes to his sexual deviancy. Take for example, the bedroom scene in Episode 8 between him and Eris.
After nearly forcing himself on her, Eris stomps on him and storms off in classic tsundere fashion, leaving Rudy with a chance to reflect on his behavior. In theory this is actually great. I was so excited to finally see Rudy have a good introspective moment that allows him to see the error in how he views and treats women and young girls. This moment is ruined immediately after when Eris comes back into the room and tells Rudy that she will have sex with him after he turns 15.
Uh?? So much for that I guess. My issue with this is that Rudy doesn't actually have to change. Not really. He's still promised - and ultimately gets - what he wants and faces no major repercussions for his actions towards Eris.
In many ways, it feels like the author wants to have his cake and eat it too. He wants to write a redemption story about a guy recognizing his flaws and trying to work on it, but he also wants to throw in every wish-fulfillment cliche under the same, so as to not offend and appeal to the target audience.
It ultimately just feels hollow. I'm not saying Rudy is a bad character in concept. I actually think he could be a great character and there are certainly aspects of his character that are interesting. But unfortunately the execution just leaves a lot to be desired for me.
@@Brianworldwide_7 ...I have a feeling you're missing some valuable understandings about life, romance, and sex that would require hours to explain.
@Chameleonreuhm, I think you are the one that actually need to expand your own knowledge.
" Rudeus doesnt need to change" that is the point. He himself want to change because of Eris, not because he face negative consequences. Rudeus is heavily traumatized and hate himself. Even though objectively he got many wishfulfillment cliche, he never stop hating himself and do not take things for granted.
You may want a "retribution" type of story, but his is a story about personal growth. People dont change because people say they need to. They change because they themselves want to change. The more I read MT, the more I feel other fictions are so vapid and shallow. People get "talk no jutsu" into changing their whole moral system, or suddenly change their fundamental thinking in 5 minutes. And the worst of all, treat violent and killing as a minor inconvenience while sexual crime are worse than literal genocide.
@@nguyendi92 I don't know what you watched, but it definitely wasn't the Mushoku Tensei anime. Rudeus doesn't actually demonstrate almost any real personal growth or self-reflection on this topic, and the story bends over backwards to reward him for it. If it were only Rudeus, that would be bad enough, but the show has tons of problems with tone deafness around how it portrays sexual assault and related issues all over the place. SA is routinely played up as a joke in one scene while condemning it in the next.
@@jmiller6066 That's my words, I don't even know what were you watching, Rudeus never sexual assault girls in their sleep again (start at Eris birthday).
If you are still treat Rudy as a full grown adult then we have fundamental different understanding, and every thing I say will go past your ears.
Let's assume he is a weird kid that have "memory " of his pastlife . ( Many Real life people also claim that, but no body treat them as an old person). 99% of pervert things happened in his mind. The anime play up Eris punching jokes, bathing scene, (which is the norm of Anime culture, kid's anime also include them for some reasons), while not showing how much Eris also a perv, like sniffing his Underwear, licking his saliva, especially clingy after Turning point 2.
At ep 22, he actually didn't want to sleep with Eris , contrast to ep 8, if Eris stop forcing him, then there would be no sex. You may say he is still "at fault" but you can't say he didn't change from ep 8.
In Season 2 , there is no "tonedeft" in Sexual assault. Rudeus touch the girl to see if his sexual respond actually work, not for jokes. Right or wrong aside, that's an understandable reason (not justifiable reason) to do so, He derived no sexual pleasure from it.
Mushoku Tensei in its entirely actually one of the few fiction story depict how sexual and romantic relationship work IRL. Not puting it on a "purity pedestal" (they kiss and live together happily forever) nor "Purely for pleasure" (like porn).
Was very excited for the 100 girlfriends mention. 😂 In my opinion it's kind of a hidden gem of a show that needs to be talked about more.
I do genuinely enjoy the show and have read the light novel it is based on, but also have a hell of a time grappling with rudeus' actions and how they're portrayed. Thank you for making this in depth critique. You really hit the nail on the head with pretty much everything you brought up. I will add that reading the light novel was easier than watching the anime as far as season one is concerned, but its been some time and i'm not sure if its because it does give more depth to his actions, if its because the "incidents" don't happen as often, or just because its not as visceral as literally watching it play out.
Just read it recently. I think the novel is better since it spends a smaller percent of the time on these and his internal narration actually does show a bit more of the conflict in his mind. The immediacy also does play a factor in the anime IMO. I'm still seriously conflicted, but I definitely prefer the novel so far (nearly caught up to the anime).
yeah the anime takes it to a whole new level
@@akamesama I have very similar feelings. LN does it better. But in these kind of things, that is often always the case.
As a woman, I'm so so tired of putting up with anime bullshit. It's constant. It's in everything. I watched Tenchi Muyuo at ten getting VHS tapes from blockbuster because I thought the cover looked fun (look at all the girl characters! Will they get to do something interesting?)- my sexist anime bullshit meter is pretty high! I sat through Inuyasha and seeing the pervert monk character grope Sango. Sat through sexy no jutsu hate how it's in everything, even media directed towards women.
I accept that to enjoy some anime I have to gruelingly sit through lewd shots of a 12 year old girl. I am resigned to the fact that "cute girls doing cute things" is a significant genre, and "loli sister" anime has become commonplace (god forbid there is one popular shoujo anime that doesn't appeal to men! SOUND THE ALARM!) but I just can't do Jobless Reincarnator. I don't care if "he get's better." I'm sick and tired of having to empathize with shitty protagonists who somehow need to learn that women are people too. The bar is so low. I'm sick of the narrative acting like I should feel sorry for a man who is so mentally scarred by people being mean to him in his past life that he's actively molesting and scarring children now.
I love Denji. I love how Denji's lust is shaped by his lack of a stable home life, how he's built on Hollywood movies and manga and his slow realization that those depictions of women and relationships are ultimately hollow in the face of a much more depressing reality. I love how his search for security is tied to his goals, and his aimlessness. Importantly: Denji feels like a victim to toxic masculinity. The women in his life prey on him in a way that shows nuance and makes the viewer reflect on the fan service (if you can even call it that).
I like the idea of an isekai dealing with embarrassing realities (like erectile dysfunction, like mental health problems) but I refuse to sit through all of...that.
Now to rewatch the married a moomin video!
Kind of a long comment here! 😭
One thing I noticed specifically in Shirobako is that although it's obviously a series more aimed at women, what that is interpreted as is that the women are the hard working competent employees who manage most of the animating work DESPITE every or almost every man being some combination and degree of incompetent, sexist, bitter and just not great.
I just get the impression a lot of stuff to appeal to and/kinda celebrate women in some minds is saying, we live in a sexist society, women are weaker than men, you won't get valued at work as much, men all suck and will sexualise you, family life is hard and inevitable, but take pride for all the work you do and be happy with other women!!!
... Which is why I don't feel like demographic labels have much impact on how sexist I'll find it. Cause it's not as much about specifically the women but the model of society a writer has, which can be very patriarchal from women as well(specifically with this angle of "I'm proud of how well I deal with the terrible experience of being a woman!" like internalising misogyny I guess).
To be clear I've been watching Shirobako alongside other stuff with family and enjoying it, it's just the last anime aimed at women I watched! Personally I stay away from the" women need better portrayals in shounen! " met with" what about men in shoujo they're bad too! " awful arguments as much as the former is true, because I want to support stuff that gets away from the labels entirely. That is, women writing in shounen magazines(and also shoujo focusing on men/boys), I mean inuyasha unfortunately is a bad example of that but I like Hoshino Katsura and the two writing Noragami, who both have manga with powerful women/girls who have the focus of the plot in their respective series. Lenalee goes through being the one to fight and defeat the level 3 akuma, basically saving all the exorcists except Allen, another arc where she has to wrestle with being protected and temporarily losing the use of her legs(in a realistic way as a disabled person, the way she CAN actually do shit like kick at something imprisoning her over and over harming herself later on but it doesn't change that she's not getting her mobility back until stuff happens and she goes between crutches, being carried and walking/running herself), then has another fight where she's jointly leading them to victory with Allen, is in my opinion one of the best things in dgm.
And Hiyori's arc in Noragami is similarly long and detailed, between her struggle with her career plans, as she faces joining her parents in running a hospital, the things which happen due to her connection with Yato and the world of the gods etc leading to the hospital's reputation being damaged and her seeing her family suffer from it, in terms of personality with her she's basically an ordinary schoolgirl in a lot of difficult situations(I kind of wish she changed a little more but I think she's cool!).
And kimetsu no yaiba isn't a perfect example for sure as it doesn't have many prominent women, with nezuko drawing criticism, but I do think even the worse cases have men/boys written in a less being-sexist way which is itself important. Even if a shounen has only male characters, if they are giving better portrayals with no women in the picture it still doesn't have the same grossness which I think series with lots of characters with different genders but all representing a view of society which is pretty shitty and patriarchal have. Maybe it's even a needing smaller casts and better developed characters thing bleeding into even worse writing of women, considering chainsaw man and all of fujimoto's work has fewer recurring characters than many shounen.
Now I don't really have much to say on shoujo/josei, in fact I don't even have that wide a range of stuff I like, but Natsume yuujinchou is a great shoujo/josei focused on male characters as well, and also has some well written women/girls with zero sexualisation issues. So I think shounen/seinen written by women/people with gender neutral pseudonyms or whatever, or with female main characters at the very centre, plus shoujo/josei written about men/boys with a healthier view of things are all pretty good steps that are underrated in dealing with sexism in manga/anime.
As a woman honestly you should be happy anime is the way it is. It covers the entire range. That includes badass sango who wears the pants between her and perv monk getting groped and then bashing him into the dirt. But that also includes women like Revy in Black Lagoon or Yor or Faye Valentine or Vivy. Anime runs the entire range, for better or worse. Hollywood is so busy playing safe that most of what we see is the same bloodless stereotypes. In anime if I see a woman I couldn't tell you if they are gonna be the villain, a hero, a damsel, a mother, etc. It's a complete tossup no matter the art style and there are many subversion. But the price of getting all the well written creative good stuff, is also getting some of the bad. For example EP is defending chainsaw man here in which a strong woman is sexually manipulating a child.
Why are you sick of the anime bullshit. At the end of the day the person that's going through all of this is fictional and not real in the slightest. Now I can understand you getting annoyed when it gets really bad but man. Your making it sound like the anime is touching you in the wrong way physically. But I can understand how annoying it is to see panty shots and things along thoese lines in anime especially when your interested in it.
I feel ya completely. Good comment.
Just jumping in here to tell you I feel you, and you are completely right!
It’s so tiring to have to always be willing to overlook things. Like, I like BNHA but it completely fails at making the female characters good, and somehow I’m supposed to believe that grape boy should be allowed to be in hero school or be treated like a real character.
And this is constant. Almost every show has some aspect I have to just deal with, no matter how awful or umcomfortable it makes me feel, because I’d still like to watch anime. I’m so tired of all the dumb ass tropes, like accidental gropins, panty shots, girls meeting for the first time and comparing breast sizes (never in my life have I done that with another woman??), peeping toms, etc etc.
I just want shows to treat women like people, and paying attention to how to depict love and lust without making it feel like the other person’s personality and existance is limited to her attributes
I feel so seen right now because I’ve been thinking about this for years. Every time someone adamantly defends Rudy I immediately feel like Mugatu from Zoolander screaming about how he feels like he’s taking crazy pills. I also feel the same way about Denji being a much better take on this character trait.
Denji and Rudy are honestly not as comparable as the video makes them seem. Denji is an underdeveloped teen who wants sexual gratification but only gets it from older women who are using him in one way or another whereas Rudy is the older one getting the gratification from younger people. That is a VERY different thing.
So I've read the Light Novels for Mushoku Tensei, and it does cover some of the things you mentioned you would improve the series! It dives deeper into his trauma, a childhood friend, and does a bit better displaying the themes of redemption. Thaaaaaat said, Rudeus is also equally more unredeemable in the Light Novels. I enjoy the series, but I can never recommend it. One of the openers in the first light novel is that we learn exactly what was on his computer before his brother smashed it and it's somehow worse than one would assume
wait..what was on the computer
i am mainly a manga reader of the show so i thought the hints went for echi ero games with lolis
@@polasamierwahsh421 pictures of his underage niece
@@juv285 "pictures of his underage.."
-Uh huh. Nothing too unexpected he-
".. niece"
-Jotto fking matte right here what.
@@polasamierwahsh421 it was literally just loli p. Everyone saying underage niece did not actually read the light novel as that's not in the light novel
are you confusing the light novel for the web novel? The light novel just says it's loli p (still bad but not nearly as bad as what the web novel had) and also the web novel even changed that as well. So not really sure where your getting that from
Bruh, telling that Denji is the same as Rudeus is pretty insulting
A normal Teenager is not the same as a grown adult doing sexual harassment
There are more like it's actually denji who's more the victim but the big point in their comparison is the reason for flaws are used differently to explore their flaws, Denji is used on how his actually are done in being shown in complication due to his reasons, resulting intersting storytelling while Rudeus doesn't do enough to make his flaws and reasons to care about: ua-cam.com/video/qkgdj_12a1Q/v-deo.html
Thats the more story based importance, I add that Rudeus can barely be considered that due to his lack of actually maturing as an individual in the same way as denji, though is way younger and kinda a different character, I'd compare him to mineta who to seems to be a teenager with alot of problems and unlike denji who's more so a minor taken advantage off, mineta does it himself with like Reudus not using or having reasons for to be beliavable to be used for intersting development.
Denji is actually way to different from reudus because unlike Mineta he is a flawed victim to abusive women, Rudeus and mineta are the abusers so it's a different fundemental idea
"normal"
i feel so unbelievably validated and seen with this video. thank you so much for making it, you summarized exactly how i feel even though i felt like i had to be the insane one and missing something bc i couldn't see why it's being praised as the second coming and not the atrocity it is
No idea if the cognitive dissonance watching it is intentional or not, but it makes the series a crazy ride to watch. There are some great emotionally complicated scenes in there but but the story as a whole has very strange priorities.
I think that one sentence sums up my problem with Mushoku Tensei and why I can't really recommend it to anyone - watching Rudy "get better" isn't really *satisfying*.
Sure watching him overcome some of his trauma is very much satisfying and even tearjerking at times, but watching him learn to stop being a real piece of doodoo to the women in his life is just...like, a relief? Less a "yay go Rudy" and more a "oh thank *Haruhi*".
I also wouldn't recommend Mushoku Tensei to anyone who isn't a diehard anime fan, but that doesn't mean that there isn't anything else other than Rudy's redemption to enjoy about Mushoku Tensei. The world building in it is actually insane, that even rivals some of the best fantasies out there.
To sum up, "I don't have that much free time in my life to see a sxual predator degenerate having a character development". And it's taking forever too... I dropped it after 2nd ep lol, i knew what happened coz i read the reviews and I'm happy with my decision
I think the diffrence between Rudeus and Denji is very simple: Rudeus is like 30 with over 10 years in the iseakai world and he still sucks while Denji is just a teenager who had no childhood
"Insert anime here" is almost perfect, if only it weren't dragged down by "insert sex crime here". Japan please, I'm begging you.
You may disagree with me but this one is easily One Piece. As Oda said it's for male fans so... I have the right to say it's not 10/10 🤣
But i love OP i truly do, but the fact that they made like 10 hours of lazy recaps and still took extra time for fanservice ummm... They chose to make fans uncomfortable by feeding the otakus. That's my main problem
Rudeus is definitely several bridges beyond the common sense, and I am by no means defending it, but him being the literal worst possible piece of shit feels kind of like, the point to me. His trauma has led him to a situation in which he could only mature from contact with the internet, and that is a social tomb of partially his own making, it does explain why he fails to understand intimacy. He is inexcusable, and the point of mushoku tensei is to really give an inexcusable little shit a second chance of becoming an actual person in a just as inexcusable world. It's one of the rare occasions of the isekai trope being used in a justifiable way instead of "let's make an worthless person into a hero in a couple episodes without proper growth and struggle". He fails several times at it, but that's part of the process of maturing, and while he is by no means an actual child, he's the primal example of a manchild.
And I am by no means criticizing anyone who's not willing to put up with it, it's far from something I'd recommend anyone for the most obvious reasons, but I feel like the characterization, while niche, is justifiable. It wants to tackle deep into the uncomfortable without shying away from it. Tho ig it does come with the side effect of misogynists entirely missing the point and liking it for all the wrong reasons.
ua-cam.com/video/qkgdj_12a1Q/v-deo.html Yeah though where it fails at doing that is using it to actually have reflect on his actions to be a able to grow, it doesn't seem to have him be in clash with himself, it just sorta pushes him along sure punshining for his mistakes but not in a way that really gets him to understand himself and what needs fixing.
thats why this part of the video calls his Being bad boring due to story not really using it much outside of the intersting concept.
As a huge fan of the show, i can confirm the sub version (The only version ive watched) makes it seem a lot more like Rudy understands hes messed up, and he confronts the fact hes messed up and occassionally falls back into his habits as he tries to be NOT messed up.
I think you touched on a really interesting idea with the slight differences between the dub and sub. The dub seems to show Rudy in a far worse light, not really having him question his actions or admit when he was wrong, which definitely takes away from the idea that he is growing as a character. I watched the sub for the series, and it definitely gave me a different impression of him. Even if I don’t fully agree with a lot of the opinions in this video, I can definitely agree that Rudy in the dub doesn’t really support a lot of the arguments about him getting better
I think that also has to do with a big difference in what is tolerable in media between the west and Japanese culture, one is almost indifferent to violence (sometimes getting enjoyment out of it no matter how close it is to the real thing) while also considering sexual topics taboo to the point one can't even discuss them. Compared to the other side, while they don't revel so much in actual violence since they mostly focus in unrealistic almost purely fantastical depictions sometimes it seems that they not only have the same level of indifference towards sexual topics as the west has to violence but that they'd rather nobody focus on the fact that some things should be more taboo but can't because that would show a flaw in their society.
Sub doesn't do a much better job. He actually acknowledges that he's a mentally 40 year old scumbag, and he doesn't actually ever acknowledge that he's hurting other girls.
Even the sub version doesn't support him getting better, and NEITHER does the LN.
@@theneef174 Nor the WN (the worst offender)
Yeah, the dub is outright atrocious. 100% DO NOT WATCH THE DUB.
Holy fuck that setup with the „the wind is so strong“ text bubble into the wind tunnel was wild :o
I do my best.
Chainsaw Man has something to say about sex/relationships/general horny behavior meanwhile Mushoku Tensei is wink-wink nudge-nudge-ing at the viewer going "yeahhh we know it's bad... but you like it too 😏" while I'm heaving the longest sigh of my life and wondering when this "he gets better" shit kicks in.
"might be one of the most morally abhorrent things to come out if Japan since 1937"
Idk I can think of about 731 things worse.
Really refreshing to see someone else with a sane opinion on this anime. I swear the amount of arguments I've heard defending this show with the logic "Well it's a fantasy world that's trying to be like Europe, they have to be sexist!" is just making me lose my mind especially with people just parroting MB and Gigguk's videos hand waving away the criticism. Really well done, keep up the great work!
It's really silly and ignores the whole premise of it being an isekai. Like, if it was simply a fantasy show you could make it work, but you specifically have a character that comes from the real world and has a life of experience behind him.
And like, it's not that hard to do either, for exemple tanya the evil is a show about a character with a messed up corporate ideology that happens to fit perfectly into a heavily nationalistic warmongering regime. It uses it's fantasy uchronia as a commentary on modern society by putting a modern character in that setting. That's interesting and engaging and still let the main character be evil. But also a lot of the comedy and what makes it watchable is how while tanya fits perfectly into that world because of their ideology they never get what they want, namely a comfy and safe life also because of that ideology backfiring on them which is what creates a lot of the comedy and also makes it watchable as there is some consequences for those actions.
Framing is also really important. You can portray sexism but it's not the same if you make it look sexy or add a funny music than if you make it look grim and frame the character as morally wrong and his victim as genuinely horrified by it but having no way to defend themselves, and not for comedy or as a power fantasy. But then the show becomes a horror show, and yes if you want to depict a 40year old molesting kid then you are making a horror story.
I think a lot of anime viewers in general really struggle to understand framing and how you aren't forced to portray things in gross ways. Like, I dunno, look at princess mononoke, San is super pretty, and she isn't wearing a super conservative outfit or anything but it is never framed in a way that objectifies her. Or the choice of portraying a sexist society but having the protagonist be a man. You could change so little of the premise, just making the protagonist a woman hikkikomori reincarnated into a fantasy world and not only is it infinitely more interesting as a concept, suddenly the grim part of such a world would become source of conflict for the character and not source of power. And the empowerement would be through being given the tools to overcome it, by having magic and the mind of an adult.
Seriously if you want to talk about child abuse and sexism making an adult stuck in the body of a child and having to deal with both but having the mental tools to understand the situation is just such a better story both in term of stakes and of not being icky.
this kind of story only works because its isekai.@@Laezar1
A regulr baby would do all those things, at least according to freud
Oh thank God, I have a video to link instead of trying to fumble my way through arguments now.
SAME!
Your fix suggestions are interesting. I really want to see that implemented one day.
I mean I can already imagine how it would work here. Thanks to your visual aids.
The image of the self perception rudy should pop up and say:
"Dude. The ***k did you you think about just now? Man being a kid again comes with weird problems."
And such a thing should prevent everything from happen except maybe the first Eris incident and the Sylphie accident, because I think that was genuinely well done as is. He actually acknowledge the errors of his ways for the right reasons and acts accordingly. And that's the only thing that prompts this in the entire anime so far.
From a purely technical standpoint I'm a bit miffed with the body/mind discrepancy in a lot of these reincarnation isekai. Of course there's a lifetime of memories, that would be complicated, but the brain (and the mind as a concept) is a physical organ that grows and changes functions as years go by. Would such memories of a past life really determine the way you work currently, adding even more years to your brain? Or it would be as remembering a movie or a book in vivid detail, it seemed real for a second but it's not as all-consuming of your brain as it seemed the first time?
And because I was miffed I wrote an "isekai" on my computer notes just for the lolz
As a female who got 'incidents' as a child, i never felt uncomfortable with Denji. But tbh i am more concerned for him he is the one being taken advantage of imo. On the other hand, out of my curiosity, it was one of my greatest mistake to follow the hype and watch Mushouku Tensei. I watched 1&2 eps, that's it, i hate it, i despised it, i feel like gagging. I thought my pstd when i was 7 years old didn't affect me at all but the way i reacted to it proved that i am in fact still despised the normalisations of perversions. While i cannot even digest Sanji's perversion, how am i supposed to 'ignore' Rudeus and stay for the plot. I only watched 1&2 but i know what happened later. I was shocked to see lots of 5 star ratings, and checked lots of essays on how the anime went, but the things he did later on are not even acceptable too. I ranted on my friend and he said he liked it, i'm about to drop and ghost every people i know who love this anime.
Why would i care to watch a story about the redemption of a predator degenerate?
This, but also for literally all issues brought about around the Isekai idea for this show. I feel like your discussion specifically on Rudy being a POS in season one is even more valid when applies into season 2 due to the additional modern-day crimes he commits. As a character, it's like as a 44-year old he just automatically assumes that nothing is wrong if that's how the world works. Yeah, he might get beat up or kicked for sexually assaulting women, but he doesn't even question it. Buying a slave for a predominantly non-sexual reason? Nope, he doesn't consider that slavery might be a bad thing, but only how the end outcome could be affected by the quality of the slave rather than dwelling on making that decision at all. It's as if he believes this new world to be more of a game than anything else, where no action carries any kind of ethical or moral weight and he would rather adapt to be part of that world for personal benefits. There are plenty more aspects of the setting that as a viewer seem to validate this concept where there is no moral or ethical systems by which Rudy could bind himself, so it really feels like he just is this kind of POS rather than a modern-fish in an old-world ocean.
Thank you for making this video.
Rudy had enabling parents, and siblings who thought he was scum. That was the only social interaction he had had for 16 years. His worldview was almost entirely shaped by anime, porn games, and childhood trauma.
It would make zero sense for him to feel bound by the morals of modern Japan, rather than the new world that he loves, and actually interacts with.
I tried so, so hard to look past all the shit in Mushoku Tensei. The voice acting and animation is so good. But at the end of the day the camera and directing make it more of a pedobait show with good production than a good show with pedobait.
Framing is the difference between Made In Abyss and Mushoku Tensei. Halfway through season one of MT I lost all confidence that the show could ever handle serious subject matter with the weight it needs. What a waste of talent.
I'd argue exactly where you left is when it tackles a lot of serious subjects very well. 😅
@@upg5147I would argue it isn't as someone who watched the rest of that season.
@@ActuallySatan Then I would say more so in season 2.
@@upg5147 Then I would say not so as someone who watched season 2 (and read the novel).
@@Jownbrownisekai Agree to disagree then. I don't see how you don't find his ED arc at least interesting, certainly something I've never seen before.
"...The things that Mushoku Tensei tries to say are important. I just wish it acted like it."
What a banger quote and a great way to end the video.
Hey thanks for making this, really helped me work my way through my own thoughts on Mushoku Tensei.
Thank you so much for making this. I felt like I've been losing my mind ever since season 1 of Mushoku Tensei aired. Everyone seemed to love it and people whose opinions I normally respect, like Mother's Basement, kept singing its praises, but the whole "middle aged man in a baby's body" thing always turned me off. It's so refreshing to see someone actually critique the show and move past the tired "he's meant to be flawed" excuse.
It's such a shame too because the world of the show is really well done and just about every character that isn't Rudeus is very well done. I'd be plenty happy with a show all about Ruijerd.
Chainsaw Man is a great counter example and I'd also throw in Re: Zero. Subaru enters his dream fantasy world and is pretty immediately forced to confront his own inadequacies. The solution to his problems is never to get stronger and overpower an opponent, he's just not capable of that. Rather he needs to build real connections with people (like an adult) and bring groups together to make best use of everyone's strengths. Also every time he tries to act like an anime perv he gets shut down hard and has to actually get to know people.
They could have salvaged so much by putting in a degree of separation between the memories and Rudeus. The memories are there, but they're fuzzy and dreamlike - almost like they're someone else's. Rudy 10, and trying to interpret and understand memories that are enough his that they inform his behavior, but also distant and not his.
23:55 - 24:05 An important distinction for anyone trying to make drastic changes in their lives
The crunchy audio just makes this whole video better
Always good to have you back, qish you the best.
I agree with most of your criticisms of the show’s poor presentation. As a prude myself, I’m pretty much against all forms of sexualization in media and real life of both genders. I do have a counterargument still.
The controversial aspect of Rudeus’ character has more to do with our cultural sensibilities and frankly misconceptions about the relationship between age and maturity. If you take the time to properly analyze how he conducts himself, it becomes blatantly obvious just how immature and utterly lacking in confidence Rudeus is. I don’t mean that in a derogatory sense; rather he might as well be a child due to how mentally and emotionally stunted he is in reality. And there are plenty of children in adult bodies in the modern world thanks to our constant infantilization of them, and all the issues that creates.
I’ll talk about a few instances in the show before I move on to a more in-depth social commentary. As early as the bath scene with Sylphiette, despite his perversion, Rudeus genuinely felt bad and ashamed for what he did and apologized. This should strike the viewer as rather odd, if not contradictory, considering his worse antics later on. Why does he readily respect Sylph’s feelings and her boundaries when he clearly has little to none for someone like Eris? Well, if you think about it, Eris is probably the only character he has no qualms putting his hands on in the series from what I know. And the reason he usually doesn’t feel any guilt should be rather obvious. Eris is the only character in the series who assaults him just about every chance she gets, and with that frequency, it’s very likely that Rudeus doesn’t even register that as a punishment when he deserves it. That’s just Eris being Eris/a tsundere from his perspective. He’s not wrong in that regard. Eris is also more mature than Rudeus in certain ways. When Rudeus witnesses two men get decapitated before his eyes, he is bewildered and scared. Even though they were stereotypical bad guys actively trying to kill him, and they almost succeeded. Compare that with Eris’ non-existent reaction. She didn’t even so much as flinch. I hate to bring the web novel into this discussion, but this also further proves your point about the show’s poor presentation. During the bedroom scene, it was actually Eris’ mother who persuaded Eris to sleep with Rudeus and she agreed. Their logic was that Rudeus was likely the only man who would be willing to tolerate a woman of her temperament. Eris didn’t push back on him because he went too far; she did so because she actually thought he was only complying with her due to Philip’s pressuring and not because he liked her. That’s why she decided to go back at the end of the scene and was planning to apologize for her outburst. That’s the real reason she wanted to delay things until both of them were more independent and ready, and it’s partially why she didn’t care about their promise once she learns her family is all but dead by the end of season 1.Those are not the thoughts and decisions of a child or childish person.
Combining that with the fact that Rudeus felt heartbroken to the point of suffering ED after an imaginary breakup (cuz Eris is a social dunce and felt she’s unworthy of him), I hope you can see now why I said he is far from an adult and utterly lacking in confidence. The guy is all talk. If he really only cared about getting it on with every chick he comes across, he wouldn’t have been affected in the slightest by that incident. Acting lecherous is his coping mechanism, and that’s something even Eris figures out at some point in the web novel. The idea that he somehow tricked his love interests into a relationship becomes ludicrous once you start looking at the actual characters instead of viewing them as just numbers.
Age and maturity have an extremely loose relationship for this reason. Experience and upbringing are the real factors that influence a person’s level of maturity. We’ve all come across individuals who are either too mature or immature for "that age", and "that age" can differ locally. Much less globally and throughout history. By our frankly silly modern standards, majority of humanity throughout history has been comprised of child rapists and pedophiles, including our grandparents and beyond. Puberty has been the standard for telling an adult apart from a child for a good reason. It simply makes no logical sense that someone who is capable of having children of their own should be considered or treated as a child. Pretending otherwise isn’t going to convince so-called children; it only helps infantilize them and makes them more vulnerable.
Although this topic is out of my depth and I probably need to do more research on the subject matter, a cursory glance at some data ought to suffice. Those are all from the US, but I can imagine they’re relatively similar to other countries. The highest rates of STDs occur among teenagers. On average, "kids" as old as 12 get hooked on porn, and a few start as early as 10. So much for that content warning which only serves to protect companies from lawsuits. You see, the actual reason people are disturbed by age gaps in relationships is due to the potential power gap and the abuse of said power in relationships. This warped perception of the world is what led to some folks pushing for the age of consent to be raised all the way to 25. As if more infantilization will solve that problem and not exasperate it. This is why we never clarify what someone who is significantly older in a relationship can potentially manipulate or groom their partners into doing. Because then it becomes obvious it’s an issue with character and not age. Power dynamics are always present no matter the relationship; what matters is how powerful individuals choose to exercise it. It’s born out of laziness to properly vet said individuals whom either we or our dependents might wish to become intimate with. Other factors include how communities are no longer as well-knit as they used to in the past along with dating and hookup culture. Speaking of grooming, the recent negative connotations surrounding that word is a perfect example of how this is a relatively new issue. Traditionally, grooming means to look after and take care of someone or something. Another term for husband is bridegroom or simply groom.
Rudeus’ perversion is problematic because it prevents him from forming meaningful relationships and respecting the boundaries of the women in his life. His mental age is meaningless when it clearly doesn’t reflect the level of maturity expected of others of the same age, and if it did, the only issue would then be whether he’s serious about committing to the women he claims to love. I apologize for the long comment. I had a lot to say, and I hope I’ve communicated my thoughts clearly.
This is a great analysis of the topic of maturity. I think the main issue is that the reason society needs these age brackets is because society needs a way to easily sort out the worst cases and 18-25 years is when most people’s brains finish developing. So while teenagers can be more mature than their age, they also are more emotionally volatile due to their mental development lagging behind their sudden physical development. However, if that mental development gets stunted through various means, often addictions, then even beyond the age of 25 these people will still lack the maturity to be considered an “adult.” I think Rudy perfectly represents such a case, with his trauma even being tied to sexual inadequacy and years of porn addiction warping his instincts and beliefs in those areas. This is also why he can’t cope with death, he didn’t even attend his parents funeral, so the concept itself is so foreign that upon being face to face with the idea he begins to have a mini panic attack! His moral compass for how he should behave is also guided by conflict avoidance, but this goes out the window whenever he is faced with a sexual encounter as his understanding of its weight is significantly warped.
@@doodlegame8704 An excellent observation!
My only gripe would be with your comment about brain development. The brain technically never stops developing, and that's especially if it's constantly stimulated through experience. Bilinguals, for example, are much less likely to suffer from age related diseases like Alzeheimers.
The problem with age standards is that they ultimately infantalize and stunt development rather than truly protect anyone. Not to mention their arbitrary nature that hardly anyone seems to be able to agree on. For instance, 18-25 is a gap of 7 years. That's way too big a bracket if we're supposedly trying to minimize risks and avoid harm. Whatever they might be.
Being more emotionally volatile doesn't nullify the ability of young adults to form relationships and take on other responsibilities in their lives. If they happen to be lacking in certain areas, it's the job of the adults in their lives to properly guide them along the way.
Instead, what we have today are often inattentive parents and a fragmented community that's naturally insifficent to properly nurture children and prepare them for what's to come.
It's awfully convenient to claim someone isn't prepared to take on certain responsibilities when we've been doing nothing to prepare them in advance. On the contrary, we infantalize and stigmatize them from engaging in perfectly healthy habits because we're too lazy to vet them accordingly. That's how you get children in adult bodies like Rudues. At least that's my current understanding.
@@AhmedHassan-kl8ew I was just saying that your frontal lobe doesn’t finish growing until you are 25, which is responsible for reasoning. Also Ik that other teenagers can have relationships, but the difference in maturity varies wildly, hence why the age gap is way more relevant when you are younger.
I think we choose 18 because the government wants people in the workforce ASAP, but many students go to college till they are 24 or older even.
@@doodlegame8704 I'm not sure how or why the complete development of the frontal lobe is relevant at all. It's not like our ability to reason is significantly impaired prior to that point. I recall the study determining the age of 25 to be dubious, but that's besides the point. I'm 25 and I guarantee you I don't feel that much significantly smarter or more reasonable than a few years ago. Perhaps a tad more critical, but that's mainly owed to experience rather than brain power. And experience is what truly determines someone's level of maturity. Around that age is when our brains actually peak before they start a slow deterioration. Hence why stimulation is necessary such as through picking up languages as I mentioned.
I don't see an issue with age gaps so long as both parties are vetted properly like I said. Character is all that should matter.
As for age standards, they really make very little sense and are beyond arbitrary. Most states have the age of consent at 16 and the minority set it at 17 or 18. You can actually get a job as early as 14 (excluding hard or dangerous labor) , and you can join the military as early as 17. Yet somehow, you're not allowed to own/buy a house or start drinking until you're 21. But you're able to drive as early as 16.
There's no pattern here beyond intentionally holding back young adults from exploring their potential. You might be right about the government's intentions. They want little more than uncritical wage slaves, and limiting the breadth of what we're allowed to experience is one effective way to ensure everyone stays in line.
Thank you for saying so much of my feelings on the show, which left me frustrated with a lot of what others say about the show.
I kept on partially because of all the talk about him improving, but by the end of the 2nd season I feel kind of burnt. In my mind him improving would have been him like going through some sort feminist change where he learned to actually respect women, but it doesn't feel like anything like that actually happened.
He respected a couple specific women, but it really does feel like he was just around less young girls, and got ED so got less joy outbof being creepy. And his ED is treated like the worst thing ever, like we want to see him back to being creepy. I can honestly only think improvement would be if he got a taste of his own medicine somehow.
The series in general oozes this weird feeling that objectifies its female characters. Sexy isn't itself bad, but even the one female character into it is because she is cursed, and still feels leery. And it just gives me this idea along the lines of what the author might think.
Despite going so far, I don't think I will be able to go with another season, there is just so much baggage that I am sick of it making me try and sympathise with him.
Most of its female characters just feel used in a creepy. The closest not there were maybe the animal girl classmates, supposedly in his good phase of ED, but even then I think he practically molested them.
Fantastic video as always! ❤
youve made sum excellent points here, and i wont refute them, instead i shall commend you for your awesome editing
jesus christ the first line in this video is a joke about nanjing holy
That was the best summary of 100 girlfriends I've seen. The rest of the video was good too
That sponser transition is top tier. Hats off to ya.
finally, my exact thoughts
I agree with core ideas of your video so much, like damn