A post arguing that the anime Mushoku Tensei “isn’t something you can recommend to women” racked up 10,000 likes, sparking a reaction thread on 5ch’s Nandemo Jikkyo G (Live Commentary) board. Posters pointed to father Paul’s infidelity and protagonist Rudeus’s selfish treatment of women as evidence, while rumors swirled that a Hololive streamer had criticized the show on a broadcast — though even those spreading the claim admitted they “hadn’t watched it, just heard about it,” leaving the source unclear. Some in the thread argued it wasn’t about gender at all but a generational gap in values, and the discussion expanded into which specific scenes from the original novel were actually the problem.
It's not just that the father's gross — saying 'the maid's just as bad, idiot' feels like a very female take.
Same with going all the way to 'get a vasectomy!'
But honestly, he kind of has it coming.
Creepy regardless of gender.
I love the part where Rudeus hits on a hostess-bar worker.
If Pekora watched this, she'd probably be even angrier than she was at Paul.
By that point 'Old Deus' has become an even bigger scumbag than Paul.
I really want Pekora to watch all the way to this part.
Don't throw a fit just because the reaction isn't what you wanted.
Well, the maid was the one who came onto him, after all.
Her stance is she won't let it slide even for female characters if their moral compass is broken.
○ A show you can't recommend to 2020s otaku
Better to think of it as an old-vs-new values gap than a male-vs-female one.
The way Saga of Tanya the Evil plays sexual harassment for comedy really clashes with how otaku culture feels about that stuff now.
How'd you mix those up?
Is it, though?
That world basically runs on polygamy.
It's only the Milis faith that practices monogamy, and the conflict happened because Zenith is a believer.
With Bakugo you always hear 'his past sins don't just disappear! Being a good person from the start is what matters!'
It's only natural that people who can't get past that have a rejection reaction.
Pretty sure episodes 6-7 Rudeus is no better, honestly.
They're probably as rare as a protected natural monument — basically nonexistent.
If you'd said that and fought that battle just as hard when Chiramune (fan nickname for Chitose-kun Is in the Ramune Bottle, an anime previously called out for similar content) got torched online, that'd be consistent.
But since it's a blatant double standard, it just doesn't land.
True, but that's the same logic as delinquents looking twice as good the moment they do one good thing — the exact trope otaku claim to hate most.
Steins;Gate and Attack on Titan both have seriously creepy protagonists.
But they're great anyway.
'Naro' (web-novel isekai) creepiness is a different kind of creepy.
And not in a good way.
Fair point.
These days having a sharp edge and glaring flaws is exactly what generates buzz.
This show's creepiness doesn't exactly stop there, though.
I haven't seen it either, but according to nanJ (2ch's baseball/NanJ board) chatter, the father slept with the maid and that's what the VTuber was criticizing.
Marrying Roxy made zero sense.
Comfort sex with his mistress while away on a trip, leading to marriage — what even is that?
And it all got forgiven just because his sister got mad about it.
What exactly is wrong with that? I don't get it?
All it took was one Hololive person calling out Paul — how'd it blow up this much?
At the end of the day it's just a 'Naro' show.
Its popularity is tiny next to a VTuber's reach.
Background and Key Points of the Debate
Mushoku Tensei has sparked controversy every time it airs over its depiction of father Paul’s infidelity scandal and protagonist Rudeus’s relationships with women, and this latest “not recommended for women” take is simply the latest chapter in that pattern. What split opinion in the thread was whether to frame the issue as a matter of “gender” or as a difference in “generational/era-based values,” with many commenters pointing to how otaku culture has shifted in the 2020s. Meanwhile, it’s easy to overlook that the Hololive streamer’s criticism said to have started it all was reported secondhand even by the people posting about it — phrases like “haven’t watched it, just heard about it” and “according to nanJ chatter” — meaning nobody has confirmed who actually said what. It’s worth noting the rumor may have taken on a life of its own, spreading as a simplified “a VTuber slammed it” narrative.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyo G) thread “[Sad News] Mushoku Tensei Fan: “This Isn’t a Show You Can Recommend to Women” ← 10,000 Likes.”
