Written by Geats

Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation – Is Rudeus a Pedophile?

The lines are blurred since he is a child in this world, but has the mind of an adult. 

Mushoku Tensei is an interesting Isekai due to the fact that not only is the protagonist in a new world, but he is starting in that new world as a baby. It has already tackled difficult questions, or at least posed them, when it comes to sexual relationships. What surprises me is the knee-jerk reaction of the anime community at large (although I really shouldn’t be surprised, living in a 2021 cancel-culture world). The surprise comes from the fact that people seemed to be shocked at what occurred in episode 6 of Mushoku Tensei. Why would you be? The signs have been there all along. 

Now to be clear, Rudeus has sexually predatory thoughts and mannerisms. This has never been concealed. There has been a clear portrayal of this character flaw the entire time. 

It’s as if the community at large is either collectively oblivious or has amnesia regarding his personality. Just because he hasn’t acted out on his thoughts before, we get to know his internal mental dialogue. He is constantly thinking about sex, and even steals Roxy’s panties. He catches her masturbating in the hall to his isekai parents having sex. The entire show has a horny, sexual undertone that permeates into the main story. Did the community forget that Paul, Rudeus’s dad, had sex with the maid in the home? We had an entire scene of heartbreak, and almost an entire home being wrecked because of it. What about Paul’s thoughts regarding Sylphiette and grooming her? There have been plenty of signs and warnings. Why is it now that some in the community are up in arms? 

If the signs have been there the whole time I have two thoughts on why people are now caught up in the controversy. 

First thought, people love virtue-signaling. There are certain people that want to be seen in a good light and that they were the first ones to speak up about something appalling they saw. If they were truly offended by this character flaw, it would have come up much sooner. We have had 5 episodes prior to questionable sexual relationships and experiences. The line of Rudeus groping and trying to steal panties from Eris was too far for some people. But if that is where the line is for people, then there is a bigger issue at stake here. 

If the line was drawn with Eris, then the bigger issue at stake for me says that then you seem ok with all the other things that happened up to this point. Where was your outrage when Roxy’s panties were stolen? Where was your outrage when Rudeus thought about grooming Slyphiette? Where was the outrage when the home was wrecked? Was the community actually ok with all of these things, and then gets upset when the Eris incident happens? If so it strikes me as hypocritical. It screams to me that this is not my fettish and therefore I will now throw up flags. 

Anime has always had sexual undertones within its larger context, and there is another form of anime that is dedicated purely to sex. 

This leads to my second thought, that there is a large sub-culture of anime that is there for the sexaul moments and tensions that occur. In essence I am confused as to why people who did not wish to explore those themes would decide to explore Mushoku Tensei. It’s very obvious from the first episode. While this is not the other form of anime that is dedicated to sex, there is going to be ecchi at play. There are also going to be lines blurred in the process. There is a level of maturity required at times while viewing anime. 

While they are just cartoons, there are plenty of adult and mature themes at play. I always advise caution because you might be introduced to something that makes you feel uncomfortable. And it’s ok to feel uncomfortable. It’s ok to not like things that happened, it’s ok to hate things that happened. If you think Rudeus is a pedophile that is a take I can buy. But I feel there might be more under the surface of the anime that we have yet to discover. 

Do you agree? What are your thoughts? I want to know!

Is there anything you would like me to cover? Do you want to know my thoughts on anything? Have something I should know? If you answered yes to any of the previous questions, comment below!

Is Mushoku Tensei worth watching?

7 thoughts on “Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation – Is Rudeus a Pedophile?”

  1. Somehow in todays standart where Violence, Gore, Torture and Murder is butter and bread of the entertainment industry only things related to sex still seems to be a mostly controversal topic. If Rudy is a sexual predator and MT as such is a bad show then Ainz Owl Goon is a psychopathic mass murderer with no regards to human live and no guilt towards torture. Even so I believe if people were to choose who is worse that many would choose Rudy and I and cannot help but feel that is very hyporcritical.
    Rudy is a sexual deviant with no particular big morals concerning woman. That was clear since episode 1. Even Rudy himself acknowledge that he is a scumbag. The show does not keep it a secret nor does it glorify him. It simply shows that people are not defined by simply one of their characteristics.
    Mushoku Tensei is about an deeply flawed Character that lives his live a seconed time after wasting his 1st and resovling to live a better 2nd one. Hower he still is the same person he was in his 1st live and people do not change so easily. MT shows how the world is not black and white, anyone has some flaws some more severe then others, and even criminals or scumbags can have some redeeming traits while even good people can have flaws.

    Liked by 2 people

    2. I believe the issue here is that this is literal, to an extent, child pornography just animated. Just because you feel that Ainz is a mass murderer, doesn´t make pedophilia okay. Just because you compare one think to something else, doesn´t make that first think okay. Just because the show is about a character having flaws, doesn´t mean you have to enjoy watching the character groping and taking the panties of a little girl, or watching a 12 year old masturbate. Sure, criminals have some good traits, but the good does not always wash out the bad, especially when it comes to criminals.

      Liked by 2 people

  2. I knew full well what I was getting into when deciding to watch Mushoku Tensei, but that didn’t make it any more pleasant to watch. A group of people on a site I frequent had described what I’d be getting into if I watched it, so I knew what sort of person Rudeus would be. The main reason I am watching this show is because of the amount of hype behind it. I’ll say this: Mushoku Tensei has very good animation. I don’t however like the contrived writing in it in that all of Rudeus’s love interests have been conveniently placed in compromised positions for him to see them in such a state, first with Roxy pleasuring herself in the hallway when she could have done that in her room given how the walls of houses back then were very thin, and then with him stripping Sylphiette because he somehow couldn’t tell she was a girl even though literally everyone else could tell she was a girl with one look at her, and now with Eris being asleep on a bunch of hay for him to sexually assault.

    A really great show with a perverted main character is NHK ni Youkoso! That show deals with many mature themes in a tasteful way. The main character has schizophrenia and much of the core cast members have issues with their mental health. If you haven’t watched it, I wholeheartedly recommend it to you.

    Liked by 2 people

  3. In the first episode, after he finishes masturbating instead of attending his parents funeral, one of the guys evicting him looks at his monitor and is disgusted by what he sees. I can’t shake the feeling he’s a pedophile, especially when he’s feeling up sleeping 9 year olds.

    Liked by 3 people

Comments are closed.