Responding to Explanation Point's Mushoku Tensei HOT TAKES!
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- čas přidán 18. 01. 2024
- #mushokutensei #joblessreincarnation #anime
Explanation Point recently made a video about Rudeus Greyrat and Mushoku Tensei, discussing how he thinks the series could be improved to be less offputting to a broader audience. I responded to this video live on my Twitch channel, and this is the full response with all the irrelevant tangents edited out! Here I defend the way scenes involving Rudeus were done, and why it's OK that this show just isn't for everyone, as well as discussing all of the points raised in Explanation Point's video, including his comparisons with Evangelion, Chainsaw Man and 100 Girlfriends. - Hry
I think the audio and video got out of synch at some point - I have no idea how, as I edited this in Twitch's highlight editor then uploaded it directly to CZcams, which I've never done before, but I didn't fancy however long my video editing software would take to render a 2.5 hour video (after the last one at 1.5 hours took 7 hours). I hope it doesn't ruin the points being made, essentially it's a video you can listen to without the visuals anyway.
Your voice carries your video so I doubt any of your fans mind
I have a question ,do you think we will See short scenes of eris in the 2 part of season to of mushoku tensei because if i am right in the novels she is in part 11 and 12 so yeah do you think we will See her?
I am pretty confident we will see clips of her training arc at the very least. @@justinbarth2545
Nat responding to BS takes will never get old
[Insert Noralities here]
I don't know why it's bs to voice your opinions
I understand Explanation Point postition to a degree, becouse it is dificult to see a person as messed up as Rudeus in the position of a protagonist. What he doesn't get and is so shocked that refeuses to get is that Mushoku Tensei worth as a story lies exactly in:
A) Rudeus being the worst stereotype of otaku at the begining of the story and slowly becoming a person he can be proud of.
B) In portraing how dificult it is to get rid of his vices and harmfull mindset and how easy it is to fall back into them, and how much effor it takes to overcome them, but how equally satisfactory it is to actually do it and be a person you and those arround you can be proud of.
I don't think Explanation Point is wrong in feeling horrified by Rudeus initial behavior, nor in not wanting to see more of it, becouse the story is not for everybody and despite it's success, it never was, it was always directed at that type of otaku who had given up on himself as a way to tell him, "you too can get out of the pit". What it's wrong however is to deny the worth of the story just becouse it makes you personaly unconfortable, and even more, to let his own biases to guide him to a misreading of the story not as a member of the audience, but as a critic. Now, granted, that last part is very dificult to achive, but even so, I expected more from him specificaly. Not necesarily that he enjoys it (the canipa efect also voiced his distaste of the series at some point for exaclty the same reason, but in a way less confrontational maner, so no problem there at all) but a more objective one at least. He did a video about happy sugar life, for example, one where the protagonist is way worst than Rudeus, and he recognized how moraly bankrupt she was, yet he stayed objective and did a very good analisis of the story, flaws and all (at least to my memory) so it kind of surpriced me how agresive he was with Mushoku tensei, a series where a rape victim is not cartoonishly villianized after a horrifiying experience and the protagonist doesn't murder his family, doesn't kidnap a child, doesn't plan on murdering several people, doesn't try to justify his behavior as "true love" nor atempts a double suicide with a minor. Weird how he pointed out in that video that the protagonist being a woman helped the audience to be way more permisive to her than if a man were a protagonist instead, which is exacly what happened between Rudeus and Explanation Point, as she is probably the worst, most immoral character he has analized in his channel as a critic, yet seems to forgive for some unexplainable reason when compared to preteen with the memories of a socialy undeveloped adult that raises skirts and steals panties. (sorry for the wall of text and the bad english).
Copium
"Welcome to Explanation Point, where the standards are double and the arguments unfounded!"
The problem isnt mushoku tensei persay, its thst people are becomong increasingly sensitied by the PLETHORA of sexualised k1d5 in anime. Like they just gotta shove it into every anime now for 'fan service'.
If mushoku had come out in the 90s there wouldnt have been nearly the backlash it recived now.
I saw that video thinking it was gonna praise jobless but nah I was left flabbergasted 😭😭. All the points he made to “fix” jobless just completely change the concept of the show LOL
Must have been your first Explanation Point video. He started off with some interesting observations on how scenes are framed and the possible meaning of background details. Some of it was clearly just him overthinking, but it was still interesting. Then he started injecting his politics into videos and every single one after that was just the most ridiculously stupid hot takes imaginable.
@@MrDj232that’s how it goes….
These people trying to sanitize art.
Evil does not create, only corrupt.
There are tons of shows I strictly do not like or enjoy, but I don't campaign for and gaslight people to convince them to change something they enjoy.
Lmao naive, my friend. Saw the title and thumbnail and it was clear it will be a trashpile.
People who have 0 concept of what good writing is going to "fix" something. While not even understanding the utmost basics of storytelling. I guess they probably don't care to begin with. It's just an excuse to ego trip and push their believes.
That guy was like most youtubers who pretend to be critics, he starts setting a strawman (this show is criminal, is P-word, it's disgusting, its misoginistic, etc) and then he starts to pretend to have a unbiased opinion, while it's obvious he already set a clear image of the show to his public before he even started.
He also preemptively paints everyone who will disagree as degenerate fanboys, using his terrible edit skills to depict them as a fat guy with an anime figure, the message is clear: "don't listen to those who disagree with me, they are disgusting creeps".
It's clear he doesn't believe people can change, all while missing the entire point of the show that is about someone who wasn't a perfect person growing, just almost nobody is, most character are not good nor evil, they are flawed, some more and other's less, but they are, that is the charm of a character, to see him grow past their flaws, or to grow besides them.
Let's not forget, not only Rudy had an believable reason to become a hikkikkomori (contrary to most MCs), his final act in life was to sacrifice to save a complete stranger, showing that he isn't evil by any means.
But the last straw for me was the stupid comparison to 100 GFs, how can someone in their right mind compare a school harem rom-com with Mushoku tensei? without giving spoilers, Rentarou is built to be the apex harem MC, the whole gig of the show is that he would go above and beyond for his GFs, and he actually does recognizes their body atributes, as proven in the pool episode, so the guy is just comparing the literal best possible guy with someone like rudy, which the fact he is a pervert is a part of the story and the character.
This guy is what i hate most, those who pretend to be critics only to hide their hate, i would be less offended if he just made a 5 minute video cursing the show, and least he would be sincere with his audience.
Well said and me to i try not to be long but that what they always do il use this to reply to her they also always go for "easy target" just like that news article that paint whole japan as pedo and then block that region to prevent them to see this same cookie cut people who dont want to make a effort to be true and proper and pick this bec its easy to villianize the character on surface level
And oh gosh dont get me start about using 100 gf in comparision agrument of his! I really hate this people alot too
Also, the 100 GF comparison is dumb because it's obvious that he doesn't watch harem and acts like it's unique among other harem
" The girls have different personalities and body types "
Like bro you described Literally every single piece of media harem or not lol
" The MC Actually cares about his harem and is nice to them "
Is there any harem where that's not true ? Lol
Also, for people that are anime only, Rudy is one of the LEAST horny charcters. Shit is actually wild sometimes
@@mysmallnoman to be absolutely fair in the second part there is a point to be made, since a lot of harem shows the girls that aren't the main one gets less screen time and less attention, especially after their character arcs are over, and some MCs are the coward/desnse type that the girls only fell in love with because he was "kind", that said it is still stupid to compare both tho
Amen
"You know who has a hard time taking advantage of children? Other children" I'll take That's a lie for $500, Alex.
Children taking advantage of other children isn't hard, in fact it's simple as fuck, and the crux of why Rudeus was a hikikomori in his past life. All you gotta be is one of these things to take advantage of other children: cooler, prettier, bigger, and/or stronger. Kids with one or more of these factors commonly take advantage of their classmates who are lacking in these areas just for shits and giggles.
But it is much harder than an adult doing it.
@@qq-wy7zs it really isn't, bullying in school is so prevalent because of how easy it is.
Reminds me of Mother's Basement's take on Goblin Slayer, where he said the goblins shouldn't be shown raping girls to drive in the idea that they're an inherit evil, but rather kill a box of puppies.
Wasn't the issue with GS more of the framing of episode/chapter 1 instead of the act itself? I'm referring specifically to the camera
Stuff like that is gonna be sexual no matter how its framed, cause something like that is a sexual act. @@sam7559
@@sam7559 No, he clearly had issues with the sexual violence itself. He was uncomfortable with it (which was exactly what the author intended, I remember dropping the GS manga precisely because of it, even though I will defend its existence the way it is), so he went on to make a video saying how terrible it was and that it should change to be something else.
Now I don't remember the details of the video, but I vaguely remember him insinuating it was supposedly made to be arousing to the audience, even though the framing was nightmarish. He wasn't the only one spewing this nonsense at the time, so he might just have been parroting the same words from articles out there about the episode, all of which were clearly wrong.
I remember that video. If I'd had a channel back then there would be one of these about it lol. Necro did one, though.
@@sam7559the problem.with gs is they frame it in a fetish hentai way with the notable exception of his sister, which was legitimatly horrible.
My take on Mushoku Tensei when I first bumped into it was that the author effectively looked at the Japanese Lost Decade/Lost Generation, who were screwed over by the Bubble Economy popping. He in turn took note of the very unflattering stereotypes that existed about said group and the natural discontent said group had with how their lives played out, and decided to hold both sincere while setting a story with those things engaging with each other.
This is reflected in a lot of references to 80s era properties, but at the same time the writer was smart in backing away from being too on the nose with the Lost Generation allegories, in favor of making something not so constrained. In turn there's a number of complex handling elements that speak to some serious work and effort there.
Welcome to the NHK is a prominent-ish series from awhile ago touching on that from a different angle.
And we're off to a... start. Given their premise let's see is our Pharisee here going to... call out that due to Eris being a year older, and Rudeus being IIRC 15 when Eris decided to make her move that at 16 she as an adult female made a move on a male minor, that the work goes on to unpack literally left them traumatized for a rather extended period. Are they going to in turn have a serious discussion about the issue of Female Predators?
Place your bets.
Rudeus... is the "worst protagonist ever." Even if we just want to stick to the vein of what he thinks he's claiming... Both School Days & Happy Sugar Life exist.
One of the things Blaise Pascal, yes the one you're thinking of, is known for is an essay speaking to the Spirit of Geometry and the Spirit of Finesse. Which relates to the known issue that Humans as a rule will try to optimize their interactions with things in a manner to as to minimize X to get Y, and drift towards trying to treat others [and God] as de facto appliances as a result. That being then placed under Spirit of Geometry associated with the concept of formulas you can use repeatedly and just work to get desired results. However people fundamentally do _not_ appreciate being treated like that, and as a result productive human interactions instead must account for all those finesse elements with how to handle other people, ala the Spirit of Finesse.
While the author as a Japanese person is going to be coming at it more from the framework of Kuuki wo yomu than Pascal the writer is correct to have our Broken Lost Decade/Lost Generation protagonist be socially dysfunctional and then have them have to make adjustments from there as part of them working through their built up issues with Missing the Mark [Sin], in turn while good things do happen to Rudeus there are strong Purgatory themes with his reincarnation.
And again from my perspective the author's starting point with Rudeus was effectively "Okay let's say everything negative people say about the Lost Generation is true, but they're not irredeemable."
@@jebe4563they won't, I've used it before and they ignored it and just keep throwing insult
Okay so with NGE, aka Evangelion, he's either being highly disingenuous or operating from the proverbial cheap seats. Let me start by acknowledging while I understand NGE is more popular I would tend to say Gunbuster and Kare Kano are superior to NGE in terms of what people are normally looking for from fiction from Hideki Anno's catalogue of work.
There's a somewhat famous interview with both Yoshiyuki Tomino and Hideaki Anno in the wake of the production of Victory Gundam in 1994. Mind that NGE's broadcast run started in 1995 and Anno would have been in early show development around that point with the repercussion of the Bubble Economy bursting effecting things like Sunrise getting bought out by Bandai.
I would argue what grabbed people's attention with NGE was Anno processing through his depression getting expressed towards the end of the TV run which spoke to people being effected by that start of the realization the phenomena that came to be called the Lost Decade wasn't temporary. The scene he's obsessing over is from the subsequent End of Evangelion Movie which American fans have semi-consistently been up and arms about, and our Pharisee here is clearly taking the same position.
I wanted to respond to his video as well but it turned into one of those moments where you write an essay, stop, and realize you just wrote an essay in the comment section of a youtube video and thought better of it.
Largely, I think his core issue just boils down to "Rudy is mentally an adult and I can't tolerate that" and not anything about his actions. He references several teenaged anime boys who do similar questionable things and that doesn't seem to bother him in the same way. Kazuma from Konosuba makes a somewhat hilarious parallel as there is that time when he mentions wanting to feel up Aqua in the barn they were sleeping in, while she was asleep, and only stopped because... it was Aqua.
His "fix" for Rudy's character is for Rudy to be very self-aware that he is a "Proper Adult" and behave that way or to just drop his past life on Earth entirely and make him an innocent boy with typical "boys will be boys" pervertedness. Which, as any fan of Mushoku Tensei will point out, completely deletes all of Rudy's growth from such a fractured human being into a better individual.
As someone who liked Rudy from episode 1, I'm now going to rewatch the entire show
Also, that comment wasn't wrong at all, EP's legit stupid
Same, I don't get why people hate Rudi so much. The guy died trying to save complete strangers, yet he's absolute scum because panties?
@@84C4 it mostly comes down to Rudeus being a lolicon.
@@84C4
I think it’s the walking straight into the honeypot with an underaged girl part people have problems with, not the panties part.
I’m legit curious.
I was gonna watch this show, but saw the clip of him “falling” for the trap with the girl EP mentions and “noped” out to watch Oshi no Ko.
What made you push past all of the creep shit and enjoy the show? cause the more I hear about it, the more it seems like it came out of the gates swinging with creep shit and it seems like a slog to get through.
Wait, he wants a young main character that unwittingly does lewd things and grows out of it later on referred to as a season? Is he trying to change Rudeus into Arc 1 Goku?
Ya know people tend to forget that the concept of teenager did not exist for most of history throughout all cultures. Quite literally when puberty hit you were an adult whether you were ready or not. So Mushuko Tensei is probably far closer to how a lot of nobles or those of similar status would act and behave (especially behind closed doors). I know people also like to pretend they weren't horny as hell when puberty reared its head but teens can have wild ideas about the other sex and do even wilder things. Not that the overly wild things are acceptable but it is a reality especially if you repress sexual knowledge from them. I feel that Mushuko Tensei does a fair job of creating a character that has been stuck in that mindset and has mostly grown out of it. A great way to explore that kind of mindset and show someone what happens if they take it too far. S2 showed that growth about him as a character as well coming to terms with being "abandoned" by Eris. Yes he still is a bit on the horny side but er... sorry men I'm outing all of us here but we are far from saintly.
Also I prefer a character who is aware and embrace their sexuality slightly too much then a character who acts too saintly and pure. Not that all pure characters are bad but just my personal preference for more mature story telling. Sex and dirty things happen. Sorry for the dash of reality. I don't think sex or sexuality as a subject/concepts and the things included within that sphere should be something only adults are allowed to see or explore. Teens need to explore this stuff too and have an understanding of the concept. Yes it should be slow process and not forced on to them making fiction a great way for them to do that while also allowing them to mostly ignore it if they wish too.
Something to keep in mind is that the Japanese Bubble Economy burst between 1989 and 1992 resulting in the "Lost Decade." If you double check the numbers with when they would have been effectively intended, Rudeus is dialed in to have been in Middle School in 1992 which is the more commonly used date for when things melted down, although problems were of course showing up earlier.
So while the Author is careful to avoid Allegory related concerns putting things too much on the nose Rudeus is pretty clearly intended to be a Lost Generation reference. In turn it's pretty clear the author decided to set things up with Rudeus so that the worst stereotypes about Lost Generation were true of him,and yet at the same time he's not irredeemable and to from there to have a conversation between that and the understandable desire of the Lost Generation that their lives had played out differently.
In turn while I doubt the author is coming at it from a Christian framework Rudeus' 2nd Life has a lot of Purgatory elements associated with him working through the issues that destroyed him, and ultimately allowing him to have that dream of being a productive member of society with a loving family and kids.
How many times do we have to teach you this lesson old man?
Seriously, I thought Explanation Point stopped making videos after getting so much backlash for ideas like "Shield Hero is capitalist propaganda."
He should have.
Yeah, if he really said that then it sounds like Explanation Point isn't the expert he wants to tacitly sell himself has. Much likelier candidates for that take than Shield Hero off the top of my head: Log Horizon (does he even know about that series?), Dr Stone, Ascendance of a Bookwork. Well, it only makes them cooler in my eyes, but that's a different subject entirely.
Will always be thankful got introduced to the series through you.
Weird he does not like the molesting, manipulation and weird sexual things by an older person to a younger one in Jobless but is fine with Makima and Himeno doing the same thing to Denji in Chainsawman.
Shh. It's okay if it's done to men. Because denji doesn't molest girl, but if denji is molested it's okay. He's a guy, you know. Nothing bad happens to guys who gets groomed or abused that way.
I'm pretty sure the issue is with framing
@@sam7559
still, he barely mentions it.
I don't think anything Makima does is really portrayed to be OK, but yeah, nobody really freaks out about it, it's just an interesting thing in the story.
Well its sti wrong with denji but at least its a 20ish year old with a 16 year old, not a 40 year old with a 9 year old 😅😅😅
here's the thing. I don't want the broader audience. Everything that's ever gone for the broader audience became worse for everyone who liked it how it was. Anyone is able to get into or like MT. Not everyone will though
This guy literally ruins his own argument. He literally said it is wrong what Rudy does because Rudy is a 40-something-year-old man but if he had the mind of a child it would be okay. Well if the sub is a accurate depiction of what the writer intended Rudy is in the clear. He basically says after the situation with Eris I guess the dating Sims was wrong. So if a 40 something year old man went on a date and then afterward made the statement wow I guess the dating Sim I played was wrong about this that is not the mind of an adult. Rudy is emotionally a child with 40 something years of technical life. So other words based on this guy's own standard of what he said Rudy is in the clear and does not deserve the hate he's getting.
I’ll say it again. Shows should not have to tell you something is bad. It should be obvious to any rational person.
I think the difference is Denji is learning life lessons Rudy is unlearning bad habits and mindsets.
Those are two different concepts, Denji has immature life experiences but a functioning conscious, Rudy has a conscious but it's been number and damaged
The self described worst person ever Sakamoto Izayoi would like to have a word with this guy.
Not to forget that Rudeus' BRAIN still ages the same way as others. He has the knowledge from a previous life but in the brain of a 10 year old. Then you have to remember that from junior high he was a hiikikomori so mental wise he is also a teen. So yeah, physically AND mentally he is the right age.
People blatantly ignoring the concept of *reincarnation* is nothing new sadly. It's like calling the Buddha a pphile because he has prior reincarnation
I can't buy this, if her only has the "memories" how can he act so maturely to situations like when paul lashed out on him for hitting the boy and the whole lillia pregnancy ordeal. I love mushoku tensei but the "brain is only 10 years old" is something that doesn't make sense to me
@@Joao-Skug I get what you're saying, but i think theres a big difference between acting mature and being mature.
In my mind i'd kinda describe it as being drunk vs being sober. while drunk something can happen that kinda makes you feel like you snap out of it, for example if a friend needs help you can kinda clear up. but you're still drunk. so that would kinda be one of those big moments with lilia and getting punched by his dad.
on top of that, there's also a big difference between knowing what to say to resolve a conflict and doing the right thing 24/7.
Anyway, i dont think whether those specific examples hold up to scrutiny would alter the fact that in this world his entire body is acting like it is a child, he learns quicker, his mana pool grows, i dont see why that would stop at emotional maturity (which was already not fully developed in his old world either)
@@Joao-Skug he means that his Body is of a 10 year old when he's 10 with the stuff that's happening inside the body of said 10 y.o
@@Joao-SkugSame.
The dub will always be less accurate to the source material because America is the only country I know of that focuses enough on matching lip flaps to the point of them changing the dialogue just to fit said lip flaps that are just generic, open, half open, and closed flaps used to simulate the illusion of movement. Any other country I’m aware of just takes a line translates it and applies the minimum localization needed to make it understandable as a proper sentence while keeping it intact.
The minimum localization to the point it's benign and doesn't change how the character is portrayed.
@@YukitoOnlinejapanese like any other languages have words/sentence/quotes that can be understood in many different way that cannot be 100% translated to another language. It's the same way with English but you wouldn't know that since it's the language you grew up with. That's why limiting yourself to fit lip flaps, the nuances and understanding of a character would be altered
@@A_itsar
I didn't grow up with English.
I'm South East Asian.
Also the minimum localization I mentioned is from what Atelier said.
*"Any other country I’m aware of just takes a line translates it and applies the minimum localization needed to make it understandable as a proper sentence while keeping it intact"*
Try reading his comment and then my reply.
@@YukitoOnlinereplace english with whatever language you speak and my thing still applies. you cannot truly say that such and such has the same meaning as the original work. That's why a lot of things are lost in dubs(especially with the localization war in america).
Tbh your reply is just kinda adding with no agreeing or disagreeing just like my comment i was just adding to it with my opinions on why op might think so
The dub really doesn't change much. In some instances it actually makes things clearer. The same point gets across regardless in most cases
He's able to see the merits the show has to offer, but he can't move past his initial disgust response and blames the show for it.
If the show has a high initial disgust then shouldn’t he have every right to blame the show? Like the first episode sets the tone, if you start off with the first many episodes acting like a mega perv then why does he not have a right to blame the show for the initial disgust?
@@e-man7418it would if you weren't saying that it wasn't a part of what makes the growth meaningful. Which is what he's saying. Like sure you can say that it's problematic, but saying it absolutely needs to change and be more palatable is absolutely not ok. I do not subscribe to the notion that a story or game should be made for everyone and any that aren't shouldn't be made. That's an incredibly narrow minded way of viewing stories. Especially because it's literally impossible.
@@generalgarchomp333
I don't think the point was to make it more palatable, it's a critique, he's not saying "make this more palatable" more "I didn't like this, here's what I think is a better way to get the point across"
Idk, I dropped the show early and hearing people say he's trying to "make it more palatable" seems like a cop out to the criticism that the show makes you hate the MC before showing you why you should stay and watch him improve.
@@e-man7418 no he says multiple times "this is how to make it less disgusting" that was pretty explicitly one of the things he was saying.
@@generalgarchomp333
Alright, I just rewatched the original video, and I still don't get the vibe he wants to "make the series more palatable" he wants to keep the original ideas intact , but lower the barrier to entry for people who would enjoy the show if the MC didn't act like such a creep in the first 5 episodes.
Like half of what he says boils down to "don't show the MC want to/almost fuck a child." If that's "making the show more palatable, then you're right, but we got different definitions on what that means.
Why can't some people understand that watching a story that follows a horrible person is interesting? It's interesting to see an actual human being with flaws and desires, seeing how that person interacts with others and society.
I'm just gonna say it - who is everybody's favorite character in Hunter x Hunter? It's probably not someone who is a good person.
@@NatalieXHunter Mine is Leorio, so arguably yes. But yeah, the villains in that story are fascinating, and so is everyone else on the whole morality spectrum.
OK, yeah, Leorio is a good boy. But my favorite characters are Hisoka and Killua, and they're a pedo murderer and, a murderer. Other people really love the villain characters. It's like, well, there's very few purely good people in this story but, who do you want to see on screen, who is interesting and fun to watch?
Kind of agree, but if it's an actual horrible person, it won't really work.
Rudeus is far from a horrible person, so I never like that framing. As usual, anything remotely negative is way overblown. While anything positive, no matter how positive, is overlooked and ignored.
@@NatalieXHunter Lol thank you for pointing that out, i've used HxH as an example myself.
Everyone cooming and fanboying like crazy over psychotic mass murderers(just about everyone from Phantom Troupe comes to mind). Then Rudeus looks at a boob and all hell breaks loose. The worst person in existence. (while he has drastically changed the lives of many people for the better, even early on, but anything positive must be ignored)
People are shallow. Make a bad ass looking character, make them powerful. People will ignore a great deal of terrible things about the character. As long as they are "cool". (also, absolutely Earthdeus being overweight and "ugly" is another aspect that makes him easier to hate for these types of people, among the other few main ones)
good lord this reminds of the goblin slayer debacle years ago, we seem to have not learned a thing since then.
It also reminds me to the fromsoftware dificulty debates, because both are about changing something that is key to the authors vision (in froms case the game director) while prentending it wont change anything else instead of letting people that enjoy this one thing just enjoy the damn thing.
Also i thought that i cared about Rudeus journey and how he grows and changes but aparently i do not because i got past episode 6 without having to go to the bathroom.
I thank explanation point for telling me why i watch a show and why i enjoy it.
I must say your empathy skills (by which I do not mean being an agony aunt, but actually being able to put yourself in the mindset of people who are different from you) are quite impressive. Listening to you describe the arc of a character is like listening to a psychologist describe real mental health issues.
Thank you. It's something I think is quite important for a writer to be able to do. If you can't understand how anyone different from you would feel then you can only write people who are just like you.
Where can I find your work?
yeaaaah this vid was such a weird hit as someone who had enjoyed EP's vids for how much he respected authorial intent and tried to make fair comparisons. when i started the vid and he blasted MT upfront I tried to give it a fair shake because, yeah, I understand MT isn't for everyone and I thought he might give a more nuanced perspective on the series that isn't just "rudeus bad"- only to sit through an hour harping on about how rudeus is morally reprehensible and how they could have made him more digestible which really felt like he was missing the point. what really threw me was the comparisons to chainsaw man and 100 kanojo (haven't fully watched eva so idk how fair a comparison shinji v rudeus is but from what i've heard it also seems kinda iffy). mt, csm, and 100kj are such vastly different series with entirely different messages and reasons for their characters to be the way they are. the entire video was just so weird and rubbed me the wrong way. glad to see i wasn't the only one who got a strange vibe from the whole thing, even if I should have expected as much from the creator who literally sold me on MT in the first place lol. always enjoy listening to your vids natalie, hope you're having a good day 👍
Similar feelings. I like many of his videos but this one was strange.
I tried to give him a fair shake as well because I like his SAO abridged videos, but when EP basically acknowledges that others say Rudeus gets better, but then says that he's going to ignore that, I gave up. I don't know if EP used anime denji or manga denji, but if he uses anime denji (which id assume to make it a fair comparison), denji goes through many more arcs, some good, and some bad
Yeah, his SAO Abridged videos were great. I'd never thought of him as someone I'd disagree with to this extent, but this was kinda Mother's Basement takes...
I was feeling pretty much feeling exactly the same, given he supported Made in Abyss it was a surprise for me.
What I really hate whenever someone makes a critique about MT, most of the time people aren't aware of one of the most important bits the author wanted to talk about:
Sexual attraction and sex are natural things. He said it in his interview and it was important to him. So, how does he go about it? Right - he makes cases of "good healthy sexual relations", like how Paul and Zenith lust after each other every now and then, how Roxy or Lilia get aroused by this - where Lilia made a bad approach of seduction and Paul giving in. Lust is all fine and good, but there are borders we have to respect and borders we should set for ourselves. Sylphiette is also a grand example of good representation, since she is like a female horndog, or even Elinalise. Those aren't framed to be bad and more often than not amusing. Especially Elinalise - but why? Isn't she morally depraved? No, actually not, because everything she does is consentual and that's the important part. She also sets herself borders to ensure to make things right, like ensuring that her partner isn't going to fall for her and that this is purely for fun - or how she made a vow to not seduce Rudeus due to various reasons. Rudeus on the other hand is kind of the arbiter of bad sexual relations for the first part. He doesn't gain consent, he oversteps borders all the time and doesn't set them for himself. The result of this is that he is denied, hit or even scorned for it. As we see him change his approach of this, we can see him making progress. When they are back at "home" and Eris offers herself up to him he first refuses because he remembers the terms she herself set (so to speak the borders he is not supposed to overstep) only for her to lift this herself. He gives her agency on the matter and everything that follows is consentual and tastefully done. Of course he suffers loss in S2, but we can see that his new approach to things makes him attractive for Sara and let's just say he "would if he could". What follows is Soldat trying to help him and after failed attempts to talk shit like you sometimes do if you are drunk or only with a certain ingroup. But that's something that is bad behaviour - something you should not do if you value sexual relations to other people. What follows is that Sara overhears it and Rudeus quite literally loses everything at once. The gravitas of his mistake - even if it was "only words" - is huge.
I think MT is a lot about healthy relations on those topics, where many people are instantly kind of tip-toeing around, because we "can't talk about this! It's inappropriate!". Mushoku Tensei talks about it. Very openly so, very direct and we see how much people make a holy grail out of it by how much Rudeus is regarded to be the worst protagonist of all time, simply for making mistakes and rectifying them. It's not like he makes mistakes, embraces them and tries to argue that they are actually cool and good. Like. You know. Redo of Healer for example...
4 months later but great comment, I knew about those in the interviews, and how Rifujin’s mom had supported him at a low point in his life, so that is a driving force for family themes and stuff, mixed in with relations between people, good and bad and how sex is apparently often seen in Japanese literature.
He wants to showcase the opposite. Not justify anything like it but showcase exactly what you say here.
One of the best comments I have come across in terms of this, I could never quite connect the events in this way, thank you!
This guy's basic problem is he lacks media literacy and needs the guilt and subtext beaten into him like a hammer.
The disingenuous reasoning and him trying to make it more palpable to a general audience is all the cope and rationalization that comes from this mindset.
Real people don't always have a game pause and see the morality options like a Bioware game between every decision.
People that have been doing wrong for a long time sear their conscience and often need a handful of wake up moments to realize...
Wait am I the bad guy?
The scene with the charm was one of those moments.
Media literacy OK. Please tell me where in the anime Rudy reflects on his actions as a predator and becomes a better person because he sees his wrongdoings.
@@hex5874 throughout the whole series.....
He never sits down and lectures the audience about it if that's what you want.
@@hex5874 I read some of the comments. It is really worrying how many pedophile apologists are watching this series.
@@dpolaristar4634 Thats not how media analysis works you need to show with sorces where and how a character changes. You dont need to have monologes in a show but you need imagery, music and plot changes to indicate it but all of it is missing from MT.
@@hex5874 When he realizes he's the "wolf" regarding the charm, when he realizes he fucked up pushing Eris on her birthday when she wasn't ready, the scene with Eris sick on the boat, when he realizes it was a mistake to play with people's lives when he wanted to wait to save the weaker party when he was on the demon continent.
Do none of these count because they were genuine and simple rather than making an Internet celebrity apology rant?
Explanation point hasn't had a good point in years
1:00:45 Feels like turning point 1 gets seriously delayed. A non-isekai'd rudeus would probably never make chantless magic by accident if he never used the idea of remembering spells through muscle memory just like fighting game combos
Hate how people seem to think they are above corruption. Bet most people hating on isekai would struggle with not abusing the power of being a main character.
lol 99% of hateful, nasty people attacking the character of Rudeus, would abuse the hell out of it and be 100 times 'worse'. 1 of the reasons they react the way they do.
That last point ticks me off. He made the video as a counterpoint to people showing how much they like the anime. I can understand someone making a video to show how they love an anime others say is trash, but when you do things the other way around, it has confirmation bias. If you go into the series trying to find problems with it, you will, even if you have to make them up. It's a very Anita Sarkeesian outlook on media that assumes the worst in things. He even vowed ahead of time that he wouldn't let the show make him cry, not because he was trying not to show emotion, but on principle. Explanation Point represents the absolute worst of anitubing.
Yeah, that is a point I hadn't thought of but I agree with you. I used to like his videos but this one just feels very.... Mother's Basemant-ish. I keep hearing things about EP's Shield Hero video which I haven't seen, but maybe that will be one to do on another stream...
Do you think he realizes that his argument about Rudy's supposed mental age is an argument _for_ the 1000 year old loli trope? Or that this line of logic has implications in real life for people with developmental disabilities' self autonomy?
He also seems to be one of those people that treat your mind and your body as separate things, and that you can just put your brain in a different body and suffer no mental changes. It's like people that claim to be secular but still act as if the soul is a real thing.
Sadly, "soul" is literally in the language, so it's difficult to ignore it even is someone is an atheist. The concept is implanted as we grow up. Just like some others bs…
So we shouldn't be surprised. 🤷
I got soul but I'm not a soldier... I was an atheist when I was younger, now I'm kinda more agnostic. I mean reincarnation might be a thing, but either way, it's a concept we all understand and so in fiction we can understand it without too much explanation.
Explanation Point sounds like someone who has been rotted by the thought policing of current year social media. He's hot takes sounds like the typical pearl clutching concern trolling that makes me believe he wouldn't defend Made in Abyss today. Usually with videos like this, if he was in Rudieus' shoes he would most likely do the same if not worse and so he is shaming himself vicariously through the character. There seems to be a lot of that kind of hypocrisy in the anituber community(tm) and I wouldn't be surprised if he took this video as a personal attack.
Well put.
I wonder what EP thinks about Utena, the main character in the new lewd Winter 2024 hit anime "Gushing over magical girls."😁
To sum up his "critique":
1 - "Why can't this broken man act like a normal, well adjusted person?";
2 - "To fix this bit we should make it not an isekai, but also an isekai to fix that other bit. Please just write a completely different story.";
3 - "As a professional critic, I've chosen to watch what is known to be the most bastardized version of anime know to man: the dub. I'm sure it will raise no issues.";
4 - "You keep telling me Rudi gets better later on, but he's not perfect now so even if he's gradually improving he can't be better later. I know you've read the whole thing, shut up";
5 - "I know that Eris can fire me, have me killed or even kill me with her bare hands, but let's describe her as just a 9 year old girl so I can reframe the power dynamic with her as the weak one, just as I reframed countless other situations to suit my argument. Let's also ignore that at 11 she's slaying monsters and at 13 she slaughters grown men without remorse but hey, sex she initiates is going too far!".
6 - "This bit is so repulsive that I can't keep watching, except I watched the whole thing unlike those other series I said were better. Anyway, I was bored for the entirety of those 5 seconds while enraged at his degeneracy. They should make the child abuse more exciting, that would fix it!";
7 - "What do you mean, I lie and reframe things? Now let me tell you how gigantic everyone's boobs are as I put pictures of Roxi('s face), Elinalise and Nanahoshi on screen right after complaining about the MC's attraction to prepubescent girls! Inconsistent and dishonest? Idk what you mean... Counter Arrow? Is that some new defensive spell? And who's this Fitz character you speak of? Never heard of her... I mean, him... LOOK! BIKINI GIRL!!! (ignore the other girl always beside her). Every girl's a flashy, big boobed bombshell, except all the ones that aren't!"
8 - "I use nonsense expressions like 'toxic masculinity' and wish to like this series, yet make a vow not to relate to this series's arc about a man overcoming his trauma of being hurt by a woman, because penis";
9 - "I like this series, it has amazing character development, world building and story. Don't watch. Gross.".
Also, apparently he can't understand that Denji's the victim in the drunk scene and that his "deeper feelings" are nothing but lip service but that's him misunderstanding a whole different series so I left that out. (After finishing the video and listening to his "toxic masculinity" BS, I understand why he can't see a man as anything but the aggressor. Oh, and the hospital scene in Eva came out of nowhere too, nothing about how Shinji was portrayed would lead the viewer to assume he'd do that, while Rudi's reactions are so expected that you'd consider them "boring".
It feels like he's so used to shoddy characters that when one is written to be such a viscerally human being with all the flaws that come with it (and an unhealthy dose of trauma) he thinks it's bad writing.
Also to fuel to an already open fire, he basically throw Julie under the bus. He literally makes a throwaway comment of Julie as a slave, which while true that she was brought from the slave market, with all the things he said, it’s pretty clear that he meant it differently…
Asking to mellow out Rudeus’ cringe aspects in Mushoku Tensei is like asking GTA to be a less profane franchise.
Or ask Berserk to have less r*pe. If folks can’t handle it then they were never going to continue with it.
His video is just an opinion piece that refuses to actually acknowledge this and views “not getting a potential audience” as a problem.
The current audience already supports it enough and not everything needs “wide appeal”. Sometimes normies ruin a niche property like the MCU for Marvel.
So after having a bit of time to process after seeing the whole thing... From what I remember of reading through the LNs claiming that Mushoku Tensei "promotes" the behaviors under discussion is the equivalent of someone claiming the 1985 Cult Classic Back to the Future "promotes" lewding ones Mother... Or for that matter that Rurouni Kenshin or John Wick promotes Assassination being a valid career path.
It's not so outlandish that it's impossible to see where they might come up with such a notion, but they're fundamentally demonstrating they weren't _really_ paying attention or are being disingenuous due to having an agenda of some type.
It would be something of an understatement to say Urusei Yatsura had _major_ influences on 1980s Anime productions, the leads of which were of course Lum and Ataru. The dynamic of which is bit complicated to explain here, but to keep the relevant bit short Ataru and women is like the proverbial saying about Dogs and cars. Ataru in a manner not exactly unknown the male experience talks up this big game about how he's going to go out and get girls, but doesn't really know what to do with one.
Indeed the 2nd Movie which was Directed by the guy who would go on to Direct Patlabor and Jin-Roh, involves a Dream Demon where in a scene Ataru is able to bully the Dream Demon into doing whatever he wants. Something that results in him humiliating an effigy of the attractive male human character in the series while having the female cast acting out interest in him but not actually doing anything with them, before breaking the illusion to chase Lum.
While Ecchi stuff has of course changed and went through trends over the years but echos of that and Go Nagai's work are common, and from my perspective part of the Author's "What if someone for whom everything bad people say about the Lost Generation was true did get a second chance" premise does involve referencing that.
Honestly my favorite movie ever, from the day it came out and I watched it in the cinema with my dad when I was about 19, is Kill Bill. Now, like the character, I am tall and blonde and know a bit about martial arts. But that's just fun to me, I only do martial arts in a sports context. I don't use it to take out the people I'm mad at. But in a movie, it's satisfying. Or in a game. We all know it is.
However when you look at say the Sylphie scene where Rudeus discovers she's a girl the immediate follow up to that scene is not Paul giving Rudeus a big thumbs up once they're alone. No, it's something that amounts to "I messed up." "Yeah, you messed up." With the narrative then giving time to needing to resolve the resulting effects on the dynamics between the two of them.
In turn the LN in particular has the character themselves uncomfortable with the implications and Paul uncomfortable with the implications, which is what leads to Rudeus getting sent out to be Eris' tutor. With the two of them not seeing each other again until Sylphie is an adult.
In turn while the Author does set up the age of majority in his setting to be below the ages set by Completed Course of Puberty adopted by countries in the early 20th Century, the author still finagles things so that Eris doesn't make her move until she is an Adult.
And while as part of the "Everything negative people say about the Lost Generation is true" side means Rudeus is lampshaded as having... ideas from this or that eroge, it always pushes back towards a denial of that when translated to reality.
The net effect is not Madarame's infamous little speech near the start of Genshinken. It's more of a nod to the stereotype before moving towards the Social Norm, but handled so as to keep things organic and coherent for the character to avoid it devolving into an exercise in writing a literal PSA [Public Service Announcement] segment.
@@NatalieXHunter Along those lines Pokemon was so popular as fully justify it being called a phenomena and still arguably be understating things, but there's a reason PETA framing it as advocating Animal Abuse led to sidelong glances. In turn if it needs to be said over 2 decades after said game was released , and with said franchise continuing to be highly popular, there has not been an observable shift towards normalizing animal abuse as advocated by PETA's position on the topic.
If you squint you can see where they were coming from, but...
@@NatalieXHunter I really think that most of the outrage is people feeling a lot *like* the character in question, and out of guilt and shame feeling the need to loudly signal 'Im not like this, loook at me, I condemn this!' Rather then examining why they in fact *do* feel that way.
1:01:00: "If we just changed everything with the story, it would be different"
We could make it be The Faraway Paladin with a little work, with a lot of work we could make it Lord of the Rings!
Or we could let Rifujin cook.
I've just started the light novels and in The Mother of The Grayrat Family Zynith realizes he truly loves them in his own way sure he might have started out thinking NPCs but I think it all changed when Roxy took him out of the house for the first time he started seeing everyone as actual people or even when he met Roxy and started to tack his training with the sword. (Sure he might think of it through a gamer perspective from time to time but given he was a shut-in for so long what else could he use as knowledge would help him in a fantasy world? Other than the basic reading and Math)
I'm really enjoying the Novels... Plus I don't see many issues with the Anime being someone who started with the Anime and only recently started the Noval I generally love the story and thought I'd enjoy the Novals just as much if not more so given its plus I want to know more about Sara's role in the story.
One of the things in the video that infuriates me that nobody seems to notice is that he calls the turning points "the author needs to shake things up so he doesn't fall asleep/lose interest" which is absurdly reductive. A more accurate description is the author ensuring that neither the reader or Rudy get complacent in how they view the story.
You said it, the guy who becomes rudeus, at the beginning, only sees himself as playing rudeus in an H game with only one shot.
1:59:32 He got 100 gf wrong. God never threatened any of them. Rentarou got informed that any soulmates he never chooses get their lives ruined.
I mean that's basically the same, they die if he doesn't get with them.
Its funny everytime Nat "pauses" the video she just mutes the audio and lets it play. Good video though Nat. I agree with all your points. Glad you're back.
Even if you have only been talking about Anime in your videos during the past 3 or 4 years, I can see that you are not afraid to go into the dark parts of a characters story and find silver linings about their character development.
Rudeus as a character, he starts off being the worst or the worst but with a small chance of being redeemed because he hasn't yet crossed the line of no return even after he was killed in his original life.
That is what makes him a genuine protagonist, similar to Scrooge in a Christmas Carol.
This vid is just "Tell me you haven't actually watched MT without telling me you haven't actually watched MT"
That or the dub is just THAT different.
@@generalgarchomp333 ngl, if the dub is THAT different, then you didn't watch MT, you watched the amalgamation that is the localizer's fanfic
@@samj1512 I watched it all sub as it came out, and went back to watch the dub in whole before the second half of s.2 started. the differences are minor.
I didnt make it far in the original video, but, im sorry????? Trauma isnt growth?? "Trauma is just pain avoidance"???? What the hell??
He said that ignoring and/or denying your own trauma is a form of pain avoidance and antithetical to personal growth, which I would argue is one of the rare few rational things he said in his video.
Yeah, I'd agree with that. If someone is traumatized by sexual things, they may well avoid them. But that doesn't make his point about Rudy pushing those things to the back of his mind during the ED period mean he's doing that. He needs time and the right person to heal from the thing with Eris (which was a misunderstanding because she's bad at communicating, but he doesn't know that yet, and that makes the outcome tragic). But that doesn't mean Rudy is 'avoiding pain' during that time, he has the whole thing with Sara, tries to see if he can get a response by groping Linia - he's not avoiding pain or reminders of that at all, he's trying to fix it.
@@TheWolfgangGrimmer Alright, I was listening at work, so I might have misheard or missed a part of what he said. I'll relisten, and if that is what he said then yes, id agree
Just an FYI a lot of the girls in 100 Kanajo, a significant bunch of them have big knockers and the protagonist does appreciate said oppai.
The fact that denji had it ruff trying to survive working off his father's debt
Shout out to Anime Gamer Dad who just made a 6 minute video talking about how and why Mushoku Tensei is a good show.
1:53:00 It's not isekai as a story telling device that people claim mushoku tensei is the grand father of it's the rebirth and starting off as a literal baby with all your memories from your previous life intact. Other isekai will take the character as they are in their current world and transport them to the other world [Shield Hero, Re;Zero], or magic their consciousness into a video game world with them assuming the role of a character from the game [Log Horizon, Overlord, SAO]. Mushoku is different again in which they don't assume the life of someone already alive in the other world [Bookworm]. Rudy starts a new life, then you have other stories that take that premise and make their own story around it [The Beginning After the End].
I think he knows Mushoku Tensei is great but because he is a "good person ™" he can't admit it so he has to tear it down.
Sorry Natalie but i can't listeen to the guy babling, because ofcourse
If you refuse to see the chackter as a person, you already made up a monster in your mind.
like real life People should be judged in what they do, not in what they think.
And with anime, video games, comics and specially books most of the chackters thought are open for al to see/read
TLDR 99% sure dude hasn't seen mushoku tensei
Well tbf Rudy does some pretty fucked up shit.
@@aiesdiefThat’s possible or he could’ve seen it and just lost faith in Rudy eventually learning to be better. Honestly, I had to stop watching it for the same reason. It’s just too difficult to get through and every time it seems maybe Rudy has learned, he always seems to prove he hasn’t. I watched through a lot of the series confused on what people were enjoying. Kept watching thinking I had to be missing something! It has to get better at some point! To me the good wasn’t enough to ignore the bad. The worst of Rudy cancelled out anything I may have found enjoyable in the series. And the kicker for me was losing that hope of Rudy ever truly learning to be a better person. I stopped watching in the second half of s1 iirc. Labeled Part 2.
I also just didn’t really care about the characters and the harem especially when they’re all children. The school part was boring. I eventually just accepted the story wasn’t my cup of tea.
@@FullmoonPhantom-dn2srRudy does almost nothing bad in S1 part 2?
He doesn’t touch Eris for five years, only once jokingly pinches her and gets destroyed.
And then he wants to stop her from having sex with him because he values the promise they made, he wants to go by that because he wants to treat Eris better. Something he resolved to do in episode 8 of S1, or on Turning Point 1 and the episode after it.
I suppose Rudy gets a kid killed because he thinks his plan is perfect but that is his immaturity and someone dies because of it, all cause he thought his stupid RPG knowledge would help him. What a dumbass.
Season 2 part 1 he does one bad thing, but it isn’t very serious because of how beast people culture works that is explained in detail (in the novels.) but you can get an understanding of it in the anime.
Also Rudy does learn, he absolutely does, he still relapses and stuff but he def learns. Why else has he stopped doing horrendous things more often?
I don’t understand tbh…if it was season 1 part, I could understand stopping.
If Mushoku Tensei was not about what it it about, people who dislike what it is about might like what it isn't about.
What an astute observation by Explanation Point.
I have one as well:
If people who dislike Mushoku Tensei could stop mischaracterizing or outright maliciously lying about it to make themselves feel morally superior, they would not get the pushback they are getting.
EDIT:
The further in the video I get, the more Explanation Point irritates me:
•As was pointed out, his: "I have all these problems with it, but it would be okay, if it wasn't boring." pretty much confirms that it's a case of I don't like it therefore it is bad(and his constant use of the "ick")
•His spiel about people's expectations about isekai are as irrelevant as the harping about basically "wider audience", I don't give a f--k about people's expectations, if you went into Magica Madoka expecting a kids show about magical girls, that doesn't mean what the show is actually about is bad
•He can prattle on about his tolerance for flawed characters all he wants, but all his suggestions about "fixing" or comparisons with other anime show he only has "tolerance" for safe and innocent(for the lack of better word) flaws
•His need for the Rudeus to have a moral realization during his inapropriate actions or immedietly afterwards is just asinine(and comes of as wanting a PSA not a character). People with bad habbits can do bad things knowing in the moment they are bad, but people with warped worldviews are not just "suppressing the truth in unrighteousness"(as a Christian might say). It can realistically take months, years or one's whole life to reflect and grow past one's mistakes, and expecting Rudeus to already consider what he is doing wrong is asking for him to already be past his character growth at the start of it.
•Regarding the "women in the show are too pretty for author to care about realism", it is the same attitude that expects nothing from modern films bacause "it's a movie about space wizards for children". More to the point, there can be different levels of realism in a single show at once, with the more story-integral parts being focused on and the less story-relevant parts being given a pass.
•Also "toxic masculinity" .... just go fuck yourself.
On another note, I have not considered before the meaning of Rudeus' change in a world that did not force him to it/expect it of him. So something positive came from this whole thing.
Indeed. Explanation Point is one of those youtubers, who are just not mature/experienced/intelligent enough to criticise stories (in general I mean, not just anime!). HOWEVER, I do believe that he is deliberately lying in his video in order to misrepresent what actually happens in MT.
He with 100% certainty hasn't watched the second season and has only seen clips of some of the earlier scenes of season 2. What do I base this claim on, you might ask? Well, he didn't even ONCE mention Rudy's and "Fitz's" relationship. That is a HUGE red flag, if you ask me.
And I'm not going to bring up the topic of him literally (probably deliberately) misundertanding every controversial scene in season 1. You can tell yourself how insanely dishonest this creator is.
On a sidenote, it is absolutely astounding, how a certain kind of people lose their minds, when they see controversial elements in modern anime, but they don't complain about those things having already been in retro anime, as well as in MAJOR works of fiction, that come from WESTERN authors (e.g. GoT). It's almost as if they were out to deliberately single out and attack modern anime.....(yes, they are! They are nothing but smear merchants and their """""opinions"""""" are 1000% worthless!)
THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS
Mushoku Tensei vs. John Wick. One man murders a bunch of people to avenge a dog. The other has perverted thoughts in his head. Which is worse!?
LOL so true, every character in John Wick has killed many people, but we think they're awesome, yet Rudeus has inappropriate thoughts about the maid and he's the most morally reprehensible protagonist ever...
@@NatalieXHunter people John Wick killed were all ruthless Mob members and Assassins
But so was he. and so are all the other people we root for in those movies. There's nothing wrong with that, it's fiction and it's fun to root for him or for the Bride in Kill Bill, but these are people who do things we'd condemn in real life.
@@NatalieXHunter I mean he quit the Mafia until people came out of nowhere and fucked up his normal life at the worst possible time.
It's very easy to root for someone has had his wife die, car stolen, house broken into, physically assaulted, and they fucking killed his Dog.
@@dpolaristar4634
The fact that we can still root for him makes him an ANTI-hero, not a hero. His actions are deplorable, since I hope we can agree that murdering scores of people over a dog is not justified, but we feel empathy for his motivations. That's not a moral argument. Your empathy doesn't turn evil actions into good ones.
In the same way, people's lack of empathy for Rudeus do not make the thoughts in his head, or the fact that he put women's panties on his head, worse than mass murder. When you're judging morality, it's a bad idea to make YOUR ability to have empathy with someone the final judge of right and wrong, and that's infinitely truer when the thing you're judging them on are their thoughts.
"A weird aversion to chainlink fences" he was beat up, stripped naked, and tied to the schoolyard gate... the fact that he downplays that let's me know that he's a tourist, a fake anime fan.
1:07:30 okay i just gotta say this anime youtubers gotta learn to actually do any amount of research when making a scripted video essay. Like this whole ordeal about him not knowing wich translaition is more acurate could just be resolved by cross referencing how the source material and other adaptations handled this scene as well as just talking to someone who understands the language.
also if you find such a mayor discrepency between the sub and dub maybe actually rewatch the show in subbed to see if there are more of those instead of just throwing up your arms and going "yeah there probably are more discrepencys between the two but i can't be bothered to actually check". Like he isn't making these just for fun he is making them as a job or at the very least something like a side hustle (since i don't know if he is doing youtube as a career or if he has a full time job aswell) so the bare minimum he could do is not just base video's like this on just his intial viewing of the show wich is the vibe i get from his video tbh.
Man, I'm glad to see this video posted because I had to restrain myself so hard from leaving a lengthy comment on his video (I really don't wanna give it engagement, tbh). The basis of his whole perspective was so bizarre to me. It truly seemed like he couldn't fathom coming at the show from a perspective outside of self-insertion and wish fulfillment. Maybe because of that lack of ability to insert his attention was not wholly on the show, because he also just frames multiple scenes and relationships completely incorrectly which in turn causes his takeaways to be very askew from what should actually be interpreted from them.
Another aspect I found truly bizarre was his moral grandstanding about how reprehensible Rudy is... only to at one point go on to talk about how scenes involving Sylphie (one of the premises he just genuinely didn't seem to comprehend?) and Eris should have been done more "tastefully"??? Sir, it's supposed to be disgusting. Let's not try and make the audience more comfortable with something which they VERY MUCH should not be okay with. It left me stuck between feeling like he doesn't actually care about this stuff and is just over-correcting because he's trying to assert a certain image, OR that he's so deep in the sauce that he is more offended about the fictional story being told rather than the effects it has on the real world & people partaking of the story.
Idk. I could only make it about half way through the video before I had to click off because his arguments were all stemmed from such bad-faith that it wasn't worth the time & energy being frustrated at.
I just don’t think people get that you’re not supposed to like Rudy at the start 😂
Lmao he thought that she was a male so he didn't know
Long form Natalie roasting bad anime takes is my comfort food.
Always good to see you upload!
It's crazy how one troll can set a comment section ablaze, jesus christ. Anyways, good video. It was long enough to have on in the background while on that gaming grind.
Explanation Point tends to often miss the point of characters for me, is take on Naofumi from Shield Hero was pretty weird as well, not as bad as this ones but sitll weird.
I think it’s sad art cannot be made for its own sake anymore. People act like it all has to be a perfect conformist work to be “good” and any discomfort is emblematic of an issue with the work instead of realizing that the work is speaking to you in some way. Not all art is meant for all viewers and not all pieces will speak to everyone in the same way; this is the point of art in my opinion, a way to see the inner workings of you mind and soul and those of others through interaction and the sharing of experiences.
I completely understand where some haters come from and I totally agree some things could be handled a little better and also think that some fans do enjoy parts for the wrong reasons; however, calling all people who are invested in the story of the growth of someone whom the author decided to make the worst type of person to have the lowest starting point enablers or straight up fellow “worst type of person” is dumb.
Tl;dr media literacy is dead, you’re not a bad person if you enjoy problematic media, and it’s time for people to engage with art instead of just consoooming.
Also I wanna run an experiment: could I get a short run down on your opinion of the story and your political leanings? I’ve noticed hate and love for the series is pretty bipartisan so I’m super interested.
LOL I'm a centrist so I doubt that tells you much!
@@NatalieXHunter Further evidence that even centrists don't know what centrists are lol
I do know what centrists are, what makes you think I don't?
@@NatalieXHunter The punchline is that nobody does, because it's the only position that changes meaning so drastically with the passage of time that it can turn into its own opposite multiple times.
Maybe in America. In Europe it is actually a political opinion lots of people have...
Iceland has an app to help prevent people from dating their relatives, so yeah its a hard thing, and even so first cousins marrying is common throughout human history+Rudy doesn’t fully view himself as being the son of Paul&Zenith so why should he care about hooking up with a cousin he wasn’t raised alongside?
Strawmen arguments by "critics" who cannot see the story arc, cannot see the growth of the character and are "triggered / offended" just because, just shows who they really are when they take their masks off.
Rudy is flawed, has mental influences from his original life and lets face it, he's not as degenerate as our "critic" makes him out to be and because he's flawed, he's much more real then most shonen squeaky clean dense as osmium MCs.
What flaws do you consider make someone feel real? I thought I would ask, because people who enjoy Mushoku Tensei tend to be really good sources of conversation when it comes to stories.
I personally won’t likely watch it because it just doesn’t seem for me, but I will never say it’s bad. But when people say that the MC is flawed and that makes him seem more real how do you figure? Why does a more broken character necessarily make people think they are better?
@@magmaspacer1967
Depression, anxiety, realistic depiction of someone with preconceptions and coming to terms with them.
Realistic growth for example, in this case, Rudy even though mentally an adult, did not have the real life experience needed to make him act like an adult at times, while being far more mature than his current age would suggest.
Anime in particular often have one dimensional MCs, and often they are mentally retarded, doing things that even teens would question the wisdom of.
Mushoko Tensei bucks this trend and often you get characters that are more then just one sided cardboard cut-outs parodies of a person.
@@magmaspacer1967
In this case, Anxiety, depression, fear of rejection, and a host of other failings that many Anime MCs fail to have.
You really should watch it from season 1 to current episode and even if the show is not for you, you'd see what I mean by character progression and growth.
Rudy is a man but he isn't mature and by the time he meets his accident and dies in his 30s, he lacks social, and personal experiences to give him that maturity.
Sure he's a pervert, which is also a flaw, but along the way we see that he learns, he adapts and change. Still a pervert but a much more acceptable one.
And I think many of us are as perverted or have those same inclinations, but we hide it better.
Coming back to your question, what makes a character in a show / book feels real? The long and short is that, no one is perfect, nor are they flawed without redeeming qualities.
Well written characters, hero or villain will have that balance, though skewed towards certain behavioural traits, and are usually "normal".
No one goes around strangling kittens and stomping on puppies all day. Unless you are a psycho and written as such.
An example of a character that doesn't feel right could be found in many shonen (Teen boys) flicks who are for example over confident, over powered and most definitely do not suffer consequences, which Mushoko Tensei is not shy to show. (watch the latest episode -22 -) Rudy's mistake cost him dearly and something that many shows with OP characters (Rudy IS OP) do not even try to touch on.
@@ArchonSG1 Not everyone has anxiety and depression though. Not everyone has some form of mental illness or disability either. I don’t really see it as a failure not to have those things. Different people can just have their own things they deal with or just have small issues. Having more problems doesn’t make you more of a person than someone who’s just totally fine. Now, I can relate to not really being mature or truly having good personal skills, but not everyone who has these issues has to be a pervert as well. Even those who have perverted thoughts know to keep those things to yourself and not bother anyone with it.
If not being perfect really is just the benchmark for feeling real, then it’s easy to do that. Just slap on just about any single flaw or mistake and then that’s it. One of the characters I like is clumsy, didn’t want to burden people with things, is impulsive, not very intelligent, and his powers aren’t that great. Yet many would see Rudy as a likely more well written character than him. But why?
If you measure growth as the most important factor and making mistakes with a good character, then any well adjusted person would be viewed as boring. But that doesn’t necessarily sound fair. Just thought this was interesting to think about
@@magmaspacer1967
Of course not. I just mentioned those as those were Rudy's flaws.
Pride, self centeredness, a number of complexes, as I said, no one's perfect and we all have our own demons.
Every time I see this discussion I’m reminded that people view entertainment as moral subject, and demand it meets some puritanical standard. But this cultural belief only goes back to the reformation, and it has a bad habit of flattening reality. As puritanical the mask western society wears on its face it also has an obscene side hidden in the reverse- we’re both Disney and Vegas.
I think people will either be able to see Rudy as a complex character who has both virtuous ideals and selfish vices: sometimes you root for him and sometimes against him. Or you can only see him as violating the virtuous ideal and becoming wholly evil.
One of the early scenes of Mushoku Tensei that really sticks out in my mind is when Rudeus was trying to bathe together with Sylphy.
I believe that Rudeus still believed Sylphy was a feminine boy at the time (it's been a while since I've watched it). He wanted to bathe together (with maybe some gross pervy intentions). When Sylphy was reluctant, Rudeus forcibly stripped her and found out she was a girl. Sylphy also (very understandably) reacted very badly.
What stuck to me wasn't that fact that Rudeus did something clearly very bad and is a gross human being. It's the fact that Rudeus understood he did something bad and the anime also treated it that way. The anime also treated the matter with sensitivity and delicacy. Rudeus' father came in and gave him a bath. During the bath they had a gentle, somber conversation about Rudeus' mistake. Father to son. Did you do something bad? (Yes). Why was it bad? (Because Sylphy didn't like it). What should you do now? (Go apologize and never do it again).
It was established at some point that even with the memories of an older man, his brain is still that of a child. It is also shown that it seems like he never really grew up properly, even in his first life. A literal man-child.
The true gift of his reincarnation was his second chance to have a proper childhood with (mostly) proper parents. To learn and earn the things he never got in his first life. To grow out of being an immature child. And how growing up is very hard yet rewarding.
It was then that I realized I can't judge Rudeus as a proper and well adjusted adult. I have to judge him as a child burdened by the memories of a wasted and desolate past life. And I have to judge him not for his successes and failures but for his efforts. For all his gross perversion and relapses back into bad habits, he continues to try.
And yeah, he should have lived a proper life in the first place despite the bullying trauma, even if it's really hard. But he's trying now. The past is in the past. What matters is now.
For those reasons, I will root for him. If he continues to try, I will continue to root for him. I will only dislike him if he gives up completely.
"I believe that Rudeus still believed Sylphy was a feminine boy at the time (it's been a while since I've watched it). He wanted to bathe together (with maybe some gross pervy intentions). When Sylphy was reluctant, Rudeus forcibly stripped her and found out she was a girl. Sylphy also (very understandably) reacted very badly."
What gross pervy intentions? He was doing something normal in this world, and was genuinely worried about his friend, and had no idea she was a she. He was utterly devastated and ashamed the moment he realized.. well, the moment after he processed seeing a V for the first time in his life. He cared, more then anything, that he might lose his first real friend because of his stupid accidental mistake. He though sylph was just being weirdly shy, and intended to help 'him' get ovr it, in a locker room sort of way.
I can smell the cow manure of his vociferous opinion from here. I have had more deeply philosophical discussions of Mushoku in NSFW discords.
Why do people start hand fanning their face in distress every time someone tells a story with real, accurate, traumatic subjects? I want to live under their rock... It seems like a helluva nice place.
Let's go Nat, loving these consistant uploads!
More to come!
@@NatalieXHunter Amazing news Nat, glad to hear and looking forward to more!!! NYAH
@@KrissKingdom NYAAAAA!
@@NatalieXHunter NYAAAAAAAAAHH 😂
Have a good night Natalie!
I'm really wondering if he and I saw the same show! I can't get behind his take really.
Also, it seems he didn’t actually take Evangelion in properly either.
Thank you for this Nat! When I first saw this video I was like "it has been years, SURELY explanation point improved since then" and I was horribly disapointed in 2 minutes. I'm so goddamn tired of puritanical assholes ragging on MT with same goddamn points over and over and over again. At least get some NEW bad arguments goddamit!
I don't understand why these pearl-clutchers can't just not watch the series, not everything is for everyone.
I remember that Explanation Point guy. Dude apparently never watched anime outside of what was available on Netflix back in the day, and his opinión clearly reflected how horribly misinformed he was about a medium he claims to care so much about.
Kinda not surprised he hasnt changed, and his opinions are still as worthless as they were before.
Explanation Point is the kind of guy who enters a space and stays but still acts like a tourist 20 years later, demanding the locals bend over backwards to accomodate the sensibilities of the foreigner
I've voiced it on Twitter and the stream a bit, but I'll put it all here so I can have my own sense of completeness.
He simply doesn't seem to understand the story or Rudeus as a whole.
when he gets happy at the scene where Rudeus resisted his carnal desire to touch Eris but gets angry about scenes before that where he does, he doesn't seem to get that those scenes are literally showing his growth, that MT is a very slow burn series, that it takes years for Rudeus to learn and grow, kind of like we are watching his second go at life😑.
When I and many others comment on this subject, I understand its from a biased perspective that we disagree with him, so my judgement could very well be clouded by my personal attachment, but even so I feel he really doesn't understand the show at all. if he did, then he wouldn't make the "it doesn't matter that it gets better, its not better now" comment. because the answer to his qualms is exactly that, it will get better.
but enough of my bickering, let's get into it.
Rudeus is meant to be flawed, he's flawed in many aspects, his arrogance toward Paul at the start, his over confidence in his plans at the demon continent, and later on his fear of being hated so much at times he puts a mask on, there's way more like his secretiveness and others but I'd be here all day. and of course, the only thing people seem to care about when criticizing is his horniness. However, much like the other aspects I mentioned, it gets better over time. It simply hasn't gotten there yet, to loosely copy your words to Vaush in your old video "yes because all the characters are supposed to have finished their arcs in the first few acts of a longer narrative".
When it comes to the p3do claims, that's really down to the persons interpretation of the character. reincarnation isn't real from what I know of so you can really tamper with the idea, I've explored it myself though I don't know how to write good so I doubt I'll ever publish anything, so you can make the excuse that he really is ten in these instances. Either way for Rudeus personally I've always thought that he's a man child that just got the body that matched his mentality and emotional age, sure he's got the lived experience of 34 years before reincarnation but those years weren't spent growing, they were spent devolving. his every day for 20 years was porn, games, Porn Games, eat, bang a wall to tell his parents to come or shut up, and sleep. I locked myself in my room at my parents' house during covid, and I can tell you that those 6 months were hell. That isolation makes you fear the world to an unhealthy degree, you warp the thoughts in your head continuously, I can't imagine 20 years of that(side note no need to worry I'm good now). So from that experience, I can very realistically understand Rudeus' warped perception even if I did consider him an adult. And the whole reincarnation kid brain probably influences that since, like you said, when he gets older he no longer see kids as attractive, I honestly just saw it as him going for "kids his own age" but again its all down to perception.
I do think he learns about boundaries from Eris and Sylphie, he's got a maturity that fits his body, if they changed his internal voice to that of his external I think most would be mistaken in thinking he's just a pervy kid, his actions are just that immature at times.
all that said, I understand if it's not for him he isn't going to like it, but it's when he mischaracterizes this series that I've got a problem. but I don't need to go into detail on anything else as anyone can just watch this video to know the rest of it.
anyhow, good response and good video.
I like EPs' vids & I've watched him for years but this is from my memory 1 of if not his "weakest" 1. He's so focused on makin the show "accessible" & the protag more "likable" to a wider western audience he's inadvertently destroyin his cred as a "pro anime analyst" & makes it seem like he doesn't really get most of these series he speaks on, & I say this as someone who's seen & loves all the stuff he uses to make his argument THESE R "HORRIBLE" EXAMPLES THAT R TOO INCONGRUENT WIT HIS & MSs' GOALS TO REALLY WORK! Shinji doesn't work cus of wut HE ALR went over in the vid that Shinji was deterioratin till that point in EoE(& beyond till the end point) & showed 1 aspect of a WIDER issue to showcase his slippin to complete despair. Rudeus (while not doin somethin as "extreme" as shinji did in EoE) alr slipped passed that point & accepted it. Shinji wanted to connect but felt it wasn't possible due to his & other ppls' hang-ups creatin a shield wit spikes of sorts (tryin so hard not to directly spoil lol). Shinji had next to extreme depression but he wasn't mentally stunted. His arc isn't to "be a better person" or whatever.
For Denji he is the way he is cus he was at the bottom from the start & had to fend for himself for pretty much all his life up to the beginnin of the series. So him barely makin ends bread for him &(eventually) Pochita naturally taught him to be grateful for wut he's got thus the simple wish of a nice place, nice food, & jus one hot chicks' chest to feel up & nothin else. He generally keeps this same personal ideal however this slowly evolves into a question of wut Denji really wants in life (his desires). He also tries to learn to not let others use him how they pls like he's some hungry/horny dog(I mean he is but like... u get the point)& they're some hot chick who jus needs to feign interest or reward. They both also have next to no biological family or straight up non for most of their lives & their father relationships R by even their accounts "less than stellar." All of their issues R within "modern day japan" or someplace similar & act their mental & physiological age the entire time(cus they either got to or HAD to go outside & shit). They didn't have a choice in a lot of cases considerin the situations they were in or wut they were tasked to deal wit. I don't think it's necessary to go over how this bein a REINCARNATION ISEKAI kinda fucked any point he tried to make begin wit conceptually. Unless I missed it I'm surprised he didn't jus go the Subaru route since while still incongruent like the others it's still technically the closest to makin his (albeit stupid) point. I also won't go into how the usual strawman tactic for this stuff isn't gonna help either at least for ppl who may have listened without it there as he makes himself seem "less credible" in a number of ways.
The weird thing where he 180s to sayin it's not that this stuff is there it's jus that it's "borin" made my brain short-circuit in order to ask "y then did u say all that before", then jus assumin either Utube or to make himself look better as an analyst somehow. I like that the series is for such a specific kind of ppl whether it be those u R Rudeus or want to understand those ppl. It's not so much that I wish to gatekeep (tho that's gettin more appealin as time goes by lol) but part of wut makes it so good is cus of those things that many look at wit little reverence or fondness & view to be "controversial" or "taboo." For this series the masses aren't wut's important. It's those however few that might start to help or be helped who R. Also it bein "controversial" is exactly wut will attract more ppl not less lol. Most ppl jus care bout a "good story" & MS is that by my account & many others.
I jus wanna say it was funny it seemed like ur model reacted to the audio when it played before u transitioned to it on screen lol.
Rudi is a flawed character and that’s what is good about the show. The whole point of the anime is watching his character progress is the entertainment. When rewatching I am cringing at him being pervy, but without that there would be no comparison for when he begins to mature. I also agree that it’s supposed to be comedic, especially the scenes of Rudi wearing pantsu on his head. The undressing scene isn’t though, is probably the biggest indication of his stunted growth. To me it’s not pervy, and in fact Rudi realises what he’s done the moment it happens. He doesn’t have the social skills to properly apologise until Paul helps him, which begins his development with his new parents. The same with Roxie when she finally brings him outside, making him stop be pervy with her.
Love your videos and voice Nat thank you for voicing your opinions on this amazing story 👌🏽
Thank you so much!
Decided to listen to this to fall to sleep to and decided to watch it again when I woke up because I actually wanted to hear what you had to say lol.
Also just wanted to say, as a 31 year old emotionally stunted degenerate about half as bad a Rudy but is going to college and feeling like I am getting a new start at life, I definitely have an bit of a self-insert attachment to MT. More so than any other story I have watched/read. It's good to have a reminder that I still have a chance at not just being a lonely shut in degenerate forever. Changing MT for a broader audience appeal would get rid of that special attachment I have. Although I understand it's not logicaly, but really feels like like his video is an attack on me as a result. Like I really shouldn't exist and should be locked away from society like I have come close to doing... Or something. Hard to put into words. Logic and feelings don't always line up so I wouldn't fault that to anyone. I highly doubt that is true logically speaking.
The video is so long and covers so many things I want to chime in with. So I'll just leave it at that.
I'm sorry but lots of Harem Manga/anime have their girls in diverse body shapes, the point about 100 Kanajo is bullshit
The readers of 100 Kanajo seriously overhype their own series and are the "pick mes" if I may appropriate that phrase of Harem fans
Literally the Hunter x Hunter fans that pretend that all other Shonen are bad and need to call their series "a deconstruction." To try to claim intellectual high ground against people that like "normie" stuff like Naruto.
Being a “professional internet anime man,” for 6 years, you would think that he would come up with better comparisons and think, “hm, maybe the subbed version is more accurate to the source material.” Frankly, I don’t think he likes MT, he likes it for what it could be MORE than what it already is.
Wonderful job, Nat well thought out. Explanation point fixes absolutely ruins the whole concept of the show. Explanation point's parts were so damn annoying, acting like he knows everything ignoring the steps and transformation that Rudeus makes as a character. Yes, the guy was a creepy shadow of a human before his reincarnation. But through the connections of family and friends, he becomes a more mature person who wants to be better for them and for them to have better lives.
I've barely even started and already I hear he compares Rudi with Denji and Shinji... this one's got to be good. (I'm ignoring the protagonist from the gag romance manga, since that probably doesn't go any deeper than "this does polygamy too").
EDIT: I've now heard his voice, so I can only wish for the sweet embrace of death to save me before I finish this video.
As someone who reads 100 girlfriends and mushoku. That's quite literally the only point of commonality he COULD talk about. It's such a forced comparison that you don't even need to hear it to know how little there is to compare.
@@mr.protagonist5639 Now that I've heard his comparison, it's even dumber than I thought it would be. If we're talking strictly about his love interests you couldn't get 3 characters more different than Roxy, Sylphy and Eris, they're literally from 3 different worlds, have completely different personalities, traits and even party roles in a fight. They even age at different rates, they have barely anything in common besides their love for Rudi and he loves them for completely different reasons.
And if we're talking about characters overall then the whole point of comparison is lost, so idk what this guy was smoking.
The beauty of the Mushoku Tensei light novel is the reader is taken on a rollercoaster ride of emotions on how they feel about Rudy in his character development as the story progresses. One of the major central themes of Mushoku Tensei is how the characters are flawed and imperfect which is why this series is so appealing to me.
You are well within your right, especially if you're anime only, to base your opinion on the questionable scenes in the anime. But, how is Mushoku Tensei any worse than other period drama shows like Game of Thrones - which I didn't get into but sat on the sofa with my girlfriend while she watched it. I would fall asleep but when I woke up people were either doing it (and some looked really young as well), someone getting maimed or killed in a horrible manner etc etc. Aren't there a lot of medieval or dynasty series or movies where someone way younger was promised to someone much older often arranged involving family members - you know to keep the royal bloodline pure?
In the books of Game of Thrones the characters were all actually younger than in the TV version. Daenerys was 13 when she marries Khal Drogo in the books, and there's still a fairly explicit sex scene. And that's just an example. It makes sense in terms of the world and story, so I'm not saying it's a bad thing for stuff like that to be in the books, but with the TV show they obviously didn't want to show stuff like that with real people so they aged up all the kids and teen characters who had those types of scenes. In an anime, it's just drawings with grown up voice actors, so there's no reason to change what's in the books in that way.
@@NatalieXHunter 100% agree. There is more leeway when it comes to this subject matter in drawings as opposed to real actors. It makes me wonder now if there is a close to or exact to the book Games of Throne animated rendition if there will be the same rumblings we hear with Mushoku Tensei. If the scene you mentioned is the same one I saw, that actress looked really young that was with Aquaman. And if one also read the book, one can connect her age in the book to the explicit scene shown in the series. I don't see why Mushoku Tensei is subjected to this type of scrutiny whereas I've heard anothing but acclaim for Game of Thrones.
I also can't help but think back to your localization YT video where you mentioned that European books that are translated are not or less likely to be subjected to localized translations into English. I just don't think when it comes to both of these subject matters that we are using the same standards across the board.
The thing is, in the books, he's gentle with her and she actually enjoys it, and there's no way that could be translated to live action television without it being very weird and wrong. Emilia Clarke looks younger than she is but there's no way you'd perceive her as 13. So on TV where real people are playing the scene it's an actress who's like 25, and we don't want her to not be 25 in what we're seeing, because minors doing those scenes would be horrifying, but in an anime version, it could just stick to what was in the books which makes more sense for the setting.
Rhudeus is one of my favorite anime characters of all time. He grows so much and becomes a respectable husband and older brother. Its amazing story.
Why is he so fixed on the "real" age of the protagonist?
Does he think that the "soul" or the "memories" is all what's trully matter?
The body (his young brain) doesn't influence in anyway how the protagonist will react to things around him?
While, along side, completely ignoring the true life's experience of the protagonist?
Feel like he has work backward from his pet understanding, and ignored everything which didn't validate it.
Sure, Rudeus has the memory of a 40 old man which stopped socially growing around 14 because of some trauma.
But … Is Rudeus a young boy with the memory of a old dude? Or is Rudeus an old dude with the body of a young boy?
While I think that there is no difference between both options, I think that "Explanation point" would think that both premise change dratically how he should see the behavior of Rudeus.
And I feel like it wouldn't have been an issue for him if Rudeus had the memories of an old pervy woman… 😒
It would take years to use to your new life
Bro is fluent in yappanese
I realize this comment is months late but Explanation point seemingly completely slanders the dub treatment of the Eris scene. The statement was made with very obvious sarcasm and self loathing and the very next line (that he didn't screen shot) pretty much continues the Japanese sub's point. Both the dub and the sub convey the exact same idea, that he was stupid and treating it like a game. Not saying the Dub is 100% correct, but the dub director read and enjoyed the novel series before doing the adaptation and approached the project with what seemed to me genuine enthusiasm and respect. I'm not sure if Explanation point simply heard what he wanted to use as a strawman or purposefully misunderstood but the way he ignored the very next lines in the dub makes it seem malicious in intent.
Hii since the mushoku tensei LN just ended
I was wondering if you are going to do a redunduncy audiobook
I wasn't even aware that Explanation Point started uploading again, was pretty sure that people bullied him out of giving his actual gutter-tier takes on anime after the Shield Hero video he did. Maybe they went too easy on him.
Regardless, after a cursory glance at the video, I can already tell that he has no respect for what MT is trying to do as a story and just wants it to appeal to his own sensibilities. Typical 202X clown world shit.
He's allowed to voice his opinion, even if it's misinformed and imo stupid. He doesn't need to get bullied of the internet for it either. But he should have expected some serious pushback from MT fans after uploading this.
@@lucasvanwijngaarden670 He's allowed to voice his opinion, and everyone else is allowed to chastize him for being a dishonest hack.
Yeah, I'm totally opposed to cancel culture and in any case, his opinions aren't that wild or abnormal. I'm not even trying to beef him. I actually really like some of his content like the SAO Abridged videos he did. But when I disagree with something I like to talk about it and say why, and I disagree with this.
Every time I see one of these people I just want to watch MT one more time
I'm the person on twitter who first exposed EP to the Rudeus biologically can't be considered an adult argument, I covered that on my Blog recently and don't really wanna get into it again. What I wanna add here is that Cousins relationships aren't a Taboo in Japan at all, not only are they completely legal but there are many in Anime that aren't treated a "Fetish" or anything, not even lip service to the idea that it's a Taboo. So EP saying specifically because Rudeus is form modern Japan he should understand how wrong that is just prove what an un informed Western Chauvinist he is.
Cousin marrige doubles the chance of an birth defect, so all you just did is show how all of Japan is still somewhats backwater not that it is ok.
Yes, according to some studies, it doubles it from the 2-3% risk that is standard for any baby born to 4-6%, which still is pretty low. Second cousins however barely increase the risk at all, putting it at 3.5%. It's still not at the level where, if you were writing a story where it was normal in the setting for cousins or second cousins to marry, you'd have loads of people with birth defects. The aversion we have to the idea is more because we tend to grow up with our cousins of the same generation, so we do think of them as family and it would feel very wrong and gross, but in a society like the one in MT (remember, Eris doesn't even know her brothers), that wouldn't be the case, they'd probably be more or less strangers. I don't know how it works in Japanese culture, but yeah, the aversion we have to it is not down to the risk of birth defects, but to how we think of families, and that varies by culture when it comes to extended family.
@@NatalieXHunter I just made another Mushoku Tensei post on my Blog this time about the Dub and Sub differences and why I prefer the Dub. EP talked about one scene however the role Dating Sims played in the Kidnapping incident is also different in the Dub and in fact the Dub version is why I started liking the show in the first place.
I figured I should tell you about it since a few things from this video were on my mind writing it.
Great video as always. And it seems the guy just seemed to want to make a video to cause some noice and traffic to his works. Luckily we got you so he doesn't get at least some if the views he would otherwise. Keep on being you.
It’s been way to long since I read the WN/LN translations to say if any of the dubs or the subs are correct.
I think the worst part about his video isn't the fact he made the video, or the fact he sounds new as fuck to anime and manga as a whole with his reasoning or someone like Rudy even in his perv factor is relatively tame in the grand scheme of things. Its the fact he's basically late to the party just to parrot the same talking points about the same shit that everyone else has said years ago. Like the echo couldn't get any louder so someone decided to ring that bell one more time because the chamber was too quiet.
19:21 reminds me a lot of Ren from shield hero and just all of the three heroes in general .
They don’t understand that their actions have consequences because they’ve seen this world before in a video game and treated as such
I've heard he has a video about Shield Hero so we may have to do a stream of that ;)
I both largely agree with Explanation Point's emotional reaction to Rudeus and have zero idea why he bothered with the thought exercise he put together about 'fixing' elements of him. What he's going for in the latter half of the video just doesn't work for me. However, I'm someone who's been repeatedly grossed out by Rudeus to the point of dropping the series for years at a time just because I find him so insufferable and impossible to root for, especially after the mental 40-something gets with the 13 year old or whatever Eris's age was at the time. Anytime I consume any of Mushoku Tensei I have to enjoy it in *spite* of him, like how I can still enjoy how well the fight scenes are animated or how likable I find Ghislaine. I accept no excuses about him being a NEET, that's infantilization and enabling of behavior he knows is wrong in the society and values he was truly raised in.
Rudy absolutely would and should be in a prison cell rotting if he didn't get isekai'ed (this is the guy who recorded his little cousin using the restroom, for his sexual gratification), and even when given the chance to be a better person it takes him over a decade to even begin treating those around him as real people. Sure, he saw them as RPG characters or whatever, but he should've figured out how incorrect that assumption is within *days* of his second birth. Do you people really think you could go to sleep and wake up more than a year's worth of times and not think "oh, maybe this really is the situation I'm in"? Really? If only that kind of delusion grew on trees, the average prison inmate would love to be able to deny their reality that hard. And do NOT try to make a sanity plea in his defense, please, it's clear he's able to reason out his actions. Depression and insanity are not the same thing. You can make the argument that he acts irrationally, but so do most people. Most don't do what he did to his cousin, or Eris considering their mental age difference and implicit power imbalance that he was well aware of, even if that was a secret from Eris as it happened. Plenty of people, both rational and irrational, commit crimes that deserve to be answered for, and his are some of the most heinous I can imagine. I just can't root for the guy, and I normally root for outright villains in fiction. He's framed as the hero but he's utter scum, the lowest of the low.
Am I saying I do not believe in redemption? No, but more than that, I believe in justice for the groomed and the sexually abused. Perhaps Rudeus would be better after a decade or two in jail thinking about his actions; leave it to a parole board to decide if he's no longer a danger to society, children in particular. Let him have his redemption if he earns it, but he should still be on a watchlist if he does, forced to tell people he's a registered sex offender anytime he tries to move into a new neighborhood. I hate that he escapes the consequences of his modern life's crimes by escaping into into another world, even it it wasn't his choice. Him getting a conveniently useful newborn body that he can use to get with girls who're mentally *illegally younger than him in the world he's always known* only makes it so much worse.