Content warning: This article discusses sexual harassment and assault.
Mushoku Tensei: Rebirth of Unemployment is no stranger to controversy with a repulsive protagonist who has a depraved personality from the start. The story follows Rudeus Greyrat, a man who was once a social outcast, afraid to leave his home in the modern world and is reincarnated with his memories intact into a world of magic. Having a morally bad protagonist isn't inherently bad.But it requires a certain amount of attention to the message being conveyed, which this anime lacks.
Though seemingly positioning itself as a redemption story or a commentary, Muhsoku Tensei refuses to give Rudy real consequences and largely allows him to simply continue similar harmful behavior without apologizing or taking responsibilityand win affection or admiration in spite of it.
While Rudeus is able to overcome most of the mistakes he made in his first life and shows some real maturity, one area where there is absolutely no improvement is his relationships with the opposite sex. While this is certainly not the first time this story has done so, Episode #7 of Season 2 has emphasized that this story is not a story of redemption, but rather a story of simple fantasy power and wish fulfillment with a morally bad (and quite sexist) protagonist.
Mushoku Tensei Mitigate Attacks Through Main Character's Actions
When it comes to women, Rudeus is not at all mature.
This episode follows Pursena Adoldia and Linia Dedoldia, Rudeus' classmates from Beast Tace, who smash a statue belonging to Rudeus' disciple, Zanoba. However, the statue was sculpted by Rudeus himself, and it represents one of his great loves, Roxy. Enraged, Rudeus binds, gags, and gropes the girls, then restrict them to the point where they have to pee on themselves.
What's worse is that Rudeus admits that he just wanted to see if he could cure his current illness (erectile dysfunction) by groping the girls. Furthermore, the victims and Sylphiette didn't mind at all. Sylphie actually threatened the girls by writing on their faces without their consent, and by the end of this ordeal, they started calling Rudeus “master” or “boss” and became friends.
While some depictions of assault can be valuable in teaching important lessons and perspectives, none of them are in this episode. The context of the episode, in which Linia and Pursena are framed as deserving of being “put in their place” in the most demeaning and sexist formulation of that phrase, and the acceptance of this action by women and bystanders, just to justify and downplay Rudeus' attack.
Unfortunately, this scene severely undermines any growth this character has and will experience later in the series (especially after the traumatic loss he suffers) and turns the women in Mushoku Tensei into tools for Rudeus to satisfy his desire that they will easily forgive or love a man who degrades and abuses women.
There is no redemption for Rudeus Greyrat.
The protagonist of Mushoku Tensei proves that he is not only morally evil, but also uninterested in true salvation. His actions are governed by his own personal interests, and Rudeus repeats many of the same crimes throughout the series without remorse.. Often the only consequences he receives from the women around him are painted in a tsundere style, to shift the focus to their shy or antagonistic attitudes instead of his actions. In this case, he never apologizes or loses his temper with Sylphie, Linia, or Pursena, and he even continues to try to grope Linia and Pursena after they become friends, only to respond with comical violence.
However, it must be said that the author of Mushoku Tensei never wanted Rudeus to have any redeeming qualities. Rifujin na Magonote wanted Rudeus to feel as “real” as possible, to make his redemption journey more relatable. Unfortunately, by season 2 of the anime, that journey is still not over and Rudeus’ actions are difficult to accept. Another example is Rudeus’ neutral stance on slavery (which is present in his new world).
However, seeing women like Sylphie written as unreasonably forgiving of Rudeus's behavior makes it clear that this is not a story of redemption; it is simply a story of the fulfillment of a bad person's wishes, and seems to downplay the impact of sexual assault. While Rudeus does occasionally save his comrades, these displays of strength mostly result in him receiving affection rather than any act of accountability, or deep internal change.
Rudeus' attack on Pursena and Linia is a prime example of how Mushoku Tensei negates any growth the protagonist might experience with his persistent, unchallenged abuse of the women around him. However, this series perhaps teaches a hard lesson about all isekai, showing how the average man would actually behave in a setting where he could act out all his power fantasies.
