Forum - View topicINTEREST: Mushoku Tensei Author Comments on Series' Depiction of Slavery
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Velorien
Posts: 106 |
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Small but important mistranslation in the article: the post about Luke reads "Incidentally, Luke lives at the girls' dorm too. He causes a fair amount of problems at that." (My emphasis.)
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NeverConvex
 Subscriber Posts: 2341 |
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Considering the series uses the body of a slave on sale in the market as a convenient excuse for a harem-and-penis-size joke, I'm not exactly shocked to hear this is the unreflective way the author imagines Rudy viewing slavery. Man, there's so much about this series to love -- it was really one of the best shows of the last few years for the, like, 10 episodes where it steered away from sex and slavery and leaned into world-building and the towering, mysterious terrors of its world. I hate that at its lows it sinks this low.
Last edited by NeverConvex on Wed Aug 16, 2023 7:38 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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harminia
 Posts: 2011 Location: australia |
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So the summary is "Rudy knows slavery is wrong (in his world) but it may be Good in This World so he doesn't do anything".
Like ok, I get it but also that also feels like such a bs explanation. I don't watch the series nor have any real interest in it (and am probably more aligned with the hater side) but I was kinda hoping for a slightly more interesting response. Even "he hates slavery but at current he knows he is powerless to do anything to stop it" would be better than "maybe it's okay in this world and actually the slaves are happy to be slaves and have better lives now" |
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Romuska
 Subscriber Posts: 802 |
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Look, I get that this is a product from a country that doesn't have the same history with slavery as North America. I also get that part of the appeal of anime is that American standards and practices don't exist in Japan and therefore we get stories and characters we would never see out here otherwise, hence why Mushoku Tensei is such a big hit.
But everyone has their limits. Poor depictions of slavery is one of mine and it's far too prevalent in the fantasy genre. I can't force these writers to adhere to my personal tastes but I can certainly voice my disapproval. I can also declare that my fantasies don't include slavery and even if they did, it sure as hell wouldn't be fetishized. |
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sharkticon
Posts: 31 |
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They have a much more recent history of slavery. Look at WWII and Imperial Japan's actions. Slavery is the reason why most of the non Japanese killed by the atomic bombs were in the blast radius. About 70,000 Korean slaves brought into support the war effort effected by the Hiroshima blast alone. |
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Telu
 Posts: 123 |
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Thank you, very cool ANN.
Now the people that wasn't sure about dropping this series can do it easily. Meanwhile I'm gonna keep enjoying more Mushoku content. 
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Minos_Kurumada
Posts: 1068 |
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I think this is a narrative excuse.
I don't watch this, but, since Rudy is an isekai protagonist I suppose he is strong, strong enough to try to change the world, this would be highly time consuming and the author would not be able to write what he wants. So, he NEEDS to claim he is apathetic towards it, or else he would need to send Rudy in a long road to try and succeed or fail in the endeavor. Of course, the REAL answer would be to not to add slavery to your plot, that way you don't need to make this excuse. |
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everydaygamer
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People need to grow up and just accept that bad things happen in a fictional story. Its not real, it can't hurt you.
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NeverConvex
Subscriber Posts: 2341 |
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Why would 'growing up' involve not engaging critically with the media you watch?
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ANN_Lynzee
ANN Executive Editor
 Posts: 2959 Location: Email for assistance only |
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This is a common misconception, I think. Japan has had a history of slavery going back to pre-modern times. This affected Korean and Chinese people and Japanese people within Japan. https://twitter.com/paularcurtis/status/1600311120342167552 |
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FilthyCasual
Posts: 2234 |
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It's always stupid when authors try to justify slavery in their works with some half-assed "oh it's normal in that world" or "their lives are totally better, totally." I would unironically respect an author more who just straight up said "this shit's my fetish."
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Velorien
Posts: 106 |
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Actually, while Rudeus is indeed very strong, one of the themes of the series is that there is always a bigger fish, and if Rudeus makes it a question of violence, slave traders as a community could definitely afford to hire one or more of them to take down a critical threat to their business. Of course, in reality this is a moot point because Rudeus's life is about Rudeus and his loved ones. Apathy is the default for all strangers' fates, not just those of slaves. |
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FinalVentCard
ANN Reviewer
 Posts: 526 |
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The obvious problem here, first and foremost, is that the writer is claiming he "can't enforce his own ideals" onto the fantasy world he created. My brother in Christ, you wrote the world in the first place.
It's absolutely stomach-turning to me how much isekai has okayed slavery for fun and profit in recent years. |
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Gitsnak
Posts: 1 |
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If this isn't bad enough spoiler[wait until he sexually assaults two girls in the next one.] I really like the world building and if anything I like having adult themes, but the horrible stuff Rudy does makes me wonder how broken the author is.
Edit: added spoiler tags. Errinundra. |
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Minos_Kurumada
Posts: 1068 |
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Well. this is a better explanation, dunno why the author didn't use it. |
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