Kotaku's latest plea for 'normalcy' in anime fandom lands with the usual performative hand-wringing, urging readers to stop recommending Mushoku Tensei because its protagonist Rudeus is a '50-year-old groomer in the body of a teenager' who grooms a child named Eris—complete with age breakdowns that read like a morality spreadsheet. The piece acknowledges strong animation and world-building from Studio Bind and author Rifujin na Magonote but pivots to dismiss the entire redemption arc as a sham, since the story rewards rather than punishes his behavior while framing it as self-improvement. While the article positions this as protecting unsuspecting viewers from 'problematic' content, it conveniently ignores how isekai tropes have long explored flawed, unlikable protagonists without demanding sanitized corporate-approved arcs.