Following the release of Mushoku Tensei season 2, episode 6, the series was met with a lot of criticism from fans because of how it showed slavery. In response, the series author, Rifujin na Magonote, commented that the series protagonist Rudeues Greyrat wasn't familiar with the concept; thus, he was indifferent towards it.
Mushoku Tensei has previously come under fans' objection during the previous season. The protagonist, Rudeus, is actually a grown man who got isekai'd as a child in another world. Thus, fans found it odd that the character was attracted to prepubescent girls, despite his mental age being completely different.
Mushoku Tensei creator responds to fans' criticism over the series' take on slavery
In response to the criticism, Rifujin na Magonote commented about the protagonist Rudues Greyrat's take on slavery. As per the author, Rudeus doesn't have any ill feelings toward slavery. He does not necessarily feel that all slaves are unhappy after they are turned into one.
While he does believe that kidnapping is evil, Rudeus does not consider slavery to be necessarily bad. Moreover, the author himself isn't that well-versed in the concept of slavery. Thus, he does not believe he can impose his own sense of justice upon the character.
The same was evident from Mushoku Tensei season 2, episode 6. It saw Rudeus and Zanoba being left with a problem where Zanoba wanted to make figures but could not make them himself. Thus, Rudeus, Zanoba, and Fritz went out to purchase a young slave who could be trained to create figures.
They looked for a child slave who could use both hands equally. Soon after, they purchased a girl child slave and named her Julie.
This development led to many fans voicing their opinion against the anime. While several isekai anime had the concept of slavery in them, the protagonists are usually shown to oppose it and possibly free the slaves. However, in Mushoku Tensei, the delicate topic was handled quite poorly as the protagonist was shown to possess no compassion regarding the issue.
While it is true that slavery in the isekai world might be quite normal for other characters, Rudeus was originally from the real world. Hence, he should have known that slavery was bad. Regardless, the series author decided to have the protagonist barely oppose the concept. In addition, the author's comments on the topic did not help make the situation better.
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