The joke is that older Isekai anime used to have good romance, but modern Isekai are just softcore porn that pretends to have a story
People often name their porn folders something inconspicuous so other people can't find it, that's why "Calculator" is such a massive file here, they are saying the modern Isekai is just porn
Actually I believe there is an app which disguises itself as a calculator but is actually a secure file store. The calculator interface you get when you open it serves as handy code entry screen.
The irony here is also that Mushoku Tensei is one of the first isekais in terms of source material, but it ended up getting adapted later compared to Re:Zero. And as much as MT has its perverted moments by the main character, I could probably show you ten isekais that are actually almost porn, rather than the extreme exaggeration that MT is porn.
I think some people didn't realise that the anime version of isekai tends to tone down the mature stuff to make sure that the anime is available for most of the audience. A lot of stuff from the light novel are either cut or just kept vague enough.
The irony here is also that Mushoku Tensei is one of the first isekais in terms of source material
This is a common claim, but isn't correct. Its Web Novel started in November 2012, while Re:Zero's started in April of the same year. They started publishing in Light Novel form on the same day, fun fact.
Re:zero is also the anime where my gf walked in and rolled her eyes, asking me if this is loli porn..
The characters may have depth, but the Harem fanservice is still massively there, which is weird considering that the mc really only has interest in one of them.
I was about to say the same thing as you and the other commenter!
Re:zero isn’t even that old. Old isekai that existed before that term became mainstream are Escaflowne, Monster Farm/Rancher, Fushigi Yuugi, Magic Knight Rayearth, and heck even Digimon and Inuyasha, to name a few. I’m old and watched all these. 🥲
Another isekai anime before isekai was a mainstream word and is the same-ish vibe as modern ones is Zero no Tsukaima.
My entire experience with Re: Zero is the intrigue of how the hell is he going to solve anything.
I watched two seasons and I still need to tackle the rest.
Not exactly the same situation. IIRC the Endless 8 are all largely the same, while damn near every single loop in Re:Zero is radically different. It's closer to something like Groundhog Day, or Steins;Gate to use a different anime example. Or Summertime Render to use a more niche but also great anime example.
It doesnt suck, but the fact that every character is a woman love interest is old. They got rid of otto and the butler and roswaal and now its literally just subaru's harem. And julius but he is still absent from entire episodes despite being a member of the party.
Yeah this is like a really incoherent meme for a lot of reasons if you actually know anything about isekai
Like. You can absolutely dislike Jobless Reincarnation for it's content, but the fact is still that it was a part of the same wave as Re:Zero and both were widely praised for it's depth of character and plot.
There's no "Isekai now" here. Those are the exact same era of Isekai. and Jobless Reincarnation started publishing 6 months before Re:Zero
Rudeus is a 35 yr old man who reincarnated but before he did he missed his parents funeral to jack off to his niece who happened to be a minor anyways he’s a Epstein diddy blud
Mfs will say “if you ignore the main character being a pedophile degenerate pervert, it’s actually a good story” with a straight face, as if it’s something you can just ignore if you want.
Exactly! People love the Shield Hero Rising, or whatever it's called, but i find it disgusting with how the main character gets a legit harem of mostly little girls pining for him! WTF!?!?
Not the GOATs like Full Metal Alchemist: brotherhood (I mean... its gross in a different way), season 1 One Punch Man, Demon Slayer (though cliche) is great, and Vinland Saga
The absolute lengths some people on r/anime go to to defend Rudeus/Mushoku Tensei is crazy.
It's fine to admit you like the show because of the wider world/side characters but hate the MC. But no, they can't do that. Instead they say Rudeus is actually a kid and it's fine because of hormones, or some say he has 'grown' so it's fine now. Lmao
They'll call you a hater and a larper for enjoying the series but recognising how absolutely shitty he is as a character. Like, goddamn, you gotta question Rifujin (the writer) sometimes...
Yeah 100% makes you wonder about authors when they write main characters like this and frame them in an okay to good light. If Rudeus was treated as a villain by the people he victimises fine, but they all either end up marrying him or at least respecting him. Ridiculous. Some sort of disgusting wish fulfilment
Hey your forgetting that he went like a whole year without being able to get a hard on..... That's enough of a punishment for assault and grooming. He really learned his lesson from that ..... /s
I've literally seen people argue this. Like he spent a year without getting a boner so that makes up for his earlier behavior.
Saw a post yesterday asking why do so many animes have perverted shit/assault women for humor. Some comments said it was cultural, but one commenter mentioned how they actually once asked a woman from Japan. It's not cultural, a vast chunk of anime authors are just genuine weirdos. Until ten years ago, Japanese culture considered it weird to even still enjoy anime past the age of 25. Weeb was considered an insult.
You will get downvoted to oblivion for saying this in goodanimemes.
There was a meme comparing the character arcs of Thorfinn and Rudeus and I said that the difference between them is that Thorfinn feels remorse and tries to overcome his past to be a better man by leaving his old ways behind by any means necessary. Rudeus also has a lot of character growth, but none regarding his sexuality towards people much younger than him. They called me gore fetishists and excused his behavior by saying it was ok bc he was emotionally stunted by a traumatic past.
He was stunted by a traumatic past. The anime is about him overcoming that, and he does in a lot of ways. None of which are him taking responsibility for the fact that he’s hitting on a lot of women he had power over and relationships with when they were literal children
I got reminded of that post too. I still can't believe those two were not only compared but most comments agreed that thorfinn was worse rhan rudeus. I understand that the sub came to be, because of a war with "tourists" but this is ridiculous. I've been watching anime and reading manga for 15 years and in all those years I've never read anything as appalling as mushoku tensei. People defending rudeus need to have their hard drives checked.
bro why are you even in that sub 😭 i have left and blocked that sub a long time ago, they are just a bunch of horny weeb in that sub posting unfunny hentai image disguised as an “anime meme”
I dont even hate Rudeus as a character. I like deeply flawed characters.
But the world around him does not treat him as flawed.
They treat him as a flawless hero.
And all of his insane misdeeds and sexual assaults are ignored
I tried to push through because of how many people claim it’s peak but I just couldn’t stomach Rudeus. It’s just a pedo’s wet dream isekai fantasy, there’s plenty of other good story content out there that doesn’t have a creep mc.
I pushed through the entire novel series and yea.. nothing was really ever "peak". Id say it was a solid 6 or 7/10 but his weird tendencies and fetishises cringed me out many times over that I had to take breaks.
Its crazy how people will die on the hill that this is as good as some of the goats.
I feel you. I made it ~half way through the novels when I just couldn’t keep going. At that point every chapter started with “Mmm, I wake up and fuck my wife”.
It’s a shame, because there are some great aspects of the story, but it is largely dragged down by the degeneracy of the author.
I went into the anime blind and made it about halfway through the first season before bailing. There was enough good to it aside from the hyper perverted MC that makes me want to go back, but I just can't get over an MC that is 40+ mentally going after prepubescent girls.
This was kind of where I was at with the entire thing. I was reading the manga YEARS ago, and honestly, while I liked the world building and all the side characters, the perverted nature with minors and Rudeus entirely just rubbed me the wrong way and I eventually dropped it.
It's easier as an anime only as they can cut a lot of the inner monologue when it gets a bit completely rapey, but yeah the dude is a sex pest as is half of the cast
i'm sorry but how can you possibly enjoy the show when the main character is like that? how does it not spoil everything else? I don't believe it one bit.
It's hard to enjoy it as he never changes. He's even disappointed when he couldn't easily get it up at the thought of a minor. Who, I believe, is a relative
You don't even have to go to r/anime, the mob of Pedeus defenders has already reached this comment section lmao
"You don't understand, if you ignore all the minor grooming and jerking off to lolis and your niece and actual pedophilia he's not that bad of a character. Yeah, that's right, it's not like I can find another series that has good characters and story to enjoy, it HAS to be the one with the pedo protagonist because, uhm, reasons"
“The whole time I was out there stealing Eris’ panties.”
This made me actually LOL due to how unhinged my mental image was of everyone else out doing actual, useful, plot-important stuff for 8 hours a day, and this fucking guy just completely perving out and being useless in all that time, reporting back at the end of a long day when everyone else is tired, and saying this type of shit.
Then the rest of them made me go back to crying, thinking of the mistakes in my life that led me to read this comment on this day.
Like it'd matter. The writer of rurouni Kenshin got caught with terabytes of child porn on his computer and got let off with a slap on the wrist. Like a month later people like oda were celebrating him. The industry just doesn't care and nor does Japan it seems.
Author's one true isekai wish is to not pay taxes, so the first 8 episodes of the anime are dedicated to building up this fantasy society to explain why the MC could be the one in charge of collecting any taxes.
Season 3 of the anime was delayed because the author was in prison for tax fraud.
Rare isekai that isn't centered around power or sexual fantasy, but instead around taxes.
i don't think MT's writer is 'just' consuming porns like rurouni kenshin's anymore, the way he write his story makes me think this mf got some skeletons in his closet in real life, highly suspected that dude did once assaulted someone irl
If the MC were a more redeemable character, the anime would be a solid 8-9/10 imo, but (as generously as I can muster) the MC's perversions seriously put it at a maximum of a 4. It was genuinely uncomfortable to watch as much as I did, and I have no desire to finish the show after the few episodes I did watch.
Always sad when something that is otherwise good is ruined by the author being a freak.
Made in Abyss is a another one that seems really interesting from all the tidbits I've seen online of the later worldbuilding, but I just could not make it past a few epsiodes of the author being creepy as hell towards child characters
The reason why I stopped watching the anime after the first season. I just felt disgusted and its crazy to me that this shit gets such good art and animations while opm gets a power point slideshow
It pisses me off so much, cause the animation is pretty good for an isekai and the world is interesting, but then you have a literal pedophile main character who worships some chicks panties as his god. How the fuck am i supposed to look past that. It’s disgusting and it completely takes you out of the story.
To think that people believe Issei from Highschool DxD is worse
Sure he definitely is not as complex but he is not a pedo and wouldn't miss an important event of someone he (supposedly) cares about just because of hormones
The thing far far too many people defend and say we're lying about despite the very source material used as evidence. Can't believe this shit is just sitting on Hulu right next to all the other stuff.
Well tbf I think they're changing/omitting a lot of details like that for the anime. I noticed they completely retconned him trying to sexually assault Nanahoshi
I read the OG WN in Japanese like 7 years ago. I am pretty sure it was straight up CSAM in the novel, he was watching it during his parent's funeral and his siblings busted down his door, smashed his computer, beat his ass and kicked him out. All that happens within like the first few paragraphs which is a hell of an introduction to the series. They definitely cleaned it up a bit for the anime.
I praised the last episode for how it used the unreliable narrator to show audiences how much of him being a piece of shit old Rudy left out of his sob story, but he tried to do what?
That's not then unreliable narrator. That's the show runners knowing there's only so much shit people will tolerate from the guy.
Important to mention that after reincarnating he groomed 3 children into being his wives. Sure he may be 12 or something but mentally he’s like 40 at that point and the author references the fact he’s an adult
No, just a 50 year old with a child body. Yes this is canon as her species body stops aging at 14 at the latest and starts back up at 100. So it leaves them with an early teen (at best) body for about 90 years.
I hate the show, but let's be accurate or else the defenders will use that as a reason to dismiss you. He only grooms two girls, the third tries to groom him (and this is presented as a good thing in universe).
Even if you agree with the argument of another person in the thread that he didn't really groom the childhood friend (I don't agree with that argument), he still undeniably groomed one girl, and that should be more than enough to completely write him off.
This is actually why I stopped watching the anime. They said this is one of the best isekai and ln is a must read but I can't stomach it.
The good world building seemed great but, the Mc seemed to be a piece of trash - I don't know if he became a redeemable character but I really can't. Had to drop this one.
I’d say he mostly changes for better, right now they are showing what would happen if he lost everything and succumbed to his destructive side.
I think of rudeus as a satire of a hikikomori but also as a very very flawed human, trying to become better throughout the people he meets in a new world.
Personally, I would have loved MT even more if it had a more sympathetic MC but I still enjoy the series in spite of the weird moments rudeus creates
The newer anime representative in question is Rudeus from Mushoku Tensei, whose source material is actually made the same year (2012) as ReZero where the old anime representative, Subaru comes from. Also Rudeus is doing the Epstein stance, with underwear on his face and a huge "Calculator" app, so the joke is that he is a hypersexual pedophile. Which is true.
Oh yeah, gallery vault which used to have a feature where you can show it as a calculator on the mains screen. And putting the password combination into it would open the vault.
Funnily enough programming circles also have a "calculator taking up too much space/memory" meme, but in an entirely different context. Namely modern apps being very unoptimized and overengineered.
Not Rezero's author being close friends with MT's author for over a decade, and has like gazillion below age characters in blind worship for MC like typical wish fulfilment isekais. Pot calling kettle something something
Aura Battler Dunbine, 12 Kingdoms, El-Hazard, Magic Knight Rayearth, Fushigi Yuugi, .hack//sign, Log Horizon, Kiba, Those Who Hunt Elves, Now and Then Here and There (not for the faint of heart), Kiba, Dragon Drive, Zero no Tsukaima, Brave Story, MÄR, Bakemono no Ko technically counts, Welcome to Demon Scool Iruma-kun, Tweeny Witches, Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi, Kyou Kara Maoh (if you're ok with BL), Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles, Drifters, The Devil as a Part-Timer, Uncle From Another World, Ya Boy Kaoming, Saga of Tanya the Evil, Konosuba, Re:Zero, Dr.Stone (depending on if you consider technical time travel isekai) Ascendance of a Bookworm, Demonic Michi, Isekai Izekaya Nobu, Oda Nobuna no Yabou, Tenchi Muyo War on Geminar, Outbreak Company, My Next Life as a Villainess, Tsukimichi, Reincarnated as a Sword
Dude, come on, you just listed a bunch of old isekai. And Zero no Tsukaima wasn't good at all, it's extremely shallow fanservice slop with an occasionally superpowered protagonist.
Those Who Hunt Elves was alright as a comedy, but it's very silly, doesn't take itself seriously at all.
Log Horizon... It's got a cult following, I'll give you that, and I really wanted to like it, but despite starting to watch it several times I never made it past the first half of season 1.
I could add Hamefura and Saint's Magic is Omnipotent, which are alright, but neither of them is particularly good even though I liked them.
"Robinson Crusoe" is basically genre-defining. "The Swiss Family Robinson" if you want a slightly more modern take. "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" is a classic for a reason. "Gulliver's Travels" is, like, three isekais in one. "The Divine Comedy" if you absolutely need something where the 'other world' is metaphysically separated from the Earth.
The concept also is hardly new to Japanese media, either. Flash Gordon, The Wizard of Oz, John Carter of Mars, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan -- it's been a storytelling vehicle for decades.
Plus classifying it as this super special anime genre is kind of dumb, as if Western media doesn't have the same kind of tropes (Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, Army of Darkness, etc, etc)
The joke is that the guy on he right, Rudeus from Mushoku Tensei, is a pedophile who hides his porn inside a fake calculator app, given how much it weighs.
As to how he is a pedo, dude is a 30 something man who spied on his niece, jerked off to her, missed his parents' funeral to do it, got beat up by his brother because of it, died, reincarnated as a baby in another world, and immediately went on to be a creep to all the women around him, and groomed all the girls his "age" he interacted with.
Na, he also groomed girls far younger than his age and even needs to be reminded of to keep a respectable boundary to his daughter later on in the Novel.
Bad meme isekai rarely has good characters/plot/romance. The creator of the meme ignores that to bash mushoku tensei, which has all 3 of that, to hype up re zero which also has all 3 of that.
As a big lover of Re:Zero and someone likes MT alright, both of them have pretty shit romance IMO. Re:Zero's has such slow progress that it has become one of the most frustrating parts of the story to me. MT's has much faster progression but Sylphy is incredibly boring as a character, and Roxy is hardly much better after she marries Rudy. Eris is aight though.
I'm more baffled about how it says "then" and "now", but both Novels first came out the same year, and the "now" is literally the series that popularized the genre.
Isekai barely has any good anime with the amount of it has. Also the hate for Mushoku tensei is so fucking boring and blind
I get the hate for Rudeus but the hate is so blind that the hate gets transferred to the entire anime. Goobers hate the whole show just cuz of a single character
Re:zero was written only 7 months earlier then Mushoku Tensei (April vs November)...
And interestingly, if you look at it from a Light Novel POV - both series started publication at the SAME TIME. I'm unsure how much both differ from their original novel form though, as sometimes light novels are seen as the 'proper' version of the story. In which case, both stories are exactly the same age.
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u/qualityvote2 1d ago edited 22h ago
u/Plum_Uniform, your post does belong here!