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Mushoku Tensei, one of the most highly anticipated series this season, has been suspended indefinitely on the Chinese video-sharing platform BiliBili. Following its release, Mushoku Tensei has been nothing short of controversial in China. It garnered an average rating of 9.5/10 on BiliBili while remaining a 3.9/10 on Douban, a review platform.
The anime has been accused of having improper morals and is inappropriate for underage audiences. Many viewers who enjoy the anime blame BiliBili for not putting an age restriction, that prevented anyone under the age of 18 to watch.
On Sunday, February 7th, as the 5th episode was about to air, viewers experienced an error message while trying to watch the anime. BiliBili published a notice saying that it was due to “technical issues”, but the anime has not come back since.
This indefinite suspension is speculated to have been attributed to a recently banned streamer known as LexBurner. LexBurner had remained as one of the video platform’s top streamers with millions of followers. He was among the first to criticize the show and its viewer base saying that it would only appeal to “lowlifes in society” who wanted to live an alternate reality like this to satisfy their sad lives.
Many fans of the series found his comments condescending and rude. The following day, he had doubled down on his comments and insulted other content creators who liked the show. Although LexBurner had released an apology saying it was not his intention to insult or hurt anyone with his comments, Following the comments, LexBurner was banned several days after for having toxic behavior that had “violated the relevant rules of Bilibili’s community.” BiliBili is now taking legal action against him for violating his creator contract.
Lex has been one of the most influential independent creators for years on BiliBili and his comments have forced Mushoku Tensei into an awkward position. While Lex’s origins were creating anime content, he has expanded to other areas of mass media.
While Lex expanded into other forms of media, he still tried to remain in touch with his origins. Due to a lack of time, however, he has a team to write a script and edit while he simply reads a script. Although he still creates anime content on BiliBili, his opinions are often the cause of much controversy and censorship.
On the 25th of January in 2018, Lex published a video bashing the show Darling in the Franxx for “sexually suggestive” content. The video led to a large number of reports sent to the anime streaming site iQIYI, which resulted in the anime’s suspension on the site for a month.
Ashanty Gerard, a tenth grader at AISG and a fan of Mushoku Tensei said, “I’m glad that Lex is being held accountable for his comments. He has been nothing short of controversial and hasn’t taken any negative consequence up until now.”
With Lex facing legal repercussions from BiliBili and his account still banned, he has found himself in hot waters.
Mushoku Tensei is still available in China and is still easily accessible outside of BiliBili. The show has been through a lot of drama as of late, yet it remains one of the best anime this season and definitely worth a watch.
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