Several Chinese brands have announced that they will no longer work with the anime streaming platform Bilibili because the streaming platform is airing “controversial” Mushoku Tensei anime.
Mushoku Tensei was previously removed from Bilibili after recieving backlash from the users when an influencer made some controversial comments over the series. Bilibili removed first 4 episodes of Mushoku Tensei and episode 5 was not aired. Bilibili stated the reason for removing the anime as “Technical Failure”.
Domestic brands that have cut ties with bilibili include lens seller Sigo, cosmetics brands UKISS and Spenny, sanitary napkin vendor Sofy, and skincare company Lin Qingxuan. These brands have announced that they will stop working with bilibili.
On February 1, a chinese E-Celebrity “LexBurner” heavily criticised the Mushoku Tensei anime and its fans. He allegedly called the fans “bottom fe*ders in the social heirarchy”, later he apologized to fans over his remarks on the series. Bilibili suspended his account for his inappropriate remarks and he will be facing legal action for violating his agreement with Bilibili streaming platform.
Mushoku Tensei also commented on LexBurner’s controversy as follow “His words are only his personal opinion, and he is free to hold whatever views he likes. Although I am displeased at how he has ins*lted other viewers, anime is not just made for successful people, so I hope that those who can enjoy it will enjoy it.”
A fan told Mushoku Tensei author that LexBurner is a very influential celebrity amongst chinese fans to which he responded “”If that is the kind of online presence he is, that’s just the way it is sometimes. Even in Japan, there are plenty of people like him, although they might not have his influence. As far as I am concerned, instead of engaging with him, I think it is more important to ignore him and grow your own communities. Thank you!”
Before all this controversy, Mushoku Tensei was performing very well on Bilibili with a score of 9.2/10. After the LexBurner controversy, 70% users gave series a 1 star rating.
Mushoku Tensei started airing on Jan 11 and have recieved an overwhelming positive response from the anime community. It is praised for the amazing story and beautiful animation. Anime is also considered the “Godfather of Isekai Genre” because it introduce many popular isekai concepts including “Truck Kun”.
New Studio “Bind” which is specifically created for Mushoku Tensei anime, worked for 4 years to create this series. The anime series is listed with 24 episodes which will be divided into 2 cours.
Source Credit: South China Morning Post, Anime News Network
