You probably noticed the posts that Mushoku Tensei got removed from Bilibili a few days ago. It turns out that it was the work of a huge streamer, Lex Burner. The streamer, followed by ~9 million people, had gotten his fans to report Mushoku Tensei, and eventually the platform removed the anime due to ‘technical reasons’, but he was now suspended and will face legal charges.
He called Mushoku Tensei an anime only poor people can watch due to the fact they are the only ones who can identify with the protagonist. In addition, he said that the anime promotes mediocrity. He has the right to his opinion, although it’s a rather harsh verdict for a 4 episode anime (it got removed before episode 5 aired). However, using fans to generate thousands of reports based on his own opinion was going too far. And I’m sure most of the fans didn’t even watch or share the opinion while submitting the reports. The feature they abused was the option to report shows for ‘low quality content’.
Bilibili issued an official statement, stating the breach of contract by Lex Burner and that they will take legal action. Furthermore, it states that the streamer made several inappropriate comments in his live stream which invoked conflict, attacks on third parties, harassment of other users and intellectual property, causing a heavy controversy. He failed to lead by example in the community and failed to take up the public responsibility. Since he did this under a contract, Bilibili has the right to pursue his legal responsibility according to the law.
The punishments decided are as follows:
- Bilibili will prosecute Lex Burner for violating the contract and hold him legally responsible.
- Until the judicial conclusion, Lex Burner’s account and live streaming room will be banned.
- Revoke Lex Burner’s 2020 performance awards. He had won 2 awards for the past year as one of the highest rated streamers.
- Disqualify Lex Burner from participating in the “Creative Incentive Program” and other community incentive activities.
From my perspective, Mushoku Tensei is one of the best shows this season. The animation is amazing it’s just starting with the story. It frequently ranks high on our weekly poll, and any post for it does well. The studio behind it, Studio Bind, was even founded mainly to produce the anime adaptation of the popular isekai light novel! The suspended streamer definitely caused Mushoku Tensei some awful attention, but hopefully the anime returns to Bilibili soon. There are already many fans pushing for it online.
The author Rifujin na Magonote also commented:
“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 insulted other viewers, anime is not just made for successful people, so I hope that those who can enjoy it will enjoy it.
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!”
Seems like a reasonable person. In case you haven’t checked out the anime or the light novel yet, the story goes:
When a 34-year-old underachiever gets run over by a bus, his story doesn’t end there. Reincarnated in a new world as an infant, Rudy will seize every opportunity to live the life he’s always wanted. Armed with new friends, some freshly acquired magical abilities, and the courage to do the things he’s always dreamed of, he’s embarking on an epic adventure—with all of his past experience intact!
It only has 5 episodes at the moment, and it’s definitely worth a watch! Also read all our Mushoku Tensei articles here!
Source: Bilibili, Rifujin na Magonote via Anime News Network, Images via Funimation
©理不尽な孫の手/MFブックス/「無職転生」製作委員会
