#Chinese Video Site Bilibili Faces Boycott Over Mushoku Tensei Anime

Bilibili, the popular Chinese video platform named after the nickname of A Certain Scientific Railgun‘s Misaka Mikoto, is facing a boycott from domestic brands over the Winter 2021 anime Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation. 

As reported by South China Morning Post, the controversy over the isekai anime began when users accused the show, which follows the life of a middle-aged NEET after his rebirth as the son of two former adventurers in a fantasy world, of containing “pedophilic and soft-core porn-like elements that are disrespectful of women.” Popular livestreamer LexBurner also criticized the show.

Variety reported LexBurner as saying that Mushoku Tensei could only appeal to “lowlifes in society” during a rant. LexBurner’s comments resulted in the streamer himself getting complaints about being “condescending and insulting” and an eventual ban from Bilibili, which cited inappropriate comments and rules violations. A lawsuit has also been filed by Bilibili over LexBurner’s violation of his contract despite the latter’s apology.

Following the ban, a group of female users accused Bilibili of tolerating content with misogyny and sexually suggestive elements. Additionally, in a report from China News cited by Variety, Bilibili had apparently shut the accounts of many critical female users while being more lenient with male users that used “similarly strong language.” 

Variety added that the female users are what ultimately caused brands like cosmetic company Ukiss and contact lens seller Sigo.cn to boycott the anime, which was described by the state-controlled Global Times as “violating mainstream values” and “being inappropriate for underage audiences.”

According to South China Morning Post, four of Mushoku Tensei‘s episodes have been pulled while the fifth’s release was stopped. In a statement released on Wednesday after the boycotts, Bilibili said, “Respect is the cornerstone of the community and the basic guiding principle for operating Bilibili. This includes respect for users, content creators, different genders, various interest groups, cultural circles.”