Ishuzoku Reviewers is a show about a group of guys in a medieval fantasy world going around and reviewing prostitutes, which caused a fair bit of backlash that caused Funimation to back out of its licensing agreement to stream and simuldub the show. You can still watch the show elsewhere, of course, so it isn't too difficult to track down if you want to watch. And if you like ecchi and fanservice and monster girls, I actually think you definitely should watch it. It rocks.
Now, obviously, the concept of guys going around and having sex with women and then reviewing the experience for other men is kind of gross and weird and wrong and whatever else. Like, it definitely wouldn't fly in the real world. But this isn't the real world. This is a cartoon. And the women are mostly mythical creatures and monster girls and stuff. And in the context of this world, where prostitution is a normal everyday thing that basically everyone takes part in, this sort of service makes absolute sense. It's just another example of why you can't really apply (most) real world values to a cartoon world. These women in this world know exactly what they're doing and they don't need protecting, so you can stop trying to white knight anime girls to look cool in the Internet, dudes. They can't bang you as a reward anyway ...
What's interesting about the show is that it actually answers a lot of the questions that all of the other monster girl anime that have become popular in the last few years sort of tiptoe around but don't even attempt to answer. Ishuzoku Reviewers actually explores what having sex with elves or catgirls or fairies or undead or slimes or demons or succubi and a bunch of others would actually be like. It's genuinely fascinating. And it isn't just from human perspectives, either, so you learn that other species think elf women are gross because they look young but they're actually super old and lots of little tidbits like that. It's really honestly interesting and entertaining and far more detailed that you would expect.
With that said, it actually isn't all that explicit. They are very careful about the language that is used to describe things, and since this isn't a hentai there isn't any actual penetration or anything shown onscreen. There's tits and ass and lots of things that are implied to be happening, but nothing that really crosses the line. Honestly, a show like Why the Hell Are You Here Teacher is much more graphic than Ishuzoku Reviewers is, but that show didn't get nearly as much pushback. Truth be told, I kind of wish Ishuzoku Reviewers actually was a hentai. I want to see more.
In the end, Ishuzoku Reviewers is a bit of a touchy subject to turn into an anime and I don't really blame Funimation for backing out. On the other hand, though, it isn't actually nearly as gross and inappropriate as it seems at first blush if you're just reading the plot synopsis. It's pretty tame in it's depictions of sex with all of these monster girls, honestly. It's also really quite funny, and the girls are definitely very cute and sexy, but it is also surprisingly smart in how it covers everything. It answers the questions every other monster girl show is afraid to touch, and I'm glad something like this actually exists.
That's why I give it a solid 8/10. It loses points because, even after the controversy, it's actually not quite explicit enough. Does that make me sound weird? We're all friends here, right?
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