Cheat Slayer

Lore & Background

Cheat Slayer follows Lute, a villager who respects and wants to join a guild called 'Rebels Against God', consisting of people reincarnated into the world who fight against the Demon Lord's army. Among the crimes the Rebels Against God commit are burning down a village, breaking a man's neck, and raping the protagonist's childhood sweetheart. The story begins when a person Lute admires, Louis Crawford, appears. When the series was revealed on May 8, 2021, it was described as a revenge story 'coated in hate and desire'.

The Rebels Against God include characters bearing strong resemblances to popular isekai protagonists: Honda Yuya (resembles Subaru Natsuki from Re:Zero), Louis Crawford (resembles Shin Wolford from Wise Man's Grandchild), Flare (resembles Aqua from KonoSuba), Imerda Piñata (resembles Catarina Claes from My Next Life as a Villainess), Kilt (resembles Kirito from Sword Art Online), Anastasia Melokva (resembles Tanya von Degurechaff from The Saga of Tanya the Evil), Roro Sendiger (resembles Rimuru Tempest from That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime), Yukiko Shijo (resembles Aletta from Restaurant to Another World), and Don Will Dead (resembles a mixture of Ainz Ooal Gown from Overlord and Elias Ainsworth from The Ancient Magus' Bride).

Reader's Guide

Cheat Slayer is significant primarily for the controversy that led to its immediate cancellation. Upon release, readers noted that the villains of the series closely resembled heroes from other isekai works. The editorial department at Monthly Dragon Age reinspected the series and declared that depicting characters looking so similar to those from other series as villains could cause problems, as creators might believe Kawamoto and Yamaguchi were intentionally denigrating particular works. The department apologized to the creators and others involved, promising to pay more attention to prevent similar issues in the future. Author Rifujin na Magonote of Mushoku Tensei criticized the series on Twitter, stating that making characters recognizably borrowed from other works and turning them into villains doing vile things crossed the line. Kawamoto issued a public apology, expressing shame and promising to create better works. Fuse, author of That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, responded by requesting that parodies not be overdone. The incident sparked discussions within the industry about what qualifies as a parody versus infringement or personal attacks. Kara Dennison from Otaku USA suggested controversy could have been avoided by rethinking character parodies and using a more diverse range of crimes. On July 22, 2021, Kawamoto announced a new isekai series with Zuzu Kamiya, Humanity's Existence Depends on Love Gambling with Another World's Princess, which debuted in Champion Red on August 19, 2021.

Did You Know?

• Cheat Slayer was cancelled after only one chapter due to controversy over its villain designs resembling heroes from other isekai series.
• The Rebels Against God guild includes characters resembling Subaru Natsuki, Aqua, Kirito, Rimuru Tempest, and other popular isekai protagonists.
• Author Homura Kawamoto issued a public apology on Twitter for the lack of due consideration in the work.
• Rifujin na Magonote, author of Mushoku Tensei, criticized the series on Twitter for crossing a line by borrowing characters and making them villains.