The Executioner and Her Way of Life completely flipped the usual isekai formula and because of that, it was review bombed.
The first episode starts like every other isekai, with an overpowered male protagonist getting summoned to another world.
But just a few minutes later, he’s killed off by the real main character, Menou, a priestess whose job is to eliminate “Lost Ones” from Japan whose powers could destroy the world.
The story then follows Menou and her next target, Akari, a cheerful girl with mysterious time powers. As their journey continues, the series explores themes of morality, fate, and a slow-burn yuri (girls’ love) relationship between the two leads.
This unexpected twist didn’t sit well with some viewers who wanted a typical male power fantasy.
Before the second episode even aired, review sites like MyAnimeList and Crunchyroll were flooded with 1-star ratings and comments like “Killed the MC in episode 1, 0/10” or “Yuri trash.”
Many accounts had no prior activity, suggesting targeted review bombing against the show’s direction and queer undertones.
Despite that backlash, The Executioner and Her Way of Life has since somewhat recovered in ratings and built a loyal fanbase.
The anime goes nowhere but has both Momo and Akari being openly horny towards Menou and declaring their love for her.
The novels as of book 8 don't develop any kind of actual romance between any of the characters, although Menou and Akari's whole thing goes so far beyond any kind of normal human relationship that I can only reconcile it by just assuming that Menou is aroace (after all, she doesn't express romantic or sexual attraction towards anyone and is confused and uncomfortable when anyone else expresses it towards her) and Akari is either assuming she'll come around eventually or is satisfied just being:
spoilery pun
soul-roommates.I still liked the books, though. The anime is decent enough but it ends after volume two of eleven (I've read 8, the ninth was released in English a few months ago and I haven't read it yet, and 10 and 11 aren't translated yet and those are supposed to be the end of the series).