As I said before, I don't really follow the D4DJ project so I'm not as active in the fanbase, but apparently people don't like Merm4id because they're "hyper-sexualized", but honestly? Unpopular opinion: They're not that sexualized.

For one, they're college students and therefore adults, so them being the more fanservice-y unit isn't as problematic. I saw someone express some worry about the seiyuu, but fear not! All of the Merm4id seiyuu are adults.

Second, their designs could be so much worse. I don't really know how to describe it nor do I want to provide examples, but for lack of a better explanation, they could be wearing the skimpiest swimsuits on the planet as opposed to simply showing off some skin.

Third off, DON'T SLUT-SHAME WOMEN. Like, Jesus. That should be pretty self-explanatory; don't call women slurs like "slut" or "whore". Women have every right to express themselves however they want as long as it's not problematic.

Fourth, I really hope this doesn't erupt into really bad discourse, especially since the activity rules state that discourse is considered a part of harassment/rudeness "at varying degrees", and an example of discourse posting is debate on the sexualization of characters. If D4DJ gets its own site akin to Banpa, I hope the Merm4id discourse won't worsen.

In conclusion, Merm4id doesn't deserve all this hate and I figured I might as well share my thoughts because I genuinely hate discourse and I don't want things to get worse; Banpa is one of the most positive communities I've ever found myself in, and there's little discourse (unlike twitter and sukutomo).

Of course, I'm not saying you have to like Merm4id, and it's okay if you're not comfortable with them. I'm just sharing my opinions, that's all.