The game's diverse cast, including incidental gender-nonconforming characters like Ivankov and Kiku, stems organically from the source material's fantastical pirate world and Japanese cultural elements (e.g., okama representation), not Western DEI mandates or activist rewrites. No evidence of consultancy firms like Sweet Baby Inc., sensitivity readers, localization censorship, or developer statements pushing progressive agendas specific to this title.

Koei Tecmo and Bandai Namco's later DEI initiatives (post-2023/2024) do not impact this 2020 game. Reception is overwhelmingly positive across Metacritic, OpenCritic, Steam, and X, with zero woke backlash, controversies, or critic-audience gaps—complaints focus solely on DLC pricing. This pure entertainment-focused hack-n-slash delivers traditional shonen action without ideological intrusions, prioritizing fun battles and canon storytelling.