i saw a lot of takes about my rudiddy, so lemme pour my insights and throw in my take ig.

first of all yes, by definition he is a pedo but....... but he is not at complete fault.
now thing is since rudiddy got reincarnated as a child and grew up like a normal child he has hormones of a normal yk child. so ofc as he grows up with his hormones dictating his behavior as they would do in a normal child and thus they would try to make him attracted towards girls of same age.

okay here comes comes the catch since he got reincarnated, he still had memories from past so due to this any other person the same age as rudiddy in his previous life would refrain themselves to like minors creating a moral block, there is a sort of conflict between mental blocks and hormones. but the thing is rudiddy was anything but a normal person in his prev life, he was like a kid in a adults body, immature and no rigid morals. due to his moral block and maturity being quite low, it was easy for him to succumb to his hormones.

there is also a thing known as memories becoming vague overtime. some of you might say he had like what about 14 years in his new life, which will make him even more mature, but its not what happens, since he gets treated like a kid, he doesnt get much mature at all.

so to conclude this, yes rudeus was immature and naive but i wont say he is a predator. see mushoko is not a story about some ideal sage or smth, its about a trash, trash individual trying to redeem himself in a new life and ofc he also made lot of mistakes in his new life. this is one too. if you are reading or watching mushoko and not fckkk with its wierdness the show is not for you, please drop it. i find beauty in a journey of a trash person redeeming himself, you might not. mushoko and rudeus are very layered and complex, its not for everybody.
yes rudeus liked children, but he didnt liked them because they were children, i think there is a difference, redeus is a highly flawed character, thats why i like him.