Naofumi's behavior, particularly early on, paints him in a light almost as bad as the other heroes at the same time, just more internal. He's willing to abuse the fact low level monsters can't dent him to carry them around and threaten shopkeepers. His internal thoughts about the people around him tend to be dismissive or angry. Probably the furthest he goes is the entire sequence up to purchasing Raphtalia: he's utterly pragmatic about how owning a slave would be useful, states that "slaves aren't people" and likens training a slave to leveling up his shield, responds to being shown he can magically torture one with all but a "that seems useful, yes", and ultimately selects Raphtalia not because she's the best option for what he needed (a combat slave) but because she was female and he could fantasize about enslaving Myne AKA Malty who had backstabbed him not long before. One of his first concerns when the heroes are recruiting companions is that he'd like a cute, female companion to protect. With all of his other behavior, he begins to hover really close to the acceptable edge of a Chivalrous Pervert.
Explanation Point argues that Naofumi is written as the perfect capitalist hero of which Ayn Rand would be proud. When society fails him and tells that him he's not worthy of getting anything he wants or needs, he takes it upon himself to gather allies, money and strength by any means available. Despite others decrying said means as unfair or immoral, Naofumi's methods are all legitimate or at the very least honest, and by helping himself, his success directly or indirectly trickles down to helping other people who need it, such as sick villagers, Raphtalia or even the world itself. But EP argues that this really only works because Naofumi takes it upon himself not to hurt people or be excessively greedy. Even though Naofumi literally owns slaves who are physically incapable of disobeying him, and he possesses skills, services and goods which would cause people to literally die if denied access to, he doesn't abuse this power or squeeze the innocent for every last dime or advantage he can get — which, EP argues, is the most unrealistic quality Naofumi possesses but still makes him a good escapist fantasy. (Worth mentioning is that EP's analysis is solely an interpretation of the anime; the Light Novel and Manga version of Naofumi is much, much different.)
Is Raphtalia's affection for Naofumi genuine or is it a version of Stockholm syndrome caused by him being her first owner to treat her with kindness?
The fan base alternates on just how "well-meaning" Motoyasu is. On one hand, he legitimately sees himself as a hero and does what he believes are heroic acts. He falls for the same lies as everyone except the main protagonists, so some actions are just understandably misguided. But he is also exceptionally simple-minded, making it hard to tell if he's willing to believe lies from simple stupidity, willful ignorance, pure selfishness, or all three. In addition to believing anything a pretty face tells him, he is exceptionally arrogant and at one point even tries to sexually enslave a child (under the pretext of "rescuing" her) after condemning Naofumi for both rape and slavery. Further, it's argued by some fans (and the story's protagonist) that he invokes Grey's Law, whereas it doesn't matter what his intentions are, because he is such a screwup that he's a danger to other people and an obstacle to saving the world.
Do Ren and Itsuki bust Motoyasu, Malty, and King Aultclay on the "duel" they rigged against Naofumi because they genuinely wanted to help him, or was the latter three's disgusting behavior towards him so insufferably arrogant, condescending, and antagonizing that they simply couldn't stomach watching any more? It could easily be both.
Are Motoyasu, Itsuki, and Ren really as savvy with RPGs as they claim to be? Were the games they played prior to arriving in Melromarc glaringly unbalanced class-wise? Did jealousy and envy eventually factor in? They immediately dismissed Naofumi for possessing the defense-focused Legendary Shield, deeming it a "useless" weapon despite the Stone Wall archetype being viable, if not vital for drawing and tanking damage in order to keep a party alive. It doesn't help that their opinion of him doesn't change despite him and his party defeating the Soul Eater and the power-mad Pope, and they just write off his hard earned strength as "cheating" despite knowing he had no help from either them or the kingdom from the very start.
In the anime, was Naofumi and Raphtalia's decision to spare Idol an act of mercy, or did they know he wasn't going to change and that whole scene was them drawing out his true nature which they can use as evidence against Melromarc?
Naofumi's initial insistence on having Malty and the King be executed seems jarring and hypocritical since only a few episodes prior, he tried so hard to prevent Raphtalia from killing Idol. However, it's possible that Naofumi simply cares for Raphtalia and didn't want her to stain her hands. It's also likely that he intended to kill Idol in secret. It can also be argued that he was partially motivated by simply avoiding the potential issue of clearing his name after actually killing a nobleman.
While everyone can understand Fito's point that the four Heroes need to work alongside each other, even if it takes a full party wipe, viewers are split on her claiming the lack of harmony is partly Naofumi's fault. Some fans point out that Naofumi did quickly decide to lean into being a pariah by acting antagonistically when he doesn't have to, and he openly treats the other heroes with disdain. Others point out that Naofumi clearly did work to clear his name, and claiming it's his own fault he was framed and shamed seems like Victim Blaming. Not to mention, Fito only gives the harsh ultimatum to Naofumi, and expects him to shoulder the burden of mending fences with the other heroes all on his own. This isn't helped by it being an issue with the anime adaptation; in the light novel, Fito never blames Naofumi but admits that the scale is high enough that the specifics don't matter and provides a reason for her to remain secret.
Even Malty gets some in the original web novel, at least in regards to how self defeating her actions are. Is she just that stupid, or as a fragment and puppet of Medea Pideth Machina, does she even possess the autonomy and free will necessary not to hurt others even when it's so clearly against her best interests?
argues that Naofumi is written as the perfect capitalist hero of which Ayn Rand would be proud. When society fails him and tells that him he's not worthy of getting anything he wants or needs, he takes it upon himself to gather allies, money and strength by any means available. Despite others decrying said means as unfair or immoral, Naofumi's methods are all legitimate or at the very least honest, and by helping himself, his success directly or indirectly trickles down to helping other people who need it, such as sick villagers, Raphtalia or even the world itself. But EP argues that this really only works because Naofumi takes it upon himself not to hurt people or be excessively greedy. Even though Naofumi literally owns slaves who are physically incapable of disobeying him, and he possesses skills, services and goods which would cause people to literally die if denied access to, he doesn't abuse this power or squeeze the innocent for every last dime or advantage he can get — which, EP argues, is the most unrealistic quality Naofumi possesses but still makes him a good escapist fantasy. (Worth mentioning is that EP's analysis is solely an interpretation of the anime; the Light Novel and Manga version of Naofumi is much, much different.)