[1][2] The Naked Director follows the story of "Muranishi's unusual and dramatic life filled with big ambitions as well as spectacular setbacks in his attempt to turn Japan's porn industry on its head.

He wanted George's advice on depicting an outlaw character that viewers can empathize with and how to make sure the sex scenes would not come across as gratuitous or disrespectful to women.

[7][9][10] Mark Schilling reported that with "a generous (but undisclosed) budget", the writing team spent nearly a year crafting the script.

[14] HuffPost columnist Soichiro Matsutani called the first season of The Naked Director a "masterpiece" and compared it to the acclaimed films The People vs. Larry Flynt and Boogie Nights.

Another difference from the source material that Matsutani noted, is how the porn industry is never portrayed as a bright and glamorous world; it features characters who suffer from the social stigma often directed at those who work in the profession.

[15] Describing the show as a "raucous sex comedy and action-packed underworld narrative in [a] tale of a pornographic revolution," Brenden Gallagher of The Daily Dot gave The Naked Director 3 1⁄2 out of 5 stars.

He praised the show for immersing the audience in Japanese culture, Yamada's performance, and the writing for melding humor and emotion.

"[17] John Serba of Decider called the first episode "funny and colorful", Yamada a strong lead, and the supporting cast "mostly inspired", and recommended the show.

[21] Iku Okada of Newsweek Japan found advertisements for the series to be "glorifying the sex industry of a time when unjust exploitation was commonplace", and wrote that the character of Muranishi "never reflects on his own shameful revenge or the misogyny that can be felt behind it".

[25][24][21][27] When asked about the criticism, Netflix stated that neither Kuroki nor Muranishi were involved in the production and that the series is merely an adaptation of Motohashi's book.