Mushoku Tensei II: Jobless Reincarnation (Episode 17) – My Older Brother’s Feelings
Rudeus has discovered that Norn has shut herself in her room. It’s the worst thing imaginable to him so he’s determined to get to the bottom of it. He can’t let her go through the same thing he went through!
Mushoku Tensei II: Jobless Reincarnation (Episode 17) – My Older Brother’s Feelings
What happened?
Linia and Pursena informed Rudeus that his sister, Norn had stopped attending lessons. In fact, she hasn’t left her room in days. Having experienced the same thing in his past life, he’s certain he knows what has caused this. So, in typical Rudeus fashion, he barges into Norn’s classroom and demands some answers. At one point, he insinuates that the teacher may have even punished Norn severely for failing a paper. However, all she had done was to encourage her to do better… like her brother. That seemed to be a fairly common observation from the class. Many idolise Rudeus and in turn, asked Norn about him constantly.
Was he the problem? He stormed away unsure of how he might help her. He remember how his older brother had come to him not long after he shut himself away in his previous life. Everything he had said was well-meaning and considered, however, he had not listened to any of it, because that was not what he needed to hear at that moment. He had to be careful or he would push Norn further into becoming a shut-in. With the help of Linia, Pursena, Sylphie, and Princess Ariel, he made an attempt to get into Norn’s room in the hopes that he could help.
Once there, he didn’t know what to say. He just stood there while Norn sat on her bed, doing her best to ignore him. She went through her previous meetings with him and how he fought their father, but he had forgiven Rudeus. Even Ruijerd had told her that he was not a bad person and that sometimes, people do things that aren’t characteristic of their nature. As Rudeus stood there, stumbling over his thoughts, she came to realise that she could move on. When he said that he would not leave, she came out and embraced him.
What did you think?
Is it wrong that I was expecting the Gorilla lady to show up at some point in this episode? You know! The one who took exception to Rudeus standing outside of the dorm, holding a pair of panties that fell from the sky back in the first part of this season. Anyhow, she didn’t show up, but that was probably for the best. This was a very touching and heartfelt episode. We saw Rudeus coming face to face with the affliction that pretty much ended his previous life. It might not have been the thing that killed him, but his life was already over by that point. So, having him see it happening to his sister would have been incredibly painful. It was well done and didn’t claim to solve an incredibly complex issue.
All right, now that I’ve praised this episode, it’s time to get down to my biggest criticism of this season. The first season managed to wonderfully weave a lot of complex thoughts and issues into a thrilling adventure. In short, it was incredible how it managed to pull those two worlds together and deliver such a series of heartfelt messages. The second season has continued to develop the characters and look into a number of emotional and physical issues. However, it hasn’t delivered on the adventure. Putting these issues into a standard school environment hasn’t made this show stand out in the same way the first season did. Take away the magic part of things and this is just another angsty school drama. That’s not what the first season promised. We were shown a world where emotional trauma was explored through an adventure. That’s what I signed up for. That’s why I’m not in love with this season. It’s good, but it’s not great.
Episode highlights
Other posts in the series
Series Information
| English Title | Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation |
| Japanese Title | Mushoku Tensei: Isekai Ittara Honki Dasu |
| Genres | Action, Comedy, Ecchi, Fantasy, Isekai, Magic |
| Demographic | Seinen |
Anime
Season One – Part One
Season One – Part Two
Season One – Side Story
| English Title | Eris the Goblin Slayer |
| Japanese Title | Eris no Goblin Toubatsu |
| Released | Winter 2022 |
| Animation Studios | Studio Bind |
Season Two – Prequel
| English Title | Guardian Fitz |
| Japanese Title | Shugo Jutsushi Fitz |
| Released | Summer 2023 |
| Animation Studios | Studio Bind |
Season Two – Part One
Season Two – Part Two
| Season | Season Two – Part Two |
| Released | Spring 2024 |
| Animation Studios | Studio Bind |
| Episodes | 12 |
| 13 | My Dream Home |
| 14 | Wedding Reception |
| 15 | Afar |
| 16 | Norn and Aisha |
| 17 | My Older Brother’s Feelings |
| 18 | Turning Point 3 |
| 19 | Desert Journey |
| 20 | Into the Labyrinth |
| 21 | Magic Circle to the Sixth Stratum |
| 22 | Parents |
| 23 | Let’s Go Home |
| 24 | Succession |
