Mushoku Tensei II: Jobless Reincarnation (Episode 4) – Letter of Invitation
Rudeus has made quite the name for himself with Soldat’s party. So much so that Elinalise Dragonroad has tracked him down. This is good because she has news of his mother and Roxy, however, it also reminds him of other issues…
Mushoku Tensei II: Jobless Reincarnation (Episode 4) – Letter of Invitation
What did you watch?
It’s been a hot minute since that unfortunate situation with Sara and since then Rudeus has been hanging around with Soldat. Obviously, that means it’s time to check in on how things are going. I’m hoping for a little less drama this week as Rudeus has been through the ringer of late and I, for one, would like to see his fortunes change. Can he do that with Soldat? Only time will tell. Anyhow, let’s get straight into it, it’s not like I had to wait an entire week for the next episode or anything…
What happened?
Rudeus has spent almost all of his time with Stepped Ladder since Sara told him she never wanted to see him again. That’s fine with Soldat as he thinks he’s finally starting to see the thing that pissed him off about Rudeus in the first place – he wasn’t applying himself, and in a world where if you don’t take it seriously, it will seriously kill you. On their latest quest to hunt down a Red Dragon, he got to see it first-hand.
While hunting the dragon, they were attacked by a pack of Luster Grizzles which they quickly kill thanks to Rudeus’ quagmire magic. However, it turns out the bears were running from the Red Dragon and it had followed them there. Rudeus cast a mist spell to enable the others to escape while he attacks the dragon. He managed to put some space between them and then hits it with some spear-like rocks. The dragon gets trapped in Rudeus’ quagmire, giving him the chance to drop a massive rock on its head, killing it instantly.
The party make a lot of money off Rudeus’ kill and a local bard even puts together a song about Rudeus’ exploits. Ideal for his attempts to get his name out. Amazingly, it worked too. An elven adventurer enters the tavern and walks straight up to him. She tells him that she’s finally found him and then appears to make an attempt to flirt with him. He’s not one to resist even if his body won’t comply. However, she stops when she sees his charm from Sylphy and then shows him one of her own. Anyhow, she was in the party with Paul and Zenith and brings news.
Zenith has been adventuring in a labyrinth for some time. Paul is on his way to get her along with Roxy. It’s a long way there and winter is coming which means they would have to wait. Then, Rudeus gets a letter from the magic university he had planned on attending. They want him to attend as a special student. That means he’s not required to attend lectures or anything. Unsure of what to do, he is visited by the human god who tells him to go to the university and investigate the source of the teleportation incident. If he does that his other problems will go away… if you know what I mean…
What did you think?
This episode didn’t have the same impact as the previous couple, but that’s just what I wanted. I chance to slow down and reset things. Elinalise is the perfect person for that, especially with her ties to Paul and Zenith and Rudeus’ problem getting it up. There was also something else I picked up on and that was the way her mood changed when she saw Sylphy’s charm and how similar it was to hers. There’s got to be a connection there somehow either between Sylphy and Elinalise or the symbolism of the charm. We did get to see some great action too, and I’m not talking about Elinalise’s exploits in the bedroom. I’m talking about the Red Dragon. While not as exciting as the fights on the Demon Continent it was a nice reminder of what Rudeus can do.
What was your favourite moment?
It may seem kind of cruel but I couldn’t help but laugh at Rudeus’ face when he had to sleep in the room beside Elinalise and listen to her daily and nightly exploits. That said, I’m surprised Rudeus didn’t straight up ask her about her situation. I find it hard to believe he would just accept that she’s promiscuous for no reason. Unfortunately, I stumbled upon some information last season about Elinalise that changed the way I look at her. As you might expect from this series, she’s far more complex than you might imagine. Anyhow, always funny seeing Rudeus dealing with that level of frustration.
Who was the most impactful character?
Well, it has to be Elinalise. She came into town and turned everything upside down… Well, something was on its back… However, like I mentioned earlier the way she reacted to the charm was interesting and implied that something important was going on there. I also thought it was interesting that she was so keen on Rudeus attending the magic university and not going after his mother. It does feel like we’ve been cheated a little in the we’re just not going to rescue Zenith anymore and to be fair Rudeus was in that town for something like three years so he didn’t appear to be in a big hurry. I do like how this series handles time skips though. They feel much more natural than the way many other shows do it.
Was there any conflict?
The obvious conflict in this episode was down to the decision between going to find Zenith or going to university. For my money, going to rescue his mother was the right choice but then the human god pretty much told him it was a bad idea, which meant that something would happen. That kind of killed the conflict, but that then raises more questions about the human god and his intentions. I can’t say I completely trust him despite getting Rudeus out of a couple of pickles. The fact that he claims it will resolve Rudeus’ conflict with his own body implies that they are all connected somehow. My guess is that Sylphy will be the answer to all of life’s problems.
What have you learnt?
Oftentimes, stories will have these ridiculous time skips so that they can move things to a further point in the story and maybe avoid all the repetition of training or something similar. However, Mushoku Tensei handles things a little differently. Rather than doing one big jump, it gives us a number of little jumps. That allows us to see the development as it happens and remain connected to the story and the characters. I hate it when you can’t see why a character has suddenly changed their approach to things. We need to understand the reasoning behind the actions and this is a big part of it. It’s just yet another thing this series does so well.
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 |
Most amusing moment for me, personally: when every man in the inn was looking at Rudy and Elinalise getting close, and then, as one, looking dejected on Rudy’s behalf when the forward momentum was lost.
Considering how Elinalise is, and how Paul was and still is, it doesn’t take too much to imagine that things got particularly heated between the two of them, which, personally, would make her possibly hooking up with Rudy just a little too awkward.
I like how Rudy completely and perfectly misunderstood the Man-God. He assumes that the magic academy will have some way to cure his condition, but that is not what the Man-God said. I agree, Sylphie is probably the answer, she being a girl that Rudy has been close to, now as grown up as he is, and won’t be of a mind to leave him. Though, her connection to the princess complicates that particular issue, and, as this is one of the original isekai harem stories, I imagine something will go wrong to make room for the possibility of Roxy.
Yeah, I noticed that too. All heads were turned. A couple of guys were hidden beneath the partition listening. Then, she found the necklace and all heads dropped. That was a nice touch.
That too, but for me, the necklace was the moment that she put the brakes on completely. There’s something about it that made her stop.
There’s room for everyone… well, not Sara, that ship has sailed. I’m just feeling a little deprived of Ghislaine. How am I supposed to worship her if she’s not in it?
Also, I notice that they said Zenith is living as a carefree adventurer, but that rings very false. Something tells me she’s trapped somewhere in the labyrinth, and Rudy needs to level up his magic – which he mentions has plateaued – in order to save her.
Yeah, that’s bothering me too. If she wasn’t in trouble, she would surely have made contact or headed home. She has a young child as well as Rudeus. I can’t believe she was just oh well might as well go adventuring.
It’s going to be interesting to see just how much stronger Rudeus can get.
Poor boy has plateaued out and he still blows away blizzards and snuff dragons with ease.
Yeah. It’s like saying poor Usain Bolt, he’s got as fast as he can…
By that do you mean his love life?
Haha! No, more that he’s still incredibly powerful and plateauing is still beyond most if not everyone.
The thing I was most surprised at was how swole Rudeus has gotten! I wish I had muscles like that when I was his age!!!!
To be fair, you probably didn’t have to fight dragons and monsters to survive at that age… Still, it would be nice.