Mushoku Tensei II: Jobless Reincarnation (Episode 6) – I Don’t Want to Die

Rudeus is settling into school. He spends his time in classes, training, and researching the teleportation event. He’s even found time to tutor Zanoba, however, it’s not going well. Maybe, there’s another way!
Mushoku Tensei II: Jobless Reincarnation (Episode 6) – I Don’t Want to Die
What did you watch?
So, I’ve had a little bit of a break from things, but now I’m back and ready to catch up on Mushoku Tensei. I’m not sure it was the best time for a break as the series enters one of my least favourite tropes – the school setting. I don’t necessarily mind school settings, but when there’s a whole world of adventuring at the hero’s fingertips, being stuck in a school seems like the worst possible choice. Could you imagine watching an episode of Goblin Slayer set in a school? Oh well, at least they haven’t added a child character yet…

What happened?
Rudeus had settled into a routine. He would wake up early and train. That involved cardio, resistance, and even sword training. He was focused on the whole package. When that was done, he would head to classes, and while he wasn’t learning anything new, it was good to refresh some things and get a different perspective. He spent the rest of his time in the library, researching teleportation, however, it’s a taboo so there aren’t a lot of recorded details.
Surprisingly, Fitz shows up and offers to help Rudeus with his investigation. It turns out that Fitz lost someone during the teleportation event although they just learnt that the friend is all right… I’m not sure why we’re still playing this game, especially as Rudeus is getting some strange feelings from spending time with Fitz. Anyhow, to occupy himself further, Rudeus agrees to train Zanoba in the arts of creating figures out of stone using magic. However, Zanoba has very little in the way of magical abilities, and even less so in something as delicate as this. They are stumped!
Rudeus turns to Fitz to see if they have a solution. Fitz suggests that some people will use slaves to do things that they can’t do, so Zanoba decides to get a slave. It’s got to be someone young so that they can develop their magic levels, maybe even a dwarf for their natural abilities with stone. Fitz asks to accompany them to the market. Will they find what they are looking for?

What did you think?
As much as I love this series, I’m not enjoying this direction. I’ve already said that I don’t like school settings in fantasy worlds, I’m not a fan of cute child characters, and I didn’t enjoy the scene in the slave market for a number of reasons. I understand that it’s probably the norm in this world, but Rudeus isn’t from that world and I found the way he was so at ease there quite disturbing. I didn’t like the internal dialogue where he was planning on killing the little girl because she had given up on life. He was there only a couple of episodes ago, so I’m surprised he could be so cavalier about it. I miss the adventure we experienced in the first season. This is not what I signed up for.

What was your favourite moment?
The only real positive I can take from this episode is that they aren’t treating the girl, Juliette like an actual slave. She has no collar or magical restraints. She is simply Rudeus’ apprentice and Zanoba’s maid. Still, her family was sold into slavery and presumably, the rest have died so it’s not the happy story it seems. There were a number of things that just felt odd about this episode. Fitz suggesting that Rudeus look into slavery seemed quite out of character for her. I’m also getting increasingly frustrated about her hiding her true identity from him. What’s the point?

Who was the most impactful character?
I wouldn’t say anyone particularly stood out in this episode, although the scene where Rudeus was examining Juliette is going to stick around in my head. He was thinking about how she looked like she had given up on life and he even noted how he had been there not that long ago. So, it was a massive surprise when he planned on killing her unless she could show that she still wanted to live. Thankfully, he compromised with her not wanting to die, but it was a very odd scene, especially from what we know of these characters.

Was there any conflict?
The most notable conflict in this episode is the number of times Rudeus finds himself blushing or feeling slightly aroused when around Fitz. Sure, it’s funny seeing him confused about the situation, but at the same time, I’m not sure what the message or the point is in Fitz keeping her true identity a secret from him. She’s given a lot of clues about who she is and he’s still not even close to figuring it out. All of this packaged in one of my least favourite fantasy tropes, the school setting, is having an impact on my enjoyment. It’s fine, but it’s not the first season and it has a long way to go to get back to it at this point.

What have you learnt?
I can’t say for certain, but I’d like to think that if I was reincarnated to a magical fantasy world with all that power and then I discovered there was an active slave trade, I’d go demon lord on things and make sure that stopped pretty quickly. I understand it’s probably not as simple as just destroying the marketplaces and going after the traders, but it’s a start. However, seeing Rudeus just waltz in as if it were nothing was a little concerning. That would have been a perfect time for an internal monologue so we could see exactly how he felt about it. We’ve heard his thoughts about most things, but this was an odd omission. This was an odd episode.

Other posts in the series
- Season One
- Part 1
- Episode 1 – Jobless Reincarnation
- Episode 2 – Master
- Episode 3 – A Friend
- Episode 4 – Emergency Family Meeting
- Episode 5 – A Young Lady and Violence
- Episode 6 – A Day Off in Roa
- Episode 7 – What Lies Beyond Effort
- Episode 8 – Turning Point 1
- Episode 9 – A Chance Encounter
- Episode 10 – The Value of a Life and the First Job
- Episode 11 – Children and Warriors
- Part 2
- Episode 12 – The Woman with the Demon Eyes
- Episode 13 – Missed Connections
- Episode 14 – No Such Thing As a Free Lunch
- Episode 15 – Slow Life in the Doldia Village
- Episode 16 – Family Squabble
- Episode 17 – Reunion
- Episode 18 – Separate Journeys
- Episode 19 – Route Selection
- Episode 20 – The Birth of My Little Sister, the Maid
- Episode 21 – Turning Point 2
- Episode 22 – Dreams and Reality
- Episode 23 – Wake Up and Take a Step
- OVA
- Part 1
- Season Two
- Part 1
- Episode 0 – Guardian Fitz
- Episode 1 – The Brokenhearted Mage
- Episode 2 – The Forest in the Dead of Night
- Episode 3 – Abrupt Approach
- Episode 4 – Letter of Invitation
- Episode 5 – Ranoa University of Magic
- Episode 6 – I Don’t Want to Die
- Episode 7 – The Kidnapping and Confinement of Beast Girls
- Episode 8 – The Fiancé of Despair
- Episode 9 – The White Mask
- Episode 10 – These Feelings
- Episode 11 – To You
- Part 1
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