Mushoku Tensei II: Jobless Reincarnation (Season Two) – Part 2
Rudeus decided to settle down with Sylphie. He’ll need to get his house in order first, literally. Once that’s done, it’s not long before he gets some house guests. Then, news of his mother’s location sends him on another quest.
Mushoku Tensei II: Jobless Reincarnation (Season Two) – Part 1
What did you watch?
I’ve covered all of the seasons of the anime so far which meant that I was always going to do the same for this part of season two. I will admit that I didn’t love the first part as much as either part of the first season, but I still enjoyed them enough that continuing was a very easy decision. My biggest issue was the way the series took all of the action and excitement that we saw in the first season and put it to one side so that Rudeus could go to school. It had its moments, but it really felt like a cheap way to show the characters learning and meeting new people. Anyhow, let’s see if that continues into the second part.
What happened?
Rudeus had decided that he would marry Sylphie. After all, she helped him with his… problem and she didn’t run off like Eris. That meant that she was a keeper. So, he asked Cliff and Zanoba what he needed to do next and they both agreed that he needed a house. Luckily, they found a great one that was in Rudeus’ price range, however, everyone who went there died! Not going to miss a bargain, Rudeus got Cliff and Zanoba to stay the night with him to work out what was going on. They discovered an automated doll had been defending the place, no doubt created by the previous owner. They were able to defeat it and that gave Zanoba some valuable research material for his studies. Sylphie was delighted with the house, so they married and began living together.
Before long, Rudeus got a letter from his father telling him the search for his mother was getting harder and as a result, he was sending Norn and Aisha to stay with him. Ruijerd delivered them and was able to offer Rudeus some advice about Eris, although it was nearly speculation based on their time together. Norn struggled to settle into life there and ended up shutting herself in her room, much to Rudeus’ horror. He managed to help her through it, but then he received another letter from his father’s party asking for help. However, Sylphie had also just revealed that she was pregnant. The journey to find his mother would take at least a couple of years, meaning Rudeus would miss the birth. What should he do? Hitogami knew what he should do and told him to stay put or he would regret it.
However, Rudeus did go to help his father and was shown the location of teleportation circles by Nanahoshi. With those, they could get there in a month. He could save his mother and still be back in time for the birth. Not long after arriving with Elinalise, Rudeus learned that Roxy had been lost in the dungeon where his mother was believed to be. In the next mission, Rudeus amazingly found and saved Roxy. Little did he know that she fell in love with him as a result. After a harrowing battle with the dungeon boss, they saved his mother, but his father died in the battle. To make things worse, his mother had lost her memories. Rudeus spiralled into depression and was only pulled out when Roxy slipped into his room one night. As they travelled home, Rudeus decided that he would make her his second wife. She was delighted, but wouldn’t agree until he had spoken to his wife. His pregnant wife…
What did you think?
The first half of the second part continued from the first part, leaving Rudeus in the school setting. There were some interesting developments, but I still can’t help but wonder why we needed to be in a school. The first season showed that we were able to get similar character developments while exploring the wonders of this world. Using a school setting still feels like a cheap way out. Of course, things picked up massively once Rudeus went back on another adventure. For me, that is the main strength of this series. We get to see action and adventure while making it mean something as Rudeus deals with his baggage from his life and the last one.
It also raised some interesting societal questions about love and relationships. Overall, I think this was about the same as the first part in terms of quality, and both were not as good as the first season which is still one of my favourite isekai seasons of all time.
What was your favourite moment?
It was such a relief to see them leave that school and go on an adventure that I think it may have swayed my opinion. I did really enjoy Rudeus and Elinalise travelling together. They have a very fun dynamic what with him being eternally horny and her needing sexual relief or she’d die. Then, when you remember that she is his grandmother-in-law, it just makes their situation that much more entertaining. Their fights were entertaining too. However, I am glad that Nanahoshi told him about the magic circles. As much as I was craving adventure, I didn’t want to see them travelling for such a long time, especially as Sylphie was waiting at home for him.
What was your least favourite moment?
The biggest issue for me other than the less than exciting school scenes was the way they treated Roxy. When she came into Rudeus’ room as he was dealing with the loss of his father and the idea that it was for nothing since his mother appeared to have no memories, she suddenly came across as incredibly forceful and confident. Now, I understand that she fell in love with him so I wasn’t too put out by the sudden change in her approach to things. If anything, it was nice to see her going after what she wanted.
However, they then revealed that she knew about Sylphie and his unborn child. They also claimed that Geese and Elinalise told her to just leave him be. So, they made out that she knew all of these, was effectively told not to, but did it anyway. I can understand why people would object to Roxy as a result. Then, I learned that in the light novel, she was drunk and pressured into acting by Geese and Elinalise, which makes much more sense when you consider the conversation Elinalise had with Rudeus when she asked him to marry Roxy too. We got there in the end, but I wonder if that didn’t do quite a bit of damage to Roxy’s perception among anime-only viewers. We all know there are plenty who love to jump on any perceived controversy.
Who was your favourite character?
This is a tough one. There are so many interesting characters who all had a lot more screen time. I really want to know more about Nanahoshi and her experiences in this world. Seeing it from her point of view would be a great contrast to Rudeus as she was summoned and not reincarnated and she also doesn’t appear to age. I still love Elinalise and it was nice seeing Roxy again, although seeing her cry isn’t much fun.
I absolutely love Linia and Pursena and wish we saw much more of them too. Of course, it’s hard to discount Slyphie, Norn or Aisha either. As I said, there are lots of interesting characters. I also have a soft spot for Zanoba. His rigidity is entertaining. Even Cliff has grown on me. And then, there’s Rudeus. He’s had such a crazy time since coming to this world. His development has been staggering and I doubt even he would have dreamed of finding himself in a situation like this.
Who was your least favourite character?
This one is equally as difficult, however, I think I have to go for Paul. I was having a great time watching Paul and Rudeus reunite. He was hilarious, especially how he would embarrass Lilya and beam with pride when Rudeus complimented him. However, I still can’t believe he told Rudeus to save Zenith even if it cost him his life. That’s not something a father says to their children and I can’t believe for a second that Zenith would be happy to find out that her child had sacrificed themselves to save her.
On top of that, I think the fight against the hydra was made that much more difficult because of Paul’s inability to step back and think rationally. Zenith had apparently been there for years, so a couple more days to gather resources and help wouldn’t have made a big difference. The prospect of being one of the people to defeat a labyrinth for the first time is very different to inviting people to help you search it. I liked Paul and will miss him, but he also did some frustrating things.
Would you like some more?
Season three has already been announced and I am delighted. However, who knows how long that’ll take so I am already thinking about diving into the light novels. There are twenty-six volumes though so it’s going to take a while to read. Who knows if I’ll get ahead of the anime or not, especially with everything else I have going on. The audiobooks might be a nice alternative. Either way, I’m actively considering other ways to get more, so that should tell you all you need to know.
What have you learned?
This series is incredible when it allows the characters to develop by putting them in tough situations. I remember several from the first season and how they used them to reflect on Rudeus’ previous life. That was amazing storytelling as it allowed us to explore the new world while learning about the characters. Putting them in a school on the other hand didn’t show us anything about the world. It wasn’t exciting either. I’ve never been a fan of school settings in fantasy adventure stories and seeing this happen here has helped me zero in on why I don’t like them. Ultimately, there is a better, more interesting way of delivering the same character growth. We saw it in the first season, at the beginning of season two part one, and the end of season two part two. Seeing both scenarios in the same show made the failings of the school setting that much more apparent.
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 |
My impression of Roxy completely changed after this season. I don’t know how things go down between her and Rudeus in the light novels, but the anime made her take advantage of him. And then she appeared almost proud of what she did. I wish Sylphie wasn’t a pushover with Rudeus. Overall, the trio’s relationship is just messy lol
Anyway, great post!
It seemed really out of character for her, too. Which is what prompted me to check out how the LN did things. I didn’t like that they said she knew his situation and did it anyway, completely of her own choice. It would have been excusable for her if she didn’t know. At least, Sylphie has positioned herself as number one, but yeah, it’s a mess! And thanks!