Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation (Season One) – Part 2
Having survived on the Demon Continent, Rudeus and Eris are keen to get home, but that’s not going to be easy, even with Ruijerd to accompany them. Even if they make it home, they’ve no idea what they will find!
Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation (Season One) – Part 2
What did you watch?
I absolutely loved the first part of season one of Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation so it was an easy choice as one of the shows I was going to review for this season. I even rewatched the first part and released the reviews of season one daily so that I could keep up with part two in real time. There are many reasons to do this and not least because of spoilers. So, the big question… Did part two live up to part one? After so many recent second seasons have disappointed, it’s always a concern. Let’s dive in, and don’t forget, there will be spoilers.
What happened?
Rudeus and Eris had been magically transported to a remote area of the Demon Continent. They were almost as far away from home as possible. However, with the help of Ruijerd and the human god, Hitogami, they made it to a port that would take them a large part of the way home. There was just one catch, there is a massive surcharge for Superd. Insanely massive. How would they raise the money? Would they have to leave Ruijerd behind?
Of course not. They did find a way to get across the sea and it was a lot cheaper than the previous option, however, this put them on a different path. There was another factor that Rudeus hadn’t considered. Were they the only ones to have teleported in the mana disaster? It was hard enough for them to survive, let alone worry if others had been impacted. It wasn’t until Rudeus was reunited with his father that he truly began to understand how serious the event was.
What did you think?
This series is a masterpiece. There’s simply no other way to say it. It focuses on a group of flawed characters and puts them through hell. We get to see them break and recover, push on and grow stronger. After the first part, I was aware of the flaws of some of the other characters, but I foolishly assumed that Rudeus was the only one we would be concerned with. Every character in this series is fascinating. There are broken, flawed people who make bad decisions and good ones.
The character growth that we have witnessed from the beginning of the first episode has been amazing. Rudeus alone has shown us what he’s made of. It’s taken him many missteps before eventually taking the one that will move him forward, but that has made the journey believable and exciting. He’s strong, but he’s not perfect. The same goes for Eris and Ruijerd. Each has their own personal demons to overcome and seeing how that impacts the story is a joy to behold.
What was your favourite moment?
This is such a hard decision as there were so many memorable moments that each deserves some sort of praise. Luckily, I have all the episode reviews linked at the end of this post where I talk about each of them. However, I’m going to mention something that happened in the last episode of part two. Rudeus was glum. He had only just become a man, but that elation was short-lived as he found Eris’ letter, telling him that she was leaving and they weren’t a good fit yet.
Rudeus crumbled. He lay in his bed for days, barely eating or drinking. His mind wandered back to his past life and the moment that it all started to go wrong. We saw how he spoke out against a group of guys who felt they could do whatever they wanted. He instantly regretted it as they began to relentlessly bully him, forcing him to give up on life and chase away anyone who tried to help him. He had been completely destroyed and he knew it. He wanted to move forward, but he couldn’t. It was then, that his mind recalled a moment with his new family and the love of his mother, Zenith. With her still missing, he knew what he had to do. It was only in his second life that he finally found the strength to push on.
I can’t help but think about all the reviews and comments that flooded the internet after the first season started, slamming Rudeus’ character for some of the things he said. Everyone was judging him. They had already made up their mind that he was scum… Maybe even lower. But this scene showed us what happened to him. What he went through was horrific. He deserved better than that and still does. He deserves his second chance!
What was your least favourite moment?
Another scene that took my breath away was when Rudeus was reunited with Paul, his father. He tried to tell him about the crazy adventure that he’d been on and how he’d grown. You could tell he was trying to impress his father, a seasoned adventurer. However, Paul was a broken and exhausted man at that point. He’d been searching for his family for two years and when he found Rudeus, all he got was his bragging about how wonderful it had been.
Neither fully understood the other and that led to a fight. Paul criticised Rudeus, expecting him to have been more aware of what happened, but he’s just a kid. Rudeus lashed out, calling out Paul’s lascivious past and speculating on what he was currently doing. Of course, Rudeus had no idea that his entire family had been scattered across the world.
It was hard to watch neither back down to the point that it turned to violence. What should have been a happy reunion was destroyed as neither took the time to understand what had happened to the other. Paul should have told Rudeus what had happened and not expected so much of him. Rudeus, equally, shouldn’t have gone on the defensive so soon.
Who was your favourite character?
There wasn’t nearly enough Ghislaine in the second part, but Eris more than made up for her absence. Her character arc has been amazing too and by the end of the season, she was looking to push on and grow even stronger. She started off as a spoilt brat who attacked Rudeus for daring to be her teacher. She was petulant and self-centred, but as the season passed, she became stronger and more confident in herself. Her transformation was incredible and it’s worth watching again just to see how she changes.
Who was your least favourite character?
Sorry, Paul. It had to be you. I can understand the events that led you to become angry and bitter. I can even see why you would have dulled the pain with alcohol. However, to pass all that grief onto your eldest son who was just trying to show off to his old man was a step too far. I am glad that you made the steps to rectify your actions and you were lucky that Rudeus has that life experience that he could see what he would lose by not accepting you in. In short, you screwed up and got really lucky. Don’t make the same mistake again!
Would you like some more?
I loved this season and will be eagerly awaiting another season. Hopefully, we’ll get the full season in one go and not broken up, but I’d just be happy to get anything at this stage. As I previously stated, this series is incredible and I hope that more people give it the chance it deserves. We need to stop making decisions based on what we hear from others. Experiencing it for yourself is the only way to do it justice. If you don’t like it, fine. But make sure that you don’t like it and not just what someone else might have told you about it.
What have you learned?
One of the interesting things about this series is that there are a number of different elements at play. You would normally consider Rudeus dying in one world and being reborn in another as the inciting incident. However, he never really had a choice in the matter. Sure, he chose to try to save those students which caused him to die, but I don’t feel like that was the moment that his story began. For me, it was the mana disaster.
That would mean that everything before that was just setting up the status quo. It’s as if there is a story within a story and you could argue that there are many smaller stories weaving together to add weight to this epic. That’s what you are after when dealing with a story of his size. It gives you the chance to shift focus from time to time and allow the characters to grow in new ways.
I liked that it took the time to really explore who the characters were before throwing them into chaos. So, maybe the key is to develop the characters first. The plot can wait a little while as long as things remain interesting and there are hints of future events. Character is king and always will be, but it doesn’t half help to have a strong plot and several interesting subplots.
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
- Episode 12 – I Want to Tell You
- Part 2
- Part 1
Series Information
| English Title | Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation |
| Japanese Title | Mushoku Tensei: Isekai Ittara Honki Dasu |
| Medium | Anime |
| Released | Season 1 Part 1: Winter 2021 Part 2: Fall 2021 Season 2 Part 1: Summer 2023 Part 2: Spring 2024 |
| Episodes | Season 1 Part 1: 11 Part 2: 12 + OVA Season 2 Part 1: OVA + 12 Part 2: 12 |
| Animation Studios | Studio Bind |
| Genres | Action, Comedy, Ecchi, Fantasy, Isekai, Magic |
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