Mushoku Tensei Jobless Reincarnation S2 Ep 1

Ranoa University Welcomes You, Rudeus!

Aside Roderick J "Jay" Friz Anime, Anime Reviews , , , , , , , ,

Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation S2 Ep 5 Review

When the new season of Mushoku Tensei started by focusing on Sylphie, I had a problem with that. I thought revealing “Fitz” was Sylphie early on would ruin the surprise for when they reunite at Ranoa University. After seeing the new episode, though, I take it back. It makes their reunion hilarious to watch. While some may complain about the idea of Rudeus attending school instead of going on a big adventure, they have to remember this isn’t your carbon-copy isekai, it takes its time to focus on the cast and lore. 

Admittedly, as someone who read the light novels, I know they do miss out on a few things. In a first for the series, though, the show now has a dedicated opening sequence rather than just the song.

Welcome to Ranoa University, Rudeus! 

After months of traveling with Elinalise (and learning to tolerate her sexual escapades), Rudeus has finally made it to Ranoa University like he always wanted. Granted, a lot has changed for him since he wanted to attend as a child, and his reasons are… embarrassing. However, dreams don’t always turn out the way people envision them when they’re young. What matters is that Rudeus made it, and on a scholarship, no less. He also ends up reuniting with his childhood friend, Slyphie, when asked to duel “Fitz.”

Some people might complain about how Rudeus doesn’t remember the first friend he ever made when he sees her. They may also complain about not recognizing the wand Fitz uses is the one he gave her. However, a few things should be kept in mind. Firstly, it’s been almost ten years since he’s seen Sylphie. Secondly, she’s deliberately disguising herself as a boy, and her hair’s changed color. As smart as Rudeus is, he’s still a teenage boy. 

As previously stated, though, the fact that Rudy doesn’t recognize his best friend makes his attempts to be respectful amusing. If only the same could be said for the introduction to his classmates in the special students class.

The Special Students Introduction falls a Little Flat

In the previous review, I mentioned how many of the people Rudy meets at Ranoa will play important roles in his life. Knowing that, one would think it would do a good job of establishing who they are and how they’re connected to him. To my dismay, they don’t do as good a job as they could; or fully include everything from the light novels.

First, we have good old Zanoba, whose just happy to see his kaster again. After the debacle with his brother, both got sent abroad, and Zanoba is now attending this school. There’s a part in the LN where Rudy hits him with a stone cannon and he just plows right through it.

Then we have the resident Beastmen, Linia and Pursena, AKA the cat and dog girl. They’re both cousins from the Doldia tribe, with Linia being the daughter of the chief, and thus, Ghislaine’s niece. However, Rudeus never mentions any of this, or how her Dad owes him for a previous misunderstanding. 

Then we finally have Cliff Grimoire. He hates Rudeus’ guts, and it has to do with a run-in he had with Eris a few years ago. There’s another article that will discuss it, but it boils down to her not shutting up about how awesome he is, and he got envious. Sadly, the anime also cuts out a part when Cliff mentions Eris calling Rudeus “small,” which he takes the wrong way. It’s not much, but it’s a funny example of how bad his self-esteem is. 

Can’t Wait to See Rudeus and “Fitz” Learning about Each Other

Minor plot points aside, the episode remains a good one for one reason and one reason alone: Rudeus and Sylphie reunite after years of being apart. Going to Ranoa University together was the whole reason Rudeus went to tutor Eris. He may not know it yet, but he’s already living out his dream. Unfortunately for him, Sylphie doesn’t plan on telling him who she is yet. It might be due to her shyness around the boy she’s liked since they were little, or maybe she wants to tease him, or both. Regardless, Sylphie isn’t talking. However, this might end up benefitting Rudeus more in the long run.

Because Rudeus has no clue that Fitz is really Sylphie, she’s got the chance to make him fall for her. She’s already working at it, too. When a misunderstanding leads to the girls dorm trying to lynch Rudeus, she’s the one who ends up saving him. She even manages to tease him a little, enough to make him blush.

Say what you want about the “childhood friend romance” trope, but there’s a reason why it’s good. The show may not be big on action for awhile, but now we get to see Rudeus have the school life he never had in his past life! Enjoy your time at Ranoa University, Rudeus!

By the way, the dub’s out for season two. Just saying.

I Give “Ranoa University of Magic” a 4/5

What Will You Do Now, Rudeus Greyrat?

Aside Roderick J "Jay" Friz Anime, Anime Reviews, Blogging, Crunchyroll , , , , , , , , , ,

Mushoku Tensei S2 Ep 1 Review

When we last saw Rudeus Greyrat, he was at his absolute lowest since beginning his second life. He finally lost his virginity to his companion, Eris, and he thought they’d be together from then on. However, then Eris realized she relied on him too much, knew she had to get stronger, and left to train. The problem is, Rudeus doesn’t know this since the girl stupidly wrote a letter that didn’t explain anything. So now he thinks he got dumped! Thirteen years of improving himself almost go to waste because of his low self-esteem and Eris’ mistake. 

Now all alone, Rudeus’ left his old home behind for good, because his Mom’s still missing from the teleportation incident and he has to find her. Before he does that, though, he needs to do something else first: remind himself what makes his life still worth living. 

Northward Bound, Rudeus Travels Alone (Sort of)

Sometime after leaving the ruins of Fittoa behind for good, Rudeus starts traveling north to start looking for his Mom. That brings him to the land of the magical countries; ironically, he wanted to study at this big university there before the teleportation incident. Now that he’s there, though, he’s in no mood to enjoy it. He’s too busy feeling sorry for himself because Eris left him hanging. 

While Rudeus has always been somewhat of a serious person, he’s remembered to enjoy his new life as much as possible, no matter what the circumstances. Throughout this episode, though, we see how badly Eris’ insensitivity affected him. He keeps sighing, he’s got this empty look in his eyes, and looks ready to give up on it all. It gets so bad that, during a job, he barely does anything to defend himself from monsters, like he’s ready to die. This is Rudeus at the absolute lowest since getting reincarnated.

The question, then, is what will he do now?

Meeting a New Party in Counter Arrow

Despite officially disbanding his old party of Dead End, Rudeus doesn’t start work alone. While traveling up north, this woman, Suzanne, who’s the co-leader of this party called Counter Arrow, sees how depressed he is. Feeling bad for him, she invites him to join them on a job killing grizzlies, and most of them are nothing but nice to him. Except for this one girl close to his age named Sara. Sara is a total tsundere to him, acting abrasive and getting annoyed with how, from her perspective, he’s ungrateful to Suzanne. And the whole time, it’s just making Rudeus feel worse, because she reminds him way too much of Eris.

From my understanding, Sara and Counter Arrow were created as original characters for the light novels; they weren’t in the web novels. So, Sara was made to be a lot like Eris: outspoken, abrasive to strangers, and has a hard time opening up to others. The problem is that she’s too much like Eris, and after the events of last season, that could rub viewers the wrong way. They could either see her as a replacement for Eris, or think she’s too much like her and find her off-putting. None of this helps Rudeus’ emotional state, though. He still looks like he wants to die. 

Thankfully, he remembers how stupid it is to think like that. 

Rudeus Remembers How Much He Still Has to Live For

It’s during this job with Counter Arrow where they’re surrounded by grizzlies and fighting for their lives that Rudeus starts to snap out of his depression. He’s about to throw away this second chance he got at life, something a lot of people could only dream of having, while everyone around him is fighting for the one life they do have. And he remembers how, when he got reborn, he wasn’t going to waste his life again. So, he snaps out of it, pulls up on the monsters, and wastes them like the badass that he is. Then everyone goes home victorious, and the whole adventuring guild starts cheering his name, and for the first time that entire episode, he starts smiling.

So, having hit rock bottom, Rudeus begins to make his way back up. It won’t be an easy task, and it’s not going to be done over the span of an episode or two, because that’s not how Mushoku Tensei works. It goes out of the way to show the effort Rudeus puts into being a better person. It’s worth it, though. And the first thing he does is burn the locks of hair that Eris left him. He misses her, but he can’t let it ruin his life.

So, the journey of Rudeus Greyrat begins anew. It’s not the most exciting start, especially compared to other isekai filled with a lot of action. However, Mushoku Tensei is a slow burn. Once it gets started, then it becomes interesting to watch. So, while not the most epic of reintroductions, this episode makes up for it with the emotional drama. This is going to be the isekai anime to watch for the summer season.

I mean, listen to the music!

I Give “The Brokenhearted Mage” a 4/5