Over the years, there have been a lot of takes on the Man of Steel. Some have stood the test of time, like Christopher Reeves’ live-action version or the animated version from the DCAU. However, few, if any, are like the incarnation found in Adult Swim’s new series, My Adventures With Superman. Instead of their usual depictions, we get quirky, funny, and downright endearing versions of Superman, Lois Lane, and Jimmy Olsen. In addition, much of the show’s style takes influence from anime, proving the medium’s continued popularity worldwide.
I’m RJ Writing Ink, and here are five reasons why you should watch My Adventures With Superman, especially if you’re a fan of Shonen anime!
The Boys Jack Quaid Plays Clark Kent to Adorkable Perfection
The irony!
Over the years, many people have gotten the chance to play Superman in various mediums, from live-action to animated video games. However, the fact that this series sees him voiced by Jack Quaid brings a new adjective to mind: ironic. For those who don’t know, Jack Quaid’s most famous for playing Hugh Campbell in the live-action Amazon Prime series, The Boys. That show’s infamous for essentially being the anti-superhero show, complete with a corrupted version of Superman himself.
So far, Jack Quaid is nailing his role as Superman, but not as the confident man of tomorrow that everyone knows. Instead, this Clark Kent is a lovable, socially awkward, gentle giant. He gets embarrassed when he can’t control his strength, freaks out when he thinks people see him using his powers, and can’t stop blushing around Lois. In other words, he’s adorkable!
This Show’s Version of Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen is a Breath of Fresh Air
Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen are, and always have been, two of the most influential people in Superman’s life. The former is a tough-as-nails reporter who is Superman’s great love and biggest supporter. The latter is an intrepid photographer who serves as Superman’s best friend. The versions found in the show, though, aren’t like any seen before.
Firstly, besides the change in ethnicity, this Jimmy Olsen serves as Clark Kent’s best friend and roommate. He also happens to be a conspiracy theorist who thinks the world’s stranger than most people think (and he’s right!). As for Lois, she’s what anime fans call a ‘genki girl.’ She’s confident, energetic, and a tomboy who wears her emotions on her sleeve. Between the two of them, is it any wonder that fans are reminded of Luz and Gus from The Owl House?
Speaking of which…
The Show Brought in fans from The Owl House
From the moment the promo images for the show were released, the Internet started making comparisons. Let me explain.
The Owl House was a popular Disney cartoon from 2020 to April 2023. It was about a confident, self-assured girl who wound up in a world of Demons and Witches, which inspires her to stay to become a Witch herself. Among the friends, she makes is a young boy named Gus, who has a huge fascination with Humans, who are considered weird by his world’s standards.
So, a confident, energetic girl and a guy interested in things people consider weird. Suppose that sounds like Lois and Jimmy, plenty of fans have noticed that, too. On top of the fact that Lois and Jimmy look like adult versions of Luz and Gus, it’s no wonder that fans of The Owl House have flocked to My Adventures With Superman. With a sizeable fandom, these comparisons could ensure the series’ long-term success. That helps The Owl House fans cope with that show getting cut short due to Disney’s foolishness.
This Version of Superman Starts Not Knowing His Heritage
Most versions of Superman either start with the Man of Steel already aware of his Kryptonian heritage or soon discover it themselves. While that holds in MAWS, there’s a big difference for this version of Clark Kent. While he’s aware that he’s not human, a language barrier prevents him from fully understanding his Kryptonian Heritage when he finds what brought him to Earth. As a result, he’s left clueless about who he is going into his life in Metropolis.
We have a rare opportunity to see a Superman stumbling as he tries to figure out who, or what, he is. The show can frame it as part of this big, overarching mystery it can dive into as it progresses. While fans know the general outcome regarding what Clark will eventually learn, it will still be fun to see Clark and his friend’s reactions as they learn more about him.
It Wears its Anime Influences on its Sleeve.
The last time Superman had his cartoon show, anime was still a niche medium making its way to the West. Fast forward to the present day, though, and it’s not only firmly entrenched in Western culture but also serves as a big influence for Western Cartoons. Be it in themes or art styles, anime has seeped its way into Western Cartoons, and MAWS is a glorious by-product of that.
Firstly, we have the art style that the series uses. Besides being visually pleasing, the show also frequently uses the vivid facial expressions regularly found in anime. Secondly, the moments when Superman powers up are reminiscent of a Shonen hero unleashing their designated super form. The biggest example of all, though, is when Superman first receives his iconic costume. The entire sequence is ripped straight from the legendary Sailor Moon transformation. Look me in the eye and tell me that that doesn’t scream anime!
If that’s not convincing enough, series producer Jake Wyatt admitted in an interview to being a big fan of Toonami and Dragon Ball. Considering how Goku wound up being partially inspired by Superman himself, it makes the Shonen anime influence all the more poetic.
If this hasn’t convinced you to go watch this show, then I don’t know what will. You are missing out! Also, Lois Lane is now the Waifu of 2023 until further notice!
If you’ve been online over the last few months, you might have heard about the controversy surrounding the use of AI. Recent advancements in AI technology have led to a boom in the use of artificial intelligence for things such as writing, creating art, and even imitating people’s voices. While some might see it as a helpful tool to make our lives easier, there are people with good reason to be wary of its use. Many talented people make a living from writing, artwork, and voice acting. Those same people may now risk losing that livelihood, but not everyone seems to care about this. Case in point, Erica Lindbeck, a talented voice actress, just quit social media for trying to stand up for herself against AI.
What Happened to Erica Lindbeck?
Erica Lindbeck is a young and up-and-coming voice actress who has gotten several high-profile roles over the last few years. She’s had roles in everything from Dragon Ball to Persona and Fire Emblem to The Owl House and the popular web series Helluva Boss. She also happened to date fellow voice Billy Kametz, the voice of Josuke in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure and Naofumi in Shield Hero, until his untimely death from cancer in June 2022.
I wasn’t aware of this until after the fact, but the controversy started a few days ago online. Erica Lindbeck discovered that someone had used a voice-generated AI of her character, Futaba Sakura from Persona V, to make a cover song without her consent. She asked the person to remove the video, but others were not as understanding and responded by criticizing her on social media. Rather than deal with the flame war this would generate, Erica opted to remove herself from the equation. Currently, she’s deleted her social media accounts on Twitter and Instagram.
This is Part of a Larger Problem
In the wake of Erica’s departure from social media, other voice actors have spoken up in her defense. With AI becoming able to mimic their voices and do their work for them, many voice actors fear that they may lose their jobs.
Nah eat shit, man. People rightfully calling you out for stealing someone's voice is not a harassment campaign. If that's what you call the consequences of your own actions, you're soft AF.
— ๐บ๐ธJosh Keaton๐ต๐ช#AcrossTheSpiderVerse (@joshkeaton) July 8, 2023
While some may see this as paranoia, their concerns might be justified. In recent months, countless videos using voice-generated AI have started appearing on YouTube. While made for fun rather than out of malice, this is still a major problem for the people whose voice they’re using: none of it’s done with their consent.
Voice acting may seem like a fun job (and it likely can be), but what people need to remember is that it’s still a job. At the end of the day, people depend on the work they do as voice actors to pay the bills. If they can get replaced in favor of cheaper AI, then they’ll be out of a job! And the continued use of AI like this only encourages people to do it more, further exacerbating the problem.
We Need to Be Smarter About This New Power
As for where I personally stand regarding this, I am torn. On the one hand, I find the advancement of AI to the point where it can mimic other people’s voices impressive. This could enable us to create works of fiction that feature the voices of people long since dead and buried, like Michael Jackson, Robin Williams, and even Elvis. On the other hand, it’s making the job of voice actors like Erica Lindbeck harder than it already is by cutting them out of the equation. And that’s not even getting into issues like how AI could be used to write articles and create artwork in place of actual people.
I don’t think AI is an inherently bad thing. It could benefit humanity in the long run if we ensure it cannot go Skynet or Ultron on us. When applied in a responsible manner, it could even be a useful tool for writers, artists, and people with similar professions rather than an outright replacement. Since the technology’s still so new, though, how we decide to use it now could decide what’s ethically permitted ten, even twenty years from now. The bottom line is we need to be responsible with this new power, or else bad stuff’s going to happen like seeing popular entertainment icons bailing on social media.
While I was getting ready to watch the new season of Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation, something occurred to me. While my recap of the first season managed to cover much of what happened, there was one aspect I had to omit for length reasons. That aspect is what happened to Rudeus’ teacher, Roxy Migurdia.
Roxy is a significant character in the Mushoku Tensei series, and it’s not just because she’s Rudeus’ teacher. Nor is it because he worships her as a goddess by unironically praying to that pair of panties he took from her. Several episodes in the first season shift their focus from Rudeus’ odyssey home to Roxy’s journey as she tries to find his family. In the process, we’re introduced to various side characters that will play a role in the story as a whole, and also learn more about Roxy’s backstory. Since the anime decided to show what Sylphie was up to during Dead End’s trek back home, Iโm doing the same for Roxy. Given how much the second season will likely cover, she will become important in the second half.
Making the Mistake of Teach Pax Shirone
It’s already been stated, but after she finished training Rudeus, she left to continue her travels. She thought she reached her limits when it came to magic, but seeing how much Rudeus admired her despite seemingly surpassing him lit a fire in her. She wanted to become someone worthy of calling themselves Rudeus’ teacher. So, she started training.
Eventually, Roxy got a job as the court mage for the Kingdom of Shirone, where she ended up tutoring Prince Pax. However, while Pax was a good student, he wasn’t in the same league as Rudeus, and she wouldn’t stop comparing the two. That made Pax extremely bitter and resentful towards Rudeus.
Mushoku Tensei 7 La paciencia de Roxy llega a su lรญmite y decide abandonar al sรฉptimo prรญncipe Pax, y por ende al reino de Shirone. Aunque luego estas acciones pesarรญan mucho en Roxy…#็ก่ท่ปข็#MushokuTenseipic.twitter.com/fq0TcJ9Hi8
Not helping matters was that, like Rudeus, Pax kept simping for Roxy. Whereas Rudeus’ feelings were tempered by his genuine admiration for her, Pax openly lusted after Roxy. He kept trying to get handsy with her, and she kept setting him on fire for it. Eventually, it got to the point she couldn’t take it anymore and bailed. That decision ended up causing problems for Rudeus on his journey home.
Looking for Rudeus
Eventually, though, Roxy returned to the Fittoa region of the Asura Kingdom. A few years had passed, and she wanted to see how her student was doing. Instead of the reunion she thought she’d be getting, she found something worse. The entire region was in ruins, its population scattered, and too many people were missing or dead. And Roxy is like, “Oh my God, Rudy! That adorable little kid could be lying dead in a ditch somewhere! And his parents and Lilia! I gotta find them!” Fortunately, Roxy had some help in that regard. Rudeus’ dad, Paul, wound up being one of the first people to make it back, and he’d been leading the efforts to find as many people and get them home, including his family. And he got help from his old band.
In his younger days, Paul and his future wife Zenith were part of this adventurer’s party called Fangs of the Black Wolf. Ghislaine and Geese were also part of it, alongside a dwarf named Tallhand and an elf named Elinalise. They split up after Paul and Zenith settled down, and despite having issues with him, most of them reunited to help Paul find his family. With that in mind, Roxy chose to help them. She liked Rudeus’ family because of how nice they were when she was living with them, and she didn’t want to see her best student die.
So Close, Yet So Far!
With Elinalise and Tallhand accompanying her, one of the first things that the trio did was set out for the Demon Continent, where Roxy first came from. Despite not wanting to go back (they didn’t have any sweets), Roxy did it for the Greyrat’s sake.
As fate would have it, the group arrived in port at the exact same time that Rudeus and the party of Dead End made it there. Now, this is the perfect time for Rudeus and Roxy to reunite. And by doing so, it would make Rudeus and Eris’ attempts to get home that much easier. But no, it wasn’t to be. Through a series of events, Rudeus and Roxy miss each other several times. Roxy even stumbles across Eris and Ruijerd training on the beach while Rudeus is out on errands. However, as soon as she realizes that Ruijerd is a Superd, her fear of them kicks in, and she runs all the way back to where she and Elinalise are staying. What she finds is just as traumatizing, though.
A side note about Elinalise since she’s going to gain more prominence in Season Two. The thing about this elf woman is that she sleeps with a lot of guys, and while she does enjoy it, it’s not entirely of her own volition. Elinalise has this curse on her that make her mana levels rise to potentially fatal levels if left untreated. The only known solution is for her body to create these mana crystals, and the only way that can happen is by acquiring a man’s…reproductive DNA. In other words, she needs to sleep with guys, or she’ll die. And when Roxy comes back, she shows up right as she’s busy with a few guys. Roxy freaks the heck out and destroys their room. It’s like something out of a rom-com/doujinshi.
After that happens, Roxy, Elinalise, and Tallhand leave town and head further into the interior to keep looking for the Greyrat’s. It’s not until much later that they realize they missed Rudeus by that much and how it would’ve saved both groups a lot of time and energy.
Roxy Comes Face to Face With Her Past
As time passes and Roxy continues searching the Demon Continent for Paul’s family, she doesn’t find them. However, she does end up meeting several people from her past, and viewers get to know a little more about who she was before she met Rudeus. There’s also a spin-off manga that delves more into it, but this will cover the basics.
Roxy’s people, the Migurds, have more going for them than long lives and spending most of them looking like loli’s. They also have this ability to communicate with each other telepathically, so when it’s just them, they normally don’t talk. Unfortunately for her, Roxy was born without this ability, and while they were all very nice regardless, she felt like an outcast among her own people. So once she became a teenager, she ran away from home the first chance she got and became an adventurer. However, the first adventuring party she joined wound up disbanding after their leader died while doing a job. Eventually, she left the Demon Continent altogether.
Since this was the first time she’d been back in twenty years, Roxy was due for a reunion or two. She wound up reuniting with the only other member of her party that was still alive (who happened to have also met Rudeus) and caught up over drinks. After that, she eventually decided to return home for the first time in years and reconciled with her parents. Despite being born different from the rest of them, her Mom and Dad showed how much they loved her by going out of their way to help her learn how to read, write, and talk. They were good parents, and were just happy that their daughter was doing fine.
Roxy Be Like “Are You Kidding Me?!?”
Oh, and her Mom and Dad also dropped some big bombshells on her: first, they mentioned how their village regularly got visits from a Superd name Ruijerd. Secondly, they mentioned how two years earlier, he came into town with two human kids in tow, one a redhead and the other some boy saying that he was Roxy’s student. And Roxy is floored by this as she starts putting the pieces together. She realized, “Oh my gosh, that guy and the little girl I saw sparring on the beach must be the people Mom and Dad are talking about. And if they were at the port that day, then must mean that…”
And with that, Roxy realizes that if she hadn’t freaked out and run away like she did, then she would’ve run into Rudeus on that day. She and her group could’ve gotten them all back to the Central Continent way sooner. And, as a side note, that would’ve meant that Rudeus wouldn’t have had to deal with a laundry list of issues during his trip, like getting thrown in jail by the beast people, or that fight with his Dad, or getting captured by Pax Shirone. Granted, it all worked out for the best in the end, but it would’ve saved everyone a lot of trouble. And Roxy reacts like any calm, rational adult would in that sort of situation: by passing the heck out on the floor!
It’s still hilarious in hindsight.
On to the Next Adventure
Now that she knows that her student’s safe and is probably close to getting back by now, Roxy and her friends depart from her village after reconciling with her parents. From there, they keep scouring the Demon Continent looking for the rest of Paul’s family, until they come across a bar where this little demon girl dressed in stripper attire (Iโm not joking,) is drinking everyone under the table. And Roxy and Tallhand wind up getting into a drinking contest.
Well, Tallhand does; Roxy taps out way earlier. And despite being known for drinking everyone he meets under the table, Tallhand loses to this girl. Too bad she canโt afford to pay the bill. If Roxy hadnโt covered for her, she’d have gotten sold off to pay for everything.
As luck would have it, that girl wasn’t an ordinary girl, either. She was actually the immortal Demon Empress Kishirika Kishirisu. She could die, but she would eventually come back, with her last death being recent (to her), hence her small size. She also happened to have met Rudeus in that same town Roxy was in two years ago. Since she now owed Roxy a favor, she used one of her demon eyes to locate where the Greyrat family was for her. The good news was that most of them were safe. Paul and Norn had reunited with Aisha and Lilia. Rudeus was back in the Central Continent, albeit super depressed. He thought his girlfriend dumped him, after all. As for Zenith, Kishirika discovered that she was located in the city of Rapan on the Begaritt Continent, south of the Central Continent. So thatโs where Roxy and her party head next.
All Caught Up Now
At the time of this writing, thatโs where things stand in the anime regarding Roxy. While her importance to the main story remained minimal in the animeโs first season, she’s going to regain prominence as the show progresses. As Rudeus’ mentor/savior, the importance of Roxy in Mushoku Tensei cannot be underestimated. Sadly, at the pace that the anime adapts the light novels, it will likely not be until the second half of the season where we get to see the blue-haired mage once more. Until then, though, there’s always the figurine being sold by Crunchyroll.
Alright. So from last week’s post, you guys are aware that I made my return to our Youtube channel, as well as the blog itself. The only major change was that fact that I would only be posting occasionally, as well as making occasional appearances on Youtube. That’s great news, right? Well yes, and no. Since making my “seemingly” farewell post on March 31st; thanking all of our fans and followers for making D&A Anime Blog what it is, it left me with time to think about the future of this project. I don’t think I’ll ever grow bored or tired of anime, because if I did, this project would’ve ended a long time ago.
I think now in the seven (going on eight) years that we’ve been active in the anime community, as well as the convention circuit, there are functioning aspects about D&A that I fear will put us on the path to a slow death. I’m not trying to scare you guys into thinking that D&A won’t be able to function at 100% capacity, now that I’ve pulled back on consistency. However at this stage of the game I got to be honest; we really need help!ย
Yep…we need help.
Growing a business also comes with growing pains, and in our case, D&A is growing at a rate that we might not be able to keep up in the long term. So what exactly do we need help with? Well, I’m gonna tell you.
#1. Writers and Contributors
Since stepping away, the rate of content that we produce for the blog has declined over recent months. At the time, I was the only writer producing articles and reviews just to keep the consistent flow of content going. However it was only accelerating my burnout, which in turn led to making a post about needing more writers and contributors to help produce content for us. From first glance I get that we ‘look’ like a high profile article print/publishing company, but that’s only on the outside. We are nothing but a staff of two guys who really love anime, Japanese culture, Marvel, and DC comics, and want to talk about it whenever we want. Our only problem now is the fact that for many writers, you have to pay them. (They do a lot of work, so they should be paid.) Which leads us into our second biggest issue.
#2. Revenue
There are so many ways you can make money as a blogger despite it being only passive income. We tried generating enough content and promotion to help land us 1,000 subs and 4,000 watch hours. (The subs we got, but the watch hours…not so much.) So we looked into other ways to try and make some revenue for this project, in order to cover operational costs and upgrades to on-site equipment for press coverage of conventions. Recently we’ve finally opened up our own merch store and got a couple new affiliates to try and generate enough revenue to keep us operating, but that’s just it – it’s only enough to keep us operating.
We want to make more revenue to provide compensation for our writers and contributors as a way to thank them, plus there are some other projects that we want to work on to help expand our brand’s presence within the community, and to other conventions everywhere. We’re really limited in the things we want to do, so if you guys want to see more quality content (and even exclusive content), you can send us a donation on the D&A Donations page, or by so merch from our store. Every little bit helps.
#3. Convention Content
Cons are expensive, there’s no other way I can say it. Because of the pandemic, a lot of our local cons have either dissolved or moved to other states. The average con goer is probably looking at $750-$1000 at best to go to a 3-day convention in 2023; depending where that convention is located, the hotel that they’re staying in, badge cost, etc. Its gotten harder for us to try and provide convention content for you guys due to the rise of prices, and lack of revenue. So we’ve been working on trying to get guest bookings in hopes of elevating half, or all of the cost of getting to these conventions. This will not only help us produce more convention content, but also expand our brand as a whole.
To close this out; D&A has become something special to both me and Aaron, and although many people have stated that we have so much potential, we’re also in dire need of help to reach our full potential. So if you’re out there and you like blogging about nerdy stuff, or want to become a part of our project, subscribe to our blog and social media platforms, and even send us a donation or by some merch.
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.
Fans, we know you’ve been waiting, and you’re gonna get your fill! We’ve made the announcement on our social media pages, but now we’re gonna let you know right here on the blog itself; we have our own MERCH STORE!! Now you can become a part of us by buying official merch from the D&A Merch Store; the official merchandise store of D&A Anime Blog, and D&A Studios Entertainment! T-shirts and coffee mugs won’t be the only type of merch available, as new merch will be hitting our digital store shelves in the coming weeks! Click on our unified brand logo below, and check out what we’ve got in our store. That’s our announcement for now, until next post, stay nerdy my friends! ๐
Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation S2, Ep 0 Review
After waiting for two years, fans of isekai anime can be happy because one of the best, Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation, has returned. Even though there are many anime in the market, Mushoku Tensei stands out because it is based on one of the light novel series that helped make isekai so popular in the last ten years. Since this blog has covered the anime’s first season extensively in recent weeks, new viewers are encouraged to read the four-part recap if they need to catch up. Unfortunately, those who expect season two to continue right where the story of Rudeus Greyrat left off might be disappointed. Additionally, the first episode of this season reveals things that are only discussed later in the light novels, spoiling what could have been a big surprise for anime-only fans. However, this episode, labelled as episode 0, focuses on Sylphie, one of the most important people in Rudeus’ life, who will have a major role in the upcoming season.
The Trials and Tribulations of Sylphie
For those who don’t remember or didn’t read the recap, Sylphiette, or ‘Sylphie’ for short, was Rudeus’ best friend/potential love interest from Buena Village. After he saved her from bullies and taught her how to use magic, the pair remained inseparable. It reached the point where Rudeus’ father, Paul, had to send him away to work as a tutor to keep them from becoming codependent. Unfortunately, like everyone else Rudeus knew, Sylphie fell victim to the teleportation incident that destroyed their home. Whereas Rudeus and friend/student/other love interest, Eris, got sent to the Demon Continent on the other side of the world, Sylphie wound in the royal capital of their homeland of Asura. After inadvertently saving the life of Princess Ariel Asura, Sylphie gets taken in to serve as her bodyguard. In exchange for protecting her under the alias of “Silent Fitz”, Ariel promised to find her lost loved ones.
On the surface, Sylphie’s circumstances seem far less dangerous than those that Rudy and Eris endured. Those familiar with medieval politics (or Game of Thrones), though, will know how cutthroat and dangerous court life can be. During the episode, Sylphie has to endure the barbs and scorn of the highborn silently without showing any weakness or fear. On top of all that, there’s the physical threat of assassins working for Ariel’s relatives, trying to end her life and eliminate a rival to the throne. To make matters worse, Sylphie has to deal with the reminder of her trauma on a physical and psychological level. Not only did the teleportation incident turn her once-green hair snow white, but it’s left her suffering from PTSD nightmares. She does everything she can, but it’s clear to Ariel and Luke, her fellow bodyguard, that this new life might be too much for her.
It would’ve been, too, if Sylphie didn’t find the best friend she could’ve ever hoped for in Ariel.
Ariel Becomes Sylphie’s New Foundation in Life
While not to the scale of what Sylphie went through, Princess Ariel also bears scars from the events that brought Sylphie to her doorstep. Right before that happened, she watched as one of her closest advisors died, powerless to do anything to help him. Despite her loss, though, Ariel has to keep a straight face at court, knowing that faltering for even a second could cost her her life. Despite everything, though, Ariel’s compassionate nature enables her to recognize the suffering Sylphie has endured. As a result, she goes out of her way to help Sylphie heal from these past scars, and it shows. By the end of the episode, their relationship’s evolved from that of royal and bodyguard into a genuine friendship.
Ultimately, though, life at the royal court proves to be too dangerous for Ariel, Sylphie, and Luke to handle on their own. Thus, the trio have no choice but to flee abroad and forge the connections they need to help Ariel become the next Queen. Despite offering to let Sylphie go, Sylphie refuses, vowing to help the woman who saved her at one of her lowest points. One can practically hear Rudeus in her voice when she affirms her resolve to protect Ariel from her tormentors.
A Great Episode, But Might Have Revealed Too Much Too Soon
One reviewer’s first impression of the season premiere for Mushoku Tensei points out how this episode 0 shows what makes this isekai stand out amongst all the others. It has heart, intrigue, and action comparable to Game of Thrones at its peak, but in anime form. While I will not dispute any of this, I had one issue with this episode: what it focused on.
While waiting for the new season to premiere, I read the light novels and the manga adaptation, and both of them revealed that ‘Silent Fitz’ was really Sylphie when ‘Fitz’ had already been around for some time. It wasn’t until the moments where the story shifted from Rudeus’ perspective to that of Sylphie’s that readers would realize the truth about who ‘Fitz’ was, making for a significant surprise. However, revealing that Fitz is Sylphie immediately removes much of the wonder that would’ve come from the revelation down the line. Now people who only watched the anime will just get frustrated at what’s to come.
Trust me; I read the light novels. You’re going to shake your head at a lot of what happens.
Issues aside, this was a solid start to Mushoku Tensei‘s second outing, and I hope that it keeps up this momentum throughout the season. After having to watch so many of its kind fail to live up to what it helped set the trend for, it’s refreshing to see one of the great isekai return. When the dub will come out, though, is another matter entirely.
Last year during Anime Expo, Studio Trigger confirmed that a second season of Panty & Stocking was in the works. While AX is still happening right now, Studio Trigger dropped a lil’ promotional video about the next season. If you wanna know what they got cookin’ for the Anarchy sisters, then check this out!
Repent Motherf*ckers!!!
13 years…that’s how long its been since we’ve seen the infamous post-credits scene. To many fans it was also the day GAINAX ruined Christmas. For 13 years fans of the Anarchy sisters wondered if we were ever going to get a second season. In 2016 we saw a post from Gainax West teasing a return of the fallen angels, which only turned out to be a Panty & Stocking themed cafรฉ. It was at this moment fans started to realize that their favorite rotten angels were only going to get a one-season run, and that would be the end of it. Or, so we thought…
Last year at Anime Expo, Studio Trigger dropped a bomb on the fanbase telling them that they officially own the rights to both Panty & Stocking, as well as Gurren Lagann. This reignited the otherwise ‘seemingly dead’ fandom, and now that the promotional trailer has dropped, it has hyped up the return of the Anarchy sisters even more. With a brand new season finally on the way, fans have started to speculate what will happen with this new season entitled “NEW Panty & Stocking”.
And we’re no exception to this ourselves, so here we go!
Final Boss Stocking
If you stop the promotional video right at 0:50 seconds, you’ll be greeted to a ghost that looks a bit like…Stocking?! Okay, around 2011 fans saw a promotional picture with Scanty, Kneesocks, Brief, and Garterbelt. They also saw Panty in the background fighting what appears to be a ghost-like Stocking. Based on the promo video alone, it looks like she’ll be the final boss of season two. It’ll be interesting to see what Trigger does with this storyline.
Final Boss Stocking Anarchy
Panty & Brief’s Character Development
Throughout the first season Brief has basically been the butt of all jokes thanks to the Anarchy sisters, and the only time we see any genuine interaction between Panty and Brief, is near the end of the 12th episode of the first season. At her most vulnerable point, Panty felt the embrace of Brief and decided to make him not just her 1000th lay, but also her first time. We could see more moments like this in the next season, so it’ll be fun to see what direction Studio Trigger goes in regards to their character development.
The DUB will be Legendary
We all know the DUB of the first season is the most definitive way to watch this series, so if the same dub crew returns (with the exception of Chris Sabat, Joel McDonald, and the late Chris Aryes), and Jamie Marchi is behind the writing, they have a lot more comedic and lowbrow material to work with. The first season didn’t pull any punches, so it’ll be interesting to see what the dub cast will come up with for the second season.ย ย
There is so much to be hyped for now that the promotional trailer has dropped. Panty & Stocking was a game-changing anime in the 2010’s in terms of style, experimental creativity, and outlandish randomness. A lot has changed in the 13 years since its heyday; with political correctness and hyper sensitivity being at an all-time high, many fans were also worried about the show due to its controversial nature. Ironically, that’s what made the show a hit, and as long as Studio Trigger doesn’t read into it that much and goes ‘balls out’ like they did in 2010, Panty & Stocking will be seen as one of the most unconventional, experimental breakout anime titles of all time.
A Candid Recap of Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation, Pt. 4
Last time on Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation, Rudeus and Eris got sucked into this giant pillar of light that sent them across the world to the deadly Demon Continent. With no other choice but to make the long trip back home, they fall under the care of this super-strong Demon named Ruijerd, the so-called last of the Superd Demons seeking to clear his people’s violent name. As their journey spans across continents, they see untold wonders and experience great joy and hardship. After unexpectedly reuniting with his old man, Rudeus learns that the teleportation incident yeeted their entire home, with many of his and Eris’ family still missing; not to mention his best friend, Sylphie!
Despite this, Rudeus decides he still needs to get himself and Eris home. After that, he’ll help in the search for his missing family. Thus begins the final leg of Rudeus’ globe-trotting journey in the final part of our recap of the first season of Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation.
Saving His Little Sister
Turns out Rudeus doesn’t need to wait long to start looking for his family. He gets another visit from, you guessed it, the Man-God! That weird guy gives Rudeus some traveling advice, telling him, “Hey, man. You oughta head to the Shirone Kingdom on your way home. That’s where you’ll find Lilia and Aisha.” And last he heard, Roxy was tutoring the Prince of Shirone, so he thinks it’s his chance to reunite with his beloved teacher. However, he is told to use an alias, though.
Things go off the rails pretty quickly, though. He finds Aisha (who is way smarter than I remember 6-year-olds being,) running from the royal guards. Naturally, he performs his big brother duties and saves her, only to discover that Man-God was right with his advice. Aisha’s so smart that she managed to locate his “Holy Relic” from Roxy, and pegged the brother she’s never met as a pervert. Ouch! It’s one thing to hear it from Eris, but from your own sister? That’s sad, Rudeus!
At any rate, Aisha’s been trying to get a message out to Paul for months without success, so Rudeus decides, “Bet. I’mma head in there, find Roxy, and she’ll help clear this up.”
Blatant Advertising
Yeah, it doesn’t work. Turns out the Prince of Shirone, Pax Shirone, is holding Lilia hostage along with the families of his guards. And all of this is part of some convoluted scheme to lure Roxy back. She quit years ago because Pax was pervy as Rudeus is. Unlike him, who worships Roxy as this holy god, Pax just wants her back to make her his unwilling baby mama. And he’s the same age as Rudeus! How messed up is that? And he takes Rudeus prisoner in an anti-magic force field.
Thankfully, this is where Rudeus years of working with earth magic as a side gig comes in handy. A few years ago, Rudeus sold this high-quality figurine of Roxy. And I mean super high-quality. We’re talking collectible-worthy. And to Roxy’s dismay, Pax got his hands on it, but it wound up in the hands of his older half-brother, Zanoba. He’s a Blessed Child, which is a layperson term for someone with extraordinary power; in his case, super strength that would make Sakura Haruno jealous. The downside is that it leaves him unable to experience the sensation of touch, his social skills are nonexistent…and he could kill someone by accident.
No, seriously. He accidentally killed one of his younger brothers, and did the same thing to his wife!
Gaining a Fanboy
Now, Zanoba describes the Roxy doll that Rudeus made down to the most minute detail. And this is one of the funniest scenes in the series, because this man is talking it up like it’s the dang Venus de Milo or David of Michaelangelo. The whole thing sounds like a promotion for an actual figurine the studio’s putting out (and it is!) Seeing this grown man gush over something reminds Rudeus of being an artist or celebrity at a fan convention getting to see their fans drool over them. And once Zanoba confirms that Rudy made the doll, he decides he’s gonna call him his master. Except…the barrier. So Zanoba goes, “Bet. I’m gonna go sort this out. Be back in five minutes.”
Spongebob Narrator: A Few Minutes Later…
So, Zanoba just wastes Pax’s guards like they’re ragdolls, grabs the guy out of his bed, and drags his butt down to where he’s holding Rudeus and demands he let the boy go! Otherwise, he will crush his skull! Zero hesitation here, people!!
It works, though. Between that and Eris and Rujerd breaking in and resolving things with the guards, who, I might add, have their families held hostage by Pax, the whole thing comes to an end. Pax and Zanoba, though, are exiled.
So, after this, Rudeus has found two of his missing family members, and both are grateful to him for it. Lilia even gives him some belated 10th birthday presents: the box with Roxy’s “Holy Relic” in it, and a necklace that sweet Sylphie made for him. With the two now safe, they head off to reunite with Paul and Norn, and Aisha tells Rudeus “Sorry I called you a pervert, big brother!”
…Yeah, she knew who he was the whole time. Dang, that kid’s smart!
Rudeus got Sephiroth’d…
Now, by this point, Rudeus, Eris, and Ruijerd have been traveling for about two, two-and-a-half years, and they’re finally reaching the end of their journey. They’ve had their ups and downs, and fair share of hardships and fun, but they’ve come out of it on top. So, by now, they’re feeling pretty confident in themselves. Heck, Eris even gets Ruijerd to acknowledge her as a warrior. That’s when the story takes another 180 and reminds everyone, viewers included, that things can change in a fraction of a second. In this case, the party of Dead End…gets Sephiropth’d.
They’re traveling on this mountain pass when Eris and Ruijerd suddenly freeze up in complete terror at this man coming their way. This man, this white-haired, sword-wielding man accompanied by a teenage girl in a mask, walks right past them, and the two look ready to wet themselves! Rudeus, though, just gets confused and wondering why they’re freaked out by this edgelord; or why he seems to know who Eris and Ruijerd are. He doesn’t know it, but he’s just met Orsted, the strongestbeingin the world. The man’s so terrifying, he’s literally cursed to make everyone who meets him want to wet themselves in terror!
And what happens next…can barely be described in words. When Rudeus brings up the name “Man-God,” Orsted goes full-blown Sephiroth. He proceeds to fold Ruijerd in seconds, slaps Eris into the mountainside, and proceeds to royally cook Rudeus. And then Orsted says, “Give the Man-God a message from me when you die. Tell him Orsted’s coming for him.” And then…Rudeus dies. He actually dies.
And the next thing he knows, he’s back with the Man-God, who says “Oh, yeah, sorry you got caught up in that. Me and old Orsted have beef with each other, I won’t bore you with the details. My bad!” But then, something crazier happens. Rudeus wakes up alive. After he died, Orsted’s friend, Nanahoshi, talked him into saving his life for reasons they couldn’t understand. But all Rudeus knows is how glad he is to be alive, and Eris is just holding him in her lap, bawling her eyes out over the fact that the guy she likes almost died in front of her, and she couldn’t do jack to stop it.
And thus, the second turning point in Rudeus’ second life ends.
…Came Home to Find it Gone…
After all of this, the trio finally makes it home to the Fittoa region, and just like Paul said, the whole place is in ruins. Most of the people are gone or still missing, and Rudeus’ hometown is abandoned. Rudeus finally sees home again, only for it to no longer exist. But now that they’re back and able to fend for themselves, Ruijerd bids them farewell. He has to continue his mission of finding other Superd’s and clearing his people’s good name.
When Rudeus and Eris make it to Eris’ former home, it’s no better. The good news is that Ghislaine and her other servant Alphonse survived, but that’s about it. Tragically, Eris’ parents wound up in a dangerous place, and by the time Ghislaine reached them, they were already dead. Her grandpa survived, but some sleazy politicians used him as a scapegoat for the whole disaster and had him executed for that. In other words, Eris has no family left. Rudeus is all that she has left in the world.
What happens next remains a massive controversy. Later that night, while contemplating what to do next, Rudeus finds Eris showing up in his tent and telling him she turned 15 recently. She’s an adult now, and there’s only one thing she wants: for Rudeus to be her family.
Remember the promise they made on his 10th birthday? Eris doesn’t want to wait another two years. She wants Rudeus now.
…And Then Gets Walked out On.
Now, this is where Rudeus shows just how far he’s come since he started his second life. Because, at one point, he would’ve jumped at this opportunity with no hesitation. But now he’s gotten the chance to emotionally mature enough to appreciate what Eris is offering him. And he’s smart enough to recognize that Eris is likely jumping the gun on this as a means to A.) cope with the fact that her family’s gone and he’s all she has left. And Rudeus says, “Eris, look. As much as I would love to take you up on that, we can’t. It’s not how our first time should go!” But Eris managed to roll a Nat 20 on feminine charm for that night, and despite Rudeus’ brain saying this is a bad idea…his heart won’t listen. And on that night, Rudeus and Eris both became adults.
When Rudeus wakes up the following day, he’s on cloud nine. Even with how his home’s in ruins, he’s got himself a girlfriend that he loves and thinks they will be together forever! But then, when Rudeus is at his happiest, he experiences one of the absolute worst things that he could ever experience. As he goes back inside the tent, thinking about important stuff, like all the dates they’ll go on, their wedding, what to name their kids. Except…Eris is not there. All he finds is a pile of her hair and a short letter saying they’re not compatible right now and she’s leaving on a journey.
…
…
…
…
…Did Rudeus just get dumped?
Eris Fs Up. BIG TIME
Now, before we start hating on Eris, let me explain.
So, Eris did mean every word she said about wanting Rudeus to be her family. She had fallen for him a long time ago, and if he had told her that they should elope, she would’ve without a second thought. But after Rudeus fell asleep beside her after sharing their first times, she realized that what happened…wasn’t healthy. Learning her family was dead, coupled with the chance that he might leave her to find his Mom and Sylphie, and multiplied by watching him almost die in front of her…she panicked. She didn’t want to lose Rudeus, so she did all this to keep that from happening. But then she realized, “Oh my God, what did I just do? I just tried to baby-trap my man to keep him from walking out on me. That is so messed up. WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH ME?!?!” It was that same co-dependency thing that made Paul split Rudeus and Sylphie up for a few years. It’s not healthy, and would hold them both back.
So, Eris came to a decision. She was going to go with Ghislaine and have an anime training arc for the next few years to get stronger. Strong enough not to have to rely on Rudeus to protect her anymore and stand by his side as his equal in life.
Now, nobody can fault Eris for doing all of this. She’s doing it to protect her man, which is understandable. But here’s the thing: firstly, she doesn’t tell Rudeus this face-to-face. She knows if she does, he’ll talk her out of it, so she writes a letter to him, hence the letter. Also understandable. However, instead of explaining all these complicated thoughts and emotions like she should, her bright idea is to write a letter that says “Right now, we’re not compatible, so I’m leaving on a journey.” That’s all she wrote. Like an idiot. Like a 15-year-old idiot who thinks that Rudeus would be smart enough to figure that stuff out on his own.
Morgan Freeman: Eris didn’t know it, but it was at this point…she f*cked up.
Not only does Rudeus not understand it, he thinks he just got dumped. Anyone would come to that conclusion after reading a letter like that. What were you thinking, Eris!?!?
Picking Himself Up and Starting Over Again
So, Rudeus has spent the entirety of his second life trying to better himself. He started off as a scumbag, but he learned from his first life and actually grew to be a better person. He even faced his fears of the outside world, met all sorts of new people, and thought he got a girlfriend. And where has that left him? His home’s gone, his mom and childhood friend are missing, and the girl he gave his first time to seemingly walked out on him.
So, just like that, Rudeus finds himself falling into the same trap that ruined him in his first life. He shuts himself off from the world, doing nothing but eating and sleeping as he wallows in self-pity. For real, what the heck was Eris thinking? She just broke his heart and left him when he needed people the most!
But this time, things are different. Even though he just wants to shut himself off from the world right now, Rudy remembers his family from both his lives. He shut himself off from his parents and siblings, and he let every chance to make things better slip by until it was too late. So, even though he got his heart broken, he’s not making the same mistake twice. Not while his mom and Sylphie are still out there waiting to be found! So what does he do? He picks himself back up, grabs his staff and his stuff, and leaves what’s left of Fittoa to find his mom, and hopefully, Sylphie.
And that is where the first season of Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation ends.
Mushoku Tensei is Isekai at its Finest
Now, say what you want about the Isekai genre and how it is everywhere these days. The medium of Japanese Cartoons are dealing with an overpopulation problem. It’s gotten to the point where Western Audiences are either sick of watching it, or hate-watch to call it trash. With that in mind, those not in the know would write Mushoku Tensei off as yet another piece of Isekai garbage. The thing is, it’s not.
Firstly, Mushoku Tensei was one of the early pioneers of the wave of Isekai that’s been hitting anime for the last decade. A lot of the tropes, plot devices, and the like that people complain are done to death in Isekai these days? Mushoku Tensei was one of the ones that made all that a thing. And if you look closely, you’ll see that it did this stuff better than a lot of the stuff that’s followed in its wake. All the stuff people call “Isekai Trash” tries to copy the success of Mushoku Tensei, Sword Art Online, Re:Zero, and the like. More importantly, though, Mushoku Tensei avoids the trap that a lot of Isekai fall into: world-building and character development.
Yes, the story starts out slow before getting into the big adventure, but it does this because it takes the time to develop the world and the characters who inhabit it into real people. More importantly, the main protagonist, Rudeus, doesn’t start out as another stock light novel hero who’s an instant ace and whose past life doesn’t matter. What happened in Rudeus’ first life shapes who he starts out as and who he wants to grow beyond, and despite his best efforts, he doesn’t always succeed. It takes him years to grow out of his perverted scumbag mindset, and even then, he’s still got that pervy aspect to him. Plus, he experiences just as much hardship as he does joy. This second life of his isn’t easy, but that’s the whole point. When it comes down to it, Mushoku Tensei is a story about life, and learning to appreciate it for all its worth. Even bad experiences can have value, not just the good.
So, yeah, Mushoku Tensei is what Isekai should aspire to be. This stuff’s good.
Season 2 Drops July 2nd, 2023
Now, the story of Rudeus Greyrat is not over, far from it. The light novel series it’s adapting is 25 volumes long, and so far, it’s only adapted up to the end of Volume 6. So, if each season has a similar amount of episodes and covers the same number of volumes…that’s about 4-5 seasons of this. Be ready for the long haul.
Fortunately, we’re in luck. The trailer for the new season dropped on Crunchyroll’s YouTube channel recently. According to it, the new season starts July 2nd, and it will see Rudeus embark on a new journey, meeting new and familiar faces. And more importantly, trying to get over what happened with Eris. I will review it, so be sure to check back in when the time comes.
I’m back…but on a occasional basis. It’s been almost a year since my last appearance on our Youtube channel and podcast. A lot of things have happened IRL; some of which is too sad to talk about, while the rest is just me reprioritizing certain aspects of my life. As for where I am right now, I’m not fully where I want to be just yet, but I’m doing much better mentally and emotionally than I was seven months ago. Although I’m back on occasion, I didn’t come empty-handed. I came with some awesome announcements to share with you guys about what’s going on for the remainder of 2023, and possibly 2024. So, here we go.ย
We’re Back on the Road to Conventions as D&A Studios Entertainment!!
While I was away for half-a-year (Youtube-wise), I was still reaching out to anime conventions in hopes that we would at least be picked up to do press work for them. Most of them haven’t responded back yet, but one convention reached out to us almost immediately! October 21-22 we’ll be making our FIRST convention appearance (as Press) since Animore 2020, at PuchiCon at the Camelback Resort in Pocono Mountiains, PA! They also have a second convention in Atlantic City, NJ so we might even get booked there in 2024. After three years of no conventions for ya’ boyz, D&A is back on the road again!
Avidd Minddset has a New Event Coming Spring 2024 Powered By D&A Studios Entertainment!
So this came to me in a vision I had last week; although we don’t have enough resources to produce our own convention just yet, I want to create something that brings together all of the entertainment attributes that makes anime/gaming conventions fun. So I decided to create a brand social ‘afterparty’ type event called BASSMODE: Nerdz Nite Out. This event is a celebration of the love, respect, and passion we have for not just anime as a medium, but the anime/gaming community and nerd culture as a whole. The inspiration for the theme of this event stemmed from other nerd entertainment brands such as NYC’s Senpai Project, and Otakus With Attitude (OWA). Could this event become something major down the road? Ya never know! ๐
Occasional Posts, Reviews & Articles!
Since I’ll only be around occasionally (both on Youtube and the blog), I’ll also be occasionally posting articles and reviews on anime, and other current events happening within the industry. You won’t see me on a consistent basis, but when new announcements drop, you’ll see a post or article about it. I may occasionally do a One-2-One on anime characters like ‘days of old’, or even a Top 10. You never know what might pop up, but yes, I’m back…but on an occasional basis.
That will do it for me, so until next post, stay nerdy! ๐ย ย
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