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EP. REVIEW: Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation II

(On this singular point, if there's an isekai/fantasy with an amazingly-written female cast I'm unaware of, I'd like to know, honestlyーmaybe I should get to watching Frieren finally?)

Adding to the excellent suggestions above, if you want modern isekai, you could try something with an almost all female cast, like The Executioner and Her Way of Life.

If you're open to regular fantasy, check out The Beast Player and the Moribito series by Uehashi Nahoko or their anime adaptations.

The issue for me is that while I can appreciate the episode on its own merits and devoid of past trends I'd even be pretty satisfied with Norn's writing, the existence of said past trends means I can't divorce them from my watching experience. I like Norn, I think she's a good character and overall I think her reconciliation with Rudeus is good and it makes sense for other characters to both compare her to him and to try and help her view him more favourably. However she exists in this story.

Quoth Mami-kouga:

Quote:

The issue for me is that while I can appreciate the episode on its own merits and devoid of past trends I'd even be pretty satisfied with Norn's writing, the existence of said past trends means I can't divorce them from my watching experience. I like Norn, I think she's a good character and overall I think her reconciliation with Rudeus is good and it makes sense for other characters to both compare her to him and to try and help her view him more favourably. However she exists in this story.

I ask this out of curiosity, not out of any sort of aggressive impulse. Why do you watch this show? It seems what you're saying here is that even when there's a storyline you'd like in another show and that you admit is well executed here, you can't enjoy it here because you basically have already developed an implacable animus towards the series. You don't seem alone in this, and I have to admit I don't quite get it. What are you seeking from this show if no matter what it does you will never enjoy it because of what's come before?

Thanks for the thoughtful reply and clarification, Mami-kouga. I have a clearer idea of your views now, and apologize for conflating you with people who seem to be just hate-watching, a thing I really don't understand.

I will say that personally I am far less interested in seeing Rudy getting punished and rather more involved in watching him evolve as a person. Rudy's not a villain, after all, he's a (very) flawed protagonist, slowly becoming a less flawed one. The fact that it's a lifetime journey is part of the draw, not a detriment. It's far more engaging then the more usual "He had an epiphany and now he's all fixed" kind of thing. If it's two steps forward one step back at times, well, as long as the story is convincingly told that's a plus. To the extent Rudy getting punished is part of that process, fine, but I really don't need to see him getting punished just to get punished. I'm not saying your perspective is invalid, but it's not what draws me to the show.

As for thing about how people are calling him great more often...who do you think is doing that who shouldn't? Remember these people live in a far different world and from societies far removed from our sensibilities. To me this is great worldbuilding, but I'd be interested in who you think wouldn't actually be praising him in the show.

I think part of my own personal problem with a lot of criticism--again, not explicitly yours--is that while people very rightly point out how really terrible of a person Rudy has been at times, they kind of ignore the fact that at the same time, at other junctures and in different ways, he's also a great person. He's in most instances kind, he's brave to the point of risking his life to save others, he's (mostly) humble, he's tremendously smart and talented but doesn't throw his weight around, he doesn't hold grudges against people who have wronged him, he's fiercely loyal to people in his circle, etc. At the same time he's selfish and self-involved and, obviously, has been extremely perverted. That tension between the two sides is really what the whole story's about.

At least, that's what makes the show such a classic in my own eyes. I will admit, I basically and unreservedly love this show.

Again, thank for the respective and well-reasoned reply. Again, though, I would argue--not forcing the idea, but advancing it--that it's more appropriate to judge Rudy's actions based on the mores of the societies he finds himself living in. I think "no harm no foul" is a precept that is far more accepted in his new world, and that the definition of what constitutes a harm being far more stringent.

For instance, although he surely made a humiliating bad mistakes confronting Nones' class (which he understood once he realized what was going on), there'd certainly be no reason for him to transfer to another school. That the school is entirely laissez faire about bullying has been well established. This school is preparing students to be mages, fighters and to navigate royal politics, roles that will see many of them killed or maimed. I would think they probably consider that if you can't take some bullying you probably shouldn't be there.

As an another example, I think the entire idea of a "sex pest" is something that wouldn't even be an idea in Rudy's new world. That doesn't make it right, but considering how much worse that Rudy could be--he's never demanded sexual favors from Linia or Pursena, even though as the leader of their pack he could--shows that for his time and place Rudy is quite forbearing. Indeed, even after Linia basically told him she'd do anything short of getting pregnant, she clawed him pretty good when he felt her up and he didn't retaliate. Certainly all of us would consider that a fairly low bar, but again, in the world he currently lives in he would have been entirely in his rights to press the issue. By the standards of this world, no doubt, Rudy is quite progressive.

As for Roxie's underwear, she always knew he had them and basically herself took a "boys will be boys" attitude towards it. It's clear that now he--for the first time in either world--is in a happy and positive sexual relationship that the "holy relic" holds more symbolic than prurient power over him.

Also, Rudy usually *has* been punished when he was sex pesty. He regularly got walloped by Eris, and as noted Linia isn't shy about (literally) tearing into him when he takes liberties.
I myself am old enough that I remember when being "handsy" was considered more loutish than criminal. I'm certainly not arguing for that, but again, given the world presented, it would be highly unlikely that they had more enlightened attitudes towards that sort of thing. As for Sylphie "brushing past it," again, I doubt she finds most of his antics all that over the top. This is a world with sex slaves, after all.

I'm not exactly sure what you think was so terrible about his interactions with Sara. To be sure, he (like many of us) made some really awful remarks about her when he thought he wasn't being listened to, but it was clearly when he was completely messed up mentally. So much so that when he realized she had heard him he literally tried to kill himself.

Rudy isn't donating to charity, which is goodness at a remove and without much of a cost save money. Rudy has put himself on the line to save many, many people's lives. Indeed, he risked his life to save the very villagers who kidnapped and debased him. You might think it weird that so many of the characters shrug off Rudy's bad acts, but again, he himself pretty broadmindedly shrugged off the crimes of the village he then saved and made friends with his former persecutors, which is a rather bigger deal then the stuff you're talking about. He spent years working to repair the reputation of Ruijerd's people. He's put himself at the disposal of a woman who earlier was the companion of the guy who literally murdered him, and took it upon himself to tend to her when she was lost. I have to say, I myself think the consequences of Rudy's good acts pretty healthily outweigh his bad ones, if we're just putting them on a scale. I look forward to seeing his journey progress.

The transferring thing was more that even if the school is casual about bullying when Norn is obviously lonely, attacking her alleged bullies and then leaving her in a class where everyone will be terrified of approaching her

The underwear thing can't really be justified to me it's a demeaning thing treated as a joke

Rudeus gets beaten for being a pervert but what lasting damage does that have on any of his relationship with said girls.

I haven't seen any indication that the school culture works that way. And it's equally possible that Rudy calling them out made them realize they should treat more as a discrete person than as "Rudy's sister." The end of the episode indicates she's gaining friends, so again, I think you may be reading things into this that aren't there.

OK, but who's being demeaned? Roxie isn't.

That's because it's considered kind of tit for tat. In a world where teenagers routinely fight gigantic monsters and often die horribly (or get married off at the age of 12 for political reasons), getting felt up probably isn't very high on anyone's list of the really awful things. The reason it doesn't deal lasting damage to these relationships is that "getting felt up / getting clawed - punched in the face" basically cancels out. You don't have to feel that way, but it certainly makes sense in the world as presented.

I don't get the "Sylphie is a doormat" thing at all (and you are certainly not the only proponent of it), considering this is a woman who literally fought off assassins and nearly died do so. I think a lot of people who really want Rudy to be chastised and called out more resent Sylphie for not being their mouthpiece, but that's now who the character is. This gets into the basic realm of whether it's kosher to bring expectations to a show and then criticize it for not meeting them. For myself, the answer is a hard no.

You're overreading my point I think. My point is that there's no reality where storming in and taking matters into your own hands like that (especially with how angry Rudeus was to the extent he was even considering fighting her teacher) and leaving her in said situation when he can't be by her side isn't the wisest idea no matter how you slice it especially with how shy Norn was. That she was able to still make friends after doesn't contradict this point because Rudeus did not actually get to go through with what he was thinking of doing. And my main point was that it's fine for Rudeus to make a bad choice based off emotions like that even if it's not smart in long term.

I don't expect Sylphie to be my mouthpiece for Rudeus but she's perfectly written to a character who completely indulges him in a way that's more insidious. She defends his honour against the "crazy girls" who accused him of being a panty stealing pervert (a thing he is just not in the context of that particular situation)…