spoilers for both cours of Mushoku Tensei S1 ahead

Mushoku Tensei is a truly unique series. Its quality is undeniable–easily one of the best shows to come out in recent years. Yet, recommending Mushoku Tensei has always been a little awkward for me, considering the stigma surrounding its controversial protagonist and the Isekai genre as a whole. Admittedly, the first few episodes might provide a bit of a shock to viewers–some might be tempted to drop the show–but if you can put aside your reservations and buckle in for the ride, you’ll be provided with a wonderfully touching story about a broken man’s will to change, filled with lessons about progressing through life’s continuous challenges. Paired with incredible animation, music, and some of the best world-building I’ve ever seen, Mushoku Tensei is an incredibly immersive experience matched by no other. This essay will delve into spoilers for both cours of the first season, so if you have not completed all 23 episodes, I implore you to do that first. Now, let us begin.

Mushoku Tensei is a story about life. More specifically, it’s about life’s challenges and how we respond to them. What I love about the show is how realistically it depicts the humanity in its characters (even though, ironically, many of its characters aren’t human). People aren’t perfect, and people can change. People can’t do everything on their own and need to rely on others sometimes. People all have their own ambitions and methods, and at the end of the time we share, we must all say goodbye to embark on our own journeys. All these facts are real and interconnected, and Mushoku Tensei is able to portray all these facts of life through its characters and writing.

Change is the fundamental factor driving Mushoku Tensei’s entire story. It’s in the title after all: “Jobless Reincarnation: I Will Seriously Try If I Go To Another World” (Mushoku Tensei: Isekai Ittara Honki Dasu). But what our protagonist, reborn as Rudeus Greyrat, finds out is that “seriously trying” is easier said than done for a former shut-in. To say that Rudeus’s behavior early in the series is problematic would be an understatement. To be honest, it was a level of degeneracy I’d never seen in a show that was still trying to take itself seriously. What most people don’t see, however, is that Rudeus’s behavior serves a purpose. The show intentionally shows us its characters at their worst initially in order to highlight the fact that they are capable of change. Sometimes, a second chance is what people really need, but are rarely provided with.

In his past life, Rudeus was a 34-year-old shut-in who never left his house due to bullying trauma from his high school days. Instead of attending his parent’s funeral, he plays porn games in his bedroom. In other words, Rudeus was complete scum. But it’s not like he wanted to be that way. In fact, he’s claimed that if he was provided another chance, he would start taking life seriously. And as fate would have it, Rudeus finds himself reborn in a fantasy world, filled with monsters and magic and the sort. But there are a few things holding him back.

Firstly, old habits die hard. Rudeus’s perverted nature is on full display at the beginning of the series. Secondly, Rudeus still has unresolved trauma that prevents him from being able to fully apply himself like he always wanted to do. In order to change who you are and start anew, you must let go of who you once were. Both of these things begin to change, however, when he meets Roxy. Not only did Roxy refine Rudeus’s magic ability, but also brought him outside his house to help him realize that in this world, people don’t hate him for who he is anymore. Rudeus truly has a second chance to live the life that he always wanted. This causes Rudeus to respect Roxy greatly and proves to Rudeus the importance of meaningful connections. The more Rudeus realizes the importance of the people in his life, the more his perverted nature subsides. We can see many times later in the series when Rudeus will hold himself back, most notably in episode 22 where he at first flat-out refuses Eris’s advances. While this is still a pretty low bar, compared to Rudeus at the beginning of the show, it’s clear to see how far he’s come. And that’s what Mushoku Tensei proves to us: people can change when given a second chance, so first impressions shouldn’t dictate how you see a person.

Another example of this is with Eris, the girl whom Rudeus was hired to tutor. She’s introduced as an insufferable, spoiled, violent brat; someone who has no time or respect for Rudeus, or anyone else really. She leaves the absolute worst first impression, and due to this, Eris has always been alone. Her tough act is just a front to cover up her own loneliness. Rudeus–as someone who himself was all too familiar with loneliness in his past life–was able to recognize this, and devised a plan to help her. After being kidnapped and saved by Rudeus’s abilities, Eris realizes her own powerlessness and accepts Rudeus. After Rudeus once again saves her from embarrassment at her 10th birthday party, her respect for Rudeus grows even larger. Ruijerd’s strength, resolve, and unwavering sense of righteousness also influenced Eris, and at the end of the season, she’s nearly a completely different character. Actions such as showing courtesy towards the Migurds at the village and wishing the adventure group they meet in their first town good luck all show Eris’s steady change to a more respectful person.

The biggest example of Eris’s growth to me was at the Doldia Village. Eris has always been hostile towards people she isn’t familiar with, and as such, hasn’t been able to make many meaningful connections. But at the Doldia Village, she befriends both Tona and Tersena. This in it of itself is a huge step forward, but Eris further offers to teach Tona and Tersena the Human language and even learns a bit of Beast-God from them, showing her recognizing the importance of what Rudeus taught her and her acceptance to receive help from others. When later helping Tona’s swordsmanship, Eris is able to patiently and supportively teach her; far different from her hotheaded and abrasive personality we saw earlier in the show. When they have a disagreement, Eris is willing to forgive, again something that would have certainly never happened previously. And finally, when saying goodbye, Eris realizes that she has finally been able to make solid connections and meaningful friendships with other people; people that helped her and have been helped by her; people who will never forget her. It’s an especially proud moment for everyone watching, and one that was only possible because Rudeus gave her a chance to change. Had Rudeus not been there to empathize with Eris’s situation and decided to help her change, it’s unlikely anyone ever would have, considering her attitude toward others. Had no one done this, Eris would still have been a spoiled, helpless brat. Eris is another prime example that people can change drastically when given a chance.

Ruijerd is also a character who sees positive change throughout the season due to the fact that he was given a chance by Rudeus. Ruijerd is a member of the infamous Superd tribe trying to restore its fractured reputation. Though he isn’t as bad as the rumors make him seem, he certainly has a rather twisted set of morals. Firmly believing that all evil should be met with uncompromising death, it’s no surprise that the Superd's reputation hasn’t been improving despite all his work. When dealing with the pet smugglers, seeing Ruijerd’s lack of hesitation to kill makes him feared even by Rudeus and the viewer. Since meeting Rudeus, however, he’s come to realize that in order to achieve his goal of restoring the Superd’s reputation, he must learn to compromise some of his strong beliefs. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter why someone was killed, just who killed them. At their farewell, Ruijerd is a much more considerate and much less abrasive person, and someone who has served as a valuable mentor to Rudeus and Eris. It’s worth remembering that Rudeus only resolved to help Ruijerd because, as a former shut-in, he sympathized with Ruijerd’s feelings of regret. Had it been someone else, they likely would’ve followed their own image of Ruijerd given off by his poor reputation and poor first impression and wouldn’t have gotten involved with him. In this way though, Ruijerd never would’ve been able to develop into the beloved character we know him as. Whether you let first impressions dictate your views or give people a chance to change themselves–that is a question that you must yourself answer.

Ruijerd’s story provides a nice segue into my next topic, which is the importance of connections and relying on others. The characters in Mushoku Tensei are often faced with challenges way beyond the scope of their power. In order to survive, they must learn to depend on others and work together. Nobody can survive on their own: it’s an idea reinforced time and time again throughout the show. For example, Eris’s attitude prior to meeting Rudeus made her a lone wolf, which she thought was fine. However, during her kidnapping, she realized how powerless she was and only made it out due to Rudeus’s help. There are limits to her abilities, and in times of need, she must accept the help of others to succeed. It’s unreasonable for humans to be able to do everything on their own; after all, nobody is perfect. Cooperation is necessary for success. Mushoku Tensei captures this idea perfectly.

The biggest predicament faced by Rudeus and the others in this season is the great teleportation disaster, which impacted not just him and Eris but the entirety of their continent. What’s important to keep in mind is that Rudeus is still only a child, merely 10 years old at the time of the teleportation. He’s completely powerless. Due to this, he must rely on those stronger than him to help him on his journey to bring Eris back home. This includes his grudging acceptance of the Man-God’s advice and his reliance on Ruijerd for navigation and protection. Despite this, time and time again Rudeus tries to solve things on his own. Perhaps Rudeus has gotten a big head due to his precocious nature, but nearly every time Rudeus does this he ends up failing. Whether it be trying to sell his staff to scrape together travel fees or putting together a faulty plan to increase his party’s reputation at the expense of killing another adventurer, Rudeus’s actions always would or at least would have caused discourse within their party; the opposite of what Rudeus wants. This is an important reality check for Rudeus: he truly cannot do anything on his own. The moment that follows in episode 11 shows both Rudeus and Ruijerd accepting that they must be one as a team in order to succeed at both of their goals. Ruijerd needs Rudeus’s help to restore the reputation of the Superds, and Rudeus needs Ruijerd’s help to bring Eris back home. In order for these things to happen, they must openly and wholeheartedly cooperate. From then on, Dead End is a true team.

Despite this reassuring development, Mushoku Tensei never forgets to remind us just how powerless Rudeus and Dead End are in the grand scheme of things. In the Doldia Village, Rudeus squares off against a smuggler that is much stronger than he is, threatening to sell off the beast-children. It’s very clear that despite Rudeus’s incredible magic ability, on his own he stands no chance. Rudeus is only able to defeat the smuggler through cooperation with the help of Geese and the mythical beast, whom he had befriended, again reinforcing the importance of cooperation over individual ability. No amount of teamwork, however, could save Dead End from the events of the show’s aptly named second Turning Point. Faced with Dragon God Orsted, our heroes are on the floor in a matter of seconds. Even Ruijerd–who we’ve always known as incredibly strong–was effortlessly folded, standing absolutely no chance. Their adventure would very well have been over had it not been for Orsted healing them for some unknown reason. This encounter is a grim reminder of how weak Dead End really is, and an important lesson that no matter how strong you are, there are always bigger fish in the sea.

These ideas are on full display in my personal favorite part of the entire season: Paul and Rudeus’s reunion in episodes 16 and 17. Paul Greyrat, as we learn from the very start, is a pretty shitty person. He’s rude, unfaithful, and womanizing, and the show spends no effort to mask that. However, despite his many shortcomings, he’s someone who truly cares a lot about his friends and family. He had been working tirelessly to locate all the victims of the teleportation disaster as well as the members of his family. So when Rudeus shows up telling grand stories of his adventures through the demon continent, supposedly safe and sound with a fierce Superd bodyguard and a beautiful girl, It’s understandable why Paul would be angry. All this time, Paul had been working his ass off to clean up the mess made by the teleportation disaster, and Rudeus has been enjoying himself by the sounds of it. To Paul, it seems that Rudeus doesn’t care about their village, their family, or their community, only focusing on enjoying himself. But we know it hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows for Rudeus. He’s had his fair share of troubles and challenges as well. It’s important to remember that despite how talented Rudeus is, he’s only still a child. Being suddenly transported into a dangerous new place, it’s natural that he’s had his hands full with simply surviving and focusing on what’s right in front of him: bringing Eris home. What Paul is expecting of Rudeus would be superhuman for a child his age. Mushoku Tensei very clearly understands the limits of its characters: Rudeus is limited by his age and experience, and Paul is limited by his narrow mindset. And this is fine, as flaws are part of being human. Rudeus and Paul eventually recognize this as well, and upon understanding each other, are able to make up in a very touching moment. They are family, after all, reunited after an unforeseen tragedy left their futures uncertain. Putting aside their differences, them being alive to meet again alone is worth celebrating.

All in all, the reason I love Mushoku Tensei so much is because it’s a show that understands and provides a very realistic depiction of humanity. People are flawed, but people can change to better themselves if given a chance. People change largely because of the connections they make with other people and the experiences they share with these people. People build connections with others because they can’t do everything on their own. People can’t do everything on their own because they aren’t perfect–they have their own limitations. In Mushoku Tensei, all these facts about its characters are interconnected, as they are with real people in real life. The time you share with others in your journeys through life will impact the course of the rest of your paths. And when the time you share has come to an end, you each will continue on your own unique journeys. For Ruijerd, he continues his quest to improve the reputation of the Superd tribe, keeping in mind the strategies and experiences that Rudeus provided him. Eris had become someone who greatly respected Rudeus but began to depend on his skills too much. As such, she decides to go on an adventure to better herself and gain the individual strength that she always lacked, so that next time they meet, she can stand with Rudeus as his equal. Rudeus, with Eris’s sudden departure, has now lost everything once again. After hitting rock bottom like this in his previous life, he had simply given up. But Rudeus has changed, and now must pick up the pieces so he can find his mother. As he walks past the hung-up body of his previous life, Rudeus finally lets go of his past life’s weakness in order to become fully reborn.

Now, for you, the viewer. As you progress through life, you too will find people who leave a poor first impression. Will you allow these people a second chance to potentially change into wonderful people? You too will find situations in which your own abilities are insufficient. Will you reach out and accept help from others? These are all questions that the characters from Mushoku Tensei had to respond to, but that you will have to confront at some point in your own life as well. Perhaps, when you get to that point in your journey, Mushoku Tensei will be able to help you answer them.

In his 15 years since being reincarnated, Rudeus has already lived so many of life’s challenges. Even so, as with the title of season one’s finale episode, each day he wakes up and takes a step. Even after all the events of this season, it's clear that we've just scratched the surface of this story.

Rudeus’s journey has only just begun.