Ah, Mushoku Tensei, an isekai widely regarded as one of the best of all time, but as things get critical acclaim, it gets a whole lot of clashing discourse. This season was the subject of a lot of argument around the anime community, and while that was a little upsetting to see, I’m glad many people continued to talk about this wonderful isekai series, even though it was clear that the first cour of Season 2 was not nearly as good as Season 1.
Whether it’s positive or negative, Mushoku Tensei makes you care about what you’re watching, it has a morally grey protagonist, who attempts to improve himself, and that’s what I enjoy watching. I don’t like Rudeus’ personality, but that’s the point, as while I don’t like a lot of his actions, I do like how he’s written. I don’t want to see another overpowered protagonist with no personality to show for, I also don’t want to see a goody-two-shoes protagonist that’s all for world peace, because let’s face it, the world has its darkness no matter what we do, and a character with a “perfect” personality is just plain boring. Furthermore, the world-building continues to be stellar, as unlike a good chunk of isekai, it’s actually rather interesting seeing the vast world and its different settings, like the university.
This season was a very enjoyable one, but it did have a rough start, as it rushed through the first arc, skipping a lot of context from the light novel. I’m not a reader myself, but it was clear that it wasn’t really up to snuff, at least compared to how well S1 was adapted. The events in the first arc, with Rudeus being depressed after the departure of Eris, while you kind of feel for the guy perhaps, some of the moments with him and other characters just rubbed me the wrong way. There was just too much of a focus on the perverse nature of Rudeus’ character, and while it was present as well in the rest of the cour, it felt more interesting there. The second part of the season in Ranoa University was a much more intriguing and engaging part of the story, as it mixed together big reveals around Rudeus’ past, along with some light hearted moments as well, which I feel the first arc lacked. We also got to see the return of a character I have missed dearly, and if you have watched Episode 0 with The Silent Fitz, then you know exactly who I’m talking about.
From a production standpoint, it was abundantly clear that this was a step down in terms of animation quality, and it could be due to a rushed production, or a lack of resources from Studio Bind. That said, the quality did improve, especially with the background shots still being relatively solid. It just didn’t have that majestic, detailed look that Season 1 had. Maybe you could say that Season 1’s production was something truly miraculous, truly special, compared to what we got here. The soundtrack was still solid, and both the OP and ED were great, though I did miss the openings playing in the background, as those felt more unique, and gave the series its special identity.
This series has a very rich cast of characters as well, and I mentioned Rudeus already, but I’ll elaborate and say that he’s still the weirdo from before, but there is significant character development to be seen, and some of the actions he takes are pretty thought-provoking, whether it’s because of his ED, or because of his PTSD from previous tragedies from Season 1. The series calls back on those past events very effectively, whereas a lot of other series may have just thrown those events of the past to the wayside, never looking back. Fitz was another very great character, and it was interesting how we all knew who Fitz’s identity truly was, but we were just waiting for Rudeus to figure it out. The pay-off from that was very worth it, and the process was honestly awesome, as we got to see thoughts from both of their perspectives, which led to some good recurring jokes. Every character in this anime has a level of depth to them, whether they’re a main character or side character, which is kind of rare to see in media these days, so props to the author for utilizing every character to their fullest potential.
▶ Video #####Overall, this cour, while somewhat controversial, was a wonderful ride, and powered through its hiccups in the beginning, to still reaching great heights in the end. Despite a decline in animation quality compared to the previous season, I still enjoyed it a lot, which is a testament to the quality of the story at hand here, and there is surely much more to come, with the second cour in April 2024, and whatever lies beyond that.
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