In this day and age, it is pretty safe to assume the isekai genre has taken over the otaku media. Be it anime, manga or light novels (Especially light novels), we get more isekai than we could ever ask for. Isekai is a genre I particularly like, as it holds in my opinion an immense variety of ways of making a story interesting by making two worlds interact with one another. So this abundance of isekai should make me glad, yet, the genre has fallen into what I like calling "The specific-twist loop". In other words, as you all probably noticed, the isekai series are always the same previous series, but with an extremely small twist, and while this can last for a few years, its rapidly gets stale and repetitive once all routes have been explores. And this is what this genre is suffering from. However, Isekai Trash as I am, I still read an watch all isekais I find, as I am able to endure the repetitiveness of the process if it means finding a bit of pleasure in a somewhat original series. However, among this quest of good isekais, I found one manga in which I quickly placed all my hopes in, an isekai that instead of trying to innovate the genre once again with a minuscule twist, went down the same path as Boku no Hero Academia and decided to retake the isekai genre's basics, and make them good. Which is why I shall now try and convince you to read the great work that Mushoku Tensei is.
Mushoku Tensei is not in any ways revolutionary in its plot. If anything, it is actually quite the same as any isekai series out there. We have a fat unliked otaku, scared of leaving his house, perverted, and who dies once more by the hand (or should i say wheel) of Truck-kun. As if it wasn't as classic as an isekai could get, this one decides to go down the overpowered prodigy with harem path as well. So you might be saying, "Well this doesn't seem different from anything I've watched before". And you'd be right. In terms of plot and story, the whole series is extremely run of the mill. However, the one point that genuinely brings me to enjoy and love this manga is the point I'm about to introduce, which is the characters.
Our protagonist is, like I said, an extremely overpowered character, and such from a really young age. However, this character has a really open perverted side, which makes him an extremely lovable character. He's always dreaming about getting the girl with the big boobs, hoping this girl will tell him she likes him. Along with that he's no dense dipshit like we've been used to. Quite on the opposite he's full of erotic fantasies and quite the mischievous planner. But he's also given an actual loveable nice side. By "nice", I don't mean your usual mighty full of morals "nice" who for some unknown reasons always knows perfectly how everyone is feeling. Here, it is quite a warm childish one. He'll go and do whatever he can to prevent the people he likes from leaving his side, often ending up in some really nice heartwarming moments. He doesn't know how anyone's truly feeling, and because of that he'll often make mistakes that he'll regret. But from those regrets will sprout a genuine wish to excuse himself, to make things right, and this not by chivalrous means, but by the same means you and I would use, struggling to understand how you've hurt their feelings, and struggling to find a way to fix it.This side of our protagonist is what holds the whole manga together. The relationships are thoroughly explored, be it his sisters, parents, relatives, teachers, friends, lovers, or even nobles that like or dislike him, every single one of them feels really present, and feels like it has an actual impact on the character. Not an impact that completely changes his personality like every anime does, just this simple touch that slowly sinks in and slightly affect's the character view. It is through this repeated process that this isekai creates an environment that makes the simple act of having the characters speak enjoyable. And the reason to all this setup ends up pretty clear when you get to one major event in the manga. It's a big spoiler so beware.
Spoiler, click to viewclick to hideEveryone in a pretty big area, one day, just gets teleported to random areas around the world. The world they leave in is divided into three major places, with one of them, the second biggest, being a land known for its extremely dangerous beasts and environment. Due to this, characters die, some have mental breakdowns, some are trapped, some have to adapt to survive, the hierarchy within the lords change, putting some nobility in danger. This whole setup of characters allows for this one sudden huge change to have more impact, both in happy ways when characters get good stuff out of this event, just like in sad ways due to having people who's location are unknown, even possibly dead.
The character focused aspect of the manga is pretty much its major attractive point, and to be honest, it's pretty damn well-made. But if that's not enough for you, let's cut the serious crap and get to the goofy stuff.
Ok you want some entertainement huh? Then how about having the protagonist's father cheat on his wife and impregnate the maid who lives in the same house as them? And what if the 7 year old protagonist went on a political debate to prove the maid innocent so she can stay in their household? And the fact it actually works? Do you want random scenes ruined by the MC's perverted self? Do you want possible fights stopped by a single anime figurine?These are but a mere of the pretty hilarious stuff that happen in the manga, and it brings forth a different aspect on certain situations that really lighten the mood while keeping its importance, allowing for jokes inside of a fight, as well as inside of a genuine romantic mood. Without this mood the manga probably wouldn't be the same, so I'm glad it is there as it makes certain common scenes quite interesting.
Final Thoughts
This Isekai is probably one of the few that stands out within the current flooding of the genre. It's peculiar take on the genre, focusing on the relations in-between characters more than action allows it to make all the characters feel human. Due to this, the harem comes to me as one of the best I've seen so far, as the heroines are not only falling for our protagonist due to his prowess, but also due to the way he interacts with them, which is way more natural. It is fun, sad, heartwarming and hella damn cool, so if I have anything to say, It's "Just go watch it you". Thanks for reading this review
