Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation - Season 1

Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation is considered by many to be one of the pioneers of the isekai genre, however, I would not expect anything too sophisticated! It is just that the source light novel was among the first books published with this theme, and this one, in particular, was originally published in 2012. It was published before isekai light novels and anime series became as mainstream as they are today, and is from the same period as, say, Sword Art Online, Log Horizon, and Overlord... It is, therefore, no surprise that as this light novel series was successful it attracted the attention of anime studios. Indeed, an entirely new animation studio was indeed created just for this one anime! Studio Bind Inc. is a Japanese animation studio founded as a joint venture by White Fox and Egg Firm animation studios, who now primarily try to adapt these light novels as accurately as possible. Admittedly, the main reason was to have better-organized resources and work, however, it still remains a very unusual case. Anyway, you can really see the care and love for the source material in this adaptation. Visually it is a gorgeous stunning feast and some of the fantasy landscapes stand out so wonderfully, the environments are incredibly rich, with meadows, forests, but then again also landscapes with inhospitable desert and dead vegetation... The world is very elaborately detailed, everything is beautifully painted, it is really something to admire. The whole world has rich fauna and flora that are gradually explored in addition to the lush expansive landscapes. In addition, it also becomes increasingly apparent that this world also has much to offer culturally and historically and we learn about it and try to understand the diversity and richness of everything that is around us through the eyes of a young boy. If I had to sum this anime series up in one sentence, I would say that their world is very detailed and well thought out! The pace of the anime series is nice and gentle, there are no real issues there, it draws you in and holds your attention. I think it is a refreshing idea to follow the main protagonist being raised from birth, through his childhood, to see him (slowly) develop and discover the world around him. Plus everything is superbly complemented by voice actor Tomokazu Sugita's amazing inner dialogues, which gives it an added dimension. Then, there is the fact that we have a thirty-four year old man having to play a young child working through various traumatic incidents from his previous life which really makes it something different. It is not like, say, By the Grace of the Gods, where the main protagonist is just acting as a child, not a man trapped inside a child’s body, and so the whole isekai aspect is completely unnecessary. In this show, the fact is, that because the main protagonist is really indeed an old(er) person trapped inside a child’s body, and originally from our world, this element plays an important part in the narrative, both in the positive and negative sense. What I mean by that is that the main protagonist often acts in an unnaturally adult way, he interacts with other adult characters on a completely different level than he should be able to considering his age. He uses devious tactics and various tricks and subterfuge to get his way. As far as negative influences are concerned, in the original world, the main protagonist was a rather strange and not very pleasant character, he was affected by bullying, social isolation, and was rather suspicious... Anyway, here in the new world, he has to struggle with these strange aspects of his character, and it becomes apparent in one of the episodes that him being a deviant freak is an extremely important part of the storyline. Rudy has an almost unhealthy interest in sex, which leads to some weird and sometimes unnecessary ecchi scenes (especially considering the age of the characters and the fact that Rudy is an adult man in a child’s body). However, yet again that is partly explained by the fact that the main protagonist is obsessed by sex and is a grown man on the inside who suddenly has real opportunities not available to him in our world. Plus, because sexuality is a normal part of adulthood in this new world (as it is in ours) and there is no TV or internet, adults indulge in sexual activities much more often and do not have to worry about other people’s opinions because it is normal in their world. After all, from our current perspective, even Rudy's father could actually be seen as an immoral deviant freak. However, because he is an adult man with a weakness for women and the story is not set in our world, I am willing to let a lot of things slide. On the other hand, I would probably appreciate it if Rudy would save his sexual appetites, ideally for fifteen years or so, because the lustful looks of a little six-year-old kid strike me as kind of weird and unnatural (What do you want to do about it kid, you cannot even get an erection yet?!?). Well, all right, most of the ecchi scenes still make some sense according to the context within the storyline, they seem to happen naturally in that sense, and it is the first time in a long time that I actually thought the unnecessary sexualization (fanservice) was appropriate. Even though, after saying that, I was wondering whether the story could have somehow worked without it, but the problem is that the main protagonist may not have been able to display his base characteristics, plus some of Rudy's internal dialogues would not have been as funny, so the show would have perhaps suffered slightly from it. Also, I have to say that the characters are very memorable in general - they all have really distinctive personality traits and characteristics that will probably help me to remember exactly who is who and what they are like when I return to the show after some time away. None of the characters seem exaggerated or unrealistic, in fact, quite the opposite. Another thing that I think is the way the storyline was incorporated into the opening and ending is just really great. It means that the anime series does not hang about wasting three minutes on its theme songs before the story starts, because they help draw you into the original and natural atmosphere of its storyline. This in fact means that you get a lot more bang for buck from each episode compared to what other anime series have to offer you. It is the exact opposite of a classic shonen, where apart from the two parts with the theme songs (opening + ending) you lose another x amount of minutes with a long recap of what was going on in the previous episodes = here not one minute is wasted. Speaking of the soundtrack, well, I think it is great and quite distinctive too, and it is impossible not to notice how it enhances everything just perfectly. The bottom line is that Mushoku Tensei is a careful and precise adaptation, which was a real labour of love, and which, thanks to the gentle pace, you can really get into and be looking forward to the next installments.  ------ EDIT 19.12.2021 - Part 2 (Ep.12-23) This part continues well according to the standard already set and provides you with further development of the individual characters and the plot. The story develops nicely, and the most powerful bosses of the world it is set in finally appear. In this regard, the anime series shows its strength again beyond the remit of an action-packed show. It is different than most isekai anime series because even though Rudy is OP in some ways, it is still clearly obvious that he still has a lot to learn and that there are still other and much stronger characters, so he is far from the top of the food chain. In other words, Rudy still has room to develop. You know that anything goes and that the main narrative, that big game between the most powerful that every fantasy adventure anime series attempts, is only slightly putting its head above the parapet. The main story is something anime creators often introduce unnecessarily quickly, although, in this show, it nicely paves the way for the next big surprises and "turning points" that are sure to come. A good story never lays all its cards on the table right away, nor does it give the main protagonist everything for free. After all, even the creators of good shounen anime shows know that it is pointless to provide the protagonist with the power to beat everyone right at the beginning because the audience is interested in the journey to the top and wants to be at least a little worried about the characters during that journey. I was also quite pleased with the way Rudy's becoming an adult was handled, which I was quite scared of due to the ecchi nature of this anime series. However, it was all done tastefully, logically, and naturally, so a big thumbs up there. I should also praise the last episode, which had a psychological edge, and again brought me a bit more in touch with the main male protagonist's past life, character, and development. This anime does everything right and is an incredibly high-quality show. After a complete first season, I am awarding this 9.5/10. (05/27/2023) (less) (more)