Mushoku Tensei : Jobless Reincarnation Review

Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Synopsis

Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation is a fantasy anime where a depressed nerd is reincarnated into a land of magic and knights.  Jobless Reincarnation is an isekai series which normally I would say pass however it keeps your attention throughout the entire series.

The anime has been one of the most popular in recent years and has gained a lot of attention both good and bad.  The art style is great however the main character has several problems which even the author says he won’t defend.  You are rooting the whole time for this little degen to make better choices.

They are different genres and story types however another series that has gained a lot of attention is Jujutsu Kaisen which we recommended previously.  Feel free to click the link and give us your thoughts!

What is the Isekai Genre?

So a good starting place here might be to define what Isekai means.  While if you are newish to anime you might not have heard the term you will have seen the archetypal story before.

Isekai stories revolve around a displaced person or people who are transported to and have to survive in another world, such as a fantasy world, virtual world, or parallel universe.  These characters often have some kind of special skill or ability to become vastly more powerful than the average person.  

The worlds can vary however more often than not they end up being some approximation of a JRPG complete with stat’s window and everything.

It’s currently one of the most popular genres of anime and each quarter of the past several years has seen an increasing number of series per season be isekai.

We are currently saturated with isekai series which means when you find a good one that manages to make old tropes enjoyable again it means something.

The plot of Jobless Reincarnation 

After losing his parents and being kicked out of his home, a 34-year-old Japanese man felt like his life had no purpose. But one fateful day, he saw a group of teenagers in danger and decided to risk his own life to save them. Though he didn't make it, his actions earned him a second chance at life.

In this new life, he was reborn as a baby in a world of magic and swords. The man, now known as Rudeus Greyrat, was determined to make the most of this opportunity. His natural talent and dedication allowed him to become a skilled magician at a young age.

Throughout his childhood, Rudeus made many friends and mentors, including the demihuman Sylphiette, the demon magician Roxy Migurdia, and the noble heiress Eris Boreas Greyrat. With their help, he was able to grow into a powerful and respected figure in the world of magic.

Despite his difficult past, Rudeus was able to overcome his struggles and create a new life for himself. His story is a testament to the power of determination and the possibilities that exist in even the most unlikely of circumstances.

One way that you can help to express your love of Jobless Reincarnation is to purchase merchandise to help support the franchise.  I’ve linked to Amazon here with a rundown of some good Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Merch if you purchase something we may receive a small commission which helps us to fund future projects here at Cybric’s Corner.

Main Characters in Jobless Reincarnation

Rudeus Greyrat

Before his reincarnation, he was an overweight 34-year-old Japanese NEET who became a recluse following his high school persecution 

After his reincarnation, he discards his past identity and works hard to make his new life as Rudeus Greyrat meaningful. 

As such, he adopts a gentleman persona, though his past life's perversion sometimes emerges and scares those around him. Since he retains his intelligence, Rudeus was able to start magic training at age 3 and learn how to cast magic without chanting. 

Due to this training, he has an abnormally large mana capacity. Because his then magic teacher, Roxy Migurdia, helped him to overcome his fear of the outside world, he worships her like a god and ties his accomplishments to her. 

Roxy Migurdia

A demon from the Migurdia species known for their telepathy, blue hair, youthful appearance, and longevity. 

She leaves her original village due to feelings of isolation: she is not telepathic, and other Migurdias prefer to use telepathy for communication. 

Unable to make a stable living as an adventurer, she becomes a traveling tutor and eventually becomes Rudeus' teacher. Throughout the series when Rudeus is backed into a corner he will think about what his tutor what do and try to align himself to that.

Eris Boreas Greyrat

The fierce and determined girl, a distant relative of Rudeus, possesses an impressive talent for the Sword-God style. Though her fiery temper and tsundere nature may give off the impression of a tough exterior, she quickly falls for Rudeus during their journey home. 

But when she witnesses Rudeus nearly perish in a battle against Orsted, she realizes that she must become stronger to protect the ones she loves. With newfound determination, she sets out on a journey to hone her sword skills and become an unstoppable force in battle. 

The future holds endless possibilities for this fierce warrior, as she embarks on a thrilling quest to become the ultimate swordswoman.

Ghislaine Dedoldia

Ghislaine, the fierce Sword King! She's a member of the Dedoldia tribe and a powerful swordswoman from a beast race.

Ghislaine used to be a part of Rudeus’s parent's old party, but now she's employed as the Eris family bodyguard. 

However, Ghislaine had a vulnerability: she never learned to read or write. That is until Rudeus came along and taught her literacy and magic. With her newfound knowledge, Ghislaine can now cast spells to enhance her already impressive abilities.

Many fans of the show are taken with the strong figure of Ghislaine and so I’ve included a link to Amazon here for you all for some Ghislaine Dedoldia Merch.  Please click the link and if you buy something we’ll earn a small commission which will help us to fund future projects.

Studio/ Director notes

Manabu Okamoto directs Jobless Reincarnation, which is produced by Studio Bind. Okamoto is known for his work on other popular anime series such as Darling in the Franxx and Akami Ga Kill.  He is also the credited screenwriter for the anime adaptation.

Studio Bind is relatively new, having been established as a joint venture between White Fox and Egg Firm. Both of these studios have a history of producing high-quality anime productions. 

White Fox has produced critically acclaimed series such as Goblin Hunter, Re: Zero - Starting Life in Another World, and Steins; Gate. Egg Firm is responsible for popular titles such as Gate, Prison School, and Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon. 

These studios have a proven track record of creating series that anime enthusiasts are excited to watch.

The studio was opened with the express intention of developing Jobless Reincarnation into a series.  The hope was and is to use this opening production run to fun other series and for the studio to be able to support the long-term development of the franchise.

It shows a good amount of faith out the gate that these two studios are willing to make a bet that this franchise is enough to establish and fund an entire other production company.  It does seem to be paying off as the series has ranked very high in popularity polls and it even won a couple of awards from Crunchyroll.com 

If you’re interested in another anime that did very well in its seasons with a good amount of fan service check out our review of Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma.  

The series received 3 seasons and was very popular at the time.  Please share the article with your friends as well as it helps us to become more well-known.

Jobless Reincarnation Review

Jobless reincarnation is a top Isekai Performer.  We’ve already gone over the setting and how the protagonist entered the world but I think that it bears repeating that this is the story of a full adult that was reincarnated into a baby at birth.  That needs to always be remembered as we put Rudeus' actions and choices into context.

While he’s been growing physically Rudeus has the mental faculties and memories of a full adult.  This allowed him to be trained in magic and other skills from the time he was an infant.  This also creates problems with the character that we’ll dive into later however in the meantime let’s focus on the positives.

Jobless Reincarnation has received an 88% rotten tomatoes rating and I feel like that is pretty fair.  The series excels in several areas such as fight choreography and character development, the latter is also the source of no small amount of controversy in the fanbase for this anime.

Let’s start with the fight choreography.  The combat sequences are tightly choreographed and the series is not afraid to show that if you lose a fight in this world you will get messed up. 

For example, when Eris fights a group of assassins and slashes one of the assailants there isn’t a flash of light or some other hand-waving visual device for showing a cut.  That assassin is sliced in half and his torso goes flying away from his legs.

The combat cinematography is pretty spectacular.  The use of angles to imply speed and power helps us to suspend our disbelief that people can be that acrobatic and powerful.

I think that Arius Raposas had some really interesting points of view in their article on Medium.com on whether the series is a Masterclass worldbuilding or decadent reincarnation.

Now, let’s get into some of the more controversial aspects of the show.

The main character Rudeus is problematic at best, and downright degenerate at worst.  The number of times that the series has Rudeus overstep some sexual situation or lust after a female character while by no means the most vulgar offendant of T&A anime however it is problematic.  

The issue that people have, and I fall into this camp as well, is that our main character is a middle-aged man in the body of a young boy.  

This young boy then is put into sexual comedic situations and this makes it incredibly uncomfortable as you remember that this is an older man lusting after a young girl.  There are also sequences where off-screen sex scenes are happening and while you don’t see anything inappropriate you hear it.

Again it must be reiterated that when we find Rudeus in ecchi genre situations he is a middle-aged man, It’s important because it makes you feel awkward and also alienates the main character from you.  I’m no longer hoping that he succeeds I’m just praying for him to leave the girls alone.

The source material was so “vulgar” that Manubu Okamota is said to have been hesitant to adapt the series in the first place.  Eventually, he decided to move forward with production after seeing how popular the manga series had become online.  The producers would take out some of the more offensive subjects of the manga in their localizations while they ramped up for distribution of the series.

Peggy Sue Wood from The Anime View had a very negative take on Jobless Reincarnation that you should read as well.  They do a very good job of condensing the issues and I would recommend giving their article a read. 

Now, I’ll be fair to that author.  He has stated that he doesn’t agree with Rudeus’ actions either.  He says that the character failings are intentional to provide a character low for Rudeus to rise above.  While I agree that characters can and should evolve and change over time, it’s asking a lot to have me accept behavior early in the series.

Despite all that has been said…Rudeus does get better.  Eventually, he grows as a person as he realizes that he can improve himself and that he can love/ care for people besides himself.  The character's low at the beginning helps to highlight the overcoming of his past mistakes and poor moral choices.

If the series had more T&A I’d say pass on the series but it does successfully ride the line without falling off into the more ecchi or even ero genres.

Conclusion

So should you watch Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation?  Yes, I would say that it is worth a watch.  Try to get pasted the first 3-5 episodes before making a final decision about which way you would like to go.

You can find the series on Crunchyroll.com