Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation II

Episode 4

Setting aside episode 0, the first three episodes of this season have been about Rudeus dealing with the unintended fallout of his last night with Eris—or rather, not dealing with it. Now, two years later, we see that this has led to a chronic case of erectile dysfunction. While it's treated somewhat as a running gag, the fact that Rudeus is unable to get aroused shows just how profoundly Eris' rejection (along with Sara's) has harmed him psychologically. However, this is just the impetus for what is happening to him. The real issue is that he refuses to confront his pain. Instead, he has used the search for his mother as an excuse to ignore it. However, with the arrival of Elinalise, he can no longer continue as he has been—after all, his mother has been found.

This presents Rudeus with yet another temporary way to run away from his problem. After all, just because they know his mother's location doesn't mean they have been reunited. Besides, it will still take him a solid year to reach the place where she is, and with winter just starting, he'll have to delay the journey a few months anyway.

However, it's then that he is offered the chance to run towards something rather than run away. Long before the mass teleportation incident, Rudeus wanted to attend magic school, and now he has that chance. But still, he chooses to try to regain the past rather than move on toward the future—even when his arrival at his mother's location would be months later than everyone else's.

It's funny, but it takes literal divine intervention to get him to make the right choice for himself and his future—the choice his mother would want him to make. And even then, it's neither the fact that he has stagnated in power in recent years nor that Roxy may be angry at him for squandering the talent that gets him to go to the school. It's the simple promise that he will find the “cure” to his erectile dysfunction that gets him to set out on a new chapter in his life.

The other main focus of the episode is the reintroduction of Elinalise—and how Rudeus' view of her changes over time. At first, he decides she is a slut, hitting on him and anyone else with a pulse. He looks down on her for that, but it's clear (even to him) that his negative feelings stem from the jealousy that he is physically unable to join in.

What's interesting about the whole bit is that, as a buxom beautiful elf, it would be no problem for her to seduce any man she wants—and this is what Rudeus believes she is doing at first. This could raise issues as she changes partners frequently, and jealousy could easily bring things to a violent head. However, Elinalise has figured out a way to avoid this problem. Rather than seducing these men, what she is doing is paying them for their services—engaging in sex work. This keeps emotions out of the equation; she is paying them to agree not to fall in love with her.

This whole situation adds a whole extra mystery to Elinalise. Why does she live her life this way? Is it simply due to personal choice? Is it a case of hypersexuality? Or is there something else going on here? Her relationship with Rudeus is likewise an odd one. She doesn't move on once she's passed the information about his mother onto him. Instead, she takes the room next door to him, hangs around him (when not otherwise engaged), and even travels with him to the magic school. There's more here than meets the eye, and I look forward to seeing her story develop as the series continues.

Rating:

Random Thoughts:

• Elinalise backs off real quick when she sees the charm Sylphy gave Rudeus. There's clearly some additional meaning here that we don't yet understand.

• It might seem off that people see Elinalise as Rudeus' woman despite the fact he's apparently the only one not sexually active with her until you realize that, while she'll have sex with almost anyone, she spends most of her time outside of that with Rudeus.

• What makes Elinalise hate Paul so much she doesn't want to ever meet him again but she'll still travel across the world and back to help him reunite with his family?

• It was nice to get a quick glimpse of all the characters that will become important in the school arc—both ones anime-only fans should recognize and others they won't.

Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation II is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.