Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation II

Episode 6

This episode of Mushoku Tensei is, once again, all about Rudeus' growing relationship with Fitz. And again, everything is told exclusively from Rudeus' viewpoint (meaning we hear no one's thoughts but his own). Like last week's episode, this one is made worse by the existence of episode 0 which has not only spoiled the rather obvious big reveal—that Fitz is Sylphy—but also all the little mysteries like what she's been doing for the past few years and why she is so loyal to the princess. But as I've already complained about that at length, let's just move on.

Rudeus getting to know the now-adult Sylphy is full of great little character moments. You can see that Sylphy is just dying to throw herself at Rudeus—for them to be as close as they once were (and still are in her heart). She's taking any opportunities to spend time with him—reading what he reads and trying to learn about his problem so she can help him out. From her side, it's genuinely touching.

Of course, on Rudeus' side of things, it's all about him dealing with the classic rom-com setup where a guy ends up crushing on a cross-dressing girl and struggles with his sexuality because of it. Rudeus looks up to Fitz yet is attracted to him—so much so that there is a physical reaction (something that has been lacking since the events with Eris). It's just kind of a shame that this is played as a gag and not a serious moment of self-introspection where Rudeus starts to realize that, even if he doesn't like men in general, he does like Fitz regardless of his gender.

Then we get to the elephant in the room: the trip to the slave market. After all, if Zanoba can't make figures on his own, why not get a child slave to make figures for him until the day he dies, right? Honestly, I'm surprised that it took Mushoku Tensei this long to play into this popular isekai trope. And while I am constantly annoyed by the absurd idea that these characters are “saving” a little girl by being a “good slave master” (rather than, you know, freeing her and hiring her as a servant), I will admit that the whole situation ended up setting the stage for a pivotal Rudeus scene.

When Rudeus meets Julie, he sees in her the same lifeless eyes he saw every time he looked into a mirror in our world—the sense of just wanting to die but not having even the willpower to do that. On one hand, he wants to save this girl who is so much like he was—after all, in a way, that'd be like saving his past self. However, Rudeus' second life has taught him the important fact that you can't help those who won't help themselves. Unless Julie has the drive to change—the will to fight on—“saving her” will do nothing but put her into a new type of cage. So he asks her if she wants to live—and promises he will kill her if that's what she wishes for instead.

This, more than anything, shows us how Rudeus has come to view the relationship between this life and his first one. Death is a mercy to the hopeless and a second chance at life the greatest possible boon for those who wish to fight on. And in a very real way, he is in the middle of putting this into action, starting a new life at school after Eris left him and destroyed him emotionally. If nothing else, it's great to see Mushoku Tensei take a trope that is so often just for male wish fulfillment (i.e., to have a woman who has to stay with you and can't betray you no matter what you do) and use it as a massive bit of character development.

Rating:

Random Thoughts:

• I'll say this for Mushoku Tensei: it never shies away from sexual gags—be that erectile dysfunction or someone masturbating butt-naked to a statue.

• Ah yes, a trip to the slave market: The most romantic of dates. Well done, Sylphy. Well done.

• It's super odd that Rudeus, as a person from our world, doesn't even acknowledge the highly-immoral action of owning a slave. He doesn't even give the paper-thin excuse of “I guess it's normal in this world, so it's okay.” He's just like, “A slave? What a great idea! Let's do that.”

• So would Rudeus just have killed Julie right on the spot if she had asked? How would Sylphy have reacted? Would she still be a love-lorn puppy after that or would it have completely changed how she views him?

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